Back at the Emergency Vet [cats]
Sep. 5th, 2021 01:13 pmIt is night-and-day different to be here with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
scrottie right now as compared to last summer by myself with Emma in the bike trailer.
To rewind slightly, with what are probably gory details: Emma didn't eat much/any food yesterday, had blood in her urine, and overnight went from throwing up food to throwing up bile. She's still pretty alert but because of how small she is and her general tendency to be dehydrated (urine volume has been up for the past year; causes not fully diagnosed but not simple kidney failure), after some thinking it seemed wiser to get in the 10-hour line at the emergency vet vs. trying to wait anything out until after the three-day weekend. I'm hoping the acute problem is another UTI, but when you figure that she's hyperthyroid with an undiagnosed heart condition and most likely cancer(s), well, you never know. She is 17 years old, after all. And given all of the above, an amazingly tough and resilient kitty.
I am so grateful to be here in Princess TinyHouse, with S's company to help through the waiting and decision-making that needs to happen on occasions such as this one.
Regarding that 10-hour line: there have been some improvements implemented here between last summer and this summer. They now text customers an initial intake form, and also include a one-page document explaining how they've been coping with the increased veterinary demand. That document also makes it clear that they have found it necessary to implement a policy to deal with horrible customers. From everything I've heard, it's the horrible customers that have been contributing to high rates of depression and suicide among veterinarians.
Since it's a holiday weekend, everything other than the dire emergency vet clinic is closed. I feel bad for the folks working here this weekend. It has got to be a rough weekend. And so we shall wait.
scrottie right now as compared to last summer by myself with Emma in the bike trailer.To rewind slightly, with what are probably gory details: Emma didn't eat much/any food yesterday, had blood in her urine, and overnight went from throwing up food to throwing up bile. She's still pretty alert but because of how small she is and her general tendency to be dehydrated (urine volume has been up for the past year; causes not fully diagnosed but not simple kidney failure), after some thinking it seemed wiser to get in the 10-hour line at the emergency vet vs. trying to wait anything out until after the three-day weekend. I'm hoping the acute problem is another UTI, but when you figure that she's hyperthyroid with an undiagnosed heart condition and most likely cancer(s), well, you never know. She is 17 years old, after all. And given all of the above, an amazingly tough and resilient kitty.
I am so grateful to be here in Princess TinyHouse, with S's company to help through the waiting and decision-making that needs to happen on occasions such as this one.
Regarding that 10-hour line: there have been some improvements implemented here between last summer and this summer. They now text customers an initial intake form, and also include a one-page document explaining how they've been coping with the increased veterinary demand. That document also makes it clear that they have found it necessary to implement a policy to deal with horrible customers. From everything I've heard, it's the horrible customers that have been contributing to high rates of depression and suicide among veterinarians.
Since it's a holiday weekend, everything other than the dire emergency vet clinic is closed. I feel bad for the folks working here this weekend. It has got to be a rough weekend. And so we shall wait.
