Rough Week

I have 3 cats, no children and am a 50 year old single woman. So, my cats are my children, my babies. I love them dearly. That being said.. Last Fri. I went to brunch with a friend. We spent the day looking at trees for her yard at a nursery, then visiting Lowe's & Home Depot. We both bought several new plants. She dropped me off at my house, and I put my purse inside, then headed straight back out to water my garden(s) and to get the new stuff planted. I went in briefly and Bacchus was lying in the kitchen doorway. That struck me as odd as he's usually at the door to meet me, but I picked him up and rubbed his chin, then put him back down and headed back out to do more work. I went to hook up the hose to water the back garden and it just hit me that he had immediately laid back down when I put him down. This is not his usual behaviour, he's very active. I went back in and he was lying in front of the water bubbler, with his head propped up on it. I called his name, twice, and he never opened his eyes. My heart just froze. I picked him up and loved on him for a minute. He looked at me, such a sad look! I put him back on the floor, standing up. He started to shake all over, then his back legs collapsed. I grabbed him up, ran to my neighbors, Wanda, house to get her to hold him, and I rushed him to the emergency pet hospital. As I carried him in, he started crying like I was hurting him. The vet came in and felt his belly--I was afraid he'd eaten a plant and was poisoned--and said that his bladder was full to rupture. He had a uretheral blockage and had not been able to pee for who knows how long. He'd been acting ok the night before, but it could have been happening then too. They did bloodwork on him and his levels were way too high. They had to cath him, but the doc told me he wasn't sure, b/c of the incredibly high potassium level, he might not survive being anesthesized. He's die if the didn't tho, so hey did. He's a trooper and came through all ok. They then told me that this was usually caused by crystals and that they will usually require surgery to create a new, larger opening for him to urinate through, which was going to cost between $1800-2300. OMG, I don't have that kind of money, but I knew I'd do whatever I had to to keep him well. He's my baby. Sat around noon, I called them to see how he was. The doc said he was not doing as well as they'd hoped, he was very lethargic and was refusing all food. They repeated his labs, thinking that those may not have normalized. She called me back tho and said that they were all fine. I asked if I could come by and visit him and she said that was fine and to bring his favorite food to see if I could coax him to eat. I had spent the day at my neice's helping her work in her yard, and was sweaty and dirty, but I didn't care. I left her house, picked up some tuna at the grocery, then headed to the hospital. They took me to a room and brought him in. I sat on a built into the wall wooden bench and thy put him down beside me. He was pacing up and down rubbing his body and face against me and started purring. I popped open the plastic cup of tuna and he wolfed it down. The tech brought in a cup of water, and he drank that too. They wound up leaving him with me a little over 2 hours. He wound up curled up along side my leg, sleeping with his head on my leg. God!! it as good to see him acting normal. The vet tech laughed b/c she said he had refused everything they tried to feed him. I think he was just scared. He was in pain, in a strange place with people he didn't know. He just needed to see me and know I hadn't deserted him. The vet called me the next morning and told me that whatever I did to him had turned him into a different cat. he was alert, eating like a horse and being very friendly. So, they kept him through mon morning. They removed the cath sun morn, but he wouldn't pee, so they had to put it back in. They told me that he was more than likely going to need to surgery. I had to pick him up on Mon and take him to my regular vet. Seeing as how I don't really have a regular vet, I took him to a friend's vet. They are wonderful! They left the cath in and treated him for the iritation and inflammation to his bladder and urethra. They took his cath out Tues morn, and when I went by to visit that afternoon, he had peed twice!! Looks like he won't need surgery after all. He will be there until Mon morn, when I'll pick him up once I get off work. One girl told me they might not let me have him b/c they are in love with him. They say his so sweet, cooperative and loving. Everytime they pass his cage, he'll roll over on his back for them to give him a belly rub. She said they all just automatically stop now to rub his belly. He loves that! I can't wait to get him back home!