Despite the fact that I feed him high-quality cat food (Iams), one of my cats has had recurring urinary infections, culminating in a Roto-Rooter job plus a stay at the animal hospital last night. (I would have gotten him in earlier, but the DVMs were on vacation. If it happens again I’ll know to call someone else to hurry up and get him in.) Last night, while working out my frustration over the situation at the gym (i.e. beating myself in the head with a barbell), I had a revelation. So, when I got home, I got out my pool water testing kit, got some water out of the sink (what the cats drink) and got some water that was purchased from the machine outside Fry’s (what I drink). I checked the pH of each and found that the tap water that the cats drink has a pH of about 7.8 while the water I drink has a pH of about 6.6. (I’m guessing here. It was actually below the scale.) I’m willing to bet that my cat’s problem is largely due to the pH of his water being too high. From now on, the cats will get their water from the same source that I do. Hopefully that will prevent any future problems.
There’s no question about whether or not I would pay the cost of making my cat better. Actually, the expense is not that horrible in and of itself. However, this plus the cost of replacing the A/C compressor at my house plus the new shocks, brakes, tune-up on my truck plus new tires for my truck means that I will have spent about $1600 in two months to fix/maintain things. I can definitely afford it, but God damn it just seems endless.
I never realized how good the water was in Oracle until I moved to Phoenix and started drinking CrAP (Central Arizona Project canal) water. I get by fine with a Pur filter on my faucet. Makes the taste quite a bit better but I doubt if it changes the pH. Glad to see you’re concerned about your cat’s health.
My cats only drink bottled water. Our water is pretty bad (leaves gross iron-orange stains on shower and water spots on dishes), so i buy those 2 and1/2 gallon jugs that fit in the fridge. I was just giving the cats tap water, but found that everytime i got a cup of the purified water they watched me like a hawk and when i turned my head one of their heads would be in my cup getting a drink.
So i compromised and give them the purified stuff now in their bowl. One of my two kitties still likes to sneak into my cups though, but now it’s at her convienence not because she is dying of thirst.
As it turns out, my cat, Rudy, was in much worse shape than I had originally thought. He was in grave condition the first couple of nights and then seemed to be improving. I had been hoping to bring him home Saturday, but his condition hadn’t improved enough and it looked like he might need surgery. I was praying that there would be a significant improvement by today, but the vet called me this morning and informed me that Rudy had died last night.
When I brought him in last Wednesday, I thought he would just get a shot, an antibiotic prescription, maybe give a sample for the lab, and be on his merry way (we’d been through this before). I really wish I had taken him to a different vet or emergency rather than waiting for his appointment.
So sorry to hear about Rudy. We just lost a longtime feline member of the family too, and it’s always sad. As much as I know that cats and dogs have much shorter lifespans than humans, it always seems to surprise me when they die. Hope you’ve got lot’s of good memories of happier days.
Let’s also hope this doesn’t signal a trend, and that your truck doesn’t break down, and the air stays conditioned.
Thanks, Danalan and Zyada (and also Jodi, who emailed me). I was pretty depressed about it this morning and was kind of beating myself up about it (“I should’ve done this.” “I should’ve done that.” etc.) It’s good to be able to “talk” to friends when I’m bummed out. (I’m usually in pretty good spirits, despite what you may have seen from me over the past few weeks. Really!) Sorry to hear about your cat, too, Danalan.
The vet’s practice is to have the body cremated and give the ashes to the owner, if he wants them. I figure I’ll scatter them in desert near my friend’s house in Casa Grande, where he was found about 2 1/2 years ago by my friend and adopted by me soon after. I know this sounds cheesy, but it will be my own little tribute.
Funny, I really was never much of a “cat person” until I took Rudy in. He showed me that not all cats are evil!
