I just found this! Congrats on the new kitteh, and best wishes on the test outcomes!
D’awww. He looks a little like my Chloe.
Best of luck with the fella!
You shouldn’t have to take your kitty to the vet to give him fluids. Cats take subcutaneous fluids very well. Your vet should be able to set you up with a bag of Ringer’s Lactate (a saline solution with dextrose), the tubing, and a handful of needles. You put the it all together, put the cat in a comfy place, put the needle in at the nape of their neck and keep them still while the fluids load.
Even my little berserker, Raven, would wait patiently while she got her fluids, and doing it at home only took 10 minutes or so. The bags ran about $20 each and lasted a week or more, depending on how often you administer sub-q fluids. It saves a lot of wear and tear on the kitty, because the vet is always stressful.
Thanks for the anemia info, SeaDragonTattoo.
As for the scratchers, the SO had that round one in the photo for Vel. (Harvey was the declawded one.) Tonka seems to think it’s only for sitting on. I got a cardboard scratcher, since Shana and Spiny Norman’s cat loves hers. (They have two cats, but I moved away before I met the new one.) Tonka ignores the cardboard scratcher too. We tried catnip, but he seems to be immune. The SO thinks that Tonka’s nails are so long that the carpet-on-cardboard scratcher and the carboard one are uncomfortable. The chair is softer. Fortunately, Tonka understands ‘No!’ We could trim his nails at home, but the SO knows about getting too close and would rather the vet do it.
phouka: I mentioned an IV at home. The SO is an RN, so I figured it would be a snap for her. But she would rather not do it at home. Fortunately, our vet is very compassionate and gentle (unlike the first vet we went to, whom we call ‘Dr, Mengele’). Tonka is very laid back and is used to being handled. It shouldn’t stress him too much going to the vet. We’ll monitor his health and see how often he needs fluids.
Tonka did defecate yesterday after I posted. He got all excited and was running around the house like Harvey used to. So he’s eating well (very well, in fact), drinking enough, and he’s comfortable enough in his new surroundings that he’s ‘unclenched’. He plays (when he’s not sleeping) and follows us around. Every time I put my ear to him, he’s purring. (He’s a very quiet purrer, and I’ve never heard him otherwise – except when I give him a kitty treat and he opens his mouth.)
Sounds like you guys have it all covered, you’re good kitty guardians! I’ll bet it will only take a couple-few trips for nail trims and fluid administration (hopefully next to none of that) before your SO decides that really is stuff she can do herself. Or not. I had a couple clients who came in like clockwork way back when I worked at a daytime vet’s office, just for nail trims on the most docile and cooperative kitties. Whatever makes everybody happiest and most comfortable, yanno?
I’m sorry, this is so nitpicky, but there’s no dextrose in LRS, dextrose can only be delivered intravenously, if it goes subcutaneously, very bad things happen. Just if there’s anyone reading this I want to make sure that’s clear. Apologies, I can’t not post that, it’s a compulsion! (it’s an electrolyte solution)
And… Tonka has discovered the scratchers. Both of them. I gave him a treat (on the cardboard scratcher) when I saw him use it.
He’s being frisky now, running around the house.
Cute kitty!
You mean he’s truckin’. 
Lovely kitty … thanks for sharing his story and pictures!
He’s sleeping behind me on the couch as I work.
He’s cooing in his sleep. 
Thank you for this thread. SeaDragon always give good advice, and the pics were wonderful. What a handsome kitteh.
We have 3 clawed cats and one declawed one. The declawed one always fights me tooth and nail when I try to clip his back claws, so I give him catnip, wait until he’s zoned and then chop them off.
The fully clawed ones are used to me trimming their nails every couple of weeks. The declawed one only has to get trimmed every couple of months, which makes a big difference in his little kitteh brain.
He’s a cutie, all right! Personally I prefer cats that are not all black, and that have short hair. But I think Tonka is just fine as he is. (I’ll just have to watch my step when it’s dark – and the living room does get a mite dark.)
It’s nice to hear the SO giggling again. She’s been depressed at not being able to get more hours at work, and we both miss Harvey terribly. She sees Tonka darting about (when he’s not sleeping or eating) and giggles. She laughs at his stubby tail. She giggles when he coos in his sleep. (Today was the first time I heard it.) Cats are good medicine.
I mentioned that I only heard him purr when I put my ear up to him (and he’s purring every time I do), or when I give him a kitty treat and he opens his mouth. This morning when he got up on the back of the couch I could hear him purr from over a foot away. Harvey was a quiet purrer until I spoiled him. (She says I spoiled him!) Maybe Tonka will get louder as he fully settles in and I get to work on him. 
purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
QFT
And to mention that there is some not woo stuff that says that cat purrs are good for us. Maye it is just woo stuff, but it sure feels good to have a cat purring against my back.
Tonka’s back from the vet.
His history packet was so large that the vet will need to review it later. The SO says that the paperwork said Tonka’s red count was low and his white count was high a few months ago, and that sounds more like an infection to her than anemia. Tonka has no symptoms (yet) of liver or kidney disease that we can see. The vet will get back to us if she sees anything concerning.
Other than that he had one troublesome claw trimmed, and he has ear mites. The vet gave him some medicine, and we’ll have to medicate his ears for four weeks. No vaccinations are due, so he didn’t get any. He seems to be a happy, healthy, 14-1/4 pound cat.
He’s hiding now, which is unusual. In the (almost) week we’ve had him, he likes to be near us. We suspect his ears might be bothering him after getting the drops in them, and he’ll reappear after a while.
Oh – The vet says he looks closer to six than to nine.
And I haven’t mentioned he has vampire fangs.
I can see it now: The Tonka Saga…
Doesn’t everybody’s cat(s) go on nursing duty when you’re sick?
When I had the flu earlier this year, all three of the SuperKitties were on duty the entire time I was in bed or on the couch. 
Well, you know how it is when you get something new… 
Aw. Noodle used to turn his upper lips up just a little while doing chinups on the scratching post and I would call him “Vlad the Impaler” with his big canines poking out. He’s had three of his canines removed over the years, though, and just has one on the lower left that catches on his upper lip and now I call him “BillyBob.”
I’m glad your guy’s checkup went well, the hiding sounds normal after a trip to the vet and ear drops. Just a little stressful! I’m sure he’ll be even happier, though, after the ear mites are gone.