I Am an Idiot (Ziggy Update)

When we last left Ziggy, he freaked out at veterinarian office and needed to stay overnight since we couldn’t get him to calm down. The diagnosis was some type of bacteria in his bladder and possibly a urinary tract infection, but he was given an antibiotic and has been quite happy and affectionate since he returned home. The vet wanted me to return a few weeks later with a urine sample (from Ziggy not me) as a follow-up. Have you ever tried to collect a urine sample from a cat? It’s impossible! The vet suggested emptying the litter box leaving only this small amount of non-absorbent litter (a cup cost $9). Ziggy refused to use the litter box without his normal litter. I tried an empty box, a small amount of his regular litter and even saran wrap, but Ziggy never used the litter box unless it was at its normal state. At one point, I think he went almost an entire day without going because he didn’t like the conditions.

Finally, I made an appointment to bring Ziggy back to the vet, where, unfortunately, they would need to extract a urine sample in what I’m sure is an unpleasant process. Fortunately, the vet felt around his bladder and decided that she didn’t want to put Ziggy through that procedure. It’s probably not 100% accurate, but since Ziggy has been fine since he returned home (except when we messed with his usual litter box routine), we were instructed simply to monitor Ziggy. The cat also received his annual shots, and we were on our way home in only minutes.



Now to the idiot part. The vet said that Ziggy needed to drink more water and suggested adding a little water to his food. Ziggy eats wet food twice a day and dry food as a late night snack. I asked the vet whether I should add the water to the dry food. She was nice and after a brief pause replied that I should only add the water to the wet food since Ziggy probably wouldn’t eat soggy “dry” food. After I left, she probably (understandably) laughed with the vet tech about my brilliant question.