I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a dog flu.  Let alone that it behaves pretty much the same way the flu works in us humans…diarrhea, vomiting, discomfort, lack of hunger, etc.

Our little guy has always had a sensitive stomach.  It wasn’t uncommon on any give day for him to eat his food and throw it all back up a couple minutes later.  And late night bouts with diarrhea, also not uncommon (TMI, I know).

So this time around, we didn’t think too much of things at first. It was only the fact that he threw up multiple times throughout the day and night, and then spent the entire day in the same spot all day.  He never even got up to drink water.

Today, we took him to the vet.  He seemed better this morning, even seemed happy to go outside (he didn’t know he was going to the vet, I’m sure).  Right before we went to head out, he threw up (nothing because he hadn’t eaten) and there was blood.  All the more reason to get him into the vet as soon as possible.

Well, I’m happy to report that after $500+ and 6 or so hours getting hydrated through IV, he’s doing much better.  Basically, he had a flu-like thing. He came home, ate a little and then settled in snug as a bug in his doggie bed.

With luck (and love) he’ll make it through the night without any incident.  If that’s the case he goes back into the vet tomorrow to get his IV port removed.  If he gets sick again and throws up the little he ate, then it’s back in for more IV work.

Of course, I have to first make sure he doesn’t rip the damn port out first.  He’s already started pulling off the snazzy yellow bandage.  Luckily I had some no-stick bandage and wrapped some more.  But I’ve no doubt that he’ll try again tonight while we’re all sleeping.

We shall see.  I’m just glad it’s something quite mellow and nothing to really worry about.

So I had planned to write about my Remote Area Medical experience from Tuesday. You know, it was their last day and all that so I thought it would be worth writing about.

Then the cat escaped.  Twice.  Argh!

Let’s start with the basics, the adorable little guy below came with the husband (the pupster, came with me – luckily they co-exist wonderfully).  When he lived with my hubs, he had a temporary kitty door that led out to the deck.  He never expressed any interest in jumping down and exploring further, so all was good.  From time to time, he’d run out the front door and roll around on the stoop a bit.

Once he moved in with me (and the pupster) he lost that outdoor privilege.  Not because he was bad or anything, but because we don’t really have a safe space for him. So basically, he’s an indoor cat.  He will from time to time run out the front door or escape out the back if the screen door isn’t latched. Typically, he doesn’t go far and just rolls around on the sidewalk or visits the flower beds in hopes of finding critters and bugs.

Yesterday, I left to run some errands.  Turns out, the dog lead got caught in the door and the door didn’t close tightly.  I had my hands full with the dry cleaning, so I never noticed it didn’t click shut.

Fast foward about and hour and a half…

I come home and see the door is open just a crack.  Turns out the dog’s collar blocked the door from opening any wider.  While the pupster couldn’t escape (much to his dismay), the cat could squeeze through.

And squeeze he did.

I didn’t find him anywhere inside (or at first glance outside).  After running through our tiny apartment, checking all the known hiding spaces, crying out his name, I open the front door and there he is, crying to come back inside.

Since we’d been to the vet earlier, and he was a bit traumatized, I thought this was the end.

It wasn’t.

Later in the day, I put the babygate up at the front door to bring in some of the cooler evening air.  While I was reading on the couch, I heard the mastermind cat, trying to escape yet again.  But I stopped it.  Until he realized I was in the back office working on the computer and he stealthily escaped again. I found him outside on the front stoop just sitting.  Of course, I insisted he come in right that instant and I shut the door.

A couple hours later, I’m cooking dinner and I realize the screen door is open.  Open as in, someone snuck out.  Again.  There he was, just rolling around the sidewalk meowing up a storm, as if saying “look at me mom!”

The hubs gets home later and poof! again, the cat bolted out before he could even walk in the door.  And yes, he’s been known to do this from time to time. Argh!

I don’t know what’s going on here. Maybe it’s all payback for taking him in the car to the vet – he didn’t mind the actual shots, just being forced into the carrier and the actual car ride. Either way, I’ve had enough.  No more unauthorized outside visits.  My heart can’t take it.

So I ask you, what’s a gal to do?  Aside from making sure all doors are fully and completely shut from now on.  Do you have an escape artist cat?  What do you do?

No, not because he’s not feeling well.  Not because he’s not hungry. He’ll go to his bowl and nibble on some kibble when the mood strikes.  But he won’t actually take the time to EAT his food.  He’s going on his second round of two days without eating (just nibbling).

It seems he’s refusing to eat because he’s fallen in love with a sample of some dehydrated food from The Honest Kitchen.  So much so that when he hears the rustle of the sample bag he comes running. The good news…it’s all good for you stuff.  And in theory, I believe it costs less than his current Natural Balance kibble (which the cat loves to eat).

So today I broke down and picked up a box.  I figure I’ll mix it up with his kibble so he wouldn’t be eating just soft food. Thing is, this could come back to bite me in the ass when we’re traveling and he’s with us or when we board him.  Then again, just having to add water to some dehydrated food might not be so difficult when traveling.

Of course, now I’m scared to have the cat try their dehydrated food.  He yells at me enough when I feed him his wet food.