Please send positive thoughts to Harry

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

Harry is back at the vet today for an x-ray on his jaw. DH dropped him off this morning with his lunch and one of his favourite toys and I'm collecting him tonight.

I'm worried what they are going to find. I know we need to know what's going on with his jaw but I'm worried they'll find something sinister otherwise surely it would have healed by now. His x-rays will be reviewed by an orthopaedic vet and then they'll decide what needs to be done. We're only going to have something done if it's essential or will make a huge difference to him but we need to know what's wrong so we can manage it.

Sorry, I'm rambling, I'm feeling like the meanest cat slave on earth at the moment!

Good cat jaw vibes your way!

All the best.

Oh no! Best wishes Harry. He's not that old is he?

Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Fish for dinner?

Thanks all. Nothing from the vet so I'm hoping no news is good news and I can just pick him up tonight.

He's about 12 Reow so not young but not that old either.

I sent him with a pouch of tuna in sauce (thank you to whoever mentioned Hi Life Tempt Me!) and I might be soft and give him another one for dinner!

When will the orthopaedic vet review the XRays? (I don't think that's been done before?)

What do they suspect it might be? Any ideas?

I sympathise. I'd be beside myself.

Thinking of you and Harry. The waiting is the worst part.

Aw hope he is ok xx

Maia sends healing purrs to Harry. Don't know what area of the country you are, but the orthopaedic surgeons at The Willows Refferal Centre in Solihull were brilliant.

Is the lass healing fine?

I have an update and I'm not sure how to feel.

Apparently he's just woken up (so he won't be very happy as I doubt he'll get his lunch!). His jaw is still unstable and so his x-rays will now be reviewed to see if he needs to be referred for a permanent wire. On the positive side though the bone loss is looking better.

The latest scratch under his eye is fine, although he does have a dent on his eyeball where he's done it before. Hopefully the claw clipping will sort this!

The thing I'm really worried about is that one of his kidneys seems to be enlarged. The vet is going to run bloods but I'm really worried he's heading for renal failure.

I can't believe everything he's going through and I keep thinking what I could have done differently to prevent all his problems.

Toddler, we're in the South East so it wouldn't be local but it would be doable as he does travel OK so thank you for the recommendation.

Thanks for all the good wishes, please keep them coming as I think he might need them.

You couldn't have done anything to prevent it. Don't beat yourself up. Has he had a CT scan?

You can't prevent these things I'm afraid. All you can do is try your best to manage his conditions. I'm hoping it is good news.

Fingers doubly crossed.

You've given Harry nothing but the most devoted care. There was nothing more you could - or should - have done for him. Stop beating yourself up.

Thank you all, you've made me cry in a good way!

He hasn't had a CT scan yet, I'm presuming that will be the next step if he has to be referred.

I know I need to stop panicking and wait and see what the vet says when she gets all the results back but it's not easy.

Thanks again for all your support, I don't know what I'd do without The Litter Tray

In any case - one of his kidneys (which is all that you really need) seems fine at the moment? As you said - wait for the results. But let us know how things pan out.

All the best to Harry sorry, just realised there are two darling kitty cats with poorly jaws

I hadn't thought of it like that cozie!

Yes, Harry and Maia aren't having a lot of luck

To be fair, I'm equating cat biology with human biology - which may be a big jump. But it's a thought, anyway.

Lots of luck to the lad.

There are several treatable/relatively non-scary things that can cause enlarged kidneys in cats, including UTI, bacterial or parasite infection, dehydration, accidentally ingesting toxins.

Hopefully if they've picked it up it will be something they can fix.

My cat recently had very elevated white blood cells and those odd inflamed eye-lid things, both of which suggest illness/infection. It ended up being that he had an infected and rotting tooth that needed to be removed. We were googling leukemia and all sorts.

Massively crossed fingers for you.

He could always have had an enlarged kidney but it's never been picked up before. Whatever happens he's had a wonderful life with you.

It would seem that Maia's jaw was more easily fixed than Poor Harry's. She wonders if Harry also looks like a sabre toothed tiger under all his fluff. Ps please can we have a photo of him?

On a positive note, it sounds as if various issues have been picked up now, rather than later, when they could have been a bigger issue, and you have a plan in place for his jaw. Fingers crossed for him.

He's home but the sedation has really knocked him for six. He got out of his basket and fell over and just laid on the laminate. We moved him onto to the rug and he seemed to settle. He's eaten a bowl of tuna but fell asleep with his head in it!

The vet showed me the X rays and there's a definite improvement in the bone density which is good. We should hear from the orthopaedic vet in a couple of days and then we'll know whether he needs a wire or a plate or if he can just be managed.

Regarding his kidneys, the vet isn't too worried. One of the reading was very slightly raised, it should have been 2.12 and was 2.18 (or something like that). She said it could be a stress reaction as his glucose level was slightly up as well. She wants us to get a urine sample but they had run out of non absorbent litter but there's no hurry so I'll go in later this week.

In the end it was more positive than I was expecting, I just wish he'd wake up!

Poor boy - but better news I think?