Sick little Banana

We have had a tough six weeks. We took the kitters in for their check ups and vaccinations at the end of February. They did not seem too bothered by the idea of going to the vet at the time. 

But once we were there they were pretty alarmed. 

I have never had a cat who actually seeks comfort from us when he's scared like Banana does. It is extremely endearing. 

So, big surprise, but the vet told us they could both stand to lose a few pounds. We immediately started trying to limit their food intake, and just as immediately, someone peed on the kitchen counter overnight. Thinking it was related, we started free-feeding them again. I would rather have fattish cats than urine on my kitchen counter. I mean, that's only reasonable. 

So then nothing happened for a while. Except that Papaya started sneezing and had to take a week's worth of antibiotics. That seemed like a big deal at the time but already seems like a minor detail right now. 

A week or so later, someone peed on the kitchen counter again. We got an app that does time lapse photography and set it up overnight to identify the culprit. We recorded a couple nights and there was no peeing, but Banana did get up there and wander around, while Papaya was nowhere to be found. Then Banana peed on his bed. Sadface! I took him straight to the vet, where they declared him to have a "raging bladder infection."

We did 10 days of antibiotics and some painkillers, during which he had no issues, then I took him back for a recheck. 

Urine clear! No more problems! Yay!

The next night he got in bed with us and was wet. And then he peed right there between our pillows. And then we got up at 4:45am and went to the emergency vet. 

It turns out that he has Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, which is exacerbated by stress. Apparently, going to the vet is very stressful for Banana. He had to go on another week of medication to calm down his bladder. He also has to eat special food (which naturally they both initially refused but have since come around on). And then we just sort of wait and see what happens from here. Some cats need to be on Prozac for the rest of their lives if the special food doesn't work. Let's everyone hope that doesn't happen because he is becoming extremely suspicious of me subsequent to my shoving of pills down his throat twice a day. 

Look how cute he is, even when irritated! Poor buddy. I hope we are through the worst of it.