Whatever it was it isn't any more

Kept an eagle eye on Cleo for the remainder of the weekend, and she seems much better. If she had been a human with those symptoms, I would have thought food poisoning or some other sort of intestinal virus, but she has rebounded. Brian wisely suggested she may be experiencing another poo-blockage, and so we made provisions, then waited.

She now seems to have herself on some sort of diet - which is fine as she tips the scales at just over 20lbs (if our scale is accurate). Her meals have been very restricted; smaller in size, and when she keeps it down for over an hour, I will give her a small teaspoon more, with a good deal of water added to it. She doesn't seem to mind, and she hasn't been begging for more, more, more as she always has in the past.

Last summer she suffered from some sort of intestinal blockage, and a couple of times it was necessary to watch her activities when a poo was imminent. Cleo would prowl and scoot to the litter box, frantically stand in it and try to launch a biscuit, only to fail and maybe push out some very brown fluid, which typically would drip on the floor or carpet as she walked. (Now you know why she was watched so closely).

She would try to evacuate without success, then would wander around yeowling, then wretch - her ears burning - then finally, with much effort, she would produce a small, very hard stool. But you could tell it wasn't all, and she repeated the activity a good number of times, so Bud and I set up a poo triage infirmary for Cleo in the library, where we could shepherd and watch her, making certain to keep the mess as contained as possible, while keeping her comfortable and less frantic. After a couple of days she seemed back to normal, but we have kept her on the same liquid-y restricted diet, and even the vet agreed.

Since her bladder stones a few years back I am afraid too much of the dry she once enjoyed with her sisters would be detrimental to her health, so she gets a canned meal (with water added) and the girls get a small portion, too, to keep the peace. Cleo eats from a saucer beside the girls' plate just so she can remain social - she is definitely a pack mentality girl.

Anyhow, things are back to normal, and she is doing well! So whatever it was....it isn't any more.