Socks update: The news is. . .unfortunate

So, last night around 10:00, just about the time Steve and I had knocked off for the night, Socks rose from his floofy thing atop the hamper in the bathroom, walked out into hall, looked faintly startled, threw up. . .

. . .and fell over.

Long story short, Socks is at the Animal Emergency Clinic of Central Maine, in Lewiston, about an hour away from the Cat Farm.  This is an excellent facility; we've now had three interactions with them, including Hexapuma's last journey, and the vets are knowledgeable and caring and very patient.

I have to tell you that the vet treating Socks. . .is not optimistic of a happy outcome.  His BUN and CREA numbers had gone even higher than they had been on Wednesday; his blood sugar was high; his white blood count considerably elevated; both of his kidneys were very large.  The vet was concerned that what she was seeing in ultrasound/xray was abnormal -- she wasn't able to tell if it was "just" inflammation, polycystic, or if the kidneys were being infiltrated by cancer cells.

Since much of this could be caused by the sudden spike in numbers, we have asked the hospital to put Socks on intravenous fluid and see what he looks like, once he's properly hydrated and his system is less stressed.

I'm going to be calling the vet this afternoon, and will relate any new news, if there is any.  The clinic operates on a "no news is good news" policy, and they haven't called us, so -- fingers crossed, please, for Socks.

Socks update: The emergency vet says. . .

I spoke to the day-vet.  He says that Socks is doing "OK, all things considered."  To the list of "all things" we now add a heart murmur and what this vet, as a result of performing his own examination, explains as a "lumpy, bumpy kidney," which he finds "very suspicious," and tentatively diagnoses as lymphoma.

On the positive side of the ledger, Socks is snacking a little, is taking a lively interest in his surroundings, and has started in to building the core for a Lewiston branch of the Socks Fan Club.

The plan remains for continued IV liquids and close observation at the Emergency Clinic, then a before-sunrise-pick-up tomorrow morning (the Emergency Clinic is 24 hours on weekends; all patients must be picked up before 7:30 a.m. on Monday), and transport to our local vet in Waterville for continued treatment.