Carri was able to speak with the doctors this afternoon.  Darla is scheduled for an overnight trip to UW Madison April 29-30 to have her bladder surgery. 

Darla and I (Carri) took our time getting primped before our trek up to Madison.  She was pleased by coat brushing and face washing, but not so pleased at having her bladder expressed.  Then when I got out the carrier after breakfast, she began getting suspicious (PIC 1)

I set up Darla's deluxe transportation quarters with all the amenities none of us want her to go a moment without: catnip, a litter box, a scratching station, and her favorite pink sparkly ball.  She looked around her digs and expressed that she had been hoping for a limo and mimosas, but she supposed this would do.  The weather was horrid but we made good time.  Darla was a very good girl, flirting with truckers from the comfort of her window perch as we sloshed our way down the highway.  She played with her ball until it got stuck under the seat.  She scratched (PIC 2) her pad until the car was covered in a nice cardboard confetti dusting . 

She played peek-a-boo with a little boy at a gas station.  But finally and inevitably, she was bored.  If you've ever had a bored kitten, you know that this means trouble!  While I waited for the gas tank to fill I heard her chewing on a toy, but then things went quiet... I looked back and she was nowhere in sight.  Suddenly, Darla launched herself from the back of the car onto my head with a "mroow!" (PIC 3).

We had another hour to go and I knew I'd have to entertain her somehow...
As we continued down the highway I belted out my best renditions of songs from the Broadway hit, Jersey Boys.  This was just the trick and she settled in to calmly listen to me.  I do not know if she was horrified or amused, but either way, it worked

(PIC 4).

We finally arrived and met up with the couple that adopted Darla's brothers, Spanky and Buckwheat.  Spanky was to have one problematic eyelid rechecked.  Usually for human siblings, reunions are happy times.  In the cat world though, the language is very different and baffling to us!  Spanky told Darla she smelled funny and she called him a Big Poopy-Face, then there was obligatory hissing and that was that.  Darla had her eyelids rechecked and the vets were very pleased at how things turned out  She has functional eyelids and comfortable eyes.  I left Darla for boarding so that the vets could do all their evaluations and prepare her for her bladder surgery.
 

On Tuesday, a veterinary student called me to discuss the risks of the surgery and what to expect afterward.  The plan, as I understand it, is to pluck the ureters out of where they currently flow into the bladder, and plunk them back in at a different location.  The vets are top-notch, ready for the challenge, and feel confident about the outcome.  Risks include the possibility of inflammation preventing the bladder from filling up, which causes acute renal failure.  However, obviously, the vets feel that the benefits outweigh this risk.  Today, this afternoon, Darla will undergo her surgical procedure.  Please keep Darla in your thoughts today!

Post-OP report: I just spoke with one of the vets on Darla's surgical team- yes, it took a team- and she reports that Darla made it through surgery.  The disappointing news is that the surgery was tedious and long (7 hours), and her anomalies were more complicated than they had anticipated.  No matter how many diagnostic ultrasounds, x-rays, and the like they do, they still never know exactly what they'll find until they get in there.  The good news is that the vets feel that for everything that Darla had going on with her bladder system, the surgery went well.  She has a catheter in and so far she is producing urine, which is very good.  She is on some good pain medication and being closely monitored.  The next few days are crucial as her body adjusts to what the surgeons did.

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