Poor Teaguey-Pops

My 6-year-old cat, Teague (aka Teaguey-pops) is very, very sick. Tim has mentioned to me several times throughout the past month that he looks like he has been losing weight. I think I was hoping that it was just a phase and that it would pass. Since we've moved out into the country, he has become as much of an outdoor cat as an indoor one. Throughout the past summer, he spent anywhere from 5-7 hours of the day outdoors, only coming in to eat and to sleep. So, I figured he was just running around a lot, losing weight due to being more active.

Well, I finally got knocked out of denial today when I came back into my bedroom after grabbing my first cup of coffee of the day and noticed our comforter covered in a very dark yellow urine stain. Seems he relieved himself on our bed...

This is not like him at all. The ONLY times he has peed anywhere other than outside or the litter box has been when he has been sick. The color of the urine wasn't normal this time either, and I decided that I should finally weigh him. Although I'm not 100% sure of what his weight was before we moved in June, I would guess that he was around 13-14 pounds. Maybe a little more. He was a typical fat, lazy housecat. One that had the gut sagging near to the ground.

He weight 7.5 lbs. today.

So, very sick. I took him to the vet and a huge bill later, we've found out that there may be something wrong with his liver. Seems that Teague has a very terrible case of jaundice, and his bilirubin levels are off. This explains the dark yellow urine and most likely the weight loss, as his liver hasn't been functioning properly. They are sending a bunch of blood work out and we'll find out on Tuesday if there is something "more" wrong with him, such as an infection, blockage, or possibly cancer. For now, they gave some medications and I am supposed to get him to eat as much as possible. They filled him up with a bunch of fluid to help him feel better for the day, and we go from there.

The doctor said that if it ends up being a problem with his liver, about 50% of cats that get this fully recover, and the other half, well, they die. I'm hoping for the first one, but only time will tell.
I feel bad, like I've neglected my Teague since Gage was born. Obviously, my child is more important to me than my pet, but before Gage came along, Teague WAS my baby. I'll keep ya posted.