My cat is really sick....

[moriah]

When we first adopted this kitty, he was almost five years old, a purebred Himalayan, who was given up by his owner because of litterbox issues. The fostering group thought it was just territoriality issues, although they did give him an antibiotic shot when they got him in case he had a UTI.

We adopted him, took him to the vet, and even though the vet didn't find crystals in his urine at that time, she had us start on Hills c/d food. He'd been doing really well, we had to confine him to the laundry room for a month to retrain him to the litterbox, but he did well for awhile.

Last April we had to go out of town and our regular vet couldn't board him for us, they were full up. So I called around and there was a specialty cat-only clinic with really good boarding facilities, so we started going to that vet.

Three months ago, he had his teeth cleaned and the new vet said that he really needed to be on dry food, and in all the time he was seen there he hadn't had a UTI or crystals in his urine, so he didn't need to stay on the c/d. Happy to save some cash, I switched him over to Eukanuba sensitive stomach formula (he will get hairballs sometimes and puke). The sensitive stomach formula seemed to be doing well for him -- really reduced the amount of times I had to clean up nasty puke. And even the Eukanuba was still much cheaper than the c/d.

This week, he stopped using the box like he normally did. We have never punished him for going out of the box, instead when we were retraining him he was confined for a time, and then we only let him in carpeted rooms under supervision until we thought he had it down. So we started keeping the doors to the carpeted rooms shut, and made an appt with the new vet. They didn't have an opening until this coming Monday.

Yesterday morning, he squatted on the couch right beside me and tried to go -- tried being the operative word. I didn't interrupt, he sat there squatted for about five minutes, and only went a few drops. I called the new vet, frantic, and they said they couldn't work him in, so called our original vet, the one who put him on the c/d proactively. They said they were kind of booked but they would MAKE room for him in the schedule and to bring him immediately.

He has a stone lodged in his urethra. They tried all day yesterday and today to get a catheter in place and move the stone back into his bladder, but couldn't, so they had me take him tonight to the emergency vet a few towns over, since that vet could do surgery if he couldn't get a catheter in place -- they didn't feel like they would be the best people to do the surgery if it was necessary.

So he's over there tonight... I don't know if they're going to have to surgically remove it or what. I have to work tonight but my boss said I can leave early in the morning to pick him up, because he has to be picked up by 7 AM, and then he'll go back to the vet. I feel really stupid for listening to that other vet about changing the diet that was working for him. But they said I caught it really early -- his bladder wasn't completely full or distended, and nothing had backed up into his kidneys. Apparently a lot of people don't catch the problem until their cat is showing early signs of kidney failure.

If you guys can keep my little Ninja in your thoughts, I'd appreciate it. He's such a sweet cat -- the vet was amazed at how cuddly he is. When she was trying to examine him he came up to her, tried to cuddle against her chest, and tucked his head under her arm -- he does that to me a lot. Even when he isn't feeling all that well he is still a sweetheart. I don't want to lose him.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

1. Oh, what a sweet kitty

Lots of good vibes are coming your and his way. I hope all goes well and that your kitty will be fine.

I used to have a wonderful cat named Fergus who struggled with feline urologic problems much like you describe - he lived to be 19. I hope Ninja has an equally long and happy life with you.

:hug:

[FloridaJudy]

2. Wishing the best for you and Ninja

:hug:

[huskerlaw]

3. First of all

you did a GREAT job of getting Ninja the care he needed immediately. Please don't beat yourself up about changing his food. You're being a fabulous kitty parent.

I'll keep both of you in my thoughts though. Here's hoping they fix the stone issue and Ninja is back to his normal healthy self very soon.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Oh, noes! Good luck, kitteh! *hugs and pats*

[emilyg]

5. Good vibes to you and kitty.

Hope he comes home soon.

[moriah]

6. Thanks for the well-wishes...

The emergency vet just called me, they were finally able to dislodge the stone and he's got a catheter in place. I pick him up in the morning and have to take him back to the clinic because he will still need to stay under care for awhile.

I'm not sure what all they'll need to do now -- not sure if they'll need to surgically remove any stones from his bladder (the clinic said they can do that, they just didn't feel comfortable doing the surgery on his urethra, it's a lot more complicated of a procedure) or if they can dissolve the stones without surgery. I'm just so glad they were able to get the stone unstuck without the surgery they were talking about. (I read up on it and it looks not only expensive, but painful, takes a long time to recover from, and leaves the cat actually *more* likely to get UTIs, just not nearly as likely to get blocked again -- NOT what we really want.)

I appreciate all of you keeping him in your thoughts.

Here's a picture of my baby:

[MissHoneychurch]

7. Thanks for the update

I just saw this thread. Glad to hear your baby is doing better. I hope they can remove the stone and he will recover 100%.

He is a cute fluffy ball :)

:hug:

[kryckis]

8. I'm glad he seems to be doing better

My cat has had urine tract problems too. He was constantly sitting in the box and tried frantically to pee but nothing came out. I never took him to a vet tough. He's so old they wouldn't do anything anyway. I really though it was over at that time, but I forced water in him and after a few hours he peed like normal. I don't know what the problem was (it lasted a couple of days) but it probably wasn't a stone thank god. It would have been the end in that case.

Hope your cat recovers. :)

[applegrove]

9. Vibes for ninja. My cat Monster had that same urinary tract problem. I've kept

him away from kat treats (which was what I had given him so much of when he got sick) and he is doing fine. No recurrence in the last 5 years. I had him eating wet food but just switched to inside cat dry. He's still doing fine.

[yellowdogintexas]

10. glad to hear he is improving. I have fought the stone battle with

more than one cat. The treatments for this unfortunate kitty condition have improved amazingly since my first go round ...that cat had a bladder FULL of stones the vet did this rather unpleasant maneuver which involved pressing on the cat's bladder and pulling his tail back toward his head and he sprayed a stream of grit on the steel examining table...sounded like hail. Apparantly they can have them for a long time and as long as one doesn't get stuck they will be symptom free.

one of my cats had the "sexchange" surgery. Anatomically he was reset with female plumbing, sort of. He did well for another 3 years though.

Females are far less prone to this although they can have it. Siamese apparantly are almost predisposed.

Anyway I hope you can get a treatment plan. Good to know they can dissolve dietarily ! That wasn't an option when my first cat went through it.

Best Wishes to you and Ninja

[moriah]

11. Yowch!!

I can only imagine how badly that hurt.

Ow. Ow ow ow. Ow.

[moriah]

12. Update!

Got him from the emergency vet this morning and took him back over to the clinic.

He looked so pathetic.. I couldn't even really cuddle him because he had to stay in the carrier so his catheter and his IV wouldn't get jostled.

My vet's plan right now is to keep him until at least Monday. They're going to be feeding him Hills s/d to dissolve any other crystals and they flushed his bladder out already with numbing stuff and a special solution to dissolve the stones, to make it feel better and get any grit or stones out -- they said the stones were fortunately too small to need to do surgery.

On Sunday, if the diet seems to be working and his urine that day is crystal-free, they are going to remove the catheter and see if he can go without straining. They want to keep him at least 24 hours after they remove the catheter to make sure everything is okay.

He'll have to come in for weekly urinalysis after he comes home to see when he can stop eating the s/d and start back on the c/d.

Thanks for all of the support and well-wishes. I have been awful worried about him. (I'll worry about my poor credit cards after my poor cat is better!)

[Robeson]

13. You both are in my thoughts...

...and like you, my kitties come first, my credit cards second. Please keep us updated...:grouphug:

[Dangerously Amused]

14. Best energy to you & Ninja.

[davsand]

15. Lots of water is a good thing for male kitties.

I was told once that male cats have a more narrow urethra than females do. I was also told that it is really important for male cats to drink a lot of water to avoid them getting "plugged up." One way to promote water consumption in cats is to provide them with a water fountain.

You can make one for about $20-$25. You need a small water garden pump, a plastic tub/bucket and enough tubing to form some sort of spout so the water can run like it would out of a faucet. That pump will be really robust and you will have to adjust it to keep the water from running TOO fast.

I bought three of the "pet fountains" they sell in pet stores and none of them worked for more than a couple months (we have water with a REALLY high mineral content where I live.) The one I made with garden supplies has worked for three years with only occasional cleanings of the pump. Cat loves it and drinks a lot more water than he did before.

Good luck to you and your kitty! Sounds like with the change in his food he should be back in fine health again very soon!


Laura