Woden's Saga

xulili

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Sigh.. this started in the new cats on the block section .. well things have not gotten any better around here.

about 2 weeks ago my cat went outside the box, within hours I ad him at the vet and low and behold Crystals in the urine. Vt said have the Sd wet food and some clavamox see you in 2 weeks. I knew my cat would never touch the sd wet food and told him so, he really did not listen we went home. My boy starved for 3 and a half days, started vomiting and haveing the runs. Called the vet.. we put him back on the nutro indoor formula, cat still vomited, now the meds are not staying down. We returned the Sd wet food and tryed to get a dry kind but the vet was out. Then 5 days in woden startes scraming and licking himself and growling. Panic attack followed by a e vet trip, the vet there put him on some anti-inflamitories gave him some iv fluids checked for a blockage and gave us a cone. Woden finished his meds 2 days ago and we had a follow up just a few hours ago.. and guess what he still has crystals, A diffrent vet from the one who was handlleing our case at the clinic did his checkup she went on to yell at me for what I did to my cat. She go's on to berate me for feeding him the nutro and went on to say Sd is the best thing on gods green earth and it's my fault my cat still had crystals.. even though I told her that place never gave me the proper food for my cat. She also said everything the opposite of what my first vet said and was a compleate crab to me. Now were on orbax for 9 days, still no Sd dry food from them, And I'm at the end of my rope with this vet. My poor woden he was so scared of her he crawled onto my lap at the vets and he never does that.

So now I'm stuck, no food, a vet I despise and a cat who is still sick and now really stressed out. What can I do?
 

beandip

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I'm sorry that you are in this situation. I know it can be frustrating.


I'm curious, how old is Woden?

The clavamox probably caused the vomiting and diarrhea. It's a common side effect for that drug. Personally I don't like clavamox for a bladder infection, but that's your vet's call. Baytril (a different antibiotic) has been very effective for my cats in that situation.

ETA: I looked up Orbax and it's pretty much the same as Baytril

The antibiotic will only treat the infection. For the crystals, a diet change of some sort is usually necessary. Moisture intake is very, very important. The best thing for crystals in the long run is canned food. Dry food IMHO will only aggravate the problem. The SD dry should help because it's formulated for crystal problems, but wet would be ideal. I'm in favor of the prescription food, however from my experiences I don't like any dry food for a crystal cat.

Is there any wet food he likes? Maybe talk to your vet (or one who will listen) about the options for food.

I fought this problem in my cat for over a year, 2 or 3 medications a day and dry food to eat...and no relief at all. It went on and on...so I got him off the dry food. It was tough, but it realllllllly helped.
He's like a new cat now. I'm not exaggerating.

If he absolutely won't eat canned food, can your vet maybe give you a prescription for the S/D dry...so you can go get some from a vet who stocks it?

Unless he was harming himself, I would ditch the cone. The licking is common, because it hurts. Plus Woden needs to keep that area clean, because of the bacteria issue. Stress is a major factor in most bladder problems in cats. The cone will stress him out, so I wouldn't want to use it unless he was really hurting himself.

I hope Woden gets to feeling better soon...and you can find a vet you like.


If I can help, let me know. Welcome to TCS
 

jean44

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I'm sorry to hear you're having so many problems with the vets. Neither of them seem to be listening to you.

Beandip's idea about getting a prescription for the S/D to take to another vet sounds good. If you do that can you give Woden the S/D plus some wet food he likes? Moisture is very important in order to keep the urine flowing so it won't be in the bladder or urethra long enough for crystals to form.

I have two cats who are dealing with crystals now. One of them refuses to eat the S/D canned or dry. I've been mixing some dry S/D with Venison and Pea canned food. He loves it. This really isn't a recommended method but it's the only way to get the S/D into him.

Good luck finding a food for Woden. I hope his crystals problem is better soon. Hugs and positive thoughts to you and Woden.
 

jellybella

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Originally Posted by Xulili

We returned the Sd wet food and tryed to get a dry kind but the vet was out. Then 5 days in woden startes scraming and licking himself and growling. Panic attack followed by a e vet trip, the vet there put him on some anti-inflamitories gave him some iv fluids checked for a blockage and gave us a cone. Woden finished his meds 2 days ago and we had a follow up just a few hours ago.. and guess what he still has crystals, A diffrent vet from the one who was handlleing our case at the clinic did his checkup she went on to yell at me for what I did to my cat. She go's on to berate me for feeding him the nutro and went on to say Sd is the best thing on gods green earth and it's my fault my cat still had crystals.. even though I told her that place never gave me the proper food for my cat.
1) do you have a petsmart nearby? In my area, all the petsmarts with clinics in them carry Rx food and they'll sell it to you if you bring the Rx.

2) isn't it amazing how every clinic has a mean vet? You had to feed him, it would have been worse to have him starve. If they're gonna push the stuff the least they could do is have it in stock!!

In my vet's office there's a nasty vet that seems to hate that I request a certain doc. She's actually poked her head in the room to tell me "I won't have a choice if there's an emergency". Well, lady, I sure as heck will, there's another vet hospital half a mile away and I'd walk there to avoid you!! (She earned my rancor when she flippantly threw out an FIP diagnosis for an upper respiratory infection!!).

Don't be afraid to take him somewhere else if you're not happy with them.

Good luck. I hope you can get him to eat the SD dry.
 
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xulili

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3 years old almost 4 neutered male

The cone was just for a few days untill he stoped feeling the pain and so he would not sontinue to lick himself raw.. the cone was better than him causeing more harm to himself. So he's not wearing it anymore.

As for the food I guess i'm back off to that vet to get the Rx for it.

I'm thinking about makeing the E-vet clinic my normal vet there open 24 7 and both times one of my cats had problems they were kind nice and helpfull. I loved the vibes I got form the place even though it's 30 min away from my house.

Woden will eat wet food as long as it's chunkey.. pate is only if he starves wich is whats going on in my house he has lost almost 2lb in 2 weeks.. makes me glad he was a little heavy.


The thing that agravates me the most is the last vet told me wet food is crap.. and to only feed dry, and after all the looking into this I have done I know she is flat out wrong on this one. Oh well heres to hopeing when I go back to that place to get the rx I don't flog her..lol
 

renny

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The sad part is, vet's training in animal nutrition amount to about 1 day in the four years they are there. My vet realizes this luckily, and is willing to defer to me if i've done more research. Unfortunately vets are also pampered by the big cat food companies and so may be biased to the information they get from them.

Best advice, do your own research, ask questions (you've come to the right place for information). Wet food is much more like the natural diet of kitties, it gets them a good quantity of water and can help decrease the likelihood of crystals. A good quality wet food that contains no by-products and has the first few ingrediants being a meat or a meat meal is best.

Sharky is a resident nutrition expert and she may have more suggestions on brands to help you out.

i hope your baby feels better soon. And if a vet yells at you...it's time to find a new vet.
 

beandip

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oh myy...flogging the vet.


I didn't mean to be harsh w/my earlier post, sorry if I was. I just get a little ahem emotional about this issue sometimes, as I've been through the ringer on it.

If dry is all that a cat will eat, then it will have to do...but for a vet to recommend dry food over wet to a cat with bladder/urinary or kidney issues is ridiculous in my opinion.

There may be other prescription wet urinary diets with a different consistency. For the dissolution diet (like S/D) your choices may be limited, but for maintenance there are at least a few.

The hills urinary struvite crystal maintenance diet (C/D) does come in a chicken variety that is "minced" ...not exactly chunky but not a loaf/pate either. My cats really liked it. There's a seafood one too, but I'm not sure how much sense that makes for a crystal cat...but that's another story altogether.

I just hope you can find a vet who will listen to you and provide helpful advice and treatment.
 
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xulili

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Nah your post never stuck me as harsh.
I have been trying to do research but I never 100% trust anything on a websight unless it's a agreed to thing... call me over cautious, I have gotten nasty info a few times
I love what i am finding here and the communtiy is wonderfull.
I have been reading past posts about issues like this doing my homework on what causes it and searching for diffrent foods to feed.. I'm just a tad upset as I thought they were eating a decent food for once, lol

Makes me kinda glad I work at a pet store it's a small place but I can order in anythign that comes from our supplyers. As soon as we find something my boys will love, Phantom will eat almost anything so she really does not count


I just want my baby to be healthey again and back to his handsome wise self.

Bah i feel like a bad mom..
 

tru

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I don't know if Pro Plan was one of the recalled foods or not, but they have a formula for Urinary Tract Health in the canned that is little bitty chunks.

My Nugent really liked that. Also, there are a few of us here that have given Carpon to our crystal cats with pretty good success. I had to switch my whole crew to dry food because of one with a sensitive tummy so I gave that to Nugent and it did seem to help.

If you do a search on Carpon, you will find posts discussing it and links where to find it.

Good luck with your crystal baby and getting things sorted out.
 
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xulili

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Well I found a new vet. Cats only and has a nutritionist on staff, plus they groom. 10 years of exp at least! They also have a stray and feral cat program where they spay and neuter and check over cats. they were shoked when I told then what was going on. So I feel good about this one.
Another vet visit is on tuesday, were we will talk and check over what is currently being done and see what we need to change. Sigh my poor boy!

Theyre no longer getting any fish/ seafood anything for the past month so no need to worry there. At least they have taken quite well to their solstace gift one pet water fountain, and it has increased their water intake for the most part. I did manage to strangle a bag of sd out of my old vet so we had our first meal, it did not go over to well...
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by Xulili

Well I found a new vet. Cats only and has a nutritionist on staff, plus they groom. 10 years of exp at least! They also have a stray and feral cat program where they spay and neuter and check over cats. they were shoked when I told then what was going on. So I feel good about this one.
Another vet visit is on tuesday, were we will talk and check over what is currently being done and see what we need to change. Sigh my poor boy!
That sounds much better. Good luck on Tuesday.
 
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xulili

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Vet visit over.. I love my new vet!! she went over wodens records with me and to her suprise and mine there were things there i had no idea about. Makes me even morde glad I left the old vet.


Well after both of us complaining about how inept my old vet was another urinealysis, x rays and check over I am glad to report no more crystals or uti or anything wrong with my boy.
Though just to be sure I am to finish the sd, then we can go back to the nutro I am also haveing to feed him a homemade gravey type food so he can get more water but we can live with that
 
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