Pippin's blocked AGAIN!

Hey all!
I haven't posted in a while. Pippin had a PU surgery a couple of months ago and has been doing ok. He has had issues with UTIs which I was told might be an issue, so there's been periods of antibiotics (Zeniquin), litter box straining, inappropriate urination (he's nice though and usually tries to go on a plastic bag lol), bladder spasms which we treat with valium, etc. A few days ago I purchased some urine acidifier in hopes that a more acid urine would help keep the UTIs at bay. I also ordered "Tinkle Tonic" which I've read decent things about. I haven't gotten this yet.

Well today he was acting like he has been lately. Trying to pee. Going to the litterbox frequently. But today he tried to pee on the counter in the kitchen and nothing was coming out. Not even the dribbles that seem to be his trademark spasm signs.

After several episodes of this, I decided to take him to the vet. I also pulled a small ball of sandy material off his urethral opening.
The vet examined him, no fever. She got some urine. No crystals, ph of 7 which is ok for him. Signs of a uti. She took x-rays. No sign of crystals/stones, at least the ones that would have shown up.
She gave him Rompun to sedate him so she could express his bladder. This made him vomit repeatedly but it did sedate him well. She also gave him shots of centrine, dexasone and diazepam to help him relax, stop spasming. She tried expressing him. No go.
She tried putting in a catheter twice. Still no go.
So he's blocked, again, after I was told that him blocking ever again was very very unlikely. His PU has been healed fully for a while now.

Anyways, she drained his bladder fully (over 60CCs) and suggested I take him to a 24 hour clinic overnight so they could continue trying to catheter him. I opted to bring him home and observe him and bring him back first thing in the AM. If anything horrible happens overnight, I'll take him to the clinic. If the blocking is caused by spasms, then his best chance of relaxing is being at home IMO.

He's not to eat, but he can have some limited water. The goal is to keep his bladder from refilling too quickly and to keep him comfy. He's on Metacam to help with the inflamation also and is allowed a 1/4 tab of valium every 4 hours.

It's a pretty stressful situation and I'm worried about my guy. He did "leak" a little urine while we were getting ready to leave the vet, so my hope is that he passes whatever is blocking him and we'll take him to get checked tomorrow. He's a little dehydrated from all the vomiting so hopefully that won't make things worse. :/

If anyone has any insights that would be great. Vibes for his healthy recovery would be amazing also!! I'm really at my wits end with him. I don't know if I/he can handle another surgery. Money is always an issue, but more than that is the worry that he's just going to have issues over and over until he dies.

Pippin is my most precious boy. I can't imagine him not being here.

Devlyn

A Question!
The vet said not to feed Pippin because it will increase the rate his bladder fills and since we are holding out till tomorrow I'm giving him a little tiny bit of water to keep off the dehydration. My question is this: I have VitaCal, it's a tube of high calorie paste that I got from Fosters & Smith. Would it be ok to give him a little of that to give him some energy without feeding him? What do y'all think? I know it's good for cats who are off their food and/or are recuperating from surgery. I picked it up because it was on sale and because I figured it would be good for Pippin the "next time" he got sick.
Anyways, what do you guys think? Should I let him have a little?

Dev

Ohhh poor baby!

I have heard that if they get the UTI's/blocked at a younger age, its a chronic problem. If it happens when older, it usually is just a virus involved and not a chronic problem.

Here's get well vibes for the boy.

That's exactly why I had the PU surgery done. They removed his penis and gave him a larger urethral opening that was not supposed to be blockable. So much for that.
My hope is that he's got a mucous plug, a small stone that is almost passed (and does overnight), or that he was too stressed and clamped down his urethra and that will be better overnight too. I'm hoping it's one of these. The vet said she was only able to get the catheter in about a centimeter so the blockage is near the urethral opening. I'm hoping that's a good sign.
I hope he doesn't need more surgery and I'll only go through it with a good prognosis.

My fear is that scar tissue from the surgery built up and that I'll have to have him pts. (

I don't want to lose my baby!!

Dev

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Ohhh poor baby!

I have heard that if they get the UTI's/blocked at a younger age, its a chronic problem. If it happens when older, it usually is just a virus involved and not a chronic problem.

Here's get well vibes for the boy.

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Sending lots of get well vibes to Pippin

Sorry I don't know if it would be ok to give him the vitacal.

The vibes must be working because Pippin just peed a little tiny bit and had some water. Keep them coming!!! Hopefully, he'll have a nice, full pee as his bladder gets more full and it was just some inflammation causing his blockage.

I know some people have been wary of Metacam on the boards, but it really does work well for some cats. Obviously, there are some risks, but you have to weigh them against the benefits. I talked to my vet specifically about it.

With FLUTD, inflammation is always a worry, so hopefully Pippin will come through this ok and I'll work with the vet on ways to help with this issue.

I'll update in the morning hopefully with good news!

Dev

So I took Pippin in this morning. He peed only a little bit overnight but he was pretty dehydrated. They took him right in and gave him fluids and we are trying him on yet another drug called phenoxybenzamine. It is an antispasmodic which targets the urinary system specifically, so hopefully it will help work things out.
The doctor believes that his issues are caused from his intense spasming urethra and that is what is causing the blockages, the straining and the UTIs since he can't flush his bladder well.
Anyways, he's at the vet all day today and will hopefully be coming home tonight. He's already peed a little bit with the drugs and SUBQ fluids, so in an hour or so we should know more.

Thanks for all the vibes. Hopefully, my experiences with Pippin will help others with similar issues.

Devlyn

Poor Pippin! to you both.

I'll be following this thread, as Leo just had pu surgery on August 2nd. His sutures come out Thursday. I'm praying he doesn't ever end up blocked again, but in case he does, hearing about Pippin's experience is definitely helpful. The chronic FLUTD in a young cat is so frustrating!

Poor Leo! I hope he's doing well!
The PU recovery was pretty difficult, but I was definitely glad I got it done. I really don't think Pippin would have survived without it.
Pipp is still at the hospital. Mer.
The new drug is not working as quickly as the doc wanted and they tried gassing him to see if they could get him to go. Still no luck.
So they are keeping him tonight and tomorrow and getting more aggressive with the drug therapy. There's a huge dosing range, from 1 pill once a day to 3 pills 3 times a day, so we just need to find the correct dose and let it build up in his system.
The good news for today? The vet isn't charging me for today's day care, tonight or tomorrow, or for the anesthetic they used.


They'll be keeping Pipp drained with syringe until he goes on his own. He went a little tiny bit today by himself, so they really feel it's a spasming issue and not some sort of physical object blocking his tubes.

Despite this emotional roller coaster, I'm encouraged by the fact that the urinalysis showed that our current food regime IS working as far as keeping the PH balanced and the crystals away. He is NOT on prescription food as he refused to eat it. I don't think that would have happened without all the great food advice and discussions here on TCS!!
Once we get these spasms under control we should be good to go. <fingers crossed!!>

Originally Posted by CurlyQ629

Poor Pippin! to you both.

I'll be following this thread, as Leo just had pu surgery on August 2nd. His sutures come out Thursday. I'm praying he doesn't ever end up blocked again, but in case he does, hearing about Pippin's experience is definitely helpful. The chronic FLUTD in a young cat is so frustrating!

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Pippin is STILL in the hospital. He wasn't able to pee once again today. He's feeling more comfy since he's on his metacam and the zeniquin for the UTI. He's also on his new spasms meds. We are playing a waiting game for the meds to kick in. *sigh*
I wish I could syringe drain his bladder myself so I could have him at home. I could be wrong, but I think being with me would help him relax a bit more. Anyways, there's nothing to do but wait and see. If we can get him to loosen up enough for him to pee freely, or for the vet to get a catheter in we'll be in better shape. This is so frustrating!

More vibes please!

Dev

Dev grab an old thin tee shirt and put it on and do a workout like no other. Take a run, go for a bike ride, whatever it takes to get that shirt reeking of your scent. Once it is dampened with your smell put it in a ziploc bag and run it to the vet. Tell them you want to put it in Pippin's cage and you don't care if you ever see the shirt again. Your scent will help calm him. I would also ask your vet to show you how to give him supportive fluids.

Good luck

Originally Posted by hissy

Dev grab an old thin tee shirt and put it on and do a workout like no other. Take a run, go for a bike ride, whatever it takes to get that shirt reeking of your scent. Once it is dampened with your smell put it in a ziploc bag and run it to the vet. Tell them you want to put it in Pippin's cage and you don't care if you ever see the shirt again. Your scent will help calm him. \\

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Good advice, hissy! I did that when Leo was in the hospital, and I do think it helped him calm down a little.

Sending more Pippin's way!

I may have overlooked it, but I didnt see anything mentioned about his diet. Are you feeding a high moisture food?

I am new here, so I dont know how to IM people yet. Feel free to email me at:
[email protected]

I have worked with an array of FLUTD cats.

Best,
Michelle
http://www.usrmb.net/

I forgot... where are you located? This is fairly relevant when it comes to veterinary care. You would be surprised at how information can vary depending on your locality!

=(

Originally Posted by savannahcat

I forgot... where are you located? This is fairly relevant when it comes to veterinary care. You would be surprised at how information can vary depending on your locality!

=(

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The OP is in Ohio...

Fingers crossed for him. Just out of interest, in the UK at least, Metacam has been licenced for cats, it is a different dosage etc from dogs (and more expensive), this has only happened in the past couple of months though.

Hi Michelle!
Pippin eats two meals a day of wellness grain free canned food, about a 1/4 can each meal and all 5 cats share 1 cup of nutro max cat UTI certified twice a day. I add water to the wellness because he doesn't like chunks, only soup lol. He also gets pre-made raw diet (Nature's variety currently organic chicken) occasionally or another brand of canned in the same range as the wellness. We tried some Merrick and I just picked up a huge amount of canned foods at Pet Food Direct since he gets bored of certain varieties of canned quickly.
He also has a water fountain, which he loves and I credit for getting rid of his constipation issues last year. I just picked up a second, larger fountain which arrived yesterday and he hasn't gotten a chance to use it yet.
He did not like any prescription food we tried whether wet or dry and I didn't like the ingredients.
Before the FLUTD started, he was free fed purina cat chow or Meow Mix dry with a few cans of Friskies a week.

Devlyn

Originally Posted by savannahcat

I may have overlooked it, but I didnt see anything mentioned about his diet. Are you feeding a high moisture food?

I am new here, so I dont know how to IM people yet. Feel free to email me at:
[email protected]

I have worked with an array of FLUTD cats.

Best,
Michelle
http://www.usrmb.net/

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AFAIK it is not licensed for cats here. I believe they call it an "off label" use. I spoke to my vet about the risks and she said that non-steroidal anti inflammatories always carry risks for cats, but that the effectiveness of the drug often outweigh those risks. I have used metacam a few times in my cats and the usual treatment is the first one is larger, then a smaller dose the second day, followed by 2 or 3 much smaller doses given every 2-3 days after that. It has worked very well on Pippin in the past, especially after his PU surgery. It really helped manage his pain and reduce the inflammation.
His round of Metacam cost $11.
Devlyn

Originally Posted by booktigger

Fingers crossed for him. Just out of interest, in the UK at least, Metacam has been licenced for cats, it is a different dosage etc from dogs (and more expensive), this has only happened in the past couple of months though.

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