Bladder issues (any vet on the board by chance?)

Hi,

New here, my first post.

One of my cats got a bladder infection right around Thanksgiving and ended up having to have surgery to remove stones on Dec 12th. We're still waiting for the results to see what type of stones they are, but he's now on Hill's C/D wet and dry (vet said they're both good, I add extra water to the wet stuff too). Anyhow, we took him in to have his stitches removed and get a follow up urinalysis. We brought the sample in per our vet's request. The color was back to normal (had been "punch red" before, now it was yellow) but the vet is saying he still sees the "same stuff" in it as before, meaning crystals. How could he possibly still have crystals a week after bladder surgery where he was flushed out about 5 times? And on C/D? The vet said that he doesn't know why it's still there. Our cat is still on antibiotics and we'll be taking him in again for another followup urinalysis in about a week.

The question is (especially to any vet on this board please), can the fact that we're bringing in the sample from home mess with the results? Could contaminants (dust, litter, etc.) look like crystals? We use a corn based litter (World's Best) so not sure if that can look similar. I know the vet had said before too that it looked like "old crystals" in that the edges weren't smooth but jagged. This was before the surgery, but now after he says he sees the same thing.

I know the best way to get a sample is via cath or directly from the bladder but I don't know if it's good now so soon (only a couple weeks) after surgery. I'm not sure what else to do, we're still so nervous about all of this because it seems so abnormal to still have crystals. I don't know if I should take him to a cat specialist (we have a Cat Hospital not too far) or what.

Perhaps this is normal and part of the healing process? If anyone has any advice or ideas I'd greatly appreciate them. Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,
Irene

My Cat has been on Antiviotics since Nov 28 and she still has a Bladder Infection too. The Vet said sometimes it takes forever to get rid of. Maybe thats what is happening with your Cat.My Cat is on her 5th week of Meds.

Yeah, my little guy has been on antibiotics now since just after Thanksgiving. First Clavamox until we found the stones and now something else that starts with a B. Pills too so those are fun to give him!

Irene

Poor baby. I have no idea, but I found a couple of informative websites. I'm sure someone more experienced will be along soon.

http://www.petcaretips.net/why_bladder_stones_form.html

http://www.vet4petz.com/articles/cat_bladder.htm

http://www.healthypetjournal.com/def...px?tabid=20622

Coco had Stones last Year and was on S/D until they were gone. Hers were Stuvite Stones. Ask teh Vet what kind your Cat had. Coco was on the Clavamox Since Nov 28th but she still has teh infection. She is on one that starts with C now. Yours might be on Baytril. Coco barfs her Meds though. I hope your Cat feels better. Is your Med 2 times a Day? Cocos is a Orange Liquid. She is on C/D too. There are no Stones this time but she has a thick Bladder. It showed on the Ultrasound. Last time Coco had taht a year ago it took 2,5 months to get rid of. Does your Cat still have Bood? Coco still has slight Blood.

Hi Irene,

Crystals are quite adept in hiding even after surgical procedures and flushings. Also it is not uncommon after surgery to have a reoccurence of symptoms. Due to the high grain content of most dry cat foods, cats can't really process grain adequately especially the males (for some yet unknown reason).

There is a litter available that will allow you to monitor your cat's health at home and alert you to danger signs should the crystals start reappearing. It's called Health Meter and I have heard it is very effective. You can order it online, I also hear it is a bit expensive.

I would also purchase several cat fountains to encourage him to drink more and put him on probiotics to help his digestive system.

Best of luck with your cat-



MA

Thanks for all of the replies!

We don't know yet what kind of stones they are, we're still waiting for the lab to get back with the results. The vet keeps changing between thinking they're Struvite vs Oxalates so we really don't know. He doesn't see the "coffin shaped" ones so he doesn't think they're Struvites, but then the shape of them is kind of jagged so he's not sure if they're Oxalates. Hopefully the lab gets back to us soon! Due to the holidays though I'm sure that's why it's taking longer.

As far as food, we're now feeding him wet food too (Hill's C/D) and I add some more water to encourage him to drink more. I bought one of those fountains in the past and it leaked all over and both cats were scared of it. Now I'm adding ice to their water since it gets them interested in the fact something is in there. I've also heard about adding some broth which I should try (but I want to find out if Sodium could cause problems first). So he's on Hill's C/D wet and dry. I'm not sure what the grain content is on that (he used to be on Nutro dry) but it's designed for both Struvite and Oxalates. But I guess if he has Oxalates, we'll switch to the X/D I believe. Or try Royal Canin, not sure yet.

I don't know if he has "symptoms" anymore since he's not peeing all over the place anymore, straining, etc. His urine is normal color however there are still red blood cells in the urinalysis however that's probably to be expected after all the gunk they found in his bladder plus the surgery. I'm just concerned about the crystals however hearing that they can still be lodged in there gives me hope that they just still need to be flushed out.

I'll have to look into that litter! We can use that in a small litterpan (which he alone seems to prefer) so that way we know it's not from our other cat. I'll look around for it and see what I find. I just want him to get better so I'm willing to try most anything assuming it's not a danger to his health.

Well thanks again! And I wish all the best of luck to everyone else who's cats are going through this. I hope they get better soon!

Sincerely,
Irene

I spent a couple months treating Lola for a UTI, this past fall. She was on 4 courses of antibiotics, Zeniquin for two weeks, Clavamox for two weeks, Baytril for two weeks and Amoxicillin for three weeks. Every single cystocentesis came back with 4+ cocci in her urine, as well as blood, WBC's and crystals (no stones on X-ray.) When she had her final cystocentesis, there were no crystals in her urine, and the bacteria and blood were gone. I honestly wonder if the actual UTI had something to do with the crystal formation or vice versa? Don't give up! You might have to try more than one antibiotic to actually clear up the infection. Lola was pretty lucky. She didn't have vomiting or diarrhea, even after all the different antibiotics. However, some cats react badly to antibiotics, and can go off their feed...Lola did lose about 1/2 pound during that time, as she didn't really seem to have much appetite. She gained it back very quickly after finishing the antibiotics. Good luck to you and your kitty!

Thats my Prob with Coco she barfs the Meds. She was on Clavamox for 4 Weeks and now is on Cepalexin. Last night she barfed only the Med. Im glad your Cat is better,

yes, the time it takes to get the urine from home to the vet can cause it to form crystals. I would recommend doing a cystocentesis after your kitties bladder has had plenty of time to heal from the surgery.

You'll just have to wait and see what the crystals are made of to determine what diet would be best. Sometimes crystals can be mixed too... nature doesn't always follow the rules.

In the mean time... if your vet hasn't already told you to buy a water fountain and feed canned food, I would do that too.

Also, unless you are catching it in a sterile container provided by the vet, the anything the container was washed with (i.e. soap) could contaminate the sample. I second having a cystocentesis done.

I am late reading this thread, and it looks like most of what I'd say has already been said My only thought on the kitty now on a second antibiotic is that if they did a culture and sensitivity (c&s) on the initial urine sample, they should know what antibiotic would (and wouldn't) be effective.

For those whose kitties are having their urine samples obtained via cystocentesis (my preferred way to have a urine sample obtained - for the reasons the above poster listed), you may have a slight amount of red blood cells in the urine simply from the procedure.

Hope everyone's kitties feel better soon!

Coco did have the test that tells what Antibiotic wil work and only 2 came up. Clavamox which she had for 4 weeks and Cepalexin taht she has now. She will have another test in 2 weeks to see if she is any better.

My cat is still on antibiotics I think as a preventative after the surgery. Initially they gave him the antibiotics cause they figured it would go away on it's own (had to take him to a different vet since this happened on a Saturday after hours). When it didn't go away, we finally had the surgery (by our regular vet) since the XRay showed the stones. Now he's on the other antibiotic probably as a preventative since the culture came up clean (doesn't surprise me since he'd been on Clavamox for 2 weeks prior). Not sure how much longer he'll be on the antibiotics.

I assume cystocentesis is where they use the needle to get through the bladder? He hasn't had that done, but they did the catheter method at the first vet we went to. Our normal vet doesn't really like doing either of them, at least not now after the surgery. Said the catheter can introduce bacteria and I think with the needle the idea of puncturing the bladder now is probably not good.

Irene

I also recommend trying for another sample...

if they are oxalate those are harder to treat ....

Originally Posted by IreneG

My cat is still on antibiotics I think as a preventative after the surgery. Initially they gave him the antibiotics cause they figured it would go away on it's own (had to take him to a different vet since this happened on a Saturday after hours). When it didn't go away, we finally had the surgery (by our regular vet) since the XRay showed the stones. Now he's on the other antibiotic probably as a preventative since the culture came up clean (doesn't surprise me since he'd been on Clavamox for 2 weeks prior). Not sure how much longer he'll be on the antibiotics.

I assume cystocentesis is where they use the needle to get through the bladder? He hasn't had that done, but they did the catheter method at the first vet we went to. Our normal vet doesn't really like doing either of them, at least not now after the surgery. Said the catheter can introduce bacteria and I think with the needle the idea of puncturing the bladder now is probably not good.

Irene

Click to expand...

My oldest cat, Tyler, had surgery to remove calcium oxalate stones from his bladder several years ago. He also has crf and other issues, fwiw, his urine samples are always obtained via cystocentesis - if done properly, this does not introduce any bacteria into the bladder so it is the most accurate sample you can obtain. He has done well in terms of his bladder on a diet that is mainly wet food (currently he is assist fed completely, though he does nibble on his prescription dry food for his crf).