Bloody urine - Part II

blast-off-girl

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Several weeks ago, Buster had slight blood in his urine. It wasn't too bad but I took him to the vet. The urine results indicated that he had an infection and was prescribed Clamavox for ten days. The vet said he didn't have a blockage and there were no crystals. Ten days later, Buster's urine was clear. That was on August 26th.

Today I noticed Buster's urine was bloody again. However, this time the urine was 100% red. Plus, he kept on going to the litter pan and peed little puddles. I just rushed him to the emergency vet, where they plan to keep him overnight.

I know there are some experienced people on this board and I have a few questions:
1) Did I get completely ripped off? I paid $960.00 to keep him there until tomorrow evening. I feel that if I went to a regular vet, it would cost $500.00 or less. They charged for EVERYTHING! I didn't even pay that much when my cats had emergency surgery, which required anesthesia. I didn't feel that I had much choice though because I realized that blockages can be fatal. He was only partially blocked but I didn't want to take any chances. He will need a catheter and will undergo a blood test and another urine analysis.
2) Did the regular vet miss something more serious several weeks ago? Could this nightmare have been prevented?
3) Will this reoccur over and over again?
4) Is there something I can do to prevent it?

Thanks for listening and wish Buster good vibes, please!! He is such a good cat and it breaks my heart to see him suffer.
 

aswient

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The same thing happened with my boy Patch, except it was a Saturday afternoon, my Vet was closed. I noticed him having some problems urinating the next thing I new he was sitting in a pool of blood on the couch. I got him to the ER they cleaned him up kept him overnight with a catheter to flush him out. $1,500 later, picked him up the next day, gave me a couple of medications and said he would be alright, follow up with my own Vet. I did that, antibiotics meant nothing, he was still trying to urinate, not much blood, went to my Vet said she did see some Struvite Crystals, (it so happened when I took him that day to the ER Struvite Crystals wasn't in his urine at that point, like they were at the time I got him to the Vet) he had sludge in his bladder, he could possible block up again, they recommended doing a P.U. on him. cost me $200.00 for this Vet to tell me this, they don't do a P.U. Operation there I had to take him back to Emergency, where they did the operation for $3,000.00. I don't mind spending the money, its worth it, but I know how you feel you just want to make sure they don't take you for a ride. I have found that UTI's are very stubborn, sometimes you need a couple of sessions of antibiotics, my other cat Wheezer, he gets stubborn UTI's that take time to go away, but Wheezer doesn't block. Good luck. Prayers and for Buster.
 

shanynne

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Oh I'm so sorry to hear how your baby Buster is suffering with this urine infection
You are both in my prayers


Hope Buster feels better soon! ... and my condolences to your wallet, I know the feeling
 

mews2much

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I paid alot when I took Coco to er last may when her bladder problems came back again. Buster is doing what Coco does. You may have to put him on Antibiotics for two months like we have to for Coco. We tried alot of antibiotics. Baytril is what got rid of her last infection. I hope your cat feels better. That price seems very high to me. Once a cat gets a bladder infection it does tend to come back. Buster will need food like Coco has to prevent it from coming back. She has C/D and Royal Canin Urinary. She has a son that blocked part way also 3 times but since he has been on the food he has been fine. Even the San Mateo Er didnt charge 900. I think you have been ripped off. You did the right thing going to the Er though.
 
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blast-off-girl

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Thank you everyone for all your comments. I just spoke to the internal medicine specialist and he told me that Buster did not have crystals. There was a blockage but it was either a blood clot or mucuous. The plug definitely came out overnight and he's urinating well. He still has a lot of blood in the urine but the vet said it's normal to take about two or three days to completely heal. We might keep him in the hospital for one more night though.

I wonder if my other vet missed the gravity of the situation. She didn't find crystals either but maybe he needed an extra treatment of Clamavox.

Anyway, the vet suggested that we have an ultrasound of the bladder in the future if the bleeding returns. He's unsure whether this may occur again. He scared me with "cancer of the uretha" though.
 

sharky

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I am so sorry ... but you are lucky to have a specialist now helping ... and the $$ are about right ..
 

mews2much

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The Cancer is rare but it can happen. I was scared when the vet told me that it can be cancer also. Coco had the Ultrasound and it showed her bladder is thick. I would not blame your reg vet. When Coco had her first bladder problem she had clavamox for 10 days and about a week after she finished the med the problem came back. It took 6 bottles to get rid of the problem. You may need a few more bottles.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by sharky

I am so sorry ... but you are lucky to have a specialist now helping ... and the $$ are about right ..
i think i paid close to that same amount for the night Mouse stayed at the e-vets...
sending & for Buster!
 
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blast-off-girl

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Thanks for all the vibes, everyone! Buster is still at the 24 hour vet because there is still a lot of blood in his urine. I went to go and visit him and he was sitting in a pan looking very high on morphine. He recognized me and rubbed his head on my head while purring. Fortunately, the blood was starting to get less and less.

I now have to pay another $300 to keep him there for another 24 hours. I called my regular vet and she was astonished to hear how much they charged me. Unfortunately, they were about to close when I called and could not bring him in because I was stuck in traffic. The regular vet suggested I bring him home and then take him to there tomorrow morning. However, when I saw his condition with the huge catheter in him, I opted to keep him at the e-vet.
 
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