Sasha is home

I brought Sasha home from the vet this morning. He is happy to be here. I have not yet been debriefed by the veterenarian who treated him because he was busy with a surgery when I got there. I'll fill you all in later.

Funny part of story. I was only six blocks from the vet's office when they called. I had been at a job site waiting for a contractor who was late because of the snowstorm we had overnight. I was at the vet's office in less than five minutes.

Well, you've certainly got your priorities right!

So happy Sasha is home, and let's hope it's a long time before he needs to visit the vet for anything other than health checks!

Woohoo!! Hope he gets a positive report from the vet and continues to do well.

Glad to hear he is home. Lets hope he continues to improve every day. Keep us posted!

I feel like I know him!

Here's the vet's report on Sasha:

General: Sasha presented 1/4/10 with blood in the urine (hematuria) and urinary incontinence. Evaluation of 2 urine samples narrowed the problem to the urinary bladder. Laboratory work from Dr. Cates indicated struvite crystals in the urine, which is common in male cats. I believe this crystal is the primary reason for Sasha’s illness.



The crystals tend to stick to one another forming sand which sometimes cannot get out of the urinary tract. This can lead to a partial or complete urinary obstruction.


Crystals that are adhered to one another form sand which can irritate the bladder lining causing bleeding.


Partial urinary obstruction can result in over filling of the bladder and stretching of the bladder wall. In Sasha’s case, this results in urine retention. Over time the pressure in the bladder causes some of the urine to get out of the bladder, usually in very small amounts.


Plan –



Continue antibiotic therapy to avoid secondary infection.
Change diet to lessen the formation of the struvite crystals. Such a diet change will take 4 to 6 weeks to work.
The use of Bethancol to restore bladder tone.


In accordance with the plan above, bethanecol was started Tuesday evening. There were very positive signs noted in Sasha by Wednesday morning. This extended into Thursday and he was released.



It appears that we are over the hump with regard to the urinary bladder muscle tone. As indicated I feel that the diet will play a key point in keeping the crystals at a minimum to prevent a recurrence.

It's good that you know what's going on and can treat it relatively easily...

Even so, vibes for Sasha!

How's your guy doing today?

Originally Posted by stephanietx

How's your guy doing today?

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I have hesitated to post Sasha's condition fearing that I might jinx him. As you know he came home Thursday morning. By Thursday afternoon he had not yet used the litterbox. I reported this to the vet. Overnight Thursday he did go but not much. I was worried heading for the weekend. Friday, Friday night and Saturday morning he went in very small amounts and not all in the same puddle. Yesterday afternoon I heard a definite "stream" goin' on in the litterbox. I crossed my fingers and said "please let that be Sasha (not Marlow)". It was Sasha and he's doing well again today. He even "looks" better. Still got my fingers crossed.

Oh my you sound like me.....listening to our cats pee and how WONDERFUL it is when u hear a good stream....woo hoo go Sasha...

Yeah. me too. I check on them when I hear them in the boxes. You can tell a lot about kitty's health by their waste elimination. I jokingly referred to myself as the poop inspector when I was cleaning cages for a rescue at a nearby PetSmart.

OK I am officially the crazy cat woman. I tell the urine clumps how beautiful they are. I am getting concerned about myself......

Glad Sasha is doing good.

Originally Posted by farleyv

OK I am officially the crazy cat woman. I tell the urine clumps how beautiful they are. I am getting concerned about myself......

Glad Sasha is doing good.

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I hear you! LOL

Non-pet lovers/owners would surely think we were nuts due to the fact that sometimes it can be such a wonderful thing, the number of clumps, the size of clumps, how much they poop, how it's formed, the color, etc etc LOL. Sometimes it just doesn't take all that much to cause a cat owner to be ecstatic :-)

Four years ago, I never would have believed how much attention I would pay to bathroom habits and how grateful I am for a good pee or poo. With Dante and his crystals, I had to restrain myself from following him to the bathroom every single time, since I figured he might want a bit of privacy as well.

Let's hope that Sasha's irritation is easing and it'll be more pleasant for him to pee - crosing my fingers!

Originally Posted by the_food_lady

I hear you! LOL

Non-pet lovers/owners would surely think we were nuts due to the fact that sometimes it can be such a wonderful thing, the number of clumps, the size of clumps, how much they poop, how it's formed, the color, etc etc LOL. Sometimes it just doesn't take all that much to cause a cat owner to be ecstatic :-)

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I'm the same way. I pay a lot of attention to what goes into the litter box when, and by whom

I always thank Mazy cat when she hurries down to pee in the litter boxes in front of me. She's my FLUTD kitty. Thankfully Tolly, my boy has not had any issues. My last boy, Baby had cystitis, but putting him on an all canned diet solved his problem. Mazy has to eat prescription food.

Glad to see the update on Sascha. So, what are you feeding him now?

whew! It's not just me.