My poor Oliver spent all of yesterday at the animal hospital. I noticed first thing in the AM that he was having issues straining in the litterbox to no avail (at that point I thought he was straining due to constipation and hadn't realised it was a urinary issue) and then (fortunately, in the big picture, since it alerted me to a urinary issue) he urinated on the floor (which he never, ever does) after straining to do so and immediately after started grooming himself around his urethra excessively, so of course I called the vet immediately for fear of a blockage and took him in.
Fortunately when the vet examined him she found he was not blocked, but they took a urine sample and kept him for the day to watch for a blockage, flush him out with IV fluids, and get medication to relax his urethra and a painkiller into him via IV.
I was able to bring him home last night and got the results of his urinalysis this morning - sure enough, he has crystals, so we started the veterinary diet this morning.
Today he is still not blocked, thankfully, but he is urinating on the floor instead of in the litter and still seems to be straining a bit and grooming excessively. I spoke to the vet about this when she called with the urinalysis results, and she said it was normal that he'd behave this way for a few days and that it can take about five days before he's back to normal (he's definitely still not blocked, he's urinating a relatively normal amount and they showed me how to feel his bladder, and it doesn't feel the way they described it would if he were blocked, it's not large or hard at all).
So, my questions:
1. I trust the vet, but I would still appreciate hearing from anyone whose cat has had a similar issue - did this kind of behaviour take some time to clear up for your cat? If so, how long did it take?
2. Besides still urinating outside of the box and being preoccupied with grooming the area, he's also hanging out in places he doesn't usually (on the floor at the foot of my bed, mainly) and doesn't want to hang out in his usual places - he has actually moved himself to the couch as I've been typing this, which is great because that's one of his normal places and the first time he's taken himself to one so far today, but he still hasn't "found" my bed, which is usually his favourite spot, nor the windowsills, which are also common for him (I've avoided intervening and taking him to any particular place so far because I'm trying to observe his behaviour to have an accurate idea to tell the vet). He's not hiding, he just seems restless, and as if he has forgotten where he usually hangs out as opposed to active avoidance, if that makes any sense. His pupils are HUGE and his behaviour is a bit strange otherwise, as well - he's kind of wobbly and uncoordinated, and he seems a bit out of it in that he's not seeking food or affection (normally he would seek both several times by now - it's just after 4:30 PM here), but when offered either he gets very excited and eats/purrs and rubs faces as the case may be. He seems confused, I guess, to make a general characterisation of his behaviour, again, as if he's forgotten how he operates normally, KWIM? Where he hangs out, when and where he eats, how he interacts with us and we with him, etc.
I put in a call to the vet to ask this, but she probably won't be able to get back to me until after 6, so in the meantime, I wanted to ask here: are the dilated pupils and general confusion a probable side effect of the buprenorphine he's taking? He was prescribed the sublingual liquid form - 0.5 mL (at 0.3mg buprenorphine/mL, if I'm understanding correctly) every 12 hours - and I gave it to him for the first time around noon today (he'd already received a painkiller for the night when I picked him up around 7PM last night, not sure if it was buprenorphine or something else, and I was instructed to start giving them to him today). If I'm recalling correctly (this has been a bit of a whirlwind), he seemed less confused last night after being home for a couple of hours and this morning prior to me giving him the medication, but I may be recalling incorrectly. He's behaving exactly the way I felt when I was on an opiod painkiller last year
which is why I'm thinking it may be the buprenorphine. The vet didn't mention potential side effects last night when I picked him up and I didn't think to ask because I had a million other questions (ugh, feel stupid for not remembering to ask now). He's also taking phenoxybenzamine to relax his urethra (2.5 mg last night, 2.5 mg this morning, and is supposed to take a third and final 2.5 mg dose tonight and then discontinue), in case that's relevant.
Sorry this is so long and if it's disjointed (I highlighted my specific questions in case I lost everyone along the way
), it's been a lot of new information and I'm very stressed about it. Ollie only just turned a year old and this is the first (and hopefully last) time this has happened with him, and believe it or not, the first time I've dealt with a cat with crystals (as an adult; one of my childhood cats had them, but I was too young when he was diagnosed to remember the details), despite the fact that he's kitty # 8 for me as an adult!
Thank you so much if anyone can help with my questions, and feel better vibes for Oliver would be very appreciated as well!
Fortunately when the vet examined him she found he was not blocked, but they took a urine sample and kept him for the day to watch for a blockage, flush him out with IV fluids, and get medication to relax his urethra and a painkiller into him via IV.
I was able to bring him home last night and got the results of his urinalysis this morning - sure enough, he has crystals, so we started the veterinary diet this morning.
Today he is still not blocked, thankfully, but he is urinating on the floor instead of in the litter and still seems to be straining a bit and grooming excessively. I spoke to the vet about this when she called with the urinalysis results, and she said it was normal that he'd behave this way for a few days and that it can take about five days before he's back to normal (he's definitely still not blocked, he's urinating a relatively normal amount and they showed me how to feel his bladder, and it doesn't feel the way they described it would if he were blocked, it's not large or hard at all).
So, my questions:
1. I trust the vet, but I would still appreciate hearing from anyone whose cat has had a similar issue - did this kind of behaviour take some time to clear up for your cat? If so, how long did it take?
2. Besides still urinating outside of the box and being preoccupied with grooming the area, he's also hanging out in places he doesn't usually (on the floor at the foot of my bed, mainly) and doesn't want to hang out in his usual places - he has actually moved himself to the couch as I've been typing this, which is great because that's one of his normal places and the first time he's taken himself to one so far today, but he still hasn't "found" my bed, which is usually his favourite spot, nor the windowsills, which are also common for him (I've avoided intervening and taking him to any particular place so far because I'm trying to observe his behaviour to have an accurate idea to tell the vet). He's not hiding, he just seems restless, and as if he has forgotten where he usually hangs out as opposed to active avoidance, if that makes any sense. His pupils are HUGE and his behaviour is a bit strange otherwise, as well - he's kind of wobbly and uncoordinated, and he seems a bit out of it in that he's not seeking food or affection (normally he would seek both several times by now - it's just after 4:30 PM here), but when offered either he gets very excited and eats/purrs and rubs faces as the case may be. He seems confused, I guess, to make a general characterisation of his behaviour, again, as if he's forgotten how he operates normally, KWIM? Where he hangs out, when and where he eats, how he interacts with us and we with him, etc.
I put in a call to the vet to ask this, but she probably won't be able to get back to me until after 6, so in the meantime, I wanted to ask here: are the dilated pupils and general confusion a probable side effect of the buprenorphine he's taking? He was prescribed the sublingual liquid form - 0.5 mL (at 0.3mg buprenorphine/mL, if I'm understanding correctly) every 12 hours - and I gave it to him for the first time around noon today (he'd already received a painkiller for the night when I picked him up around 7PM last night, not sure if it was buprenorphine or something else, and I was instructed to start giving them to him today). If I'm recalling correctly (this has been a bit of a whirlwind), he seemed less confused last night after being home for a couple of hours and this morning prior to me giving him the medication, but I may be recalling incorrectly. He's behaving exactly the way I felt when I was on an opiod painkiller last year
Sorry this is so long and if it's disjointed (I highlighted my specific questions in case I lost everyone along the way
Thank you so much if anyone can help with my questions, and feel better vibes for Oliver would be very appreciated as well!
