Question about sedation

Hey all. Tomorrow I take my poor Pandora to the vet, bright and early, for her 7th UTI in 8 months. This will be the third time I've had to physically take her in, and its nothing pretty when we go.

She's a sensitive creature and despises being touched by strangers under the best circumstances...so at the vet, I can hear her screaming and wailing in protest for the simplest of procedures. She often urinates out of fury and will work herself up into a tizzy. I'm always sobbing in the room by myself listening to it; I abhor having to hear it but would never walk out. If she's going through it, so am I.

The vet and techs are always extraordinary attentive and will check in on me frequently, letting me know that she's ok and just singing her grievances.

Tomorrow, she's going to have to have some complicated tests done - and I wonder if it might be more humane to request that she be sedated beforehand. I'm not entirely sure why they never offered to do it before, but then again, they've never tried radio-graphing my little fractious sweetie-pie before.

Do you think I should request her to be sedated, or would she be better off doing this stuff sober?

Do you mean some kind of tranquilizer?

Hi my dog, Wilbur, who has neurological body tremors just had to have a full body X-ray. He was given a tranq for the procedure to help keep him steady for the test and help him relax. I think if Zandora is so stressed (and I don't blame her after all she has been through) then I would definitely ask for something to give her to calm her nerves. Good luck and let us know how it goes

Originally Posted by bastetservant

Do you mean some kind of tranquilizer?

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I'm not really sure, but I imagine so. I know vets can give an injection or even gas a cat just to calm it down for a certain amount of time. I did some vet assistant work some years ago, and it seemed appropriate for some seriously fractious cats...but I don't know anything about long-term effects or if its really worth requesting.

I hate to do it, but I'm honestly afraid that she's going to give herself a heart attack when three techs are holding her still in a strange place.

Thanks, Fera, I agree - it would make her more comfortable. I think I'm going to just ask the doc if there are any reasons NOT to do it.

Yes, I would talk to your vet in the morning about your concerns.

Lots of calming being sent to you and Pandora.

Robin

Okay - she's having a urinary track infection about once a month? Did I read that right?

What has your vet said about her diet?

Is she on dry (kibble) food?

What's been the previous diagnosis?

I really appreciate this website: http://www.catinfo.org

Here is the page that addresses UTI's: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

When you transport her have you tried covering the carrier with a cloth to help her feel a little safer?

I think having a conversation with your vet about the sedative is the right advice.

I did a google search - found a few links that might offer some help in your decision ???

http://www.cattrainingsecrets.net/ca...essive-cat.php

http://cats.about.com/cs/anesthesia/a/understanding.htm

http://petsadviser.com/pet-health/he...feline-stress/

Originally Posted by GloriaJH

Okay - she's having a urinary track infection about once a month? Did I read that right?

What has your vet said about her diet?

Is she on dry (kibble) food?

What's been the previous diagnosis?

Click to expand...

Yeah, almost once a month. We've switched up her diet per vet orders, tried all wet food, multiple water bowls in house, maximum stress reduction, etc.

Previous diagnosis of IC, but now the vet is sure something is up we don't know about. We're about to leave to check it out - wish us luck and lets hope we can figure it out for good this time (or I'm quite inclined to get a second opinion elsewhere at a cat specialty clinic). I can't bear seeing her like this.

As to your first question I also have a cat that is panicky when it comes to strangers, vet trips, - you name it really! And I give her a sedative before we must to go ANY vet trip. She gets Alprazolam the day before and the day of (it's kind of kitty Valum! ) She does much better!!!

Second - from my experience working in a vet hospital, most every cat is sedated with a fast acting injection that is "reversed" for radiography. Some dogs too. Cats just do better when sedated and they have to be still.

Third - that frequent of a UTI needs further investigation. It's not normal. Are you sure it's being completely gotten rid of at all and not just the symptoms going away enough for you not to notice and therefore "coming back"? The bacteria she may have may be resistant to the antibiotic shes being given. Have them run the tests in the lab for an antibiotic specific bacteria before you get your next prescription.

Good luck to you and your kitty.

So what happened yesterday at Pandora's appointment?

I hope all is well. I'm thinking about you two.

Robin

Me too, thinking about you and wondering how the appt. went. I, too, am waiting for urinalysis results today on Pip. Can't imagine what you and your cat have been going through. Lots of good vibes your way today

p.s. Thanks, Gloria, for all of those very informative links about UTI's.

Thank you ALL so much for your support. My poor kid has a pH of a whopping 8.5, and expelled a stone during her examination. Surprisingly, no bacteria was found and she hasn't been suffering from UTI's.

The doc's best theory is that her high pH has been responsible for all of these "infections"...turns out, she likely had stones every time. The anti-imflammitories she got along with antibiotics caused the immflamation to subside, allowing the passage of a stone and thus the symptoms stopped. But the pH was still high, producing these stones. It was explained that these particular kinds of stones are only ever formed in pH levels of this kind, so we can be relatively sure that is why they kept coming back.

My new problem is that, of course, I have to put her on a special food (they are ordering a bag for me today). She has a sister that is on Blue Buffalo's chicken and rice...and they're both free fed.

I'm not sure how to go about setting up meal times and making certain Z doesn't mettle in Dora's food, and vice versa. I'm unsure how often to feed, how much per meal, and how to begin the process. They have been taking in two mouthfuls at a time, all day and night for six years! Any insight or tips would be welcome, and I plan on browsing the forums for similar questions.

Oh and good luck with Pip - let us know how the tests went!

So, what kind of crystals (stones)?
Struvite or calcium oxalate?

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/urinary.html

I'm guessing the Struvite because your vet has prescribed a special diet.

We have two cats that have had issues with crystals, fortunately they were of the Struvite kind. The prescription diet is Royal Canin Urinary SO - preferably the canned form.

Since we have three cats designated to one part of the house the issue with food is the same problem that you're addressing. I asked my vet about the 3rd cat also eating the prescription diet, and was assured that this prescription formula would be okay for the one cat that hasn't had a problem. (Other prescription diets shouldn't be shared unless your vet says it's okay. So, all three cats get this food. They get the canned food, with only the dry (Royal Canin Urinary SO 33) given as a treat.

I should add that in order for the prescription food to work, your cat shouldn't be fed other food also.

So, that's been my solution in our mult-cat household.

Your furbaby is fortunate that the stone came out - my little girl had to have bladder surgery in order to remove hers - when you weigh the costs of prescription food that works vs surgery - it's cheaper buying and faithfully feeding only the prescription food.

I'd rather be feeding them raw, but I don't want to take the chance of stones forming and more painful problems for the cats.

BTW, I've found an online company that ships the prescription food we need, so far I've saved a little $$, the food gets shipped to my front door. They request a prescription from your vet for the prescription food.
http://www.petflow.com
So far I've had a good experience with their selection and service.

HI!! Your poor little girl . What a day at the vet she had. That is good she passed that stone, the poor little sweetie. My vet did assure me (in case Pip needs a prescription diet, that all of my cats could eat the Prescription diet if I ever had to leave a dry food down). But I do feed three scheduled feedings a day, and they all scarf down their wet food now. I think if I were you, I would try to get them on scheduled wet feedings. You could feed Pandora her prescription diet at that time and take up. And just leave some of the prescription dry out for both to snack on since they are used to having that at all times. It won't hurt Z at all to eat that. for Pandora to feel better very soon.

Oh, you were asking about Pip, thanks here is the thread:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=231616