Mowgli the jungle cat

Hello- I've been reading these forums for a while mostly for help with my kitty's condition so I decided I might as well join the site, too! I have a 3-4 year old tomcat named Mowgli. He is a domestic blend possibly with some Russian blue and Siamese, a beautiful blue coat! He has a big personality  and has completely embodied the name Mowgli (a character from the Jungle Book, so his nick name tends to be "jungle cat" especially for his fighter mentality). He is the snuggliest of all snugs but also takes no mess from anybody and is not shy to tell you he doesn't like something! Proud mama. He's my best bud.

Unfortunately, Mo has developed plenty of health problems and this is personally my first experience helping an animal stay well and alive through it all. For a while I have been trying to rid him of crystals in his urine (so says the first vet I took him to back in April) but after six weeks of no improvement (she only recommended I change his diet), I took him to see a family member vet instead. My family vet has showed me that somehow in only six weeks since the last visit he has developed about 15 medium-sized stones in his bladder with one possibly shriveled up kidney and one enlarged kidney. She promptly told me to have the surgery to remove the stones, or put him down. Hardest day I've had in forever, because I realized I do not have the proper money to support my favorite bud and it broke my heart because I could feel he wasn't ready to give up like that. With the thought of putting my cat down stuck in my head and ready to happen in mere days, my aunt swooped in and veto-ed the whole idea for me. She has a dog that a vet told her to put down immediately because his heartworms was so bad, and instead she gave a specific blend of Chinese herbs to her dog and has cured him over time! I thought, I'm not much for Western medicine all the time anyway and if it doesn't work I know that I at least have tried all that I can. So Mowgli has been on the herbs only since May 28th and it has been a hell of a journey trying to get him to take them but we're working through it. To go back in the story a little, oddly enough he has been seemingly fine every since his vet visit. His appetite miraculously came back (he has lost 20% body weight), his activity levels are high, I haven't seen him urinating around the house although I know he still strains at times, and I haven't noticed any signs of pain. Is he the magic cat? Wishing for the best!

I am glad the herbs are working for your cat.  Careful though, some can be toxic if you don't know what you're doing.

You might want to consult with a holistic vet.  Some members do so on a regular basis.

For additional help, insight, you might post a similar thread in the Health forum.  It seems this is the season for a number of members' cats have UTIs.

What food are you feeding your cat--adorable, BTW.

Did either vet mention the type of stones/crystals? Were they struvite? Was a urinalysis done? There are things you can do at home for struvites to help dissolve them and flush them out. If they are calcium oxalate stones though, only surgery can help.

Hi there welcome along to TCS

Thanks for the welcome!

My current vet says the stones are struvite but did not have the chance to actually test the urine because he had wet himself on the drive there and all over the exam table, the poor thing. It was a very stressful visit! The urinalysis results from the first vet visit when this all began only showed crystals. The herbs job is to dissolve the stones and regulate healthy activity but I worry with my boy because I know they have a higher chance of blocking as well as reoccurring stones. My vet and I have been discussing the herbal treatment (she concurred with her holistic vet friend that the herbs are okay to use) and other side treatments to help Mo along. It's still quite strange that he came back from the horrific visit and instantly was seemingly normal BEFORE the herbal treatment (which came a week after the visit due to slow mail).

Ritz- after a million attempts at different canned foods because of switching him from dry to wet, his lack of appetite from illness, learning the horrors of what goes into cat food, and my awful budget, Mowgli and I have both agreed upon Innova Cat and Kitten canned food.

I'm glad your vet is open enough to consult a holistic vet. 

Innova is an okay food.  Interestingly, I noticed the first ingredient is turkey; turkey breast and dark meat has a rela high level of Methionine, a natural acidifier.  I fed raw, so this is important to me.

coqui said:

Thanks for the welcome!

My current vet says the stones are struvite but did not have the chance to actually test the urine because he had wet himself on the drive there and all over the exam table, the poor thing. It was a very stressful visit! The urinalysis results from the first vet visit when this all began only showed crystals. The herbs job is to dissolve the stones and regulate healthy activity but I worry with my boy because I know they have a higher chance of blocking as well as reoccurring stones. My vet and I have been discussing the herbal treatment (she concurred with her holistic vet friend that the herbs are okay to use) and other side treatments to help Mo along. It's still quite strange that he came back from the horrific visit and instantly was seemingly normal BEFORE the herbal treatment (which came a week after the visit due to slow mail).

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This is very interesting. I have not heard of herbs that can dissolve struvite crystals. Would you mind listing the herbs so we can all learn?

The commonly used urine acidifier is l-methionine. It is added to rx foods like s/d, c/d and SO. However, another option is to add l-methionine to the food of your choice and monitor urine pH at home using test strips. Another option to discuss with your vets if the herbs don't work/stop working.

Ritz said:

I'm glad your vet is open enough to consult a holistic vet. 

Innova is an okay food.  Interestingly, I noticed the first ingredient is turkey; turkey breast and dark meat has a rela high level of Methionine, a natural acidifier.  I fed raw, so this is important to me.

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I did weeks of research on cat food and it was so overwhelming! It's truthfully difficult to consciously feed him food that I know could be better, but I had to compromise some unfavorable ingredients with the amount of money in my pockets

vball91 said:

This is very interesting. I have not heard of herbs that can dissolve struvite crystals. Would you mind listing the herbs so we can all learn?

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The herbs were bought from Pawhealer, and the specific ones that were advised to me are Urinary Free the Flow: Basic and Damp Heat. Mark, from the website, will personally call you (with your permission) and ask specific questions to find out exactly what your pet needs. They tend to speak toward dog owners, but the herbs are for both cats and dogs and some are even for humans. I can be quite skeptical and if it weren't for my aunt's testimony, I would have probably tossed this whole idea out the window as a scam. For now, I just wait to find out.

Mowgli had a visit to the vet on June 15th and I wanted to give a quick update of his progress.

He gained back a little over one pound so far.

X-rays showed no bright visible stones in his bladder like we saw last time. She could feel grain-like substance while physically examining his bladder and says they are greatly different in size from last time.

X-rays showed a thought-to-be shriveled up right kidney to be appearing normal in size again, and an inflamed right kidney to be nearly normal in size although still with fluid around it.

Urinalysis and cultural test came back negative for infection. While she was getting a sample Mowgli started to urinate on the table and she was able to catch some in a cup. The urine in the cup showed positive for bacteria, hence why she sent it out for cultural testing -which came back negative. Suspicious but possible fluke?

Needless to say, Mowgli really impressed his vet with such amazing new results. It has been four weeks since I was advised to put him down, and three weeks since we started the herbal treatment. He is the magic cat, Hallelujah!

That is great news! I am so glad to hear how much he has improved. Oh, and a false positive for bacteria with a free catch sample like your vet did is not uncommon. The sample can get contaminated on its way out.

That is awesome news! <3 I'm happy that he is doing a lot better and that the herbs are working for him.