Need Help ASAP-Don't Know What To Do!!!

My cat started growling and hissing by himself on Monday early in the morning. I calmed him down and thought he was ok until I saw him pee on the floor. I brought him to the vet and they inserted a catheter because he has Urinary Bloackage. They gave me antibiotics and sent me home. I called the doctor and asked if using cat litter was ok in a little box so he can go and he said yes. Well unfortunately the cat litter got into the catheter and blocked it up again. So I brought him back on Wednesday and they took out the catheter and drained him and sent him home to finish the antibiotic. I had to give him some calming meds before I took him because he gets very aggressive with the vet and then they gave him anesthesia while he was there. Today all day all he did was sleep and his second eyelid is not completely opening and he does not want to eat or drink. I have been giving him water through a syringe all day and he has been at least peeing but with blood in it. I called the vet to let them know he's not eating and if I should mush up food with water and give that to him and they said yes a little if he doesn't throw it up. So my question is why is he still so out of it and is this all normal? I don't want to bring him back to the vet because he gets sooooo stressed and scared. Should I just wait? Is there anything I can do to help the healing process? I'm really worried about him and need advice. 

It sounds like he's still suffering from the effects of anesthesia and possibly pain medication. When on Wednesday was he put under? Did the vet give him IV or subcutaneous fluids while he was under?

I would watch him carefully for the next few days. Male cats can re-block very easily since there's so much inflammation.

I'm honestly surprised they sent him home with the catheter still in place. He should be coming out of the effects of anesthesia soon. If he doesn't start eating/drinking on his own within a day though, you will need to syringe feed him or take him back to the vet. Please be careful syringe feeding water or food to ensure you're not risking aspiration pneumonia.

Did the vet say what caused the blockage: infection, crystals, stones, cystitis? That will determine the course of preventative action for the future. Was a urinalysis done?

They sent him with the catheter still in because he is very aggressive at the vet's office and they thought it would help with his stress. I got him back yesterday Wednesday and I have been giving him water by a syringe throughout the day. I do hear his nose a stuffy now and when I told the vet tech they told me that the antibiotic will take care of it. Could this be the aspiration pneumonia your talking about? I just started feeding him by a syringe as well. Is there a good way to feed him by a syringe that won't cause this? I also called another vet to get a second opinion and so far everything seems to be normal but the fact that he wasn't eating had them concerned so I started force feeding him. They did a urinalysis and he has crystals and an infection but he has been on the antibiotics 3 days now.

When you syringe water or food, you want to be sure to put only a little bit in the side of his mouth and let him swallow naturally. Do not direct anything toward the back of the mouth/throat.

Did the vet mention struvite crystals? Was his urine pH 7.0 or higher? If so, you want to feed a wet meaty diet, no grains, veggies or fish. Moisture is very important to keep his system flushed out and meat is a naturally acidifying diet which you cat needs to bring his urine pH back to normal range of 6.0 - 6.5. Your vet may mention a prescription urinary diet which you may want to feed temporarily although the ingredients aren't great. Another option is to add the methionine yourself to the food of your choice. Methionine is the urine acidifying active ingredient in the Rx foods.

Please keep us ppsted on your kitty. Many vibes for a quick recovery and that he starts eating on his own soon.

Oh, and one other thing, did your vet give your cat Metacam by any chance? Metacam is FDA labelled with a warning to use only once in cats usually during surgery, but many vets like to give it for urinary issues. Please avoid this drug if at all possible.

To be honest I did what you just said not to do thinking that if he got the liquid quicker it wouldn't be as annoying for him and I can only hope I didn't do damage to him . I will from now on though slowly feed him by the side of his mouth.

He didn't say what kind of crystals he is on clavamox. I read yogurt has probiotics and is good for this I gave him a little mixed with water.

I can use all the vibes I can get he is only 6 yrs old and I've had him since he was 5 weeks so he really like my baby. He thinks of me as his mom and loves to spend time with me at night especially so this is really hard to see him like this.

No metacam that I'm aware of.

My 6 year old tabby cat had a blockage and almost died. His kidneys started to shut down. I took him to the ER vet and they did the same thing your regular vet did. Did a catheter to unblock him, he was on the same meds too. He improved, then a month later he was worse. He could not pee, he was drinking water like crazy. One morning I woke up and he was trying to walk, instead he was flopping around on the ground like a fish trying to move his legs. I rushed him to my vet and they told me his kidneys were shutting down. I had 2 choices try to save him or put him to sleep.

I choose to try an save him. The vet told me they would start an IV. If he responded then the would move to the next step. If he didn't then it was time to put him to sleep. He responded, by the grace of god I believe. He was in the animal hospital for 8 days straight. $1,100.00 later my cat was 100% better. It cost me $1,100.00 for both vet visits. One to the ER vet and one to my regular vet. I am lucky I have care credit and my regular vet takes payments. If you don't know what care credit is, it works like insurance.

When you apply online if you are approved they automatically give you a minimum credit limit to use towards yourself or your pet for medical bills. I was approved for $500 right away. To be honest my credit history is not great, but I was still approved. It help a lot towards the pets medical bills. Here is the link if anyone is interested in taking a look: http://www.carecredit.com/

Also since your kitty is going through what my kitty went through It's recommended you change his/her diet. My cat is on hills science diet CD food which is formulated for urinary tract problems in cats. My cat has not had any urinary problems in over a year. It is expensive, but worth it.

So yesterday I was giving him alot of fluids and at night i force fed him some cat food (special urinary diet formula Royal Canin) and yogurt mixed with water (separate). This morning he is a little more alert than the day before but still very sleepy and doesn't want to eat (7:45 am EST). His urine however has alot less blood in it than yesterday and he is peeing on the wee wee pads i have laid out for him on the bathroom floor which I am cleaning to make sure it is disinfected and wee wee pads changed everytime he pees on them. His third eyelid is still half showing. Is it normal for him to be so lathargic and not eating still?

So yesterday I was giving him alot of fluids and at night i force fed him some cat food (special urinary diet formula Royal Canin) and yogurt mixed with water (separate). This morning he is a little more alert than the day before but still very sleepy and doesn't want to eat (7:45 am EST). His urine however has alot less blood in it than yesterday and he is peeing on the wee wee pads i have laid out for him on the bathroom floor which I am cleaning to make sure it is disinfected and wee wee pads changed everytime he pees on them. His third eyelid is still half showing. Is it normal for him to be so lathargic and not eating still?

So it's been over 36 hours, almost 48 since he last had calming meds and anesthesia? I'm wondering if he's having some kind of reaction to either or the combination. What calming meds did you give him before the vet visit? Did you let the vet know? What kind of anesthesia did the vet use?

It's good he's peeing with less blood, but his continuing lethargy and inappetance worry me. I would at least call the vet and ask if this is to be expected. If you hadn't mentioned the calming meds, definitely ask if there could be an interaction between the two.

I asked the vet I am seeing and another vet for a second opinion and both it was normal for the meds he took but if he doesn't start eating by later today i have to take him in to get an iv put in to help him out. Until then I am force feeding him every 2-3 hours and was advised to give him some pedialyte by the vets office as well and see how he is this afternoon. The calming med was ace promazine (I think thats how you say it I know it definitely had the ace at the beginning) and i'm not sure what anethesia was used.

I asked the vet I am seeing and another vet for a second opinion and both it was normal for the meds he took but if he doesn't start eating by later today i have to take him in to get an iv put in to help him out. Until then I am force feeding him every 2-3 hours and was advised to give him some pedialyte by the vets office as well and see how he is this afternoon. The calming med was ace promazine (I think thats how you say it I know it definitely had the ace at the beginning) and i'm not sure what anethesia was used.

Since you said that vet visits really stress him out, ask if you can give him subcutaneous fluids at home. It's not that difficult to learn. For an extra charge, they could probably have a vet tech come to your home and show you how to do it.

vball91 said:

Since you said that vet visits really stress him out, ask if you can give him subcutaneous fluids at home. It's not that difficult to learn. For an extra charge, they could probably have a vet tech come to your home and show you how to do it.

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Yes, that is great advice.  Clavamox always made one of my cats lose his appetite and just lay around.  Everytime he had to take it he acted like he felt worse then before he started on it.  We vowed we would never let him take it again.  Maybe this is all a side effect of his antibiotic

@vball91 I'm going home soon. My husband has been feeding him and giving him water throughout the day. He said he looks better and is still peeing so thats good. If he definitely needs it I'm going to look into that because I don't want to stress anymore than he already has I feel like it sets him back. Thank you for the advice on that. I'll also try to youtube how to do this. If you know of a good youtube vid to watch please send it my way.

@mrsgreenjeans- I can only hope its an effect of the antibiotic and what your telling me makes me feel a little better. This is first time taking this antibiotic and I'm starting to think its a combination of the anitbiotic, the meds he took before his visit, the anthesia and the stress of the visit. I just hope that hes little better when I get home in the next 40 minutes. At least that'll give me hope that he's going to be ok and make a full recovery.

Yesterday when I came home my cat took a turn for the worse and we rushed him to the vet because his breathing became very labored. They found out he has diabetes and had a sugar level of 385 and his kidney was failing. They put him on an iv and back on the catheter. By the time we left he was semi alert. I called today and he seems to be a little better. He might need the surgery and their checking to see if his diabetes is temporary or for life. I hope he makes it. :,-(

Sorry to hear that. Diabetes can often be controlled with diet alone although sometimes insulin will be needed. There's some good info on that on www.catinfo.org. Hopefully the vets can get him through this critical time. The kidney failure is probably a result of everything else going on, but please make sure they have not/are not giving him any NSAIDs like Metacam or Onsior. Many vibes for the little guy to pull through.

I'm sorry to say Tigre did not make it. He passed away yesterday as I was heading to the vets office to see him. My heart hurts so much he was my baby I had him since he was 5 weeks old and I never expected him to die so young. I wish there was something I could've done. I can't stop crying of how much I miss him. He would always be with me and saw me as his mama. I almost feel like I failed him. This feels like a nightmare I can't get out of. Now his sister is alone and she always hung out with him. :,-((((((((

I am so very sorry to hear this. Please don't feel that you failed him. You did all you could. I'm sure he knew how much he was loved. RIP Tigre.

I am so sorry to be reading this.    You certainly didn't fail him!  You took great care of him since he was 5 weeks old, and look how this last week you were seeking answers and trying different Vets and doing everything you could to try to figure out what was wrong.  I'm just so sorry no one was able to get it figured out in time.    When you feel up to it, you can write a tribute to him here:  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge