Vet wants to put my cat down tomorrow morning. I think my cat be cured though.. her disease is a mys

Hi,

I am devastated but I'll try be clear.

My 4-year-old, always healthy, quirky and adorable, sterilized, wet food eating and hunting indoor-outdoor farm cat 'Essi' can't pee. Nobody knows why.

I noticed something was wrong on SAT. Took her to vet first thing on SUN morning. Vet emptied her by then full bladder. Vet thought she had a bladder infection, because there was nothing at all preventing her from peeing! There was no blockage!

Well, it's now Monday evening. She is on antibiotics and painkillers. She is back to her normal, playful self, except she can't urinate. She has eaten and drunk very little, but still. She has tried to go today, but nothing came out.

Vet calls. Says the blood work showed that she does not have an infection at all!

Why could she not pee at the start? No idea. Why can't she pee now? No idea. 'But it's possible the expanded bladder broke a muscle that controls the bladder, so better put her down'.

Incredible.

In other words, nobody really knows what's wrong. If she can't pee ever again, of course she needs to be put down. I'd never keep her in pain.

But what if there's a way to find out what's wrong and cure her? What if the muscle is fine, and the reason she cannot urinate hasn't changed from the start?

If someone has any idea, please, help. Time is running out... For now she seems just fine, but she is not urinating.... I've been feeling her bladder all day and I don't think it's expanded like on Saturday. Anyway she was behaving in a different way then - not moving at all, sulking, hiding...

Thanks

sophie

I think you need a second opinion. Was a urinalysis run in addition to bloodwork? I think you need more diagnostic tests done. Also, if you think she's fine otherwise, you can ask the vet to teach you how to manually express her bladder to give you and the vet more time to figure this out. It may be temporary.

Yes there was a urianalysis. There was only lots of white blood cells - the vet now thinks that those were due to the amount of urine stored in the bladder. In other words, another dead end! I thought about taking her to another vet but they'd only do the same things with the same results... I don't know what to do

Have they done X rays? You need X rays to check for bladder stones.  My cat has had crystals (no stones) and it took over a year for the diagnosis as he passed them inconsistently (one day he had hundreds of them, the next day none). We had 4 urinalysis done and all were normal. The only reason he was diagnosed was b/c I started checking his urine with the microscope at home.

Try another vet. Is there a vet school near you? They usually have the best vets for difficult cases.

What about bladder inflammation? Inflammation alone can cause many issues. You could also try an ultrasound to see if there is something else going on. And if you wanted to try a second vet, you should be able to take the test results with you. There's no need to repeat them again so soon.

OK, what diagnostics were done? Any imaging? My understanding is that some types of stones won't show up well on X-ray for example.

Just urianalysis and bloodwork. Vet seemed sure there could not be any stones or crystals... And wouldn't inflammation show up in the blood work?

I am no expert and don't like to see any animal suffering but you really need to get another opinion. No way would I let my cat be put to sleep on just one persons say so! Good luck and fingers crossed for you!

Inflammation doesn't normally show up on blood work unless it's caused by an infection. As mentioned, there are times when stones don't show up on the urinalysis. Sometimes only an x-ray or ultrasound will show them.

Inflammation does not show up in bloodwork. And there really aren't muscles to be broken, but maybe strained and distended. I don't have much time to go into detail at the moment, but your cat may need more time with a catheter to drain the bladder and allow it to heal, or have the bladder manually expressed. You might also ask your vet about anti-spasmodic medication. My cat has taken phenoxybenzamine to help contract the bladder and relax the urethra. Sometimes, after irritation in the bladder, whatever the cause, the bladder needs help to do what it naturally does until it can heal/restore.

These bladder problems can be painful so keep up with pain meds. Buprenex may be one to discuss with your vet.

Not peeing is quite dangerous to the cat, but there are so many things that can be done. If your vet isn't willing to go those extra steps, please seek a second opinion. Today.

I think more diagnostics need to be done. Preferably with a vet that is more familiar. If a vet school is within driving distance then I would definitely grab the lab results and go there.

And yes, a bladder can rupture.

We are seeing an expert tomorrow morning at 7AM (it's 8PM now).

We were thinking about seeing a vet at night, but Essi seems to be doing well.

She PEED - three times! Very little each time, maybe a large spoon or two each time. She did yelp in pain when she went on the second time. Afterwards she was running around outside, climbed a tree, seemed like her usual wild self. Hoping she won't turn poorly at night, if not, we will be at the doctor's at seven.

So clearly she CAN pee a little bit, still wondering what the actual problem might be though. I dare say I am hopeful we can fix her. She seems so energetic now.

Keep us updated and sending you and Essi lots of good vibes!

Thank you and thanks for the advice.

I second trying the phenoxybenzamine. This really helped my Tyson during his most frequent episode (he has sterile cystitis...no infection, not stones, just inflamed bladder.)

Went to the new vet today - they did an ultra scan, x ray etc. etc. and nothing wrong whatsoever. So the vet thought it could be trauma related, or some very 'hidden' inflammation. Continuing with pain meds and antibotics and another thing - cysta - something medicine... Her bladder may have been destroyed when it was expanded but it's unlikely. We just have to wait and see.

She is back to her normal self in the sense that she is active, playful, and rather angry we won't let her outdoors..   I guess the following days will show if she is recovering or not. My entire family is very anxious. She is very loved - such a fun character. She is our little baby - her mother was hit by a car and died when she was a wee kitten and my mother nursed her and all. She is truly part of our family.​

OK so currently Essi is on diapams - muscle relaxers. Since this morning, as we went to the vet again (last night she turned worse - her bladder suddenly got bigger and they emptied it this morning at the vet - by simply pushing her bladder when she was under). She is rather irritating when high - screaming at the door as she wants to go out, or by the fridge because she has the munchies. Poor thing. 

But she hasn't attempted to have a wee even once (pain gone?). We hope that when she does, she won't have problems going. We are starting to lose faith and this might be our last hope.

Okay, so her bladder will empty when manually expressed? No sign of blockages or resistance at the urethra when this is done?

I am sorry about you baby and the bladder problems. I was wondering if any of your vets mentioned a rare condition called Interstitial Cystitis. Not sure if maybe something else is going on but definitely worth getting more opinions. Why I am mentioning the Interstitial Cystitis or IC as its called for short is a rare condition found in humans and cats are the only other species that can have it. I myself have the condition and many woman or men cannot urinate and must self cath. I myself don;t have to but inflammation and scarring of the bladder are involved it has many symptoms.  I did choose to put to sleep a cat years ago that was suspected of having it since I felt as well as the vet she was in pain, She was urinating anywhere she could get my attention stove, my pocketbook etc and had no signs of infection but all the symptoms. That is what IC will do. For me I knew the pain I lived in so I did not choose to have her suffer. I will keep her in my prayers poor baby. Have they ruled out stones for sure and can they do a sonogram to see anything not sure what tests they have. Please keep us posted I would be interested in what they find.  

http://pets.webmd.com/cats/cystitis-symptoms-treatments-in-cats

Idiopathic cystitis in cats may be similar to interstitial cystitis in people

Another website is http://ezinearticles.com/?Interstitial-Cystitis-in-Cats---Cause,-Diagnosis-and-Treatment&id=3332353

They mention some treatments and Feliway to reduce stress

My cat was a a stray and did have some bladder infections when I first took her in. Then these other problems started after I was forced to move and she was taken in by a lady from a pet rescue group whom I thought would provide a safe place for her. I should never have let her go without seeing the woman's home of cause she was reluctant to let me see it. I finally got permission from the new landlord to get my cat and when I went to the woman's house after much insistence it was a horrible situation. The woman was a hoarder and the stress was way to traumatic my cat was never the same.