urinary tract obstruction

Has anyone's cat ever had this? I just got back from the vet and Churchill has a urinary tract obstruction. He was completely fine two days ago then yesterday he started vomiting and crying as if in pain. Today he's thrown up repeatedly and is extremely lethargic. The vet found a round mass in his bladder and now he's set to have surgery. I feel so bad for my poor guy  Is there usually some underlying cause for this or can it just happen on its own?

I've not personally had to deal with this, but many on this site have.  There are many causes, but some cats seem more prone to it than others and male cats also seem to be more vulnerable than females, though it happens to both.  It has something to do with body pH and urine pH.  Mostly, it's treated with dietary changes.  Here's a very basic article on urinary tract disease.  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/feline-lower-urinary-tract-disease-flutd

Poor Churchill! I'm sure that he is currently catheterized and on fluids for the blockage.  The surgery is to remove the mass in his bladder? When is his surgery?  Best wishes that all goes well for him.   Please keep us updated as to how he's doing.

Frequently crystal formation causes a UT blockage. For that type blockage you can adjust food and water intake to modify the urine ph which will often help prevent the problem recurring. The blockage is sometimes idiopathic (unknown cause) which is what my Bobby had. If I'm remembering correctly, that type of blockage is caused by the bladder lining shedding cells for an unknown reason.

Susank521 said:

 
Poor Churchill! I'm sure that he is currently catheterized and on fluids for the blockage.  The surgery is to remove the mass in his bladder? When is his surgery?  Best wishes that all goes well for him. 

 Please keep us updated as to how he's doing.

Frequently crystal formation causes a UT blockage. For that type blockage you can adjust food and water intake to modify the urine ph which will often help prevent the problem recurring. The blockage is sometimes idiopathic (unknown cause) which is what my Bobby had. If I'm remembering correctly, that type of blockage is caused by the bladder lining shedding cells for an unknown reason.

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Thank you for the well wishes

He had the procedure done Monday night and thankfully, the blockage was cleared. It was so bad they couldn't get a catheter in him His whole bladder was filled with blood and the bladder wall was thickened. Unfortunately he has kidney damage but the vet is very hopeful Churchill will recover. We visited him yesterday and he hasn't lost his sweet demeanor. He's got a catheter in right now and there's still some blood in his urine, but it's better than it was. He's eating again and will be placed on a special diet. There's a chance we may have to manually empty his bladder from now on but, we'll see. It's so strange he developed this. He wasn't showing any signs of being unwell until this past weekend. It makes me wish cats could talk!

I'm so glad the hear Churchill is doing well after his surgery and they got the blockage cleared.!  Did he have a perineal urethrostomy (PU surgery)? A blockage can happen so quickly, that's why it's so dangerous. Churchill's a lucky guy that he had you looking after him. It was crystals that caused the blockage?  I'm hoping, going by your post, that there was not a mass in the bladder.    Don't be concerned if you do have to empty his bladder, it's easy to do and maybe, like in my Bobby's case, you'll only have to do it for a short time or on rare occasions. We're pulling for you, Churchill!!

Susank521 said:

 
I'm so glad the hear Churchill is doing well after his surgery and they got the blockage cleared.!

 Did he have a perineal urethrostomy (PU surgery)? A blockage can happen so quickly, that's why it's so dangerous. Churchill's a lucky guy that he had you looking after him. It was crystals that caused the blockage?  I'm hoping, going by your post, that there was not a mass in the bladder. 

  Don't be concerned if you do have to empty his bladder, it's easy to do and maybe, like in my Bobby's case, you'll only have to do it for a short time or on rare occasions. We're pulling for you, Churchill!!

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I thought he was going to have a urethrostomy, but the vet instead inserted a needle into his bladder to empty it (which worked thankfully). They couldn't get a catheter in without doing that. Somehow Churchill managed to pull his catheter out so they had to sedate him again and reinsert it. I visited him on thursday and he was so out of it from the sedative, it was sad. I don't think he even knew I was there. Other than that, he's been doing well. He has to stay a few extra days since they discovered he still can't urinate on his own. The blockage was from a combination of crystals and his urethra being very narrow. When he was first examined, the vet said he did have a mass in his bladder but when they x-rayed him, it was actually just filled with blood that made the bladder feel that way. I feel so bad for him and think about him all the time, but I'm trying to stay positive. I'm starting to get worried about my other cat Chai because I discovered she hasn't been peeing in the litter box at all, only in random areas of the house.

I'm so glad there was not a mass! Try to keep positive about Churchill. It's so hard seeing him like that, but he's in the best place he can be right now. The more fluids they push  through him the more likely they'll get the crystals out and you won't have to face another blockage as soon as you get him home.

When you get the chance, if you haven't already, find out from the vet what type of crystals Churchill has, then start a new thread on TCS asking for diet suggestions. There are so many people on this site that have faced the same situation, you could really benefit from their experience and advise. I know I sure do.  Obviously, dry food is out and lots of moisture is in.

Poor you and Chai. Not what either of you need right now. She could just be stressed because you're stressed or because Churchill isn't there, so her world is not normal. Females don't block as easily as males, but she really does need a vet visit. I'm so sorry.

I'm so glad your kitty is doing better and has a good prognosis.  My cat Dagny had crystals in his urine and a UTI (I found out at the vet yesterday) and he was just before being blocked.  They also told me this is common in male cats.  The only way I knew something was wrong was because he was urinating all over my clothes and bed which was not like him at all. He was more than likely in a great deal of pain and associated his litter box with pain.  Now we are having an awful time trying to get him to eat his prescription cat food to help this problem.  He's also on an anitbiotic and some type of gel to eat to help the problem.  But I still have to worry about the possible blockage.

I'm so sorry about your guy.  I hope he has a full recovery.

2catsforme said:

 
I'm so glad your kitty is doing better and has a good prognosis.  My cat Dagny had crystals in his urine and a UTI (I found out at the vet yesterday) and he was just before being blocked.  They also told me this is common in male cats.  The only way I knew something was wrong was because he was urinating all over my clothes and bed which was not like him at all. He was more than likely in a great deal of pain and associated his litter box with pain.  Now we are having an awful time trying to get him to eat his prescription cat food to help this problem.  He's also on an anitbiotic and some type of gel to eat to help the problem.  But I still have to worry about the possible blockage.

I'm so sorry about your guy.  I hope he has a full recovery.

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Thank you. He's been hospitalized for nearly a week now so I'm hoping he gets to come home soon. You're lucky you caught the problem in time before it turned into an obstruction. Churchill never gave me any signs of being unwell. He really hid his illness well. I hope your cat gets better soon. It's hard to see them when they're sick, especially since they can't tell you what's wrong. 

Churchill is doing well and FINALLY gets to come home today after a week at the vet!!! We've really missed him and I can't wait to go pick him up!

chai love said:

 
Churchill is doing well and FINALLY gets to come home today after a week at the vet!!! We've really missed him and I can't wait to go pick him up!

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I'm so happy for both of you!!  I had to take mine back to the vet today.  Still waiting on word whether he's has an obstruction or not.

2catsforme said:

 
I'm so happy for both of you!!  I had to take mine back to the vet today.  Still waiting on word whether he's has an obstruction or not.

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Oh no! I hope he's okay! Fingers crossed it's not an obstruction.   

Hoping Churchill is home and doing well? And Chai, too?

While I have never had a cat with an obstruction, I have 3 kitties who have issues with bladder infections and crystals.  Here is an excellent website with information about kitty urinary care.  http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth  It has been a lifesaver for my kitties. I switched everybody but one (who refuses canned food) to canned food 4 years ago.  I have only had one problem since then. 

Susank521 said:

 
Hoping Churchill is home and doing well?

And Chai, too?

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Churchill has been doing very well  He has a follow-up at the vet today. He's been urinating on his own, eating well, and acting like his usual lovey self. Chai was peeing all over the house but since Churchill has come home, she's stopped. So I guess she was just stressed out.

cprcheetah said:

 
While I have never had a cat with an obstruction, I have 3 kitties who have issues with bladder infections and crystals.  Here is an excellent website with information about kitty urinary care.  http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth  It has been a lifesaver for my kitties. I switched everybody but one (who refuses canned food) to canned food 4 years ago.  I have only had one problem since then. 

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Thank you for the info! I've got Churchill eating canned food now along with his usual dry food (this is what his vet recommended). I got some canned food that had the highest moisture content I could find. My other cat Chai is eating it as well. I gotta say, they LOVE the change! 

I'm so glad to hear that they're both doing so well! That is wonderful news. It never hurts to add water to the canned food, too. Some of them you've got to trick any way you can into drinking more water.

Susank521 said:

 
I'm so glad to hear that they're both doing so well! That is wonderful news. It never hurts to add water to the canned food, too. Some of them you've got to trick any way you can into drinking more water.

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I'd never thought of doing that! Thanks for the tip!

Hi everyone, new to forum. My 9 year old cat Gus recently was blocked, for the first time. Up until now, he has never ever needed vet for any other reason than regular vaccines and normal checkups, so a healthy little fellow.Vet unblocked him with catheter, all was going well. Removed catheter, he re-blocked within 24 hours. Now he is scheduled for p.u. Surgery. I am nervous for him, but particularly the home care post-op. I have a room set up for him, away and safe from my other pets (three terriers and my other cat Johnny). I have pellet paper litter. I have a drinkwell 360 water fountain. I bought a water bottle for rodents he might use, but will also supply him with a regular dish of water. I get that giving him as much water and access to water is vital.He will need the collar on for 2 weeks. I will never ever ever feed him kibble again, only wet food! So, have i got it covered? Anyone have suggestions or willing to share their post op experience? I so want him to be comfortable and recover well....i feel he has been through so much already, the thought of him in pain seriously breaks my heart. My poor little guy. He is such a trooper and a sweetheart. I am nervous. I want this to go smoothly and succesfully, so please share any tips you may have. Thank you.

It sounds like you have it covered as far as wet food and options for water.  One thing I would caution you about is pain medication.  Some vets send kitties home with Metacam.  Metacam is an NSAID and a cat's liver can't metabolize NSAIDS so the kidneys do all the filtering work.  Buprenex is a better choice.  It is an opiate which we think would be worse and it would be for us but it's a safer choice for kitties.  It's a liquid that they send home in single dose syringes, at least that's the way my vet dispenses it.  It's put in their cheek pocket so it is absorbed through the mouth tissue.