Blocked cat

I took Taz in to the vet yesterday morning as he was only urinating small drops. She thought he would be fine (without doing much of an exam). Said his bladder was small and empty. Prescribed antibiotics and sent home. Told he could block and to see if he urinates within 24 hours.  She said to push fluids- so I gave him 1/4th a cup of water mixed with food 3 times yesterday which he slurrped up with no issues.

12 hours later he still wasn't urinating despite obvious discomfort. He is now spending the night in the vet hospital and being monitored. The vet could not express his bladder, but said it wasn't full yet, only 3/4ths of the way full. She is hoping he will unblock with valium and busperone.  They will hold him until 7:30am at which point he can go to his regular vet for a catheter or come home depending on how he does.

Anyone used valium and busperone with success?

I'm hoping this won't be $1000 vet visit but it is adding up quick.  I'm very nervous about them having to put in a catheter.  I'm sitting by the phone (hoping not to hear anything) as the vet said she would only call if there was trouble.

Please send some prayers for Taz. I really can't handle loosing another pet right now. 

Anyone know what the time frame is on a cat blocking? I didn't know what to do tonight. Could I have waited til morning?

I know he has not urinated in over 14 hours now, but I wasn't sure if he could make it a full 24 hours... That seems like such a long time.

The emergency vet thinks he is at least partially blocked.

Good you brought him in.  A cat can block and if nothing comes out bladder can give out dumping the pee within body.  Other issue is the build up of toxins.  I lost a cat to being blocked.  He was pretty sick by time I put him to sleep and he was fine the day before.  He had issues on and off for 2 years prior to the incident that took him.  By time he went for final vet trip he looked pregnant.

Your cat is in the best place for the moment.  I never tried meds so do not know how that will work out.  MAny good vibes! Cause you caught it so early and sought treatment before it got to bad he has a good chance of coming around.

Hi

No, you should not have waited. It was good that you got him in tonight. I am concerned that the vet couldn't express his bladder yet didn't place a catheter. But of course I am  not a vet and I didn't see your cat, she did. You should never wait if your cat cannot urinate. It doesn't take long before the toxins build up in their system and start to poison them.

Like I said, I am not there nor do I know exactly what is going on with your cat but, I would be a little concerned with the valium and buspirone.

I think in a situation like this the best thing to do is to educate yourself as much as you can. There are allot on the internet that is not true so sometimes the safest bet is to go to the university web sites or to try the MERCK Veterinary Manual as it is easy to follow, and look stuff up on.

I hope your kitty has urinated by the morning.

Keep us posted.

You completely did the right thing. Even though it put a hole in your wallet

Blocked cat's give you very little time to fix them up. If they are treated early, they mostly do awesome and I dont often see them come back for the very same issue. Give them the exact same treatment 6 or 12 hours later, and it becomes a tragedy. Every hour that ticks by is another hour their kidneys can get upset, or that anesthetic if required becomes more and more risky. The worst is when people go away, leave their cat with someone to look after them, and that person doesnt know what to look for and misses the cat not using the litter box. Again, tragic....

Even if they are just thinking about becoming blocked, Im putting a catheter in. Sometimes there is nothing actually foreign blocking them - they are just spasming their own urethra and that is causing the block!

k

Thank you all.

Yes the vet did mention that he was spasming. They tried the medications first, but around 6am they put in the catheter.  I picked him up at 7:30 am. The vet said the catheter went in pretty easy and that this was the best we could hope for. They did get out some bloody urine, but by the time I picked him up, his urine was back to a clear yellow. 

The emergency vet closes at 8 am so I had to take him to my regular vet after that. He spent the day there. Bloodwork for kidney values and electrolytes came back normal. They gave him IV fluids and he just came home this afternoon.

I was very happy to see him use the litter box and produce urine as soon as we got home! He is definitely unblocked for the moment! Thank goodness.

Now he is on C/D cat food and antibiotics.

I think I am going to switch all my cats back to Purina. I've never had any urinary issues while feeding Purina. I feel like this is my fault for trying to switch to the "supposedly" healthier high protein cat foods. 

If I want to add protein, I can always give them some cooked chicken with the Purina.   So far I've tried By Nature, Nature's Variety, and Earthborne holistic, and I have to say my 2 urinary issue cats have not done well with any of them. All of them have caused struvite crystals and the By Nature is what probably caused him to block.

I get that Purina gets a bad rap, but so far I have avoided the 2007 food poisoning issues, and it is the only food my cats do not have urinary issues on!

I just don't understand this idea that higher protein foods will prevent urinary issues!  I even tried a raw diet with Pounce with as high a protein as you can get, and he still developed crystals while on it!

What other foods can I try? I know wysong has the uretic formula. Maybe I can give that a try. 

I've heard blue buffalo can cause crystals too.

Good luck! Glad to hear he is unblocked.

Did they find crystals?  Or was this a muscular/nerve issue?

You may have kitties that need either the prescription foods or the dl-methionine added to the better quality foods.  I think that it is probably an issue that is genetic in nature if he had crystals again.  The methionine is an amino acid found in meat which means the good quality canned food that is 95 to 98 percent meat  will have more of it than the lower quality foods with fillers.  Most of the urinary type foods including the Hills prescription diets add it to their food which is why they work even though they have the non-meat fillers in them.

Did they tell you his PH level? I have had luck with a  cat whose ph was to high by getting him on vitamin c. Also used some drops for urinary issues made for humans but helped him ALOT.  He was on CD for years.  Now he eats friskies wet only.

Hi;

Glad he was unblocked. Make sure to monitor his urine output carefully.

You need to find out if there were crystals in the urine and what kind they were. Also good to know his ph. There are crystals that will form in alkaline urine and one that can form in acidic urine. Crystals do not form in dilute urine so that is why encouraging them to drink is important. The majority of cats that block do not block from the crystals, it is usually a mucus plug and debris that cause the obstruction.

I had the same thing happen to my cat around the time of the pet foods being poisoned around 2007. I had switched my cat over to Solid Gold cat food. It is a local company that makes their own food and doesn't import any products. Sounds great right? My cat had an obstruction within a week and his urine ph was 8 which is to alkaline. So, you have to be careful. Remember it is better to feed canned than dry since it has a high water content. I personally use purified or distilled bottled water for my cats. I also have a fountain that encourages them to drink. Another trick is to set up a few xtra water bowls near all of the cat's favorite spots to hang out.

Try to keep stress to a minimum and sometimes even an extra litter box can help.

Glad your cat is doing better. He is not still on the valium or buspirone is he?