Theodore has taken a turn for the worst, advice please?

goholistic

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Theodore is doing well still! Still peeing and no sign of cat flu other than the scruffy skinny body and low energy. He is bright and happy and inquisitive but still requires a fair amount of sleep when he's done being a stickynose lol.
I think I might go ahead and buy some lysine to help keep building his immune system.
Thanks to everyone who has supported me through this terrifying rough patch, though I still a bit nervous about him being ill all over again.
Glad to hear he's on the mend!
 

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The vet should advise on this and a good vet won't let an animal suffer. Nor should an owner.  We lost our beloved cat at age 14, I thought would get another year with him so it was a shock.  Presumably your cats op didn't go well for the kidneys to suffer further - or maybe it was a delayed effect and all the stress caught up.  Were you recommended a low protein diet for him/her - though I believe cats need a fair bit.  Not medically qualified.  I would say that you know when the time is up.  The euthanasia is quick and a lot nicer than many human deaths.  I would suggest you go up with someone, I did it on my own and the (irrational) guilt was all mine.  We grieved  and around 6 months later took another cat on, a stray that had presumably been dumped in the area, not chipped.  He lived 9 months, we spent hundreds on him and gave him lots of love but when went to another vet they confirmed that the problem was cancer and we made the right decision, again he went quickly.  The first vet had been vague and gave a fair bit of treatment.  I had queried the grinding noise he made when eating, they just said it wasn't a jaw deformity.  The second vet said he was grinding his teeth with the pain, it must have burned when he ate but he was hungry so he forced himself.  I will probably not go back to the first vet again.  Suggest you get a second opinion but it does sound quite bad, so sorry.  All we can do is give them our best love when they're with us, spoil them rotten, give them a quick end when the time is right and honour their memory.
 
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elise1030

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Theodore isn't ready to die and we're not ready to let  him go. He is slowly putting weight back on after having the flu and he seems to have recovered from it but the blocking issue is trying to come back!!  He has regained a fair bit of the weight he lost through feeding him s/d wet and dry food.  Last night he had a plug at the end of his urethra and he got rid of some, but it was still there. We didn't want to call the vet at midnight AGAIN(Theodore loves to have to go to the vet at midnight lol) so we massaged his bladder until  we could see another plug and we scraped that away.

I want to ask the vet for more antibiotics but I don't know if this is the right course of action  for him. He's still on microlone but that alone doesn't seem to be controlling it. He is eating and drinking(we have a drinkwell plus 2 other bowls in the house). When he isn't plugged, he pees well and as often as he should. We have learned to recognize when he starts to become uncomfortable.

I'm a bit stumped as to how to get through this one.
 
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elise1030

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Good news, I spoke to the vet. He wants to put theodore back on amoxicillin and continue the microlone. He is also giving us a catheter to use so that we can clear plugs on the end of the urethra rather than try find something in the house that could introduce bugs into the bladder.
 

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I am glad he is still enjoying life and that you are willing and able to provide him with all the extra care he needs. I have had a cat with a blocked urethra and I know how much monitoring it takes and how you anxiously watch for each pee to be sure it is OK. Fortunately it sounds as if Theodore is a very amicable cat that will allow you to handle him intimately to clean him up and massage him - he must really know how much you care and he obviously trusts you very much. Bon courage!
 

jodiethierry64

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Hi Elise,
I'm so glad that Theodore is such a trooper through all of this. The fact he had the PU surgery doesn't mean the crystals have gone. My girl has horrible cystitis. Her bladder is always empty but she strains like she has to pee.He shouldn't be blocking after having 2 surgeries. Yes the crystals are still going to be a problem and since he had the surgery, the chance of UTI are great.
He has been through so much but he has that fighting spirit. He knows he is LOVED!!!!
Hugs and Cuddles, Theodore
 
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elise1030

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Yeah for sure Jodie :)  I guess it's trying to work out HOW to flush all these crystals away. I realize S/D food isn't an overnight cure so I think all i can do is syringe him extra water to help increase the need to go to the litter and hopefully with time we can clear these crystals.

EDIT: It's occured to me that we seem to get it under control when he is at the vets, usually when he's on a drip for fluids. When he comes home, its about a week later that the problem begins to rear it's ugly head. I think I'm reall seeing a correlation between the amount of fluids he gets t the vet and the amount he takes in when at home
 
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jodiethierry64

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Yes I agree!! The more fluids help him flush those *******s out!! I have to syringe my girl water. She will not drink enough and she is a dry food addict!!! She hates the prescription food and will not touch it. She will starve before touching it!! I told my husband thank God she's a girl or she would have blocked!! My boy, who has passed, blocked twice! My girl peed in our bathroom sink, during an episode, and it felt just like sand. Yes I felt it!! All I can do for her is, pain meds and syringing. She's a blue/ grey like Theodore! He, just like my girl, will have these flare ups from time to time but he will get through them. They will get less frequent.
 

goholistic

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Yeah for sure Jodie :)  I guess it's trying to work out HOW to flush all these crystals away. I realize S/D food isn't an overnight cure so I think all i can do is syringe him extra water to help increase the need to go to the litter and hopefully with time we can clear these crystals.

EDIT: It's occured to me that we seem to get it under control when he is at the vets, usually when he's on a drip for fluids. When he comes home, its about a week later that the problem begins to rear it's ugly head. I think I'm reall seeing a correlation between the amount of fluids he gets t the vet and the amount he takes in when at home
Since Theodore seems to be the cooperative type, might it be worth discussing with your vet giving sub-q fluids at home to keep him hydrated and flushed, if that's what really seems to help? 
 

 
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elise1030

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I had to write another post for something similar, but anyway, I discussed it with the vet and he said no it would be too hard for me to do and he wasn't willing to let me do it. Anyhow I think I'm mostly finished wiht this vet. We think he's lost in over his head on how to deal with Theodore. When I said to him we have considered putting him to sleep, he agreed that it was looking like coming to that. He just doesn't seem to have any solutions or answers left for us. So we are going to take him to a feline specialist in Melbourne(two hours away) for a 2nd opinion. Theodore needs fresh eyes and a fresh look at the history and him by someone who specializes in feline medicine.
 

goholistic

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I'm sorry to hear your vet feels that way, especially if he does think that fluids would help Theodore. In my honest opinion, only YOU can decide what would be too hard for you.

I'm glad to hear you are pursuing a second opinion. I hope the visit goes well.
 
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elise1030

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Nothing is too hard at the moment for us, he is still eating and semi happy but something still isn't right. He's not ready for the too-hard-basket yet. All  we can do is pay out $170 for fresh eyes and go from there.
 
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elise1030

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Called up the specialist clinic, they are more than happy to see him today! We have an appt for 7 hours time from now. He is large and full so we are going to get him drained and take a urine sample with us.
 

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yes - PLEASE LOOK FOR 4LIFE.COM - TRANSFER FACTOR (STRESS FORMULA FOR ACUTE)

if the vet is prescribing antibiotics AGAIN, then you need to change vets!

check out  - shirleyswellnesscafe.com

after my cat died, I started research as to why doctors wont do this... more money in their pocketbooks because we keep going back time after time rather than going with our gut and our research...
 
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elise1030

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I will! The little bugger dropped his entire bladder of urine 5 minutes before we left to take him to our vet to get it drained. So the specialists will have to get a sample there. I'm excited and nervous. I worry we will be opening a huge can of worms.

This is the clinic we are taking him to and we are seeing Amy. http://www.catdoctor.com.au/index.php
 

goholistic

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I will! The little bugger dropped his entire bladder of urine 5 minutes before we left to take him to our vet to get it drained. So the specialists will have to get a sample there. I'm excited and nervous. I worry we will be opening a huge can of worms.

This is the clinic we are taking him to and we are seeing Amy. http://www.catdoctor.com.au/index.php
Ohh...I like that they are a cat-only clinic! Those types of places really do seem to know the ins and outs of cats and their unique physiology. Looks very promising! 
 
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elise1030

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Well we are finally home after 6 hours on the road there and back in a busy city in an unfamiliar clinic. Theodore was an absolute champion in the car, he did not make a sound at all during the entire trip there and back but he was quite happy. The experience was amazing. The Vet was just so wonderfully kind and gentle and Theodore was not scared at all by her.  They had feliways plugged in throughout the clinic. So we spent around 30 minutes just going through all the documents she had faxed from our local vet and our recount of timeline for him. Then she examined him and he is a perfectly healthy cat except his urethra opening is no bigger than a pen dot on a piece of paper.

She managed to get a sample and there is bacteria in there and again a moderate amount of struvite  crystals. His pH is 7.5! So, game-plan is she wants to refer him to the best feline surgeon in the state who specialises in microsurgery and repair the PU that was done. She feels that the 2 times that our local vet has done he hasn't cut away enough of the penis and peel it back far enough to the wider part of the urethra. She is putting forward a case to him because of immediate money issues which we can come up within a few weeks but the surgery needs to be done preferably by the end of the week. She is holding the urine sample to send off on Thursday for culturing when we can pay for that.

In the meantime for the next 48-72 hours is to put him on zeniquin(antibiotics)  and Dantrolene/prazosin compound for anti-spasmodic and vessel dialation. If in 48 hours we feel he is still in pain she recommended to give him meloxicam. I asked her about the risks of it and she agreed but his age and blood panel shows that it would be safe for him for a very short term situation. I have full trust in this lady that she knows what is best for our boy.

I'm exhausted but Theodore is actually quite happy, he has eaten, had a drink and peed!
 

goholistic

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So glad to hear you had a good experience! And that Theodore seems happy! 
  But, whoa, another surgery was not what I was expecting.  
  Okay, so the surgery will make the urethra opening bigger. What about the bacteria, crystals, and high pH? Did she offer any insight on this?
 
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elise1030

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Because he got the flu and a secondary infection to that, she feels that when that happened bacteria were multiplied. Because he had been on various antis such as amoxicillin rilixene, enrofloxacin, and bounced back between the three over the 4 months he has built a resistance to that. The stuvites were most likely never resolved because we have only had him on s/d food for 2 weeks and it takes 3-4 weeks to dissolve. And because he's had high pH probably from not having at dilute enough urine, that made the struvites return a bit more if we had even had a smaller amount in there.

She said that hopefully with a strictly s/d wet food only diet with a little added water and these drugs we should see an improvement fairly quickly in his comfort and ability to pee what he can. The aim is to get the pH down and get the bacteria under control. She  said he could still block but he hasn't technically been obstructed since the 2nd PU surgery.
 
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