Urinary tract problems in a feralish cat

fuzzycat

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Hi all,

I have a feral type male cat who I think may be working on a urinary tract blockage. He has been living inside since 2011 and all in all had adjusted better than I expected. He had the basic feral type cat behaviors, no sudden movements, no loud noises, no strangers, no real deviation from his routine. However, he would come whenever called and I could get him to jump up on the bed to visit and get pets. He was beginning to occasionally stretch out beside me and stay for awhile.

Recently, I had been seeing him in the litter box more than usual. I was concerned so I started to try and pay closer attention to him. Friday morning I saw him in the box again. He wasn't want you would call straining but he did cry a little and when I checked the box afterword there was nothing there. So I called the vet and made an appointment. I was concerned that catching him would be a problem but I was lucky in that he was in his cat tree when it came time to collect him.

At the appointment, he was so scared that he completely tensed up and the vet had difficulty palpating his bladder. He is a good size male and very solidly built. He is strong.   She didn't think he was blocked but she wanted to take some x-rays to be sure and get a urine sample. So, I left him for the day at the clinic. Later that afternoon when they called me to come get him they said that the x-rays didn't show any stones or major blockage. They still wanted to rule out crystals or cystitis. They had not been able to get a urine sample, so they were sending him home with instructions for me to get the urine sample. I guess it was all they could do to get the x-ray. He almost got away from them and they didn't want to push it.

They did give him a shot of pain killer and antibiotic.

I was a little surprised they didn't sedate him so that they could work on him, but I guess they were being conservative.

I tried setting him up in a bath room as instructed but he was pretty freaked and bolted out into the guest bedroom when my husband opened the door. I decided to leave him there for the evening hoping that if I gave him some space he would calm down.  By today, it seemed that he had not eaten, had not used the litter box and was not responding to me at all.

I called the vets again when they opened up. My regular vet was off for the day. At first I spoke to a vet tech. I explained my concerns and she told me he must had peed somewhere, just not in the box. I was a little take aback by her assumption. I asked her to please talk to the vet and explain the situation. She did and basically said the same thing again. He must have peed somewhere else in the room. They reiterated that I had to get him isolated in the bathroom. At the end of the conversation, I felt as if I was at a stalemate. There was nothing else they could do. This vet only has hours in the morning on Saturdays. After thinking it over I called back again and asked to speak to the vet directly. She said based on his x-rays he was not blocked. It was probably the pain killer making him act abnormally. Again she reiterated that I needed to get him isolated in the bathroom where I could monitor his urine output.

So now it is 9:00 in the evening. I finally broke down and took the bed apart to be able to get to him. He is just so panicked. I was surprised he wasn't growling or hissing. He did let me gather him up but I was on the ground with him and realized there was no way I could stand up and hold on to him. I ended up scooting my butt across the floor to get him into the bathroom. But the first time I went in to check on him he bolted. This time into the master bedroom.

He still has not eaten. He did use the regular litter box a little so I know he is not totally blocked, but clearly there is a problem.

Is this a case of  Vets don't like ferals?  I know that if he does become blocked  it is an emergency. I was told today by a friend that not all blockages show up on x-rays; crystals for instance. The vet said  that if he was blocked he would in the box straining and crying. If he wasn't then, chances are he is fine. That maybe true for a normal house cat, but is it also true for a feral type? How do I find a Vet who knows how to treat this kind of cat?
 

ritz

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Yeah I hate it when vets say, oh he must have peed somewhere in the house....Well, not if the cat is blocked or scared.
Feral cats may be more reluctant (less trusting) to show pain/cry out. The only way I know Ritz (semi feral when trapped five years ago) is sick is if she doesn't want to eat. (She is prone to stress induced UTIs.)
Regarding finding a vet who is feral friendly: see if you can find a low cost s/n clinic, especially one that holds regular feral/stray s/n clinics. Call them and ask who their vet is. Then call the vet. (That said: if you can pick him up he is no longer feral. But some vets hear the word feral and act/react accordingly.
You might have to leave the cat again at the vet's office, and insist that they get a urine sample via a needle. I think this can wait until tomorrow (Monday) but I'd be at the vets first thing Monday.You're right in that if male cats get truly blocked, it's life threatening. Though if he is peeing any amount, that's better than nothing.
Meanwhile I'd try to get him to eat, something smelly. And let him chill, relax for today.
 
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fuzzycat

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Thank you for your insights. Sometimes I am not sure if I am being overly protective or if I should trust my judgement.  It is nice to hear some one else with experience say, ferals don't always respond the same way.

One big difference I see is he has stopped talking, as in not a peep. Even when he lived outside, he was a huge talker. When we brought him in he was such a big talker that it was a problem. I did a little research and stopped responding back to him and that seemed to settle things  down. Since then he would talk back to me whenever I talked to him.  I am taking this as a sign that he is both scared and not feeling well.

I have gotten him to jump up onto the bed twice briefly (but he is not talking like he normally does) since last night.

Normally, I can get him to come to me. I was working on getting him to let me walk up to him, especially at moments like when he is in the middle of the living room, out in the open. Picking him up has always been iffy. I can pick him up, briefly. He doesn't growl or hiss, but he he does try to bolt and I normally get a scratch or two when he does. The biggest thing is he is size and strength.

I am wondering if maybe the vets didn't have a bigger problem getting the x-ray then they let on.  Drat, I really liked that Vet too! I wish they would just be honest with you.
 

raintyger

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I second the recommendation for another vet, and hopefully one that will communicate more. Ideally the urine should be drawn via needle. Otherwise if there's an infection you'll never know if the bacteria was truly in the bladder or if the sample got contaminated. Of course the feral aspect could've made it too hard for a needle collection.

It is true that not all stones will show up on x-ray. Some of them you have to get by ultrasound.

It is NOT true that he'd be straining and crying if blocked. All cats are different. My kitty was not blocked, but had a stone and did not strain or cry. She made multiple trips to the litter box in quick succession. That was the only symptom and my vet confirmed that for many cats that is the only symptom.
 
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fuzzycat

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So, it is possible for a stone to not show up on x-ray? In other words, the x-ray we took didn't rule out much really?

I will work on finding another vet tomorrow.

She did give him a shot of Convenia (?), the long acting antibiotic. If this was a simple case of a UTI, I would expect to start to see improvement by now. I am thinking he has crystals or something else.

I have not seen him strain. I have seen him in the box, a lot.

I have no problem with having to sedate an animal to work on him, especially if there is possibility of risk of injury to both the animal and care giver. I understand there  is a risk with sedation, but not treating the animal is a greater risk sometimes. And, if it reduces his stress..........But hey, what do I know.

I use to have horses.....safety always came first.

Thank you for the support.
 

raintyger

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So, it is possible for a stone to not show up on x-ray? In other words, the x-ray we took didn't rule out much really?

I will work on finding another vet tomorrow.

She did give him a shot of Convenia (?), the long acting antibiotic. If this was a simple case of a UTI, I would expect to start to see improvement by now. I am thinking he has crystals or something else.

I have not seen him strain. I have seen him in the box, a lot.

I have no problem with having to sedate an animal to work on him, especially if there is possibility of risk of injury to both the animal and care giver. I understand there  is a risk with sedation, but not treating the animal is a greater risk sometimes. And, if it reduces his stress..........But hey, what do I know.

I use to have horses.....safety always came first.

Thank you for the support.
Stones can show up on x-ray, but if the x-ray shows nothing and the symptoms still seem like a UTI, an ultrasound is the next step. Some hospitals ask if you want to do urine and blood samples, x-ray, and ultrasound all at the same time so that you don't have to take kitty in multiple times.

Make sure he pees. If he's not peeing, it's an emergency and he has to get to the vet within about 12 hours.
 
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