Weird symptoms from cystitis..

Hello,

I posted this on Saturday evening:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/286387/emergency-vet-or-wait

And since then, have taken my cat Tripper to the emergency vet and got Hill's S/D and C/D, Buprenex, and Clavamox.  I've also spoke with my regular vet today to give her the updates on what's happened so far.  She agrees with the treatment, but adds in zylkene and phenoxybenzamine, for helping him with his stress levels and the other to help with relaxing his urethra to prevent spasm.  

However, I noticed something this morning and after I got home tonight.  This morning, there were a lot of small clumps in the boxes.  He was still peeing medium sized clumps the night before.  When I got home, he continued to pee small clumps frequently.  I called my vet to ask about it and she says to keep an eye on him for tonight and see if things worsen.  And to take him in first thing if he does.  She thinks it can be from irritation in the bladder that is making him go, just like a human with UTI issues.  He IS peeing, but in small chunks, and the last one I scooped, just one prune-sized chunk.  Also, every time after he uses the box, he grooms his genitals.  He's already on painkillers, so unsure why he is still uncomfortable?  And he has been going, nonstop, since after dinner, around 7?  He's gone to that box at least 5 times by now, each time a dribble.  

This is pretty different from my experience back in 2011.  I don't recall there being many small chunks.  There were smaller than usual chunks, but never small chunks.  The last time, it took over 3 weeks for things to calm down, and that was because he went from peeing outside the box, to getting checked and vet finding infected anal glands, got treatment for that, still peeing outside the box, and doing the urinalysis and then finding out he had crystals.  (I have 3 cats, so it was daunting to figure out who was peeing outside the box.. ultimately it was all 3)  

I guess my question is, have you guys experienced that when your cats had cystitis?  And how long did it take for things to subside?  

Also, my vet is completely puzzled by why he even had crystals.  He's been on canned UR food since 2011.  I've always added lots of extra water (almost like soup) to his dish.  The ONLY thing I can think of, is he cleans off the other cats' plates after he wolfs down his own meal.  One of those foods may have caused the pH value to change in his system.  

Thoughts?

- Grace

PS:  Had a discussion with my vet on the possibility of urethra clogging and the procedures that would be taken after, and one of her worries is how to give him meds while he is hospitalized.  Tripper is a complete sweetie at home, but the worst, unpredictable monster while at the vet.  There is only so much they can do while he is sedated, and he needs to be for anything to be done with him.  (the ER vet was completely terrified of him, and had ME put him on the scale to weigh him..)  It is a concern.  How do you folks with scary, super aggressive cats handle vet visits?

The frequent trips tot he litter box was the symptom that alerted us to our kitty's bladder stone. I would get him to the vet first thing tomorrow morning.

Has there been any stress lately? Kitties can get UTIs from stress.

I took him last night. He peed yesterday morning, so I decided to monitor him. By evening, I was getting concerned, and by the time it hit 10, I took him over to the emergency vet. The vet at first detected nothing wrong, she was able to express his bladder to produce a good stream of urine. Then she stuck a catheter in, and noticed lots of grit pulling it back out. And then.. it got stuck. (the straw bent) Bladder rinsing was now necessary, and probably a good thing to do anyway. They took an x-ray and did not detect any stones. So all of it is just grit, mucus and blood.

My cat is considered "fractious", so the vet discharged him after the visit. I didn't realize till I got home that it was a surgical procedure. I think she mentioned it, but I just heard bladder flush. In any case, I am home keeping an eye on him. Waiting on my regular vet to call me back and look into getting him an e-collar to prevent him from licking his sutures. He hasn't done that QUITE yet, since he is more concerned with his penis. From the moment he stepped home, he's been hitting the boxes, peeing small pebble size chunks. At least he is peeing, but is that normal? I'll ask my vet when she calls me back later. I guess with all that was done in that area, perhaps it hurts to pee a full stream?

Poor kid's completely exhausted, and earlier, in pain. He seems to be in better spirits now. I just hope this will be it. But hard to say, I suppose?

And as for the stress question.. if there was, it wasn't when I was present.  My house has several feliway plugins, and there is adequate space for 3 cats to have their own space.  So I'm still baffled as to what caused it.  

- Grace

I had a good long chat with my regular vet today, she was surprised that the emergency vet had to operate on Tripper. Basically the same procedure as removing bladder stones. What irked me is, other than telling me to continue giving him antibiotics and pain meds, there was no other post-op instructions. I had no idea he even had surgery until I read the report. So I asked my regular vet for the details. She also gave me an e-collar and extra antibiotics.

Speaking of e-collars.. how do you guys manage to keep the kitty from a) not dislodging it and b) not get his paw stuck in his neck trying to dislodge it? I've had to intervene at least 3 times tonight. I'm not entirely sure about going back to work tomorrow since it seems like he needs to be observed at all times. The vet gave me the regular clear plastic sort. The cat HATES it, and seems to have trouble going to the litterbox without it smacking into the doorway.. which turns him away. UH. Not good. He needs to have it on for 2 weeks... I am going to lose all my sanity by then.  And how do they sleep with it on?  He looks so miserable.  

And as for the non-stop peeing in small chunks.. my vet's ok with it since he is still peeing. I've scooped every time he went today, and have yielded what would be 2 good sized hockey pucks. So that's positive? OK, need to sleep. I've had pretty much none since Saturday.

- Grace

peeka73 said:

 
I had a good long chat with my regular vet today, she was surprised that the emergency vet had to operate on Tripper. Basically the same procedure as removing bladder stones. What irked me is, other than telling me to continue giving him antibiotics and pain meds, there was no other post-op instructions. I had no idea he even had surgery until I read the report. So I asked my regular vet for the details. She also gave me an e-collar and extra antibiotics.

Speaking of e-collars.. how do you guys manage to keep the kitty from a) not dislodging it and b) not get his paw stuck in his neck trying to dislodge it? I've had to intervene at least 3 times tonight. I'm not entirely sure about going back to work tomorrow since it seems like he needs to be observed at all times. The vet gave me the regular clear plastic sort. The cat HATES it, and seems to have trouble going to the litterbox without it smacking into the doorway.. which turns him away. UH. Not good. He needs to have it on for 2 weeks... I am going to lose all my sanity by then.  And how do they sleep with it on?  He looks so miserable.  

And as for the non-stop peeing in small chunks.. my vet's ok with it since he is still peeing. I've scooped every time he went today, and have yielded what would be 2 good sized hockey pucks. So that's positive? OK, need to sleep. I've had pretty much none since Saturday.

- Grace

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Wow, I do remember signing a waiver which gave pretty broad power to the emergency vet, but I would think they would at least tell you what they're doing. If not out of social courtesy for their own financial good since you might not be able to pay for an operation.

I only had to do the e-collar thing once, and my kitty finally resigned herself. So maybe you should start a new thread and get some fresh interest. I do know my friends used bondage tape on their kitty once. Bondage tape (yes, the stuff from the sex shop) sticks to itself but not to skin or hair (fur). Their cat had an injury to a paw/leg, though, and it seems it would be easier to use on a limb.

The average cat pees 2-3 times a day, and if clumping litter is used, it's about the size of a golf ball. Are you concerned about volume? It's possible he needs to get a lot of liquid out if they were pumping fluids in during surgery to keep the kidneys flushed. My kitty stayed overnight, so I didn't see any output volume. By the time she came home it was back to normal.

I signed a permission form, but I thought it was for the bladder flushing?  I guess I didn't realize it would involve cutting through the abdomen to open up the bladder?  I have to admit though, it was around 12:30 at the time, I was not 100%.  A lot of questions I'd ordinarily ask was completely forgotten when they called me 1 hour later to pick him up.  

Haha!  Bondage tape?  But wouldn't the kitty chew on it?  My boy chewed through the velcro'd gauze on his leg in no time. I finally found a way to get it to fit from an instructional online.  The instructions from my vet was useful, if your cat isn't moving around.    I took a tape measure and measured his neck and then tightened to that and it fit right (with 1 finger of room).  This time, he wasn't able to remove it, THANKFULLY.  I do check him to see if it is causing any abrasions.  Seems to be fine so far.

Usually I give my cats about 2-3 tablespoons of added water to their food every day.  That results in 2-3" pucks about 2x a day.  I've been giving him MORE water, about 5 tablespoons a day, 2tb for breakfast, 2tb for dinner, and a tb added a quick snack in the middle of the day or evening.  With that much water, I'm expecting to see more pee.  So it is alarming when he isn't producing a lot of pee.

He seems to be doing better by now, not going as much, but still producing small clumps (roughly the size of quarter to apricot size).  The e-collar (a la space helmet) prevents him from over-grooming his penis and incision area, so this is a win.  I just hope the 2 weeks go by fast. 

Thanks so much for your comments.  

- Grace

Yeah, you have to get the e-collar on fairly tight. The one-finger rule was tighter than I felt comfortable with at first, but it worked.

I gave 2 extra tablespoons of water at first and the pee clumps were like baseballs. You might want to call the vet and ask. He's not peeing somewhere besides the litter box, is he?

P.S. - Will be out of town, so if you have some other questions and I don't get back, you might want to start a different thread. A lot of times people (myself included sometimes) will ignore threads that they've seen around for a while, figuring they want to start from the beginning and would rather read threads that only have a few replies.