Sonny was diagnosed with a urethral obstruction

My kitty Sonny who is approx.ly 7yr old was diagnosed with urethral obstruction. He didnt show any signs until he jumped on me. Which was unusual, spread his legs and peed a little bit. Then I woke up and he peed little spots on the bed. He tried to cover them by scratching 'litter on them'. I knew something was wrong. Brought him to vet and they said obstruction so I just wondered what the prognosis was. After first cath and overnight observation. Does he have a chance?

Yes he has a chance.  There are many kitties here who have been through this.  The fact that he was able to pee a little is a good sign, it means he wasn't completely blocked.  It may take a while for the spasms to calm down so that he can go without a catheter.  He will need some diet changes to keep him from forming crystals again.  All wet food is enough of a change for some kitties, others need more of a change to keep their urine pH where it needs to be.

Hi!

I am new to this site, but wanted to let you know you are not alone! My cat Sam (adopted in August) recently went to urgent care a few weeks ago with the same thing! It is terrifying as a kitty mom (and expensive), but he is doing so much better! He came home after one day on antibiotics, pain meds, and prazosin to help relax he urethra. I changed him from a dry diet to a grain free wet diet (after reading forums on this site)! 

Hoping Sonny gets better!!!

Hi, just an update. Sonny is home after 4 days at the vet. He had the cath for 2 days and needed help to pee for a bit at the vet. On the 4th morning he peed by himself. The vet gave me an antibiotic to give at home. I had to suggest the diet change. They suggested Royal Canine SO which is dry. I put water with it, but he doesnt seem to like it. I was wondering if anyone uses prescription diets. Which ones and wet or dry? What about Proplan UTI or good quality wet ones like Blue Buffalo? Thanks in advance. He likes wet food too. He is not a drinker at all.

That is unusual that you weren't given diet recommendations.  An all wet diet does help, some people add a little water to the wet food.  Do you know which kind of crystals he had?  http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth   has some info and there is also a table in that site with the protein, fat and carb content of most of the foods sold in the U.S.  You want a low carb food.

Urine pH being either too acidic or to alkaline contribute to formation of crystals.  Struvite crystals are caused by urine that is too alkaline, oxalate crystals are formed by urine that is too acidic.  http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2142&aid=2729

Hi, yes ive read up the different kinds of crystals. Unfortunately I believe this vet was very busy. They are significantly cheaper and made it possible financially to save Sonny. The first vet wanted $1,072 and this vet wanted $333 so I went with her. She unblocked him and gave me antibiotics to give which is what he needed. But I know from the expensive vet that diet change is essential to help with a relapse. The first cet suggested Hill's Science Diet C/D the second vet gave me the Royal Canine SO after I mentioned it. She said the SO should be affective for whichever cyrstal it was. I guess they did not test? Hmm. Well he is currently small amts of urine at home. Ill stay with the SO but may switch to wet proplan or something like it afterward. Royale Canin is so expensive!

I went through a blockage episode two years ago with one of my cats, and he had oxalate crystals, so I was able to choose non-acidifying foods. He's been fine ever since. He was on Urinary SO for a while, but I transitioned him to Blue Diamond while keeping a careful eye on him.

For a while, many cats foods contained DL-methionine, which is a urinary acidifier. It was actually hard to find one that didn't contain it two years ago when I started dealing with this problem. However, earlier this year when I was helping my mother pick a new cat food, I noticed that it had been quietly dropped as an ingredient in many foods, leading me to suspect that it was causing too many cats that didn't need it to develop oxalate crystals, but I'm sure we'll never know the real story.

For ongoing prevention, it really is helpful to know whether he had struvite or oxalate crystals. You might be able to get a urinalysis done and find out. There might still be enough crystals in his urine to identify them even if he's not blocked. More water helps both types because it makes it more difficult for any crystals to form, but an acidifying food will help prevent struvite crystals, while it will make oxalate crystals worse.

You should also be very alert to his litter box habits over the next few months. Mine blocked a second time, probably because they weren't successful in flushing out all the crystals the first time.

The one thing I've always been told is all wet food, all the time.  Not necessarily expensive wet food, just not dry.  

I just posted about my little guy having the same problem!

I switched to an all wet diet and a month later, he obstructed again (he is actually in the hospital now ). This time, my vet is suggesting I switch to Royal Canin urinary SO. I does have a wet variety and also a moderate calorie variety (Sam is overweight). It is super expensive, but I am on my second round of vet bills so I am going to try it and hope it solves the problem. From what I have read, it seems to really work for a lot of kitties.

I am glad to hear your little guy is doing better! Hope your diet change helps and there is no relapse!!

I've been through 2 blockages and 2 more instances of cystitis with my kitty too. He is now on Hills c/d wet stew formula. He really loves it in comparison to the pate version. He adored the dry formula, but I was recently told by his new vet that all dry food must be eliminated, including Rx versions (why do they sell it!?!). She told me that what matters the most is all wet food with water mixed in. As much water as he can tolerate. She said it didn't have to be Rx, but high quality with high protein. So he gets Hills c/d wet stew formula and I supplement that with Weruva, BFF, Pride by Nature's Variety and Tiki Cat in chicken, rabbit or duck. Some say that fish flavors should be avoided. No vet ever told me that & I can't find the rationale online, but I try to avoid it just to be safe.