Alfie is in the hospital

I don't post often these days. I know. Sorry. I'll try to be better about it.

Those of you who have been on here for at least 6 years or so might remember that my rescued feral kitten Ally (who is now 6 years old and on my lap) had a companion that I adopted: Ollie. Those of you who have been on here for at least 3 years and a month or so may remember that Ollie died on his 3rd birthday. I've not gotten over that loss.

You may also remember that I adopted another red tabby: Alfie to help fill the void for both Ally and myself.

Now, 3 years later, he too had to be rushed to the animal hospital. Fortunately, whereas Ollie had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and threw a massive clot, it appears, according to the vet that Alfie has a urinary blockage.

We just heard back about the blood work and it looks like his kidneys aren't damaged due to him being very good with communicating what's going on to me - letting me know very quickly that he was in pain. In other words, we caught this early.

He'll be hospitalized for a few days I'm told, and they're doing the catheterization right now under anesthesia.

I am asking two things:

1. Please pray for him. I'm not terribly religious, but the way I see it - it can't hurt and might help. I don't think I could handle losing him too.

2. The vet asked what brand I feed him. I feed him Wellness. She said she didn't feel that's a quality brand and says that she wants me to switch to Hills. Hills? I don't buy that brand because it seems like it's mostly grains and meat byproducts. I've never heard "Hills" and "quality" put together like that. Am I wrong in how I perceive Hills? I also felt it strange to discuss switching his food right after she told me that switching foods can cause urinary blockage. I'm concerned her motives aren't pure - they sell Hills Prescription Diet food there. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

Hills makes prescription foods and they market heavily to vets beginning in vet school so many vets swear by Hills foods.  For most kitties Wellness is a better food.  However for kitties in need of a prescription food Hills may be the better food.  For some kitties you can find a better quality food to use in place of the prescription food.  Some kitties need the prescription food.  I tend to not making sweeping judgements as to the quality of a food.  It really does depend on a specific kitties needs.

I should have mentioned btw that my dog was on Hills Science Diet followed by Hills Prescription Diet (the particular formulation that isn't really prescription at all, just regular food). He lived to be 18, and we kept him on it because he had allergic issues with most foods and Hills just happened to agree with him.

The thing that was strange though was that the vet wasn't even talking about a prescription diet product like perhaps the urinary health formulation. Just Hills brand food in general. If she'd specified a urinary health formula, I'd be less confused, but she seemed to feel that Hills is better than Wellness. I have to state that thought as a generalization because that's basically how she put it.

She seemed a little older than me, so mid to late 30s probably. I'm aware that Hills markets to vets, but I didn't realize it was vet school beginners (why?). I assumed she was somewhat experienced due to age, but maybe not?

Anyways I've heard back and he's currently sedated and catheterized. I want to visit him but I don't want to stress him. Also I want to let him get some sleep since he had a rough night. Maybe later in the day towards the end of visiting hours?

I can't imagine that his diet was responsible for this. Ally has been eating it for 6 years and is in near perfect health (with the only exception being that she needs to eat less of it because she's slightly overweight) and Alfie has been on it since he was 6 months old or so.

Alfie had to stay in the same room as his litter box for hours yesterday (it's a small bathroom) because there was some repair work being done and I didn't want some worker to accidentally step on him (he's very friendly) plus there fiberglass insulation strewn all over and I didn't want him exposed to it. That's exceptionally rare for me to have to do.

I wonder if proximity to the litter box caused him to avoid using it (holding it in) which caused him stress and caused the blockage? His potassium level indicates that he couldn't have been blocked for more than yesterday. It was only slightly elevated.

I'll pray for your sweet Alfie, to get well quickly and to STAY healthy. All the luck!

Staying healthy is a big concern. I understand that having had a urinary blockage puts him at increased risk for a repeat, and I've found many stories online of people who care for animals with chronic blockage issues.

I hate the idea of there being a potential ticking time bomb of pain awaiting him (a second blockage) assuming he gets through this all right.

I'd have to assume that the vet is referring to Hills s/d or c/d Rx food. Perhaps they didn't say so specifically, Hills and Royal Canin both have urinary Rx formulas that are commonly prescribed. I believe that I've read on here many people linking Wellness food with urinary issues in cats. Its mostly anecdotal, but I've read it many times.

I don't see you mention in your posts of the Wellness food is wet or dry? You'll find tons of info on here & elsewhere showing that wet food is of major importance for cats with urinary blockages. The type of food and brand of food can have a significant affect on your cats chances of having urinary issues, although stress and other factor may affect it too. I visited my kitty daily while he was in the hospital for a urinary blockage. He wouldn't eat without me there, so I wouldn't think you visiting would add stress. He will probably he happy to see you!

I hope your pumpkin feels better! 

I don't think you can get a blockage just by food alone. I think it's a combination of urine quality, inflammation and genetics. I couldn't afford the prescription diet at first because the procedure was so expensive I was out of money. I just bought OTC uninary formula dry and kept feeding mine the same wet food. Mine is fine 3 months out. I pushed the water intake which may have made up for the food. It's a nerve racking conditon but ,with follow ups with your vet checking him, you will get to where you will only follow him to the litterbox once a day instead of 10 to make sure he is peeing.

I want to share with you that my male cat developed urinary crystals, which can cause a blockage, when I was feeding him almost exclusively Wellness canned grain-free. When I stopped that food, the crystals went away. I don't know for a fact that Wellness caused the crystals, as he was very sick with many other issues at the time. But there is a strong enough correlation in my mind that I won't feed him Wellness exclusively again.

I hope Alfie recovers. I don't think I'd feed him Hills, at least not long-term. I might consider the urinary formula short-term. Then I would look to other brands of canned food. Have you read catinfo.org? There is a ton of information about preventing and dealing with urinary tract problems in cats.

Good luck.

Mega for Alfie! You may remember my posting about Jamie, our last cat. He developed crystals, but not a total blockage, and was on a prescription diet for quite a while (Royal Canin, Hill's and a German brand). There was no recurrence of crystals, but I did have a urinalysis done every 6 months to make sure everything was okay.

So Jamie while on the prescription diet stayed healthy? Or he was taking another type prescription diet for some other reason and got a partial blockage? Just trying to weigh things for my cat too.

First my Alfie and I both wish your Alfie a full recovery and will be keeping our fingers crossed for him!

Second Wellness has several reports of their dry food causing urinary infections, crystals, and blockages. (you can read reviews on amazon about it, I've heard it from several other sources) You want to get him off that food an onto another diet. I highly recommend a 100% wet food diet. Hills is a prescription diet and is marketed to vets. While it is a lab test food to keep your kitties healthy (ish) there are a lot better diets out there for kitties that aren't prescription. I recommend Weruva canned foods, my guy is 3 years clear of crystals since he's been on their diet. Weruva is also formulated for kitties prone to crystals and my vet approved it for my kitty.

Best of luck!

Thanks!  I intend to reply to some posts above, but I'm exhausted and will try to get to them tomorrow.  Thanks for the support everybody.

I would feed the prescription food.

There are several websites which suggest that a high protein wet food will eliminate urinary crystals. I know from experience that this is Not true!

I had my cat on instinct lid canned. He still developed crystals. I tried home cooked food and he redeveloped crystals. This was on an all chicken diet!

Cats with urinary issues need a urinary acidifier called methionine. Methionine is found in meats so theoretically levels should be higher in an all meat diet. Only different cuts of meat contains different levels of methionine... methionine levels in cat foods are a trade secret...

This means it is like playing Russian roulette. You have to try the cat food for a week then take in a urine sample. If the urinary ph is too high, that food will not work. Than you try another food and another.... until you find a food that produces the right urinary ph.

It is easier to feed a prescription diet. But if you are willing to keep testing urine samples it is doable. But anytime you change cat food brands in the future you will need to have a urinalysis done.

I had a $600 vet bill from my cat blocking... and a second bill for $200 the next time he had a flare up. It took a year to diagnose him as he passed crystals inconsistently.... so add another $400 for x rays ultrasound and additional urinalysis.

You are risking your cats life by trying different foods. It is not worth it! My cat does fine on purina urinary and he will stay on that for the rest of his life.

If you absolutely have to feed something else, you can buy supplemental methionine and add it to the food, but again you need to take urine samples to get the dosage right. As too much methionine may cause kidney damage.

Some cat foods have too much magnesium and phosphorus... you would need to email the companies to get those values.

My cat would need supplemented methionine even if I fed home made food. Or else he will redevelop crystals.

Sarah Ann have you looked into the Purina UR? I have finally been able to buy a bag after recovering from vet bills and was looking into keeping this food on board for my boy who had a blockage and the rest of my cat family. I was feed ProPlan urinary formula while poor, also by purina and it looks and smells exactly like the UR.

I have 3 cats, only 1 with urinary issues. I just feed him separately in the bathroom & the rest outside. There is no way I could afford to feed all 3 cats the same Rx food. I buy the Hills c/d wet food & also feed other high protein, grain free canned to him. I feed him zero dry. It is really a major issue & while its cheaper today to feed dry, it's more expensive in the long run with multiple vet visits. This cat has cost me around $3000 in vet visits through the years. I'd really rather not go down that road again!

I agree that the Hills c/d food doesn't have the best quality ingredients, but it works for many cats. Everyone has to find what works for their cat. Each is different, so our experiences may not reflect yours.

hexiesfriend said:

So Jamie while on the prescription diet stayed healthy? Or he was taking another type prescription diet for some other reason and got a partial blockage? Just trying to weigh things for my cat too.

Click to expand...

He remained healthy while he was on the prescription diet. After a couple of years I started giving him non-prescription canned, but continued with the prescription dry (he was a dry-food junkie who ate 50% canned) and the regular urinalyses. IIRC, one urinalysis showed some crystals, so he went back on an all Rx diet for about 6 months.

The vet recommended a much better Rx "urinary diet" food for him, but it was only available in Germany, and he didn't like it anyway. We were stuck with Royal Canin or Hill's. I tried a prescription acidifier - a paste added to his food - but he wouldn't eat it.

Well, Alfie is still in the hospital.  He's set to be discharged tomorrow.  Meanwhile, I visited him and they tried to see if I could get him to eat Prescription Diet food.  He wouldn't.  I even tried putting a tiny bit on his nose and he licked it off but wouldn't eat any more.

I bought some to try with Ally and she won't eat it either so far.

The vet doesn't want me to do a transition where I give them both foods for a period of time, but rather she wants me to feed them Hills Prescription Diet as of today.

So far, it doesn't look like they are interested.  Ally used to be a picky eater when she was a kitten, but Alfie never was.  Then again, he seemed focused on staying in my arms and seemed to want to come home so maybe his mind was just not on food.

I was finally able to afford the prescription diet but the Purina UR and everyone in the household inhaled the food they all loved it. Maybe you cat try the Purina prescription diet UR with both.

She seems intent on the Hills brand because they make a version that both helps avoid triple phosphate crystals, which he's still producing, and supposedly decreases psychological/emotional stress.

Honestly, if it works it would only help Ally in my opinion. She's relaxed and very loving towards me, but she does have anxiety issues around people outside of my immediate family (with the exception of one friend who somehow magically she is relaxed around). Alfie though loves everybody and is pretty easy going.

I'm not opposed to trying it, but I'll have to somehow get them both to eat it.

The vet mentioned Purina but she seemed to prefer Royal Canin if I can't get them to eat Hills.

Just mentioned it because all my cats liked it I have 4 cats and that usually doesn't happen with prescription food [emoji]128515[/emoji]