Help Soothing Cat

Hi Everyone, I’m new here and could really use some guidance or advice regarding my 12-year-old baby girl, Soy.  She saved me 9 years ago when I met her at a shelter, and I really do believe she hung the moon.  (Side-note:  she’s a ‘fluffy’ 17 lbs.)

What I originally thought to be a fecal issue is actually a urinary issue.  My vet ordered 2 x-rays of her abdomen, blood work, and a urinalysis.  Everything checked out and the vet sent me home with a pro-biotic and an herb to treat IBD.

Soy continued her excessive trips to her litter box, and only drinking water.  I called the vet this morning to alert her to the fact Soy had pulled out a lot of her fur in an attempt to clean herself.  At this point, the tech I was speaking with told me that wasn’t unusual with crystals.  Crystals?!  My vet told me Soy was fine!  The tech told me to come in and get some food, Royal Canin SD, which would help her until Monday.

I’ve been giving her a spoonful every couple of hours, and she’s actually eating it.  Unfortunately, her bottom area is now dirty, furless, red, irritable, and very sensitive.  I’ve tried baby wipes.  I’ve tried warm compresses and cooler compresses.  Every time, she cries out and my heart breaks.  It’s effecting how she walks, how she is able to lie down, and get comfortable in general.  After some researching, I discovered it might be urine scald, and now I’m very concerned that if she doesn’t already have an infection, she will get one.

Now here I sit fuming on Saturday night regarding my vet’s complete incompetence while my heart is breaking over my poor baby’s misery.

Please, anybody - do you know of anything I can do to help my girl?

There is a lot to be learned here.  Go to the top of the page underneath the brown bar and search "FLUTD" for feline lower urinary tract disease.  Diet and keeping the pH of the urine slightly acidic will help prevent crystals.  At her age, she may actually have a bladder infection and may need antibiotics, but she may just have inflammation.  In the meantime, you can treat her "diaper rash" by washing with a mild gentle soap like oatmeal soap, rinsing well, and putting a little Vitamin A&D diaper rash ointment on the irritated area immediately after washing and rinsing (a wet washcloth works well). 

Here is just one link from the above search  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/307381/...recent-problems-being-reported-september-2015 (i.e. be careful).  This is from last September so may not be totally current but it something to be aware of.  Wish I had more time to chat but am off to work.  There will be others on here soon, and you can learn much from searching

I ended up taking Soy to the Vet E.R. and now have a handle on the situation.  We were sent home with an antibiotic and pain medication.  Soy is now resting comfortably for the first time in days.  My only regret is not taking her sooner, especially considering the cost was cheaper than our regular vet (now ex vet).

I just wanted to thank you for being the only person to answer this newbie’s questions.  I sincerely appreciate it.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I have no experience with this issue, but my own cat was at the ER this weekend and oh wow, I feel for your cat.

How is she going right now?

Good morning, misterwhiskers.  I hope you and your cat are doing better today!

Thanks for inquiring about Soy.  She’s feeling much better today after a good night of sleep.  I just gave her the first dose of pain medication for the day through a syringe, and didn’t quite administer it all.  I was shocked that she licked the remainder from the syringe before I could squirt the rest into her mouth.  I hope once she heals we won’t have to go to kitty rehab.  LoL

I have never felt so helpless and worthless trying to soothe my baby’s pain and discomfort.  I am so lucky to have found such an amazing emergency clinic, and I sincerely hope you and your baby’s experience was as positive as mine.  Take care!

I'm glad you had such a good experience with the ER vet, and now have Soy's situation under control. I would be very inclined to find another regular vet too; this could have ended very badly for Soy.
Is her bottom any better today?

WillowWynde said:

 
I ended up taking Soy to the Vet E.R. and now have a handle on the situation.  We were sent home with an antibiotic and pain medication.  Soy is now resting comfortably for the first time in days.  My only regret is not taking her sooner, especially considering the cost was cheaper than our regular vet (now ex vet).

I just wanted to thank you for being the only person to answer this newbie’s questions.  I sincerely appreciate it.

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I'm so glad you got the information you needed and you were wise enough to take her to the emergency clinic rather than wait until Monday.   I'm sorry I had to rush off to work and didn't have time to give you any more information -- I was just quickly checking the "unanswered posts" list to see if there was anything URGENT before I left, and yours certainly was.  Checking back today to see if there was anything new and I was very happy to hear that she is now resting comfortably. 

Since you are going to be looking for a new vet, I recommend you search for a vet hospital accredited by the AAHA, and even better, one that has a Feline Specialist on the staff.  Here is a link where you can search and find if there are any AAHA accredited vet hospitals in your area.   Not being accredited does not mean a vet or animal hospital is bad or inferior, because accreditation is a voluntary thing, but those who choose to meet the standards and maintain accreditation are usually very good.  Choosing a feline specialist is also a good idea if cats are the only kind of pets you have.    If you can't find one, or if there are several, perhaps the emergency vets could give you a recommendation.

https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/about_aaha/hospital_search/default.aspx

Let us know how everything is going with Soy.  So glad she's feeling better today!

Oh believe you me, pushylady, I’ve been looking for a new vet since Saturday, and think I might have found just the one.  Word of mouth through several of the dog breeders and animal lovers in the area have been exceedingly positive.  I guess we’ll give them a try and hope for the best.

I plan on paying my old vet one last visit to discuss Soy’s horrible care in hopes of preventing this from happening again.  I was going to do that today, but I’m still too angry.  In a day or two, my inner sailor will hopefully be suppressed and I will be more level-headed.

Thank you for inquiring about Soy.  The ER Vet shaved the remaining fur off of that area that she had pulled out prior.  Thankfully her skin is not quite as irritated, and her wounds from biting and scratching are beginning to heal.  Her pain medication helps her rest comfortably, and she is either sleeping or looking around at everything on another level of consciousness.  I think it’s pretty safe to say she’s feeling pretty groovy.

Have a great day!