Pools after catheter removal?

Hi, all.

Long time lurker, but I couldn`t find the answer in other posts, so I decided to ask directly.

My 6 year old male, Loki had a urinary blockage last week. I noticed it early Friday morning, but had to wait for the clinic to open. So, yes, he was blocked. The clinic said they had a lot of difficulty inserting a catheter, but they managed, after two doses of anesthesia (he was that blocked) gave him meds and sent us home. (We don`t have animal hospitals here). The catheter stayed for 5 days, and for 5 days we had to carry him to the clinic and back for cleaning that thing and some meds. He was on 2 antibiotics, 2 corticosteroids, vitamin C and a medicine that helps him pass more urine. No pain meds, because the veets said that would just encourage him to pull on the catheter more

So someone was always awake making sure he doesn`t pull the catheter out, but on 5th day, the taxi was late, there was horrible traffic jam, and he managed to pull it out. The vets didn`t comment on this, they just said it is more painful that way.

So now he is home. We are giving him antibiotic. He loves eating Royal Canine urinary SO food, drinks a lot of water, plays...in general acting almost normal.

He does go to his litter box, passing small amounts of urine. Doesn`t seem to be straining. But when he sleeps there are huge pools of urine leaking out. And I do mean huge.

So, is this normal? The vets just said "as long as it goes, it`s all good"

Sorry for maybe too long explanation, but I am worried sick and I have idea what`s relevant and what isn`t.

Thanks for reading.

I haven't dealt with a blocked kitty, hopefully someone who has will be along.  It is true that as long as he is passing urine then he is okay as far as being blocked but that is odd.  I wonder if he is holding it because of the pain he felt before.  I know that some kitties will develop a litter box aversion because they associate the box with the pain.  Some people have had good luck with changing everything about the box, new box, new location, new litter.

Thank you for reply . Yes, I bought a new litter box and moved it to another room. 

And, I forgot to add, he is cleaning the area (licking himself), quite often.

This is a nightmare. We are still taking turns watching him, and I am just so stressed out...

So thank you. Any reply is helpful

Update:

I went to the vet and demanded straight answer. They told me Loki's situation is rare, but it does happen and that his sphincter is kind of locked in an open position due to struviate crystals and, later, the catheter. So, the vet thinks it would take him about a week to get better, and sphincter to relax. The time of recovery is usually equal to "problematic days". So, from the day the blockage started (add 1 or 2 days more, you might have missed it, he says) +  number days he had catheter in him. It was removed last Wednesday. Now all I can do is wait . I feel horrible, thinking what he could be going through. It will be a very long week. I hate watching my family suffer. 

I hope this information helps someone who was or is in a very bad place like me.

I will keep you posted.

Your poor guy as been through a lot! At least he has such a caring owner willing to go the extra mile for him. I hope his sphincter relaxes again soon so he's back to normal. I'm sure all the stress isn't good for anyone there. It is frustrating when all you can do is wait.

I am glad you got an answer.  It does make sense.  Even though this is a difficult situation at least he didn't block again.  I hope he gets better soon.

Hi! Need help and information, again.
So, it has been exactly a month since we discovered that Loki had an urinary blockage. Seven days after my first post, he stopped leaking so much as to leave pools beneath him, so it looked like he was recovering.
However, it has been 3 weeks already and he still shows no sign of improvement.
He is going to the litter box often, passing small amounts.
Yesterday he didn't seem very interested in going to the litter box or anywhere else, for either of the two things cats do in a litter box.
He is eating urinary s/o food and drinks a lot of water.
Yes, I am going out of my mind, again. Truth to tell, I have passed the line of sanity long ago and still speeding forward in another direction.
So, mu question is...how long did it take for your babies to start passing urine normally?
Thank you!

Unfortunately, some kitties don't start passing urine appropriately after a urinary blockage. Surgical treatment (PU) may be the only option.

Please research and be sure to find a vet who has successful experience in PU surgeries. It makes all the difference, in regards to surgery success, recovery, and the likelihood of repeat corrective surgeries.

Did your vet teach you how to palpate and, if needed, express the bladder, in the event of a partial blockage? It can be a literal lifesaver when you are unable to make it to the vet for a day or two (bad weather, car broken down, no open slots at the vet's) . A full blockage is always an immediate emergency (because expressing a bladder in a cat with a fully blocked urethra will only result in no or inadequate emptying of the bladder, due to the blockage), but a partial blockage, provided you can successfully express the bladder at least 3 times a day (preferrably once every 2-3 hours, especially with cats on a urinary diet), you can get by for a couple of days before seeing the vet.

Thank you so much for your reply!

Unfortunately, my vet didn`t teach me anything, not even how to feel his bladder. He  makes trips to the litter box quite often, but...

All the vet said is that it is normal (again), because he had stones  in his kidneys and now the food is helping break them, so he is irritated, hence often visits and putting out those broken stones.

He said we should bring him for an ultrasound in 2 weeks.

I don`t know what to do anymore

P.S. Sorry, English is not my first language

No need to apologize! I understood your post completely!

There are many youtube videos (I especially like Gemma the paralyzed cat/How to express bladder) on manual bladder expression.

The most important things to consider when doing the expression:
1. The bladder needs to be full enough to be felt on palpation. If you cannot feel it, kitty is peeing by himself or doesn't need to urinate at the moment.
2. Don't palpate or express harshly. Firm, but gentle palpation and expression are adequate enough to relieve urine.
3. The best place to express is in the sink. The easiest way to express a non-paralyzed cat is to put the cat in the sink, allowing him to stand. Scruff the cat with one hand and use the other to express the bladder. For a more feisty feline, enlist the help of a friend or adult family member.
4. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: If you can clearly feel a full bladder (a really full kitty bladder in a partially or fully blocked cat will feel hard and is really easy to feel on papation because it is so full) , and are not able to express urine, even with a more firm (but still gentle) expression, or if there is blood in the urine STOP trying and immediately call your vet. A fully blocked urethra cannot be emptied without first removing the blockage. This is a life threatening emergency. Cats who cannot release urine go "toxic" quickly and can die in as little as 24 hours.

Did your vet prescribe anything to help with the anxiety that comes with having stones? Standard protocol at our clinic is to release kitty to owners with antibiotics (if UTI is present, along with blockage), a sedative (preferrably one with the side effect of urethral relaxation, like prazosin), and a spasmolytic (anti-spasm medication), like diazepam. Sometimes, a corticosteroid will be administered, for anti-inflammatory benefits. These medications all help your cat feel more relaxed and less anxious about using the box.
Our standard length of time for our kitty patients to be on these medicines is 10 days. That is usually how long it takes for antibiotics to be done with, and for the new diet to do it's thing.
We did have one cat that needed to be on the sedative for two weeks and the spasmolytics for a couple of months, because he was absolutely terrified of passing those painful crystals. This gave him adequate time for his new diet to fully kick in.

Maybe he didn't go to the box as much because he is finally getting back to normal? It may take weeks for the swelling and irritation in the urethra to go down, and maybe finally it is. My cats go to the box only a couple of times a day.  Look at the size of the clumps, are they larger? I pray that is it, you need your sanity back!

Haha. Thanks. True, I need my sanity! Thank you all for advices, I really appreciate it. His clumps are not small... I don't know what to compare it with. Like, 3/4 of a big coffee cup width? Sorry, I have no better explanation. No blood. I will watch videos you said, so thank you for them. Also, no meds of any kind, which frustrates me to no end, since I can see he is in pain for maybe 2-3 minutes after urinating.
And thank you all, once again, you amazing people!!!

So sorry, me again. And blood.

This morning I noticed blood in Loki`s urine. We rushed him to the vet. In the car, he vomited, a lot.

They examined him and gave him some medicines, and sent us home. They told us they don`t know when will he stop peeing blood, since he had a lot of crystals who are now hurting his channel.

His blood flow is definitely lessening, but...he won`t eat. And he vomited again. We called the vet he said it was "normal". He vomited because of too much water and he can`t eat because he`s in too much pain.

None of there explanations are good enough for me.

Please, if anyone had similar experience, tell me. I just want to cry.

I just want him to be healthy again.

Thank you.