Probably more serious than what I thought...

Received a call from the vet. They couldn't get the catheter inside him. So they did another procedure...they will have to do surgery tomorrow. They basically are taking off his penis to enlarge the urethra. Not sure what I think. I think this will be very good for him. Trying to call the vet back with questions. Has anyone here have the same thing done to their cats? Also, what is costly? Do they have to be on a special diet? Are there reprecussions?

Originally Posted by caprice

Received a call from the vet. They couldn't get the catheter inside him. So they did another procedure...they will have to do surgery tomorrow. They basically are taking off his penis to enlarge the urethra. Not sure what I think. I think this will be very good for him. Trying to call the vet back with questions. Has anyone here have the same thing done to their cats? Also, what is costly? Do they have to be on a special diet? Are there reprecussions?

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I am so sorry I missed this, I just haven't had a lot of on forum time available to me in the past few days. I wondered if he was blocked
I had a dear sweetie pie, my second cat as an adult, Sasha-Z (RB) who had this surgery done - many years ago, before he was 1! He went on to live into his middle teens. He did not get a special diet thereafter - though given what I now know about cat nutrition, I would have done so...we are talking 22+ years ago though, for all I know he was one of the first to have this procedure done (not sure how long they have been doing these).

He did have a problem with incontinence his last year of life, but I wouldn't expect that is necessarily the case any longer (I was told it was secondary to his surgery), since in all these years, surely knowledge on how to best feed and handle cats post this surgery has increased.

It really did save Sasha (he blocked 2 times in his young life), and he was one happy normal kitty for many years.

I am waiting for the vet to call me back. Zack said it was my decision to what I wanted to do. Two options: doing the surgery and the other I don't even want to say. I do NOT want to do the latter. But, if there is something underlying causing the blockage I don't want him suffering, does that make sense?

PAT & ALIX~that sounds very promising. I hope this cures him, really I do.

Fwiw, when Tyler blocked, they were able to do an ultrasound to determine if what they were seeing was a tumor or something else..in his case, a free floating blood clot post surgery had developed and eventually lodged in such a way as to cause a blockage.
(Tyler is my second oldest who developed calcium oxalate stones which were removed surgically).

Mittens Baby get well soon

Any update Candie?!

Not yet Susan. It's only 7:25 am here. I should get a call any minute from the vet to see how he did during the night. He will undergo surgery this morning.

Bless his little cotton socks, i'll be thinking about all of you

Oh no! I just saw this! Sending lots of good vibes to Mittens and to you!

I hope the little guy is doing okay, sweetie! *hugs* but know this.. if anything bad happened, they would have called immediately, so, no news is good news!

Mittens & Candie...

Dr. Hendrix called and told me the cost on my VM about 8:30am while I was in the shower....and he said Mittens was extermely perky this morning and very alert. They started the surgery about 45 minutes ago. So, I hope that he'll be ok. I'll keep you guys posted on his progress. I have hope

Well thats one good sign that he's perky!

Fingers and toes crossed for the next call

Poor Mittens. Sending positive vibes to you both for a good surgery {{}}.
I was just at the vet yesterday talking at length about UTI and blockages. The vet said when he started practicing 20 years ago, he used to do around 25 of these surgeries a year. Now since discovering the diet connection, he's done maybe 2-3 in a year. Diet makes that much of a difference.
Poor Mittens, he sounds like one of 1% of cats who just develop too severe a problem and need surgery. But like Pat&Alix said, the surgery used to be common, and cats can lead a good healthy life afterward.
Good luck to you & Mittens! Commiserations also on the onslaught of vet's bills. Mittens owes you lots of snuggles when this is over!

Good vibes for Mittens. I hope he recovers quickly.

Mittens is out of surgery now. He did really good. They had trouble doing it, but Dr. Fulton did the best she could because of his weight...it just took a little longer than expected. I have now have faith in our new vet. I just love them! I just hope now that between now and this weekend no problems come up, with scar tissue especially. Please keep him in your prayers. I know he will pull through this! I will go see him after work and give him some of those much needed kisses I've been dying to give him!!!

I hope Mittens feels better soon.

Candie, its sounds like you have a very caring vet.
I am so glad that Mittens is out of sugery & recovering.
Let us know how your visit went and give your sweet boy lots of loving cuddles from all of us.
Mittens will be in my prayers.

Originally Posted by caprice

I will go see him after work and give him some of those much needed kisses I've been dying to give him!!!

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And give him extra ones from all of us here Candie

Thank goodness it's over with

Originally Posted by caprice

I took Mittens to the emergency clinic about 8 hours ago...I was just too worried about him. Luckily, he didn't have a blockage, but he does have crystals and blood in his urine. The vet there was just amazing. We are watching him close by and I have to encourage him to drink lots of water and I will have to change foods. Poor little guy sure was feeling much better after we got home, and I was too since I got atleast 3 hours of sleep last night....yuck. He's my child though, so I am not going to let the lack of sleep bother me. The vet recommends me to put him on Science Diet C/D, but I am going to have to work something out with my vet because this lady said that this food is high in calories and I sure don't want him gaining back the pounds he lost. I'll keep you guys updated.

MA~he is taking his antibiotics very well.

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My male cats both have the same problem. They both eat the W/D catfood. It is a maintenance type catfood. They get 1/2 cup two times a day and that is all. No cheating.