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kitty just diagnosed with bladder stones

post #1 of 21
6/4/06 at 12:21pm
Thread Starter 
For various reasons, it has been over a year since I've been on here, but when my 6 yr. old girl, Nedicks, was diagnosed with bladder stones today, I knew exactly where to go for advice. I am still awaiting the results of her urinalysis to determine what sort of stones they are, but I was wondering in the meantime whether any TCS'ers have had experience with this and what I should expect. There has been some mention of possible surgery...

Anything anyone can offer would be appreciated!
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post #2 of 21
6/4/06 at 5:59pm
Hi Stephanie,

If they are struvite and small enough, you can try to get them to dissolve with a dietary change. If they are calcium oxalate, it's not an option (that I know of) and then surgical removal is what is done. I had this done with my Tyler almost 2 years ago. He did well with the surgery, though he had a never before seen complication, which means, you don't have to worry about it My cats just do the unexpected and unusal...about every time they have anything go amiss.

If I weren't so completely pooped from planting my garden just now, I'd go find some links and resources, but a good search on the forum here, putting in "struvite, diet" and "calcium oxalate stones" should bring up past notes by me and others, with links.

I highly recommend you consider, if it's an option for you, Dr. Strombeck's book on homecooked diets for cats with various conditions, he's a vet, highly respected and his recipes would give you healthy options besides prescription foods - if your vet will approve of course, have to have them working with you on that
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post #3 of 21
6/4/06 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for the tips, I will do a search. The vet suspects they are not struvite, since we have had both kitties on a low ash, low magnesium diet for two years now, since Nathan had a monthlong bout of UTI. Of course we won't know for sure until the test results come back. Do you think there is any chance that Nedicks can avoid surgery if her stones are small--do they ever pass on their own? If she needs surgery we will certainly have it done, but I am trying to spare her the trauma if it's possible and doesn't put her at risk.
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post #4 of 21
6/4/06 at 8:14pm
I think it's considered less likely that a male can pass them. I did find an article that looks to be quite good:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...er_stones.html
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post #5 of 21
6/5/06 at 5:32am
Thread Starter 
that article was really helpful, thanks Pat. Hopefully the results of her urinalysis will be available later today, if not, then definitely tomorrow.
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post #6 of 21
6/5/06 at 2:40pm
Thread Starter 
So her urinalysis results are back, and Nedicks has BOTH struvite AND calcium oxalate crystals. They are putting her on a prescription diet and probably I will be bringing her in for an ultrasound in the near future to see if she has any big stones that require surgery. My poor babygirl.
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post #7 of 21
6/5/06 at 3:01pm
Oh poor girl. I hope the u/s shows only tiny stones, and that the prescription diet works well for her.
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post #8 of 21
6/5/06 at 3:27pm
I am sorry to hear this! Big wishes for a quick, painless recovery!
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post #9 of 21
6/5/06 at 4:22pm
Surgery is better than a blockage that could lead to death. After Lucky's 3rd blockage in a month we went with the surgery.
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post #10 of 21
6/6/06 at 5:35am
Thread Starter 
We will definitely go ahead with surgery if that is what she needs, but vet says that probably won't be necessary unless they discover something large on the ultrasound. She hasn't blocked at all, and vet says blocking is extremely rare in females. Hopefully the new diet will dissolve the existing struvites and keep any additional calcium oxalates from forming. Vet says it is likely that if the existing calcium oxalates are small, she will pass them. We started changing her over to the new food last night, so hopefully she will start feeling better soon. Thanks everyone for your help and wishes.

Does anyone have any idea how/why she formed struvite crystals while on the low ash, low magnesium diet? I mean, we put them on that diet to avoid struvites. Nathan hasn't shown any symptoms of anything, but he's been on the same food and has a past history of UTI from back when we were still feeding Iams regular formula, though he's never been found to have any crystals. I'm wondering if I should take him in for a urinalysis as well, just in case, since I know the risk is much higher for him should he start forming stones. What do you guys think? We have put him on the new prescription diet as well, since the vet said it was healthy for him too, and it's a lot easier to feed them both the same thing.
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post #11 of 21
6/6/06 at 2:00pm
Two vets told me it is genetic in orange kitties male or female.
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post #12 of 21
6/7/06 at 5:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyforinfo
Two vets told me it is genetic in orange kitties male or female.
Really? Wow, that's interesting. Now is that only if they are a pure or mostly orange kitty? Nedicks is a calico, and I never really considered her to be particularly orange, but I guess she is sort of orange-ish. She and Nathan were rescues, so I have no idea what her parentage is.
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post #13 of 21
6/7/06 at 6:00am
My orange cat had the stones - not sure which kind, but they were described to me as very sharp. Unfortunately he didn't have a good outcome - he was male and they kept getting stuck and he couldn't urinate. After the second blockage they did surgery, but one was imbedded and the vet said they did a lot of damage to his bladder. Ultimately it was too much damage and his bladder began leak urine.

The vet did say that female cats usually can pass them. She also said that diet can dissolve them, but unfortunately for my cat as soon as they took out the catheter, another stone got stuck so we never explored that option - for him it was necessary to do surgery. He only ate dry food which could be the reason for his stones, or it could be genetics. But the vet did stress the importance of a wet food diet.

Good luck to your precious cat!

Sandy
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post #14 of 21
6/7/06 at 8:16am
Hello,
I too have a 3 year old female (black in color) with UTI infection-(crystals)
for over 5 weeks. She is on her 3rd round on antibiotics to clear up.
She has had the urine tests & sensitivty done to try to find best
antibiotics.
She had a xrays in Nov. 2005 but nothing new since then as vets
felt if any crystals they would be small. This time vets also
gave me prescription food S/D I think which to me looks like dog food/Alpo- Yuck!! and smells like it too. My vet warned me this is not tasty to cats.
That I should should mix it in with wet food she does like on whatever
ratio she will eat. She has lot 1 lb of weight since this has begain. Important
thing was not to let her starve cause she wont eat the can I put down
so mix it,and is working well. I did mention to one of the vets about feeding
her raw and of course got the response you would expect, it is bad for them.
However, I will look into other homemade meals to make her and get her
water intake up.
Her PH level is at 7 which I dont think is too bad correct me if I am wrong.
I have always given her wet food and dry, of course she would eat
all dry I would give her but I just put a tiny bit dry down and rest
wet food. Since I feed her 2x per day she is hungry and eats the wet.
I feed her a good quality food, Merrick, Eagle, Natures variety..
Question I have when I went to pet store the only UTI wet food I could
find is Pro Plan chicken entree. Why do so many brands sell dry UTI food
when my vet told me to give her as much wet as she will eat????
She also has been prone to illness since I took her as a stray. It seems
no matter I do she is ill every 4 mths. I am trying the best I can to give
her the best food, supplements etc. and still she is ill. Vet keeps saying
to me she is so young. ALso, I am thinking a about the water
fountain purchase, but I read the drinkwell is noisy. She is scared
of lots of things since she was a feral stray for sometime before
I brought her to my home. I have read The catit does not last. Dr.
Fosters is selling some kind of new bubbling water thing, anyone tried this?
Anyone can tell me a water fountain that will last & and not scare my
kitty, I do not mind cleaning it, however I dont have a dishwasher either.
Anyway thanks for your help on this website
I am continuing my knowledge on how to help my special needs little
girl.

Brenda
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post #15 of 21
6/7/06 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms.Blackie
HALso, I am thinking a about the water
fountain purchase, but I read the drinkwell is noisy. She is scared
of lots of things since she was a feral stray for sometime before
I brought her to my home. I have read The catit does not last. Dr.
Fosters is selling some kind of new bubbling water thing, anyone tried this?
Anyone can tell me a water fountain that will last & and not scare my
kitty, I do not mind cleaning it, however I dont have a dishwasher either.


Brenda
I would personally recommend the Petmate Freshflow, which is what Prego and Polly have. The water goes down a ramp instead of falling down like the drinkwell, so it's not noisy at all. A cat can either drink from the ramp or the bowl (Prego started out drinking out of the bowl, but now he uses the ramp; it's very cute). You'll need to take it apart and clean it (I clean mine once a week) but it will be well worth the time and effort when you see how much your cat loves it. I've been throwing mine in the DW since I saw it suggested on here, but when I handwashed it, it took me about 10 mins from start to finish, including refilling with fresh water. It also needs a filter changed occassionally, but they are not expensive at all.

When Polly was diagnosed with cystitis, my vet recommended a cat fountain, but I already had one

Anyway, I hope this helps!
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post #16 of 21
6/7/06 at 11:45am
Purr Paws,

Thanks so much.

For the recomend on the Petmate Freshflow, I will make a purchase
this weekend and give it a try.

Brenda
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post #17 of 21
6/8/06 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms.Blackie
Purr Paws,

Thanks so much.

For the recomend on the Petmate Freshflow, I will make a purchase
this weekend and give it a try.

Brenda
You are welcome! Your kitty will love it.
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post #18 of 21
6/8/06 at 2:24pm
Purr Paws,

I bought the Petmate freshflow medium size last nite, couldn't wait.
Will unpack it tonight. Thanks Again. I sure hope she likes it.

Brenda
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post #19 of 21
6/8/06 at 4:07pm
My orange kitty was just diagnosed with crystals in his urine also....he's been on Hills c/d since he was diagnosed with his previous owner. He's almost 4 years old...
The vet told me that it could be a combination of 1- treats I've been giving him, and 2 - I switched to plastic bowls (which harbor smells) and I have noticed that he hasn't been drinking as much. So now he is on Waltham SO which tackles both struvite and calcium crystals.

Wow, that's really something about the orange tabby connection!

Karen
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post #20 of 21
6/8/06 at 5:34pm
Orange tabbies seem to have bad genes. They are also prone to dental problems. Calico's are a mix of orange tabbies.(at least I was told that...never researched myself) My calico and 2 orange tabbies have lost over 6 teeth and have bad ginivities. I dunno if it is genetic or luck.


Just found this genetic info on their fur.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_coat_genetics
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post #21 of 21
6/20/06 at 2:38pm
OH My... It's in orange kittys? WOW!!! Just had my kitty in for surgery last friday... he is VERY DEPRESSED. He blocked up twice, total obstruction, and then after the surgery they found a stone. We brought him home saturday and back to the emergency vet on sunday with a UTI.... he is doing better now, and we will try to bring him home tonight.
Of course, he is an orange kitty!
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