Lazlo had a blockage

On Friday we could tell from the litterboxes that someone had a problem - quite a few "little pees". But with six cats, six litter boxes and two floors, it's hard to keep an eye on all of them! Sunday Gary saw Lazlo straining in the box, so we thought it was a urinary tract infection and immediately started him on Cefa drops and Albeta. (We have albeta, an acidifier that helps with cats that have problems with crystals in their urine, because Shelly has problems with crystals from time to time).

Tuesday it seemed he was getting better. Yesterday he was clearly worse, so we whisked him off to the hospital. We were worried he was blocked, and he was.

My heart is breaking for Lazlo - he's our most "ferally" feral (despite being our first rescue - and he was only 10 weeks old) - and he's even more of a scaredy-cat than Spooky is these days! He was anaesthetized and catheterized. They took out the catheter this morning, but he won't come home until he's peeing normally, which is looking like tomorrow at the earliest.

I SO want to go visit him, but that always just makes things worse!

Of course we'd appreciate any vibes sent Lazlo's way. But I really just wanted to post for anybody searching for info on UTIs or blockages. If kitty is being treated for a UTI and is still having problems peeing after 48 hours, get that kitty to a hospital! Male cats have thinner urethras than females, so if they have any problems with crystals in their urine, they can easily become completely blocked. This leads to renal failure, usually within 24 hours and there's nothing to do after that. So if you're not sure your kitty is getting better, get him to the vet ASAP!

Awwww, I am so sorry your baby is going through this! Sending healing vibes his way!! Hope you have him home and peeing normally really soon! *hugs*

Awww Laurie the poor baby, bless his little cotton socks

Sending Lazlo (((((healthy tinkle vibes)))))

Laurie, I just went through the same thing with one of our outside kitties, Cow. I hope that Lazlo heals quickly & can come home as good as new!

Thanks for the good vibes for Lazlo.

After they took out the catheter he passed a small clump - Doc says it was painful, so he may avoid going to the bathroom for as long as he can. Poor baby! The good news is they did another ultrasound and he looks all clear, so we're to call tomorrow morning around 10:00 and Doc thinks it's likely he'll be able to come home.

I am glad your cat is on the mend. It is a scary thing to see a cat in that condition. Both my male cats have a history of urinary problems. Speedboat has had crystals, but never been totally blocked. Muffin has been blocked and catherized three times. They both eat special food from the vet's office because of it. Thank you for telling the folks how important it is not to wait when a cat is having this type of problem.

Awwww thats great to hear Laurie

Keep tinkling Lazlo!!!

What a scary situation. I know when Rambo started doing that I was so worried, and just thinking of how much pain he was in drove me nuts. I'm so glad they got the blockage out and he's on his way to recovery.

healing vibes for Lazlo

that is REALLY scary. My friends male cat Boo-Boo died of the same thing. She didn't notice he wasn't going cause they have a few cats, and covered boxes & he would go in there, but apparently not go pee. By the time she got him to the vet, he died on the table, when just a few hours before, he seemed pretty normal. But since cats hide their illness till it's too late, she didn't make it to the vet in time. I am constantly following Louie to the box, I push open the hanging door & peek in, and he gives me this disgusted look like I am invading his privacy.... How early should you start watching out for blockages??? He is 12 weeks.....I know I'm a worry wart. But Laurie, thank GOD you guys keep such close eyes on them....

sending lots of luck for Lazlo......get better soon little buddy, it'll be ok!!!

My Rambo had his first UTI at about 1 year of age. i was told that that is really early. I've changed his diet to raw in the hopes of preventing another bout of that!

Originally Posted by Renny

My Rambo had his first UTI at about 1 year of age. i was told that that is really early. I've changed his diet to raw in the hopes of preventing another bout of that!

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The shelter here got in a kitten who was 8 weeks old. He was having "out of the box" experiences in his foster home from the start, so they checked his urine for a UTI. He had one. Apparently young kittens can get them. I had no idea.

Sheldon started having UTIs at a very early age. The blockages, however, apparently are more of a worry in older cats than younger cats as a rule (Lazlo is four and a half years old) - but it also depends upon their genetics, I guess. Sheldon has a tendency towards having crystals in his urine, and has since he was young - which is why any time he gets a UTI we have to put him on Albeta, which is a urine acidifier (helps dissolve the crystals). The risk of a blockage is increased during a urinary tract infection, because of the inflammation associated with the infection. Male cats have very narrow urethras to begin with, which is why a blockage can occur so easily.

The dry food we have out is for sensitive stomachs and urinary tract health, because of Shelly. However, we mentioned to our vet that our water is well water, and it is very hard water (high mineral content). We asked if this could have contributed - and he says it could. So we're to use distilled water from now on. They should have lab results back today. Depending upon what those indicate, we, too, may have to put the crew on the s/d Science Diet diet.

Doc let us pick up Lazlo yesterday around 3:00pm. He has never meowed so much in the crate - all the way home! We figured he was telling us about how horrible the whole hospitalization experience was, and we agreed with him.

He was very happy to be home - and seemed his normal self - playing, scratching on everything (except the people furniture, of course ). We do see small pees in the litterbox this morning - but he's not straining while in the box, so all seems like it's going to be OK.