- Joined
- Feb 26, 2018
- Messages
- 7
- Purraise
- 1
I've posted on here a few times since Keats has had urinary tract issues starting in January and I've always had helpful, thoughtful responses - so I'd just like to thank the community from the start for all the kind words and suggestions.
Keats (6 years old) had a total blockage in January and as the vet said he had an "uncommonly narrow urethra" and strongly suggested the PU surgery; we agreed. He ended up stricturing and needed a revision surgery in March.
Throughout this ordeal, he's been the same loving Keats. Needs to follow me around, range of vocalizations (my favorite being this grumpy 'mrrmm' if you touch him unexpectedly), constant purring, little spoon in bed with me every night, etc. He began urinating inappropriately shortly after the 2nd surgery, and after the vet ruled out UTI and catheterized him to make sure he was ok, we began to alter our environment to help with what we're sure is stress/anxiety -- especially since all of this happened right after moving into a new apartment. We bought the feliway diffusers, bought 2 new litter boxes to replace the other ones, used this stuff called Tinkle Tonic in his food as well as homeopathic stress relief drops, continued playing a ton with him with his favorite toy (the cardboard on a wire thing), and just continued to clean up after him using Nature's Miracle. We were saving the Prozac option our vet suggested as a last-ditch option if none of the changes we were making helped him. We decided to give him 6 weeks before starting the Prozac. We made sure to never be outwardly frustrated with him when he peed outside the box, even though it *was* beginning to be a trying thing to deal with.
One notable thing is we boarded him at the vet for a week in May when we went on vacation. We wanted him to be at the facility in case anything health-wise happened, especially after all this PU stuff. We called to check in on him a few times and they said he wasn't peeing outside the box, but hated "play outside" time so he generally kept in the kennel. When we brought him home, he was ULTRA loving and didn't pee outside the box for 2 whole days. We thought the kennel had reset him, perhaps. But then he began his inappropriate urination again.
So last week I called to have his Prozac prescription filled (he had been prescribed it before the 2nd surgery, but when we realized he was closing up again we decided not to put him on Prozac then). We started him this past Saturday, and I know it usually takes 4-6 weeks for it to have any effect so I don't expect him to stop peeing outside the box anytime soon. However, we've been noticing that he's acting pretty differently (and we think this may have started before starting the Prozac). He barely comes up to nuzzle against us anymore. He seems to just want to sit on his sun box in the back room to look out the window. When I walk up to pet him, he'll usually jump down and just walk away, but even if he lets me pet him he doesn't purr. He's meowing still, but they're what my boyfriend calls 'old man' meowing - it's just this same loud meow that doesn't deviate much at all. We did start closing the bedroom door as he'd gotten in the habit of peeing on the bed, so I'm not sure if he'd sleep with us again, but it seems likely he wouldn't. He still will lay on his back with his legs wide open like he used to, but when we walk close he'll run away. He doesn't seem to want anything to do with us at all unless it's time to eat. He'll still play with me if I get that wire out, though, but once he's done he's gone - no cuddle time. His appetite is the same, he's interested in birds, he loves playing, but he seems to have lost his love for us somehow. It's heartbreaking.
We've been giving him extra treats and kitty eye-close kisses and also giving him his space, but I'm worried something's happened and he's just changed...is that even possible? To be fair to him, we weren't convinced we wanted to stay in this apartment but just recently decided to do so, so we've been moving everything around and painting -- that can't help his anxiety. Plus we've been in the middle of a heat wave and we don't have central air, so maybe that has something to do with it, too.
I know this is a) a novel and b) hyper-specific to ask about behavioral changes months after PU surgery, but if anyone reads this far and has any advice they'd like to throw my way I'd very much appreciate it. I have a feeling it's going to be a 'give him more space and wait it out' scenario, but I guess I'm just looking to see if there's anything I could have missed that I can do to help my kitty out.
Keats (6 years old) had a total blockage in January and as the vet said he had an "uncommonly narrow urethra" and strongly suggested the PU surgery; we agreed. He ended up stricturing and needed a revision surgery in March.
Throughout this ordeal, he's been the same loving Keats. Needs to follow me around, range of vocalizations (my favorite being this grumpy 'mrrmm' if you touch him unexpectedly), constant purring, little spoon in bed with me every night, etc. He began urinating inappropriately shortly after the 2nd surgery, and after the vet ruled out UTI and catheterized him to make sure he was ok, we began to alter our environment to help with what we're sure is stress/anxiety -- especially since all of this happened right after moving into a new apartment. We bought the feliway diffusers, bought 2 new litter boxes to replace the other ones, used this stuff called Tinkle Tonic in his food as well as homeopathic stress relief drops, continued playing a ton with him with his favorite toy (the cardboard on a wire thing), and just continued to clean up after him using Nature's Miracle. We were saving the Prozac option our vet suggested as a last-ditch option if none of the changes we were making helped him. We decided to give him 6 weeks before starting the Prozac. We made sure to never be outwardly frustrated with him when he peed outside the box, even though it *was* beginning to be a trying thing to deal with.
One notable thing is we boarded him at the vet for a week in May when we went on vacation. We wanted him to be at the facility in case anything health-wise happened, especially after all this PU stuff. We called to check in on him a few times and they said he wasn't peeing outside the box, but hated "play outside" time so he generally kept in the kennel. When we brought him home, he was ULTRA loving and didn't pee outside the box for 2 whole days. We thought the kennel had reset him, perhaps. But then he began his inappropriate urination again.
So last week I called to have his Prozac prescription filled (he had been prescribed it before the 2nd surgery, but when we realized he was closing up again we decided not to put him on Prozac then). We started him this past Saturday, and I know it usually takes 4-6 weeks for it to have any effect so I don't expect him to stop peeing outside the box anytime soon. However, we've been noticing that he's acting pretty differently (and we think this may have started before starting the Prozac). He barely comes up to nuzzle against us anymore. He seems to just want to sit on his sun box in the back room to look out the window. When I walk up to pet him, he'll usually jump down and just walk away, but even if he lets me pet him he doesn't purr. He's meowing still, but they're what my boyfriend calls 'old man' meowing - it's just this same loud meow that doesn't deviate much at all. We did start closing the bedroom door as he'd gotten in the habit of peeing on the bed, so I'm not sure if he'd sleep with us again, but it seems likely he wouldn't. He still will lay on his back with his legs wide open like he used to, but when we walk close he'll run away. He doesn't seem to want anything to do with us at all unless it's time to eat. He'll still play with me if I get that wire out, though, but once he's done he's gone - no cuddle time. His appetite is the same, he's interested in birds, he loves playing, but he seems to have lost his love for us somehow. It's heartbreaking.
We've been giving him extra treats and kitty eye-close kisses and also giving him his space, but I'm worried something's happened and he's just changed...is that even possible? To be fair to him, we weren't convinced we wanted to stay in this apartment but just recently decided to do so, so we've been moving everything around and painting -- that can't help his anxiety. Plus we've been in the middle of a heat wave and we don't have central air, so maybe that has something to do with it, too.
I know this is a) a novel and b) hyper-specific to ask about behavioral changes months after PU surgery, but if anyone reads this far and has any advice they'd like to throw my way I'd very much appreciate it. I have a feeling it's going to be a 'give him more space and wait it out' scenario, but I guess I'm just looking to see if there's anything I could have missed that I can do to help my kitty out.
