Blocked Kitty Recovery Experience?

[reba]

Oh that's great he is feeling better.

It strikes me as odd that the vet's go-to treatment is surgery for a single incident, yet he (or she) is stingy with the pain meds.

 

[siold]

I'm very happy to hear he is feeling better.

 

[howsefrau32]

So glad your baby is feeling better.

 

[leslieanne89]

Sadly Gizmo started to go in the other direction. He was really straining to urinate Sunday night. I still did not feel that the PU surgery was necessary so I decided I need to find another vet. There are 4 board certified feline vets in FL and now he is the patient to one of them. She is confident he will get through this not needing the PU surgery and said unless his life depends on it she won't recommend it. She did her own set of test just in case crystals formed in the last week which would of been the culprit to him not urinating properly. After nothing was found and monitoring him urinate with a stronger dose of Buprenex and him still crying, she said we had to do another catheter. The catheter went in easily and he doesn't have crystals or strictures in his urethra. She says with all those possible complications crossed off the list, she says its the swelling of his bladder from how hard he pushes when he thinks he needs to go. Just a few drops of urine was all he could get out Sunday night and its because the bladder is that sore. So, she will leave the catheter in for a couple days just so he won't push and cause the bladder more inflammation. She is keeping him comfortable, and will remove the cath tomorrow or Thursday depending on his bladder size. From there she will make sure he can urinate comfortably and send him home on Thursday.I feel so awful for him. Like I said it has been just a few days shy of a month that he has gone through so much. I just can't wait for him to come home and feel better.

 

[hexiesfriend]

Oh I am sorry for poor Gizmo I did the same thing and went to a Cat specialist to just make sure my cat was on the right track. I'm sorry Gizmo continued to have problems and that's what forced you to go. The bladder inflammation was the same continuing issue for my kitty too, it looks like Gizmo is in good hands now and not having to be in pain anymore. Once he gets out it looks like you will have better guidance with the specialist.

 

[leslieanne89]

Yes! I was really concerned even after seeing two vets that maybe they just didn't have the required experience with cats. So, luckily I found her and she has 20+ years with just cats. She actually isn't anymore expensive either. How long was your kitty hurting after seeing the specialist? How long did the inflammation take to go down? The good news is she says a lot of cats have this problem after blocking because they feel like the still have to go so they push causing strain and inflammation to their already irritates baldder. The other two vets said he was stubborn and a whimp and have never seen a cat act like that. So I feel that we are definitely on the right track and the specialist said since he hasn't developed any crystals since his first time that it is highly likely to not have this problem again with a proper diet. She wants him only to eat wet food for the next couple weeks but can enjoy dry after that since it is his favorite. Plus with the SO diet he is on it makes him very thirsty so he is drinking a lot more water than ever before. I fed him is since he was a kitten and this diet does not cost much more..but is it Thursday yet? Lol, I miss him so much

 

[reba]

I know you miss him, but he's so fortunate that you have the resources to take him to a vet.  The more I see this problem pop here and elsewhere, the more I wonder how many cats have to suffer. 

 

[leslieanne89]

Well, if it wasn't for care credit I have no idea how I could have done all this. I was thinking about all the other animals and even people that have to suffer. Because I'm very close to my credit limit on care credit and i he needs longer care that's when I'll have to figure out where to go from there.

 

[reba]

I don't know, I've yet to see them turn someone away at the emergency clinic, but I think that's because a good percentage of them can qualify for care credit.  Still there must be people who don't even try at all or wouldn't even notice that the cat was having trouble urinating.

We were talking about craigs list and I made the mistake of going on my local one. 

"Looking to rehome an all black 10 month old female cat, Baby, and 2 - 11 month old black and white female cats, Batman and Big Paw, to a good home. Please reply if interested. Will send pictures upon request. Baby and Batman are pregnant."

I swear I'm ready to call one of the rescues and offer them money to take them.

 

[leslieanne89]

Well, I spoke to the vet this morning. Gizmo is doing ok and is very frustrated. All the test came back very good, and although all the medications he has been on his kidneys are doing perfect. My vet diagnosed (after urinalysis and xray ) the cause of his pain and urination is coming from the pain in the urethra and spasm. He pushes extremely hard causing more irritation in his bladder. He has been on a catheter since Tuesday and they are removing it before noon today. They will monitor him through out the day and if he does well him can come home tonight. If he comes home she has him on metacam and a sedative.  Metacam can be extremely dangerous to his kidney should he block again, however it will help his bladder very quickly. We both agreed since no crystals have shown since Jan 3rd  and he had 4 urinalysis done since, that he has a really good chance of not developing more.  She said as long as he does not strain he should be feeling better and back to normal in just a few weeks. I am tired and I just want him better, I hate him going through all this and I don't want him suffering anymore. if he continues to spasm then he has to be on tranquilizers, which she doesn't want to do. 

 

[katherinewill]

Well, This has been a long and painful experience for my little (18lb) 4 year old Maine coon. His name is Gizmo and he is in excellent health, except for blocking. I rushed him to the vet on Saturday Jan 3rd. The vet said he is at risk for blocking but hadn't blocked yet. We changed his diet and put him on an antibiotic and Uroeze. He blocked by Sunday morning.( first time ever!) They took him to the back room where I could hear him scream. They put a catheter in without waiting on the sedative to work! I was called back there an shown the crystals they were pulling out of him. He was using water to flush the bladder and I then asked for saline. I also did not see any lubrication. He stayed until Monday at 9 pm with a catheter, they removed it and sent him home. He continued to urinate in spurts and I could see spasms , I kept calling the Vet through the night and they said he just needed to heal. I brought him back Tuesday and told them he kept peeing in small amounts and was MISERABLE! He was given Oncior and said he is just being a whimp. I was furious! I knew I should have taken him away the night they catheterized him! I at this point wanted a second opinion . He urinated through the weekend and I brought him to another vet and she ran x-rays, took blood work and gave him a urinalysis. Said he was very healthy and was rid of the stones. However, he had developed two different types of bacteria in his bladder. He was given Valium to ease the spasms and antibiotic ( we sent the urine sample to be tested to be sure the antibiotic would kill the bacteria). No improvement and he stopped peeing that night. He was catheterized again the next day. he just came home this past Saturday 1/17/2015. He was more comfortable and urinating a lot but he is still screaming. He is still on valuim and I have noticed he will stop crying as soon as I pick up the lazer light.( but not every time) I know he is being a bit dramatic but I brought him back this morning. The vet expressed his bladder and was happy with the stream.( and he wasn't as full as he has been) She said he is still in pain from the infection and catheter. He will be getting a steroid shot tomorrow and possibly kitty morphine. Has anyone else had this experience with a cat this vocal and sore?? I just want to be sure I am doing the right thing?? I am a fully independent collage student, and this is financially killing me. I do understand that there is to be some discomfort but jeez, I feel so bad for him! I wish I could tell him that it will get better and I wish he could tell me what he needs. He absolutely loves to lay on the heating pad and I feel like maybe it helps with the pain. It's the screaming though, man, It is the worst thing to hear, it breaks my heart!

 

[humanracer]

I know you may not want to hear this but I had to my cat to sleep because he was blocked. I was offered a very expensive operation, which my insurance would not cover, but I felt that it would put the cat through lots of stress and financially I could not afford the ongoing care. I had to make a decision there and then as he was in pain so decided to put the cat to sleep. Istill feel bad about it. I totally understand what you are going through. Research is being done but the majority of blockages have an unknown cause. They say some cats handle stress in an abnormal way and this can contribute.