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Hi all,
One of my cats has a history of urinary problems and hates vets. Last Monday we rushed to the emergency room when he was peeing drops of blood. They did a full blood panel (all clean) and he was on Metacam for five days. Last Wednesday I brought in a urine sample which I got by holding a cup under him (no more visible blood in the sample, and now peeing a normal amount, so seemingly improved). Today I heard from the vet that the urine sample had a small amount of protein (possible from the blood/bladder irritation) and white blood cells, indicative of potential infection. They want me to bring him in on Wednesday to do cystocentesis for a clean sample.
My concern is - by the time I got the sample, he was peeing normally, and there was no (visible) blood like there was on Monday. I had begun to think the issue was stress induced cystitis (which was something the emergency vet mentioned as a possibility as well), as presumably if it was an infection the blood wouldn't clear up on its own. He absolutely hates vets, and when he was a kitten he had to get cystocentesis daily for weeks (by the end under daily anaesthesia). His bladder almost did not recover from the blockage damage he had then. We have avoided such procedures, including catheterization, since then at the advice of his specialist vet (who is no longer at the hospital). The specialist originally advised doing as little to him as possible, but I don't think she was completely against cystocentesis if needed - she had mentioned it very briefly a couple of times when I had issues getting a sample myself, but we never had to do it. It's been about 2.5-3 years since this happened.
I am now worried because I am causing him a lot more stress by dragging him to the vet again (plus we already have an appointment with a feline specialist at the same hospital on October 3). I am also causing potentially even MORE stress by agreeing to cystocentesis (which I know he'll probably struggle and be miserable during). And if it was cystitis, this could not only cause another flareup but the cystocentesis could further compromise his bladder.
On the other hand if I don't bring him in this week and the white blood cells do indicate an actual infection, I am worried that just leaving him be and not doing cystocentesis will cause the infection to progress and get worse. I have asked the vet if there was any way to give him any mild "preventative" medication to possibly treat infection when we're not certain, but was told this isn't an option.
His other symptoms include: vomiting twice (although here I suspect a hairball..) and low appetite. His appetite never recovered after he was sick those years ago, and this low appetite seems consistent with that, yet these symptoms are here. Behaviourally he seems fine - tail up, acting normal, peeing - much better than the state last Monday.
So my options are:
I am sort of leaning towards option 1 - because if it was an infection, it seems like the blood would be less likely to clear up on its own...but I am not sure? The cost here isn't a factor, but I'm very worried about putting him through more trips and procedures and potentially making him worse. Has anyone had to make this kind of choice before, what would you do? Is there anything else I should take into consideration?
Thank you
One of my cats has a history of urinary problems and hates vets. Last Monday we rushed to the emergency room when he was peeing drops of blood. They did a full blood panel (all clean) and he was on Metacam for five days. Last Wednesday I brought in a urine sample which I got by holding a cup under him (no more visible blood in the sample, and now peeing a normal amount, so seemingly improved). Today I heard from the vet that the urine sample had a small amount of protein (possible from the blood/bladder irritation) and white blood cells, indicative of potential infection. They want me to bring him in on Wednesday to do cystocentesis for a clean sample.
My concern is - by the time I got the sample, he was peeing normally, and there was no (visible) blood like there was on Monday. I had begun to think the issue was stress induced cystitis (which was something the emergency vet mentioned as a possibility as well), as presumably if it was an infection the blood wouldn't clear up on its own. He absolutely hates vets, and when he was a kitten he had to get cystocentesis daily for weeks (by the end under daily anaesthesia). His bladder almost did not recover from the blockage damage he had then. We have avoided such procedures, including catheterization, since then at the advice of his specialist vet (who is no longer at the hospital). The specialist originally advised doing as little to him as possible, but I don't think she was completely against cystocentesis if needed - she had mentioned it very briefly a couple of times when I had issues getting a sample myself, but we never had to do it. It's been about 2.5-3 years since this happened.
I am now worried because I am causing him a lot more stress by dragging him to the vet again (plus we already have an appointment with a feline specialist at the same hospital on October 3). I am also causing potentially even MORE stress by agreeing to cystocentesis (which I know he'll probably struggle and be miserable during). And if it was cystitis, this could not only cause another flareup but the cystocentesis could further compromise his bladder.
On the other hand if I don't bring him in this week and the white blood cells do indicate an actual infection, I am worried that just leaving him be and not doing cystocentesis will cause the infection to progress and get worse. I have asked the vet if there was any way to give him any mild "preventative" medication to possibly treat infection when we're not certain, but was told this isn't an option.
His other symptoms include: vomiting twice (although here I suspect a hairball..) and low appetite. His appetite never recovered after he was sick those years ago, and this low appetite seems consistent with that, yet these symptoms are here. Behaviourally he seems fine - tail up, acting normal, peeing - much better than the state last Monday.
So my options are:
- Wait until we see the feline specialist on October 3 at the risk of him getting worse if it IS infection (and potentially rush him to hospital if so).
- Take him in on Wednesday (and then also October 3), potentially do the cystocentesis procedure to rule out infection for sure, but at the risk of side effects from stress and the intrusive procedure.
I am sort of leaning towards option 1 - because if it was an infection, it seems like the blood would be less likely to clear up on its own...but I am not sure? The cost here isn't a factor, but I'm very worried about putting him through more trips and procedures and potentially making him worse. Has anyone had to make this kind of choice before, what would you do? Is there anything else I should take into consideration?
Thank you