my cat need surgery

[beandip]

Originally Posted by ladycat

c/d, vet wanted to keep her on this till they know what type of stone she had

Sorry to focus on the health issue...but it bothers me that they don't know what type of stone, they just want to operate regardless? You may already know this, but a struvite 'stone' would be dissolvable with diet or medicine. Calcium oxalate WOULD require surgery.

Did they say what her urine pH is?

 

[ladycat]

yeh I think i'm gonna talk to one of my friend's tonight about it as she knows many cat lovers and like I said I don't know to many people around here.

 

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by beandip

Sorry to focus on the health issue...but it bothers me that they don't know what type of stone, they just want to operate regardless? You may already know this, but a struvite 'stone' would be dissolvable with diet or medicine. Calcium oxalate WOULD require surgery.

Did they say what her urine pH is?

it was the size of the crystal that was y she needs the surgery, she said to do that it wouldn't disolve (I'm sure it's possible i missed something I was a bit upsette). I don't recall about the Ph but I know she had a very unusual amount of crystals.

 

[beandip]

I understand being very upset...I'm sorry that you and Nuit are going through this.

A stone that large would take quite some time to form. Has she been with you just since this past December? At some point, the pain, etc... got bad enough that she made it obvious...but those stones don't form so quickly.You know Nuit better than I ever can...and the behavior may not be because of the bladder problem...however I don't think the behavior can be solved w/o fixing her bladder, somehow, because it is making her miserable.

I do understand that she's never been with other cats, and that does have something to do with it too.

I'm sorry, when I mentioned her being re-homed I wasn't talking about you re-homing her...I was talking about her previous owner(s). The allergy excuse always sounds weak to me...but I suppose on some occasions it can be true. I am allergic, and I have 8 cats...the best cure is exposure. But I'm off topic, sorry.

Do you have confidence in the vet you are using?

I understand the stone is very big. I am not an expert but I have had a lot of personal experience with bladder stones. If it is struvite, that is very important info, IMO.

Females are especially good candidates for dissolving struvite stones with diet or acidifiers...as their urethra is much bigger so as the stone comes apart, the crystals can pass much more easily than in a male. A male going through the same process can get blocked over and over by the crystals...but not a female. That would be extremely rare.

It all hinges on whether it's struvite or oxalate. If it's oxalate, the c/d food will make it worse.

 

[ladycat]

I actually had to go reread the post about the rehoming. She didn't have any box issues up until a couple weeks ago (and only for 1-2 days), and went back to using it once she felt a little better. I also know the woman who took her from the original owner said she was picking up & kissing & cuddling Nuit

to me that sounds crazy as it's rare when I can pet her for more then a minute, though I'm grateful when she lets me! (off subject also but wanted to share!)
I actually really love this vet only started seeing her recently though, she's very gentle and comforting.
if it weren't for the x-rays I would thing she was ok again. I wonder why she doesn't just have me feed her the food she was on at least if it's not making it better, it won't make it worse (?). the stone looked close to the size of a marble though, if that means anything. Maybe the vet was saying once it was out they would know more as to what food to put her on. but still. I looked on all the vet sheets they gave me and it didn't say what type of stone it was.

 

[beandip]

Yeah, sorry for the misunderstanding on the re-homing.

The c/d shoots for a pH of 6.2-6.4 ...it is the "maintenance" diet for struvite. It does very little as far as dissolving crystals, even the struvite it is designed for. It is made to *discourage* further struvite, after a previous problem has been stabilized with stronger food or medicine. To *discourage* new oxalate crystals and stones, there needs to be a higher pH. To eliminate an oxalate stone, surgery IS needed, regardless. That may be what you're dealing with.

The stone sounds big. Manipulating the urine pH works wonders on struvite, though. Doesn't do anything for oxalate, though, it just controls further production.

In theory, the c/d may not hurt...but I was cautioned about serving the c/d to cats that "may" not need it (otherwise healthy ones, or ones with oxalate crystals/stones) ...as it could promote oxalate stones in cats predisposed to that condition.

Did they tell you she was passing any crystals in her urine? That should provide a clue as to what type of stone she has.

I don't necessarily doubt your vet...but I have heard some "way out" stories on this forum (this is NOT one of them...), that my own vet would completely disagree with...there are just sometimes multiple ways to tackle a problem. When my cat struggled with these problems for more than a year, I read up on it till my eyes hurt, and I asked my vet if we could try something different. She was comfortable with it, and it made Beandip into a new cat, I swear. Therefore, I can get a little emotional about these issues.

 

[ladycat]

yes she many many crystals in her urine which I guess is why they gave that food then. I'm not planning on having the other cats eat that food so no worries there...however Bentley (cat with food rage), we have caught him opening the back and sticking his head in for a bite and running away

oh you should see the guilty look on his face!!! it would be amazing if she did a complete turn around though I doubt with the other cats, though once she has recooped it may help with possibly finding her a better suited home (we'll see)