My Experience With Blockages and PU Surgery

[ursulalynn]

J jamiehendrickx
I don't know what I would have done without the support of the people on here. It was such a comfort!!!
Also, lots of interesting questions you raise.
In regards to the raw diet, I actually brought this up to my veterinarian after my boy's procedure and she was very against it. Primarily because feeding a raw diet you have to be super super super careful - about the quality of the meats you are using, and that you are supplementing as well so that kitty is getting his necessary vitamins and minerals. Unless you are willing to commit an immense amount of time and source your meat, and ensure the raw diet you are making is completely balanced, you run the risk of kitty not getting the nutrition he needs.
From what I understand, royal canin is higher quality than hills. But I don't know if there is a wheat free organic brand that offers an SO diet formula ... If you find one, please keep us in the loop!
At the local pet store in my area, there are actually a surprising number of natural treats available. There are some that are basically just dehydrated chicken bits. A little chewy and a little crunchy, and the boys really seem to like them! I have seen them at petco as well, so I think they are probably available at most places! There is also a brand called Good Lovin' that has multiple flavors of byproduct and preservative-free treats (my fellas love the salmon!).
I only have the two boys, but the little one (on a normal diet) is a real butthead about stealing his brother's food. I feed them multiple times a day, separately, so that nobody eats the wrong food when I'm not looking!
Never heard a thing regarding water softness. I can't imagine that it's really an issue - after the bottled water hype of five or so years ago, most water in bottles is essentially tap water anyway. If you are concerned, perhaps a filter for your faucet just in case?

 

[stewball]

I forgot to add re: your inquiry about hard water. I actually read a article about this just the other day. I guess studies have shown that there is a higher incidence of cats seen for urinary crystals in areas where there is hard water. The general conclusion of the article was that there just is not enough data to establish a definitive connection. Easier than bottled water is a Pur filter system which is what is have. I figure if it can possibly helps prevent another issue down the line, I will try it!! If possible, put fresh water down in multiple locations in order to encourage your boy to drink more water. Some cats are really attracted to the moving water of a water fountain.

Lastly, look at ways to enrich Dizzy's environment. One factor linked to crystals in felines is stress. Regular playtime with you and things like cat tv (maybe a bird feeder at his favorite window?) go along way to reduce stress or anxiety in a kitty.
I hope Dizzy's checkup goes well. He is so lucky to have someone like you who cares so much to take care of him [emoji]128571[/emoji]

What should she do regarding her hard water. I also have filtered water.
Could you not buy a brita to filter your water ?

 

[hellomisskitty]

This is the article I read regarding hard water:

http://iheartcats.com/could-tap-water-be-causing-health-issues-in-pets/

 

[jamiehendrickx]

Thank you all for your replies.  You've given me a lot of options for healthy treats.  

Re: Food.  He'll stay on the SO for right now since it seems to be the safest option.  Get him stabilized first, then I'll start the hunting process.  Again, you've given me some great leads!!  The vet would prefer he not have treats at all right now, so I'm giving him little bits of boiled chicken.  He likes that, so it works.

RE: Raw Diet.  If I lived in Iowa where I used to live, I would know exactly where to get the meat (my grandfather's farm).  However, we live near Tampa, Florida now and knowing the source of your meat is much more difficult.  So, I'm holding off on that for now.  I like the idea, but time and financial resources required are not available at the moment.

RE: Hard Water.  Again, I've been reading way more that I probably should.  We have a filter in our refrigerator for the water and ice in the door, so we're just using that.  I think that's taking the majority of the major contaminates away.  I'm not big on bottled water - especially after it came out that most of it is just tap water.  

RE: Multiple cats.  @ursulalynn  I have several foster kitties.  At the moment, there are 16 in the house - I spend a LOT of time cleaning. Granted, some of those are kittens and most of them are temporary feline residents.  I'm going to be getting out of fostering for a variety of reasons.  Mainly because my business as a math tutor has taken off (woo-hoo!), but it also means that I have much less time to be a good foster kitty mama.  So, my numbers will decrease dramatically over the next few weeks.  It will still be a challenge because several of the ones who have medical or psychological problems will probably stay with me permanently as they aren't adoptable to the average person.  For right now, Dizzy is isolated to allow the sutures to heal, so feeding for the next couple of weeks is easy.  After that, I think I may have to follow your example and find a way to feed a few times per day.  That will be hard since I'm usually gone 10-12 hours M-F.  At least I have a little time to try to figure out a solution.  

RE: Stress @HelloMissKitty  His environment is changing often.  It's just the way it is in the life of a foster kitty home.  However, I am exiting the foster system for a multitude of reasons, so that constant change will cease.  The kitties in my herd are well balanced and I have very few kitty wars.  Every once is in a while there will be a little hissing, but it's rare.  I'm very fortunate in that regard.  I love Feli-way multi cat.  Expensive, but well worth it.  We also just lost our alpha male cat, Simba, about a month ago.  He was 16 years old and had cancer.  This has effected the herd and in particular, Captain and Dizzy.  Simba was a very sweet old man.  When we brought Captain home about 2 years ago, he was about 3 weeks old, infested with fleas, anemic (most likely from the fleas and ticks), had a horrid URI with both eyes loaded with puss and one with maggots.  I had gone to pick up a mama and babies from the county shelter. Someone from the rescue had already picked them up, so I was leaving with an empty carrier (there's a first time for everything) when I ran into this lady in the parking lot with a meowing box.  She showed me the tiny kitten in horrible shape and said, "they'll help him, right?"  I said, "No. This is a high kill shelter and he's too far gone for them to try to save. He'll go in the front door and out the back."  I said I worked with a rescue and that I would take him.  I thought I was bringing him home to give him love and make him as comfortable as I could.  I took him home, cleaned him up, and gave him some formula and sub-q fluids.  He perked right up, so over the next few months, we nursed him back to health.  He lost one eye to the URI despite major doses of antibiotics and ointments.  (Hence the name Captain.)  My dad said that he showed a lot of "grit", so his full name is Captain Rooster Cogburn.  So, getting back to the point, Captain was adopted by Simba.  Simba would lay next to him and clean him.  Captain would pump on Simba's tummy with his paws the way kittens normally do to their mothers.  Captain followed Simba everywhere and did everything Simba did - including the not so good stuff like dragging his butt on the carpet.  (Nope, no worms or impacted anal glands - just an itchy butt according to the vet.)  Well, a year later, I brought home Dizzy.  A 2 week old bottle baby with a URI, but not as bad as Captain's had been.  Captain, following Simba's example, adopted Dizzy.  Dizzy followed Captain everywhere, ate when and what Captain ate, and did everything Captain did.  Well, a month ago Simba crossed the rainbow bridge.  Captain has been listless and seems a bit lost.  He did see Simba's body after we brought him home to bury him.  I made sure he got a look and a good sniff.  He cried, I cried, we all cried.  I think Captain's lost behavior is transferring to Dizzy.  Especially now that Dizzy is isolated from the other kitties.  Next week he gets his stitches out and I can at least re-introduce Captain to him.  I'm hoping as the household adjusts to life without Simba that Captain and Dizzy adjust as well.  I think this is all contributing to Dizzy's stress level.  On the whole, he is a VERY mellow cat.  (What feline do you know who just lays down on the exam table at the vet's office and goes to sleep?  He even gives the vet his tummy for love and rubs.)  I think his personality will help him adjust easier.  He has bird feeders (aka Kitty TV) and kitty trees and lots of other stuff to play with and be distracted by.  

RE: Dizzy's checkup:  FANTASTIC!!!!  He's healing well and will get his stitches out next Saturday.  The vet techs all love him.  As soon as we walked in, one came up and said, "Can I steal him for a minute?"  She took him in the back and we could hear a bunch of voices, "Oh!  Hi Dizzy!!"  "Dizzy!"  "Dizzy is here!"  LOL.  Does a mama's heart good when the kitty is loved so much.  I'm so happy that his healing process is going so well.  He's happy and healthy.  He had his last dose of pain meds today, so we'll see how it goes without them.  I'm a little concerned, but if he seems uncomfortable or in pain, I have no problem asking for more.  He's so precious!  I think he will be my "foster fail" - we'll adopt him and keep him.  He's got a long life of testing and special needs ahead and I want to make sure he is provided for.  

THank you all again for the words and advice.  It makes such a huge difference to have support!!

Much love!

 

[pisces7386]

Regarding feeding in a multi-cat house- We had to cut our mom cat off of the kitty chow while the kittens still needed to free feed. We ended up putting the kitten food bowl up in the bathroom sink where the mom couldn't jump up but the kittens could. Do you have someplace that Dizzy can't reach where you can put the kitten food? The other thing we have done when we had to feed one cat special was to bring him into the bathroom and close the others out. Another option that wouldn't be so easy with fosters and kittens is timed meals and teaching them to eat only out of their bowls- it took a few months of very close supervision at meal times, but our three cats now know where they eat and know not to try for anyone else's food. Maybe you could at least teach Dizzy not to eat the other cat's food.

We feed homemade raw to our cats, including Bear who had the PU. If you want to feed raw you need to really commit to doing your research and doing it right otherwise you can end up making your kitty worse, but I wouldn't let the vet's opposition to a raw diet stop you. Every vet I have been to has cautioned me against a raw diet and said I should put him on a prescription food-- but he has a chicken allergy and all the prescriptions foods out there are chicken based.  At that point the vets say they are still concerned and that they think I should get a consultation for raw feeding ( I have always known more about raw diets than them) and recommend one of the services that offer to develop a premixed supplement that you purchase to mix into meat at home... The way I figure it I have been able to feed myself without needing a premixed supplement powder, why can't I feed my cat without paying for a supplement mix? The raw thread on this site is great. 

Best of luck to Dizzy!

 

[hellomisskitty]

.  
RE: Dizzy's checkup:  FANTASTIC!!!!  He's healing well and will get his stitches out next Saturday.  The vet techs all love him.  As soon as we walked in, one came up and said, "Can I steal him for a minute?"  She took him in the back and we could hear a bunch of voices, "Oh!  Hi Dizzy!!"  "Dizzy!"  "Dizzy is here!"  LOL.  Does a mama's heart good when the kitty is loved so much.  I'm so happy that his healing process is going so well.  He's happy and healthy.  He had his last dose of pain meds today, so we'll see how it goes without them.  I'm a little concerned, but if he seems uncomfortable or in pain, I have no problem asking for more.  He's so precious!  I think he will be my "foster fail" - we'll adopt him and keep him.  He's got a long life of testing and special needs ahead and I want to make sure he is provided for.  

I'm so happy to hear that Dizzy's check up went so well and that he is well on his way to getting past this. And that his foster home may well be his forever home 

 I don't think that he could ask for a better home and a better mom to love him and take care of him. I know what you mean how good it makes you feel when others see the wonderful qualities in your kitty that you see. 

RE: Hard Water.  Again, I've been reading way more that I probably should.  We have a filter in our refrigerator for the water and ice in the door, so we're just using that.  I think that's taking the majority of the major contaminates away.  I'm not big on bottled water - especially after it came out that most of it is just tap water.  

I absolutely read WAY more than I probaby should...lol. But, this whole world of urinary crystals and ramifications was not something I had any knowledge or awareness of and I want to do the best I can for my girl. I only do filtered water as well. That study I read about sounded far from conclusive and who knows exactly how the data was analyzed (i.e. how scientific it was). 

 

[brookeb923]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site but thought I would post my experience so far. My cat is Harry (just turned 3 years old) and had his first blockage about 6 weeks ago. Harry began peeing on my couch, which is very odd for him so I took him to the vet to get checked out.  The vet said is wasn't a total blockage, but he still had to have a catheter and IV fluids. He stayed at the vet the first time for about 3 or 4 days and came home peeing on his own great. At this point I switched him to dry C/D (he had previously been on regular dry food - I feel so horrible about having fed him that but simply did not know the dangers). 

Two weeks later, Harry began peeing on the couch again so I took him back to the vet. This time she said he had a bad UTI and was sent home with an antibiotic and seemed to clear up just fine. 

Two weeks after that, Harry completely blocked on a Sunday. I had to take him to the emergency vet (ugh, the bill was horrible!) - I had no other choice because he very, very quickly became lethargic and was obviously in pain and very grumpy, also vomiting. The emergency vet said if I had waited until Monday morning to bring him in he very easily could have died or wound up with irreversible kidney damage. I want everyone to know from my experience with this blockage how much of an emergency a blockage is! This was the first time Harry completely blocked and I was shocked by how quickly he got sick. 

On Monday morning I picked him up from the emergency vet and transferred him to our regular vet. Harry HATES the vet. Refuses to eat they have to sedate him almost every time they need to do some sort of treatment with him. By Wednesday, the vet called me and suggested the PU surgery. She thought it was only a matter of time before he would block again at home, so we might as well do it and get it over with. The surgery was scheduled for Thursday with a different vet at the same clinic.

I was at work on Thursday waiting all day to get a call to see how the surgery went. About 4pm I got a call expecting to hear that everything we well, only to hear that they were unable to do the surgery. When the vet got him on the table to start surgery, he noticed that Harry's abdomen was significantly larger than the day before. The thoroughly checked Harry out to find the source of the fluid on his abdomen - EKG, sonograms, the whole works. He said everything looked really good and that the only thing he could think of was that Harry had FIP (for those that don't know, it's a fatal virus that cats get that can cause excess fluid accumulation). He took a sample of the fluid to send to a pathologist and we would have the results sometime Friday afternoon, but the vet felt pretty positive it was FIP. I spent that evening and much of the next day preparing to euthanize Harry - I was beyond upset because this was so unexpected.

Friday afternoon the vet calls me tells me the sample came back as urine - NO FIP!! He said this was great because this was the only result that might be fixable. The vet began emergency exploratory surgery on Harry to find the source of where the urine was coming from. He told me if it was coming from his bladder or urethra, he could fix it. If it was coming from his ureter then he could not, but that I could drive him to our state's vet school (about 2.5 hours away) and they could likely do emergency surgery on him there. I finally get a call 4 hours later from the vet informing me that Harry's bladder had ruptured but that he was able to fix it. Best news ever! The past day had been an absolute emotional roller coaster! The vet wanted to send Harry home in the morning (earlier than he usually would) because he refuses to eat at the vet. At this point it had been about 7 or 8 days since Harry had eaten. I was so nervous. What if he wouldn't eat for me either?

Saturday morning Harry comes home from the vet with a catheter in with instructions to bring him back Monday morning for catheter removal. Side note: the PU surgery had been postponed during all of this. The vet wanted Harry to come home and eating and get him stronger before his next surgery. Harry does great all day Saturday. He immediately climbs into my lap and purrs and eats straight out of my had. I have now switched him to wet C/D. 

By Sunday afternoon I become pretty positive that Harry wasn't putting urine out of his catheter. I call the vet (he gave me his cell phone number to avoid a weekend emergency vet visit) and update him as to my suspicions. He instructs me to try to flush the catheter to see if something was blocking it (I am a nurse practitioner so I guess the vet feels comfortable with me doing this? I think what the heck, I've done it on humans plenty of times, why not a cat?). Flushing the catheter doesn't work, so I call the vet back. He tells me to remove the catheter myself. I cut the stitches with some medical scissors I have and slide the catheter right now. I placed Harry in his litter box and prayed he would pee. I had luck - he peed right away! Woohoo! (turns out Harry had gotten litter in his catheter causing it to clog up - lesson learned, when he comes home with a catheter next time I will not use normal litter).

So now here we are, about a week and a half after the bladder rupture surgery. Harry's PU surgery is scheduled for this Thursday (13 days after his big bladder surgery). He is doing so well right now - eating, bird watching out the window, cuddling with his brother - that I hate to even take him back. But I know he must have this surgery. Still, I'm worried sick! 

Sorry for the marathon post, but I thought someone out there might learn from my mistakes/experience. I have learned tons from reading all of your stories. I'm worried about possible complications after the surgery as I have read some horror stories online. However, this thread helped me to understand realistically what the post op period will be like without scaring the mess out of me. If anyone has any questions about my experience thus far, please feel free to ask. I'm an open book!

 

[inevera]

My sweet boy just had a P.U. done on Friday. Any post-op advice? I have to take his cone off so he will use the litter box.
Also my female cat keeps hissing and growling at him ever since he got home. It's been 4 days. How should I got about this? They are from the same litter. This was the longest they had ever been apart, 5 days total. It's worrying me that she won't go near him anymore

 

[stewball]

My sweet boy just had a P.U. done on Friday. Any post-op advice? I have to take his cone off so he will use the litter box.
Also my female cat keeps hissing and growling at him ever since he got home. It's been 4 days. How should I got about this? They are from the same litter. This was the longest they had ever been apart, 5 days total. It's worrying me that she won't go near him anymore

She can smell the vet. Once he's been home and washed and got his smell back she'll calm down. Don't worry.

 

[inevera]

He has been home for 6 days now. She is still hissing and growling at him.

Another question. Should i clean the incision? I havent gotten a definitive answer

 

[piglet]

While I absolutely believe that wet food is preferable over dry food when possible (if the cat will eat it), I wish it were as simple as that to prevent urinary blockages. My two 2-yr old orange tabby brothers were adopted at 10 weeks and fed, almost exclusively, wet food twice a day with some dry food out while i was at work. I fed them what I thought was a great food...Wysong...and it probably is a great food. Excellent, limited ingredients!

Well, one my two year olds (only one got this) was in and out of his litter box for the first time 12/15//16. No stones or crystals found, but was told that if he blocked again, he might need to eat the prescription food. I took one look at the ingredients and decided against it right then thinking maybe this was a one-off. I fed even more wet food, added water to it, and gave Cosequin tablets in his food.

He later blocked for the first time 4/17/16...four months later.  We went to emergency room and had a cystotomy (bladder opened up to remove stones...awful!) but there was an issue. His incision healed fine after three weeks, but he wasn't peeing large amounts. After many weeks of hoping and trying to figure it out, we finally decided that he had gotten "stricture" somehow...either through a stone lodging in his urethra and causing scarring or by a traumatic catheterization. The hospital will not want to acknowledge they could be the reason. Stricture is when the urethra narrows even more than a male cat's urethra already is.

This has been SO difficult seeing my sweet boy constantly going in and out of box and licking himself every time afterwards. Painful crying for first 2-3 weeks then none. Piglet will now be having a PU tomorrow. I am so very frightened!

I've read everything there is to read on the internet!! Things I've learned:

1) Go to a board certified surgeon if at all possible. This is a VERY delicate surgery. An incorrect incision could lead to urine leakage for the rest of the cat's life and even loss of fecal control. A too conservative opening can lead to the opening closing over (wound breakdown) with scar tissue so that the cat will not be able to pee at all! Other issues, too, of urine under skin can cause stricture and/or infection.

2) DO NOT TAKE THE CONE OFF YOUR CAT FOR TWO WEEKS!! If he licks it, he could cause infection and much worse, cause the wound to close up...again, stricture. This is your enemy. If you must take it off very briefly for feeding and allowing him to clean his face afterwards, be very careful so he doesn't get any licks in down there. All your efforts could end up for naught if he does.

3) Prescription food ingredients SUCK!!!!! For now, though, it is what he is going to eat unless and until I figure something out more healthy. The other huge issue with most of urinary foods is that they mainly are to break down struvite crystals with their limited amount of  phosphorous, magnesium and calcium and acidifying the cat's urine. Well guess what? Those minerals being restricted can cause calcium oxalate stones which can only be removed through surgery!!! Those stones can be (maybe/possibly/in theory) prevented by creating alkaline urine...not acidified urine. You see the problem here?

4) DO NOT FEED YOUR OTHER CATS THE PRESCRIPTION FOOD!!! Acidifying their diet when they don't need it to be can cause problems...like calcium oxalate stones in an otherwise healthy cat. Most vets will say it's okay, but just think about it. Would you take your spouses medicine cuz he was sick? No! If the other cats ate a little bit, I imagine it would be fine, but feed them different wet food for sure. And try to feed only wet food if possible to all cats.

Good luck to everyone. This is a heartbreaking condition for our babies and for us. I am praying so much that he'll come out well with his surgery tomorrow.

 

[piglet]

One more thing...does everyone know about Chewy dot com?

You can PAY MUCH LESS through their website even for prescription food. So thankful I found them!

Call them as they'll need to call your vet for prescription. Mine are eating Royal Canin S/O "Gel" and "Morsels". Also some RC S/O dry when I have to be gone for a bit longer. They are SO customer friendly.

There is  NO TAX, FREE SHIPPING ON OVER $49 and if you put stuff in your Autoship, you get 5% off. You can change the stuff and delay shipping dates at will.

 

[pisces7386]

Piglet-

 Its rough when you 'know' that the vet may have caused part of the problem in the first place. My little bear went from his first blockage on a Wednesday to an emergency PU on Friday night. When he was cathed on Wednesday they commented on how very small his urethra was, they had to change out for a smaller one. After the surgery the vet said his urethra was so damaged that parts of it were dead already. He had no stones... so yeah, I think they cause the damage by trying to put in a cath that was too big. He also ended up with a revision two weeks later because of scar tissue/stricture, but the vet warned us that it may happen because of how bad his urethra was during the first. 

  A couple things to add to your list- Make sure you get medications for after the surgery;I hear that some vets don't give pain meds or bladder relaxers, and I could not imagine going that without them. While the special litters are the best route, you don't have to use the special litter if you can be there to make sure the incision stays clean. Bear refused to use any paper based litter and the vet explained that clumping litters will tend to stick to the incision and that is why they don't want you to use them. Also, we rarely put the cone on our Bear when we were around (it helps that Bear thinks he is a lap dog, so he is with us all the time when we are home). He felt so much more comfortable without it- Just make sure you are watching him constantly when it is off so he cannot lick the wound. My last tip, a trick I learned to keep his fluid intake up was sardine water (no salt in water sardines) I would mix a little of the liquid or a chunk of sardines in with a bunch of water and he loved the stuff. 

Good luck to you and Piglet!

 

[piglet]

Hi Pisces...Thanks for your reply. And suggestion about sardine water. Since they're not supposed to have too much phosphorus as fish tend to have a lot of, I'm wondering if that is okay for long-term drinking. I want to look into that. For now, tho, that sounds great! So......I am going to copy and paste what I wrote to Denice, an "Advisor" in a private message. I am still stunned!!!

"Well, I am in complete shock! My board certified surgeon downtown Chicago working with U of I doesn't seem to think he needs a PU!! What?? She said she has seen very few strictures in her career...been board certified since 1997.

She did an ultrasound which revealed no cystitis (no bladder inflammation or stones). The results of the urinalysis and Culture and Sensitivy tests will be back in 7-10 days.

In the meantime, she put him on Prazosin (he'd been on that for 17 days after his cystotomy). Also, she conferred with the Internal Medicine doc who changed his diet from Royal Canin S/O wet to Hill's CD Multicare Stress wet (he does tend towards stress with loud noises or new people). She encouraged Feliway diffusers which he got after his cystotomy in April. Also, she said Cosequin (I asked) couldn't hurt as I've been doing that since his first UTI last December. Didn't keep him from blocking, but I'm still using it just in case.

If this doesn't work, then we'll try Amitriptyline...sort of an anti-anxiety/anti-depressant drug.

If that fails, then she'll do a dye contrast with a catheter up his penis to see if he does have a stricture. I pray to God this preliminary stuff will work. Seems so simple and too good to be true, but I am trying to be hopeful. I really don't want to do the PU!! I was SO relieved when he came home with me. intact.

He's so special to me. Thank you for you support!!"

I added this today:

"Denice, last night (3 doses and 26 hrs after being on Prazosin) Piglet did a normal size pee!! i was shocked and ecstatic! He had held it most of the day, tho...still he hadn't done that since April 16, 2016. After that, some have been slightly bigger but none like last night...yet. Fingers crossed."

Will keep you all updated. Thanks for your support!

Piglet's mom

 

[pisces7386]

It is kinda amazing when they make a normal pee again, isn't it?! When Bear had his stitches out and had the stricture I actually took a pipette and measured how much liquid made a similar sized clump- about 2 ml. I saw the look the vet gave me when I told them, but it was worth it to make sure little Bear was okay.

I am so excited for you that Piglette may not need a surgery- but really make sure you aren't avoiding it because it is scary. If he needs it it will be the best thing ever for him. I am almost 100% certain Baby Bear's blockage was due to stress, and now when he freaks out we don't have to worry about him dying because he won't pee- we only have to worry about him being a big emotional baby!

 We use feliway diffusers when we are gone and work to decrease his stress while we are home by having scheduled play and cuddle times . We have not had a single bladder related problem since he has healed from his surgeries. 

ps- we only really used the sardine water while he was recovering from surgery to make him pee a lot (it was about a month that he was in recovery since he had the two surgeries back to back). Now he gets sardines as a treat/meal about once a month. 

 

[piglet]

Interesting what you're saying, Pisces. Am I understanding that you're saying due to his stress his urethra was tightening up and not releasing urine? So was there a physical stricture or no? This is all so confusing.

I thought strictures were strictly physical (due to injury from the cath or a stone that got stuck and caused scar tissue) so that is why the PU would have to be done to widen and shorten it. But are you saying that he didn't have a physical one, but emotionally he tightened? Wow, if that is true then that could very possibly happen to Piglet in the future due to his somewhat stressed nature. I'll have to inquire about that. I am totally dreading the Fourth of July. He HATES those thunderous firecrackers. I live downtown Chicago and they go on the entire weekend and afterwards.

His only blockage in April happened due to stones. Now something else seems to be going on that he isn't peeing large amounts. He hasn't done another big pee like last night. Now, I am starting to question if for sure it was he who produced it. I'm 99% sure, but now I can't say 100%. Today, he had a tinge of blood in his urine. I'll call tomorrow to advise the docs. He is acting his normal, sweet and loving self wanting his belly rubbed.

So cute how you measured water to find out how much he was going. You've right by your Baby Bear! I'm really trying to, too.

P.S. I would love to not have that PU for my boy, but I was set to have it last Thursday which is why when the specialist said she doubted he really needed it, I was so shocked. Time will tell.

How long ago did Bear have his PU? Has he had any issues or UTI's since? How long did it take to heal and be back to normal?

Also, I looked in my cupboard for sardines but the only ones I had were in oil. I'll get some in water tomorrow. Thanks, Pisces!!

 

[sweeks]

My cat age 5, has PU surgery 4 days ago. He is still dribbling bloody urine- he seems fine otherwise. Is this normal?

 

[sweeks]

Should I expect bloody urine leakage after PU surgery? If so how long?

 

[hexiesfriend]

I'm not sure. You may want to start a new thread.

 

[pisces7386]

Piglet, sorry for the delay in responding-  I'm think Bear's emotional stress caused some type of physical reaction that resulted in the blockage- all I can remember is that he didn't really have stones. I didn't questioned it any more because it was already done and the vet didn't really seem have an answer. Leading up to his blockage he was staying at my parents house for a little over a month ( there were some health problems in my husband's family that required our presence). I know he was stressed by my parent's other pets as well as by how much noisier their house is from mine. There are so many unknowns leading up to his blockage that I didn't bother trying to really pinpoint the cause.  I don't know if they would have recommended the pu if it was just the one blockage, (I recall reading that vets usually wait for a few blockages before suggesting surgery) but Bear re-blocked almost immediately because of the damage.

Bear's PU was in late March 2015. He blocked on a Wed. and had the surgery on Friday. He had the stitches out for the first time 2 weeks later and the revision was done 5 days later... 2 more weeks and he had the stitches out for the second time and was pretty much normal from then on, he maybe had a little leakage for another week or so. The only reason I remember is that the house smelled like pee and I was trying to keep towels everywhere he wanted to lay so it wouldn't soak into my furniture. 

Sweeks- Bear dribbled bloody urine quite a bit at first, the vet said that was normal because of the bladder relaxers he was on. I can't remember exactly how fast it stopped, but it did get better slowly but surely. Definitely ask your vet though.