My kitty with bladder trouble

[gacountrymom]

So, I am having major trouble with my kitty, Artie, and I am so confused. He is 5 years old and we got him when he was a kitten as a stray. He is strictly an indoor cat. Last Thursday, I noticed he was not feeling well. He was throwing up and just acting like he was in pain and not wanting to move around much so I took him straight to the vet. They came back in and told me that he had a bladder blockage and started telling me I had let it go on too long, that his bladder was huge, etc. It made me feel horrible as this was the first clue that he had given me to being sick. My hubby cleans out the litter box since I am pregnant but we have two other cats too so I wouldn't have noticed a difference in his urine. He was not wandering around or acting uncomfortable at all. He had slept in the bed with me the day before and had been playing with the kitten so I don't understand what I missed.

Anyway, they put in a catheter and cleared the blockage and he stayed there on medication for 2 days. He completely recovered and his blood levels went back to normal and his temp back to normal and he started eating good again. Then they took his catheter back out and he would not go, he would only dribble urine everywhere. They said he didn't even seem to act like he even knew he needed to go. So, they put a catheter back in for 2 more days. They put him on medication that would force his bladder to contract because they said his bladder was stretched and wasn't contracting correctly. Not sure how they figured that out. So, then they took his catheter back out and he would only pee these little dime sized spots off and on but they said he was still letting his bladder fill up and not acting like he needs to go. They said they were not satisfied with this and putting a catheter back in occasionally to empty his bladder for him. After that they seemed like they didn't know what else to do. They said he was not reblocking and they didn't understand why he would not go. They said I should either put him to sleep or he needed a surgery that may or may not work because it was to fix his urethra and they didn't know if that was what was wrong.

I was having a hard time with this because when I would go visit him he felt so good and acted like his normal self and I can't afford a surgery that may not work. I started calling around to other vets and pretty much the consensus was he just needed more time to heal. This vet was not wanting to work with me on doing anything except him staying there on 4 different kinds of medicine with a catheter. So, I went and picked him up and paid my $763 bill! When I got him home he was so happy! He went a few times but it was just the little dime size spots and then after the evening, he never went again and by the morning he was not going at all and acting sick again. Sigh... So I took him to a different vet that seemed the most willing to work with me and eager to help him. Now he is there. They did have to put a catheter in because he was so full again. They said he is already feeling better and not sick anymore. He is back to normal and eating and doing well. He still has his catheter in and they plan to try to take it out on Monday to see if he may go. Has anyone been through anything like this that has any advice??? I am so worried about my kitty and I miss him terribly. This has been going on over a week and I don't know what to do!

 

[mews2much]

I lost a male to a blockage years ago.
If your cat keeps blocking there is a surgery he can have to fix it.

 

[stephanietx]

Have they discussed a change in diet with you? He might need to be on a different type of food. Talk with your vet about treatment options and perhaps seek the opinion of a cat-only vet (take all your cat's medical records with you) before you make a final decision.

 

[gacountrymom]

Originally Posted by stephanietx

Have they discussed a change in diet with you? He might need to be on a different type of food. Talk with your vet about treatment options and perhaps seek the opinion of a cat-only vet (take all your cat's medical records with you) before you make a final decision.

Yes, they did change him over to Science Diet Prescription canned food. I think it is called c/d. That is all they have said about his diet.

 

[gloriajh]

Stop with any fish (especially tuna) food.

Did vets say anything about crystals doing the clogging?
If so, what kind.

We had a male, neutered, cat that began having problems when he was about 4 years old.

The vet did the surgery where they cut off the end of the penis tip to enlarge the exit. He never had a problem again. He lived for another 15 years or so. I contribute the surgery to his length of life because I sure didn't know as much about healthy feeding back then - in the 1980's - there weren't many resources (if any) to help us educate ourselves about cats - and certainly we didn't have www.thecatsite.com either.

You sure need to take care of this issue or you may be looking at kidney failure next.

I had a difficult time reading your post - a pretty long paragraph

- so if I've misunderstood please let me know, and we'll give it another try.

 

[gacountrymom]

Originally Posted by mews2much

I lost a male to a blockage years ago.
If your cat keeps blocking there is a surgery he can have to fix it.

It is weird because he is not blocking back up. Every time they have passed a catheter, it goes right in so they say he is not blocking back up, his bladder is just not contracting and making him go. They don't know if the surgery will fix it if it is a bladder problem because it will only remedy a problem with the urethra.

 

[mews2much]

Find out if he has oxide or struvite crystals.

 

[gacountrymom]

Originally Posted by GloriaJH

Stop with any fish (especially tuna) food.

Did vets say anything about crystals doing the clogging?
If so, what kind.

We had a male, neutered, cat that began having problems when he was about 4 years old.

The vet did the surgery where they cut off the end of the penis tip to enlarge the exit. He never had a problem again. He lived for another 15 years or so. I contribute the surgery to his length of life because I sure didn't know as much about healthy feeding back then - in the 1980's - there weren't many resources (if any) to help us educate ourselves about cats - and certainly we didn't have www.thecatsite.com either.

You sure need to take care of this issue or you may be looking at kidney failure next.

I had a difficult time reading your post - a pretty long paragraph

- so if I've misunderstood please let me know, and we'll give it another try.

I haven't had him on any kind of fish or anything. The most I every do is let him have some of the water from the tuna can over his dry food and that is not often at all. The vet did say that crystals were the cause of the blockage but didn't say what kind or anything. I only had him at home that one night and they have been making sure to not let his bladder get full so that his kidney's don't get damaged. The first vet told me that he didn't know if he would recommend the surgery since it doesn't seem like blockage is the issue. He is never blocked again when they pass a catheter, it seems more like a bladder problem from it getting stretched. Both vets have said that this is something that takes time and usually heals but here it has been a week and a half and nearly $1,000 and he is still not making progress on going by himself.

 

[gacountrymom]

Originally Posted by mews2much

Find out if he has oxide or struvite crystals.

How can they tell? What are the differences? Thanks!

 

[stephanietx]

They can do a urinalysis to tell. If you search this forum for crystals or by each type of crystal, then you'll find loads of info.

 

[white cat lover]

A urinalysis should have been run by either of the vets. They can determine the pH of his urine, if there are crystals present/what kind, and if there is any bacteria present.

 

[nance]

I've had 2 make cats with crystals....one got better with meds and changing his food to totally canned food....this was just a year ago....I had another back in the late 80's as well...things have come along way since then..but eventually he had to have surgery to remove his penis and he never got blocked again... he lived to be close to 18 yrs od...but he had a bad go of it for a few yrs.....I wish I knew then what I know now....The vets back then kept him on a dry diet....it was s/d then c/d when crystals were gone....He would have been better on a cheap grocery store canned than any script dry food..but anyways ....live and learn..now I have canned only bascily for all my cats ...and 2 water fountains...
Your Artie sounds like it could be from a stretched bladder or from the catheter...I recall going thru those issues as well...where his penis got so damaged he couldn't tell when he had to pee....that was when I decided on the surgery....I was lucky back then...I had a wonderful vet that helped me out alot...he even took my cat home with him over the weekends....Sounds like he is going to need time to heal his bladder....I'm sorry your going thru this.....I hope they can come up with some kinda medication to help...

 

[epona]

The one thing that comes to mind for me is damage to the sacral nerve or other nerves in the area as a result of lower back strain or injury, damage to the nerves can result in loss of bladder contractions and retention of urine - have you ever been referred to a specialist such as a urinary specialist for your poor boy's problems?

 

[bmw kitty cat]

I have a 13 year old who had bladder blockage 3 times in his life. The last time it occurred he was at the vet for 3 days. He pulled through and has been good every since. He is an outside cat, has been on special diet food and it doing just fine.

I hope your baby has the same luck.

 

[plebayo]

Can they express the bladder themselves without passing a catheter... I ask this because you say there is no blockage.

We had a client with a cat that was a manx with no tail, he had been hit by a car and it damaged the nerves in his hind end[he could walk and all of that jazz], they had to express his bladder for him. Have they talked to you about having to express it yourself because if so it's pretty simple to learn and he could still have a good quality of life if you could commit yourself to expressing the bladder a couple of times a day.

We also have a client that has to manually empty her cat's colon because he has some kind of neurological problem that causes him to shake and he has no use of his rear legs. So this kind of stuff can be done...

 

[blast-off-girl]

I'm sorry this is happening to your cat. I don't want to frighten you but I think you may want to ask for an ultrasound to get a better picture of his bladder.

My cat was incorrectly diagnosed with a crystal blockage in September 2008. They put a catheter in but he started to strain again. Plus, there was blood in his urine. Several weeks later, the radiologist came and performed an ultrasound. He discovered that Buster had a tumor in his bladder, which was called transitional cell carcinoma.

TCC is very rare in cats; therefore, vets never suspect it. I think further diagnostic tests should be done in order to rule out various conditions.

 

[gacountrymom]

Originally Posted by Plebayo

Can they express the bladder themselves without passing a catheter... I ask this because you say there is no blockage.

We had a client with a cat that was a manx with no tail, he had been hit by a car and it damaged the nerves in his hind end[he could walk and all of that jazz], they had to express his bladder for him. Have they talked to you about having to express it yourself because if so it's pretty simple to learn and he could still have a good quality of life if you could commit yourself to expressing the bladder a couple of times a day.

We also have a client that has to manually empty her cat's colon because he has some kind of neurological problem that causes him to shake and he has no use of his rear legs. So this kind of stuff can be done...

I know they did it a couple times at the vet. This is definately something for me to bring up with them. Thanks!

 

[gacountrymom]

Originally Posted by Blast-Off-Girl

I'm sorry this is happening to your cat. I don't want to frighten you but I think you may want to ask for an ultrasound to get a better picture of his bladder.

My cat was incorrectly diagnosed with a crystal blockage in September 2008. They put a catheter in but he started to strain again. Plus, there was blood in his urine. Several weeks later, the radiologist came and performed an ultrasound. He discovered that Buster had a tumor in his bladder, which was called transitional cell carcinoma.

TCC is very rare in cats; therefore, vets never suspect it. I think further diagnostic tests should be done in order to rule out various conditions.

He had blood in his urine at first and then it cleared up and then he had it again and now it has once again cleared up. I will bring this to my vet's attention as well. Thanks!

 

[blast-off-girl]

Originally Posted by GACountrymom

He had blood in his urine at first and then it cleared up and then he had it again and now it has once again cleared up. I will bring this to my vet's attention as well. Thanks!

This is exactly what happened to my beloved Buster. At first he had blood in his urine; the vet diagnosed him with a UTI and prescribed antibiotics. That worked at first but then it turned into a blockage several weeks later. In hindsight, Buster was not blocked at all, according to the vet. I lost over $3000 in incorrect diagnoses and treatments until TCC was confirmed in October 2008.

 

[mews2much]

Has your cat had a ultrasound?
I would get one now if he has not had one.
My old cat had blood with bladder stones and she has had struvite crystals also with e coli.
She is on baytril and now has crf.
If you do not stop the bladder problems it can go to his kidneys.
I hope something helps your cat.