Post PU Surgery Worries

[RoxieHeart]

Lab results came back! I'm taking this poor child off the antibiotics, thank GOODNESS. I've never been so excited about food time to just be able to give him his wet food like "Yeah! That's it! Just your yummy food, that's all you need now."

Bloodwork says his kidney and liver are A-OK, and no hyperthyroidism. Slightly high cholesterol but she said she wasn't worried about that, so they're gonna do another culture in a week to see how he's doing physically. We did get recommended to start giving him a quarter teaspoon of miralax every day for his giant poops which I hope gives him some relief. All in all I think the mindset of this being more of a chronic thing to manage instead of a potential for death is so much easier to deal with and I think my mood getting better is helping him a bit too. Lots of chirps and purrs today (despite him still straining to pee because his bladder's already empty and still licking at his crotch too much, lol)

Gonna start tearing at this office to make it even more kitty friendly and maybe getting some pheromone diffusers to see if it helps his nerves a bit; finally getting a fourth litter box and putting another water bowl next to his favorite futon in the basement downstairs too. Wish me luck on getting him better!

 

[silent meowlook]

Wonderful news!!!

 

[fionasmom]

This is great news and I am so happy for both of you!

 

[RoxieHeart]

I'm just, so exhausted. I'm so tired. I'm tired of worrying, tired of crying, tired of having to watch this poor boy suffer. So his urine came back completely clean, they checked everything his thyroid, his kidneys, his blood, his electrolytes, everything. Clean and the picture of health, they take him off the antibiotics and we wait a week, come back and they test it all again. Clean. The first visit they even shaved his tummy and did a really in depth ultrasound of his entire urinary system, intestines, bladder, urethra, all clean and good and working. I think it's over, I think, "Oh maybe it really was just a resistant uti and things will go back to normal."

A week later and he's back to crying at the litterbox and licking himself. It's like the gabapentin doesn't even do anything anymore, I'll try to play with him and it's like he's fighting the urge to lick to play, rather than the opposite. I'm going to lose my hecking marbles. So we're gonna call that cat vet today since resistant uti isn't the main concern at this point I feel (and I'm good enough at asking for a culture first that I just really want a cat-centric vet for him in general anymore). If he has to go back to the expensive specialist he has to go back to the expensive specialist but I'm hoping and crossing the heck out of my fingers that maybe this vet will actually give me a plan of action and an outlook. Even with the specialist we had to ask for the prozac that he's been on for a week now (I know this doesn't kick in for several weeks, though). Like I feel like I'm the real vet just asking for people with the degrees to give him stuff I look up and I hate it. I shouldn't be the only person in his court with how much money everything's cost at this point. I'm so tired.

As always I'll let you guys know how things pan out. I hear this vet is busy so it'll probably be weeks before he's in with them as a new patient, and I'll just have to deal with his current vet until then.

If it all really ends up for naught, and it turns out it's going to be better for him to pass on, I can at least rest assured that he had a few fleeting moments of happiness and normalcy through this whole process, and those extra moments of love and cuddles will have been worth every penny. I love him so much.

 

[fionasmom]

Like I feel like I'm the real vet just asking for people with the degrees to give him stuff I look up

This can happen and it is very frustrating. I am so sorry that this all fell apart again and understand how you feel. Please keep us updated and it does not have to be when you finally get the vet appointment...anytime you would like to post.

 

[RoxieHeart]

Thanks so much for being here and being so supportive. ;u; I keep telling myself when things are better I can contribute to the happier parts of this site but for now it's just too dang painful. I saw a kitten at the petsmart (they house kitties from a foster program out here to help get them adopted, it's actually where I got this guy and his sister) that looked almost exactly like him, doofus eyes and everything that was so happy and purring and just batting at the window and I broke down. I got to see that come back in him for only a week and it's just all the more painful to see him shying away from pets and hiding with pain again.

Pictured here is him on the right getting comfy with his sister just a few days ago on this old petticoat of mine that they just really love for some reason so I leave it on the bed for them. Not a single thought between those eyes. ♡

 

[fionasmom]

Try to take care of yourself as this is such a long term struggle for you and Artemis. This all began in mid October as I recall and now, four months later, it is still not resolved. I would keep up the Prozac at this point and stay in touch with the vet to let them know that you will take a cancellation (if that works with your schedule) or any other way that they might be able to squeeze you in.

 

[RoxieHeart]

So they told my husband they aren't specialists (I know that!) and that they're going to pull his info and give it to the head to see if there's anything they could possibly do for him, but otherwise recommended a VCA that's near them. What confuses me is all the vets at the VCA are also DVMs only? The only specialists in the area are that Blue Pearl (sent me on my way with that prozac prescription after he came back clear) and another one, and you can tell because they have the extra letters after DVM. Like I hope they understand I'm just wanting a new base vet that will actually hold my hand a bit to jump from if I do have to go back to a specialist. So frustrating.

 

[fionasmom]

Around me, there are many hospitals which have gone over to VCA, but the regular VCA DVMs refer to a VCA specialty hospital staffed by specialists. If you are just being sent on to another vet, I see your point. I am not shocked that they are referring you along, as that would happen here as well, but I think that they are not seeing what you want.

 

[RoxieHeart]

I'm still very cautious and guarded about getting too relaxed about it, but wow. So the clinic he goes to right now is walk in only and it's literally a dice roll which vet you get. We got this lady I'd never seen before and she actually sat down and listened to us, took notes, really got into the nitty gritty and actually asked me specifics on how he's licking himself and talked to us about how cats develop (he's only just now turning 3 this year) and how prozac along with that can affect behavior and also how after PU surgery the urethra can tighten a bit and that some cats really do just pee that way with multiple visits. I brought up that his sutures never dissolved, she actually LOOKED and EXAMINED THE SITE like I'd wanted literally anyone to do this entire time and was like "oh yeah I feel them they're really all still there"

They took him in the back, did their thing, came back. Turns out he just had little suture knots like, all the way down to his tummy they'd migrated so far She also mentioned that how his surgery was done (good lord is it so much to ask to have someone explain all of this to me instead of leaving me in the dark to worry about literally everything??) and that he has skin rolling inward, and because it's normal skin and not urethra skin rolling out like others that said skin can get build up. So she lubed up a little q-tip and cleared out a bunch of black tarry goo that had coagulated in there that was probably irritating him too and put a note in his chart to be seen for that every once in a while. Also when I thought he wasn't eating enough it turns out he's gained a whole pound :') And she mentioned that feeding instructions on food, esp C+D which can chonk up a cat real good when handled carelessly, is not one size fits all and to probably cut back a bit. (I had been really gungho about trying to get him to eat because he was already a half can less than what his food said to give him; having the freedom to just go "He's full" and just put the rest in the fridge is a real breath of relief let me tell you)

So yeah! Cautiously hopeful, I think the only thing I disagree with is that they didn't test his urine and sent me home with a take home sampler that I know is generally not going to be the most accurate, but I guess the idea is to let him heal up (she had to shave him a bit and really prod some of those stitches out) before trying that. He's vocalizing a lot rn but she warned this would probably be the case since he had so many stitches taken out, but she penicillin'd him and gave him some anti-inflammatory so here's hoping he calms down and feels better. I will say despite him being upset I'm watching him sit with his butt flat for the first time in months which is crazy to think about. Poor boy really had sutures just bothering him this entire time.

 

[fionasmom]

Wow. Quite a story about what no one else could figure out or make an attempt to resolve. Even if you can't see this same vet again, at least she gave you a lot of information so that you could direct someone else (although I know that you are tired of this) to check for the buildup. We had another member recently who had the same problem with a stitch for a prolapse issue. No one believed her that the stitch was done incorrectly. I can't imagine what that feels like to have stitches just sitting there.

 

[RoxieHeart]

Still waiting to do the urine test before I let the guard down completely but oh my goodness it is night and day. He lets me pet him again (only while he's lying down and sleepy for now, but this is a big shift from not at all), he's snuggling with his sister again, and he actually gives me excited chirps at mealtime! He still licks a lot but this was expected considering he had a q-tip up his peehole yesterday and it's still like, less than before. His personality is also a bit muted but I blame prozac for that one and having been on the drug myself I'm comfortable giving it a few weeks to see if he emerges better off with personality in tact. If he doesn't and his urine's still clear I'll probably wean him off it, but we'll see.

OH right and his pees are hecking huge now. He'll just pop in there, sometimes a tiny "meow " but then he'll pee for like 3-4 whole seconds. I'm so hecking relieved. Oh my goodness.

 

[fionasmom]

That is great news!

 

[RoxieHeart]

hahaha ok so please let me know if this is as dumb as I think it is. So I have the clean empty litter box with the pellets in it, he didn't even go but he got so weirded out by it he bolted out of the litter box and because he's BEEG he knocked the entire thing over spilling pellets EVERYWHERE. I call the vet like "Should I just bring him in?" and they're like "Nah just scoop them up and put them back in"

Is this obnoxious? This feels very wrong. I was always under the impression urine samples need to be sterile and like, this is the kitty room. The carpet is probably riddled with all kinds of microparticles of litter dust and hair from all 3 cats, not to mention like, human feet walking on it.

 

[RoxieHeart]

Kudos to the husband, Artemis still hasn't peed (albeit idk how useful this sample would be anyway??) so we're probably gonna pack him up and put him in the carrier after his meeting and go together and just ask them to do it. I have no idea why they won't just needle his tummy like all the others times (and like every single last bit of literature has recommended as the only really accurate way to know for sure) but at the very least he'll be with me to back me up. I was really scared of having to go alone to advocate again. ;w; I've got my own medical trauma I'm trying to work through, cannot believe I'm having to go through it with my cat too. Ugh.

 

[fionasmom]

I was always under the impression urine samples need to be sterile

That makes two of us. Given that you are paying for the urinalysis, even if it were to be full of carpet residue, I would just insist that they get a clean sample. If you think that he might use clean pellets, I suppose it is worth a try, but given his reaction it is probably a waste of time.

I do think the part about Artemis deciding that the pellets could be lethal and freaking out is funny though. I have never used the pellets because my cats would do the same thing.

 

[IndyJones]

hahaha ok so please let me know if this is as dumb as I think it is. So I have the clean empty litter box with the pellets in it, he didn't even go but he got so weirded out by it he bolted out of the litter box and because he's BEEG he knocked the entire thing over spilling pellets EVERYWHERE. I call the vet like "Should I just bring him in?" and they're like "Nah just scoop them up and put them back in"

Is this obnoxious? This feels very wrong. I was always under the impression urine samples need to be sterile and like, this is the kitty room. The carpet is probably riddled with all kinds of microparticles of litter dust and hair from all 3 cats, not to mention like, human feet walking on it.

A sample that has been left out in a sterile container is unuseable. One from a carpet even moreso. Maybe you need to try a different vet. A direct draw is fairly easy provided you have basic understanding of feline anatomy and the bladder is full.

 

[IndyJones]

That makes two of us. Given that you are paying for the urinalysis, even if it were to be full of carpet residue, I would just insist that they get a clean sample. If you think that he might use clean pellets, I suppose it is worth a try, but given his reaction it is probably a waste of time.

I do think the part about Artemis deciding that the pellets could be lethal and freaking out is funny though. I have never used the pellets because my cats would do the same thing.

Ive never had luck with the perler beads. I think there's far too few in a package cats don't recognize it as a full box. My cats are used to 3" at a bare minimum I keep it closer to 4" or 5" though to ease in scooping (the clump stays at the top and scoop can be slid under)

With that pitiful ammount my cats just won't use it. Indy actualy held her pee until she had an accident. My vet said that was defenatly contaminated because the floor has cleaners, microorganisms, dirt from shoes etc.

 

[RoxieHeart]

Yeah I was definitely prepared to swap clinics if he did come back infected but I am pleased to say his urinalysis was clean! No blood, no protein, no bacteria, the picture of health this very sweet vet said. She also said that he probably doesn't need his peehole cleaned that often and that the build up was probably from the sutures (I believe this!).

Artemis was weirdly feisty this visit and hissed at her, got home and vocalized a bunch... Only to take a giant dump the second he found a litter box. Poor boy just wanted to poo all day. So much unneeded stress. =w=;; BUT, I think I can finally breathe easy. Everything's cake from here. If prozac keeps zombifying him after it's been a month or two we take him off, ez pz. Thanks again to everyone on this wonderful forum for validating the heck out of me. I'll try to be active on the happier parts of the forum in gratitude once this house is less of a depression pile.

 

[RoxieHeart]

I love how I was talking about a prozac zombie and literally in the same day I scooped him up on my lap and he stayed there and purred and accepted pets for 20 minutes and I cried a lot. Cats really are such amazing creatures I love him so much. ;u; Everything's gonna be okay.