Recovery After Catheter

[SeñorBoots]

Hello Everyone! I have a cat named Señor Boots and he's 4 and 1/2 years old. He’s been suffering from FIC and flare ups since he was 2 and I have done so many things to try and prevent flare ups but unfortunately he got blocked January 14. They put a catheter in and kept him for a few days at the hospital. They also gave him an antibiotic shot. Since mid December I’ve had him on corn silk and D-mannose supplements as he kept having flare ups constantly. He had about 4-5 between end of November and early January then he fully blocked. Since the blockage I’ve kept him on Gabapentin and he took prazosin as well for the first month (with his supplements). Throughout these weeks he’s had days were he’s completely normal, and pees regularly. However there have been 3 instances throughout the month where he’ll lick down there constantly and cry after he pees (he does produce urine). I assumed that it was due to the irritation caused by the catheter and all the flare ups he had straight in a row. Two weeks ago I had called the vet at the beginning of the week and made an appointment to get him seen at the end of the week as I was having concerns. The very next day he started peeing normal and was acting perfectly fine so I canceled the appointment. Today I noticed that he started licking down there excessively and he cried after he had peed. I had also noticed that he was back and forth between litter boxes but there was no straining or full squatting, it seemed more like he was trying to get comfortable/find a spot to pee. I also noticed that he does stick his penis out and it seems as if the outside area is throbbing. Could this still be due to an irritation? Have any of you guys had a cat take this long to recover from having a catheter in? It has been month.

 

[Jem]

When my boy developed cystitis from stress, he had to have a catheter for about 5 days. When sent home, we were given about a months worth of an anti-inflammatory and an antispasmodic as well as a pain med for a couple weeks. It took close to 6 weeks before he was back to almost normal. A bit longer to have consistent good sized pees. If his penis looks like it's throbbing/pulsing, it is most likely small spasms. This happened to my boy as well. You could see his little parts twitching, and not just when he had to pee. I would contact the vet to see if he might need some meds to help calm/relax the muscles and decrease the inflammation. He may need some pain killers too if he's crying out when peeing...it's not very comfortable for them.

 

[SeñorBoots]

Thank you! That’s a bit of a relief! The first month I had kept him on prazosin for the inflammation/spasms. He’s been off them for about a week or two as it’s going to hit 6 weeks in a few days. He’s still on the Gabapentin for the pain and anxiety. The vet had told me to only keep him on it for a week after the catheter but I requested to have enough for a few weeks after he was still clearly in pain after his first week. I had started lowering the dosage slowly these last few days but if he is still uncomfortable and in pain then I’ll keep him on what he was taking before.

 

[Jem]

He may still need the prazosin though if he still has spasms and inflammation.
Is there anything in his environment that continues to stress him out? With our boy it was easy. We had a bad bear season and they were coming up to the house and peaking in windows and such, leaving their scent behind as well from peeing and pooping in the yard. He was a very protective kitty and this was just too much for him. (FYI, picking up bear poop isn't fun! LOL!) But when the bears moved on to other houses/streets to find food, we never had any other issues.

 

[SeñorBoots]

Alright, I’ll call the vet and see if I can get more and explain why. Thank you! Oh my I can only imagine having to deal with bears With Boots my family and I had assumed that his recent flare ups before the blockage were due to me spending the night out so I have stopped since the blockage. However we’ve noticed that just saying no and not letting him do what he wants to do causes him to have issues. We’re walking on eggshells daily. Yesterday it might have been due to the fact that he wanted to be in my little sister’s room but she’s allergic and she’s currently sick so we didn’t allow him to go in. This morning he’s peed fine and I haven’t heard him cry or seen him lick excessively. They just come and go.

 

[Jem]

However we’ve noticed that just saying no and not letting him do what he wants to do causes him to have issues.

I don't want to assume anything so may I ask HOW you and your family "say no" to him?

It may be that he needs a really structured routine. Most cats need some sort of routine and don't like change.

 

[Jem]

Also want to add...what things is he not allowed to do? (other than not staying with your sick sister)

 

[SeñorBoots]

Just the word “no”, we try not to use it anymore near him. We don’t reprimand him or yell at him since we know he’s sick and we’re terrified when it comes to his flare ups. It’s gotten to the point where we let him poop wherever he wants and it’s been a year with the litter box issue. He has 2 boxes, unscented litter, always clean. I’ve also tried different litters but the few vets that have seen him think it’s just due to his anxiety and behavior. He does have a bit of a routine, he gets fed at the same time, as well as play time and his outside time (we have a closed patio he likes to go into). The only other thing he’s not allowed to do is go on my bed because he has a habit of pooping on beds as well but he still sneakily goes up there when I’m not home. Other than that he’s free to do whatever he wants…

 

[Jem]

Ok. It's just many people still use things like squirt bottles and scare tactics to "reprimand" their cats...and well most cats don't respond well to that kind of "training". Even things like "rushing" to a cat (not to hurt) or stomping a foot real loud can cause them to simply become fearful which will aggravate the situation.

Other than that he’s free to do whatever he wants

That's good too. Some don't like their cats on couches or countertops or to scratch at furniture (nobody wants ruined furniture...I get it) and will reprimand them, but won't provide a suitable alternative to try and correct the behavior.

we have a closed patio he likes to go into

It is possible that there is another cat or animal coming around that is stressing your kitty out? It's hard to get a handle on but it could provide some clarity and there are ways to deter other animals from getting too close.

I'm assuming he's neutered but is your kitty declawed?

 

[Jem]

It’s gotten to the point where we let him poop wherever he wants and it’s been a year with the litter box issue.

I had a boy who started pooping outside the litter box and my vet mentioned that the pressure from pooping does put pressure on the urethrae, causing additional pain. My boy had crystals for the longest time but occasionally pooping outside the box was his only signal that something was wrong in the beginning. So if is urinary parts are irritated it may be that pooping causes more discomfort than the actual peeing so he's developed litter box avoidance for pooping.
What ultimately helped keep his bathroom habits to specific areas was using puppy pads for him. By placing puppy pads in his preferred areas then slowly moving them to more appropriate places and even eventually putting the pad in an oversized clear bin was the best we could get out of him to correct his litter avoidance. We could not get him to use litter at all but a puppy pad in a plastic bin was a better option than poop everywhere.

 

[SeñorBoots]

Yeah, I understand! We’ve never used the bottle, I had read up that it usually doesn’t works and I felt more like I would be bothering him if we did. We also avoid stomping and even using shoes near him because it freaks them out, he’s a very “jumpy” cat. Sometimes we think he may have been abused before we found him It is possible that maybe there’s cats roaming around, I’ve never seen them in my yard but I have seen two in my neighborhood. We also have a dog but he’s been here even before boots and they do everything together. He is neutered and he isn’t declawed. I just cut his nails once or twice a month depending on the length (surprisingly he doesn’t mind). Wow I never knew that about the litter box issue. I had read that cats with cystitis can sometimes have a litter box diversion when it came to pooping but I never knew the reason behind it. Crazy thing is my dog uses pee pads and I’ve noticed a few times that Boots poops on them (well more like scrunches/folds it up…poops on the floor underneath it or right next to it and then moved the pad back on top ) I will definitely take your advice and try that! Thank you so much!

 

[NekoM]

This is the nitty gritty told to me from my Vet. Male cats are very small in that area and catheters are really hard to insert, so it’s likely that an infection started from from a small abrasion that created a space for bacteria to grow.

 

[SeñorBoots]

That’s a possibility even with antibiotics? He got a shot that lasts for 2 weeks after the procedure. He’s also on D-mannose which I’ve read helps avoid urinary infections. I did think that if it wasn’t for the catheter the other option would be a UTI but because he would only act uncomfortable for a day and then go back to complete normal, I was leaning more towards irritation. Currently he’s back to normal but if this keeps happening/ if I don’t see a change in the behavior soon I’m going to take him to the vet so they can check to see if they find any bacteria.