Hello,
On Friday 7/10 I took Milo to the vet because I noticed him straining in the litterbox and producing no urine. The determined he had a blocked urethra. My vet was unable to pass a catheter through because the block was so severe, so I was sent to PVSEC hospital in Pittsburgh to get the PU surgery. However, the vets at PVSEC were able to get a catheter in. One of his vets wanted me to decide wether or not to still do the PU surgery (she gave me absolutely no information or anything to help me decide) and the other didn't recommend it because it was his first time blocking. I decided to not do the surgery on her advice, and he spent a couple days in the hospital. I was able to take him home on Sunday 7/12 because they removed the catheter and he urinated on his own. They made it seem like I'd take him home and he'd be normal.
(He's got struvite crystals in his urine. No kidney stones or anything else)
(He's on an antibiotic, pain meds, and Prazosin to "relax his urethra")
Now it's Wednesday 7/15 and I'm a total wreck. I've got no idea what is normal after this kind of thing and what isn't.
- He's eating fine (Royal Canin Urinary SO diet. Mostly wet, but I'll give him a small handful of dry when he really wants it, as he's used to eating wet and dry foods)
- He's NOT drinking very much water (but he never has. That's one of the reasons for the blockage, I suppose) I've got a fountain set up for him, and a still dish, both of which I change daily.
- He attempts to urinate very frequently. Straining for sometimes up to five minutes. Usually nothing or a couple drops comes out. Sometimes maybe a tablespoon sized amount.
- He acts normally other than after his attempts at urinating, where he becomes very aggressive with me when I stop him from licking at his penis. It seems the attempts at urinating are very painful.
- He has urinated on himself several times since Sunday. He has NOT done that today. (For today as of 7:45pm he's only urinated a grand total of a golf ball size clump)
- He's wearing a cone for now because his penis is still swollen and irritated, and they don't want him to make it worse with licking.
I call the vet with concerns every day, and I'm told basically to keep an eye on him and monitor his urination. And if he starts vomiting or not wanting to eat, then I'm supposed to call right away. (They don't want me to bring him in with every concern because he's aggressive with them and needs to be sedated every time he visits, and that's costly and stressful for him)
I've got no idea what I'm doing or what's normal. I've got myself worried sick about everything.
I'm just interested in other people's stories or advice. Thanks.
On Friday 7/10 I took Milo to the vet because I noticed him straining in the litterbox and producing no urine. The determined he had a blocked urethra. My vet was unable to pass a catheter through because the block was so severe, so I was sent to PVSEC hospital in Pittsburgh to get the PU surgery. However, the vets at PVSEC were able to get a catheter in. One of his vets wanted me to decide wether or not to still do the PU surgery (she gave me absolutely no information or anything to help me decide) and the other didn't recommend it because it was his first time blocking. I decided to not do the surgery on her advice, and he spent a couple days in the hospital. I was able to take him home on Sunday 7/12 because they removed the catheter and he urinated on his own. They made it seem like I'd take him home and he'd be normal.
(He's got struvite crystals in his urine. No kidney stones or anything else)
(He's on an antibiotic, pain meds, and Prazosin to "relax his urethra")
Now it's Wednesday 7/15 and I'm a total wreck. I've got no idea what is normal after this kind of thing and what isn't.
- He's eating fine (Royal Canin Urinary SO diet. Mostly wet, but I'll give him a small handful of dry when he really wants it, as he's used to eating wet and dry foods)
- He's NOT drinking very much water (but he never has. That's one of the reasons for the blockage, I suppose) I've got a fountain set up for him, and a still dish, both of which I change daily.
- He attempts to urinate very frequently. Straining for sometimes up to five minutes. Usually nothing or a couple drops comes out. Sometimes maybe a tablespoon sized amount.
- He acts normally other than after his attempts at urinating, where he becomes very aggressive with me when I stop him from licking at his penis. It seems the attempts at urinating are very painful.
- He has urinated on himself several times since Sunday. He has NOT done that today. (For today as of 7:45pm he's only urinated a grand total of a golf ball size clump)
- He's wearing a cone for now because his penis is still swollen and irritated, and they don't want him to make it worse with licking.
I call the vet with concerns every day, and I'm told basically to keep an eye on him and monitor his urination. And if he starts vomiting or not wanting to eat, then I'm supposed to call right away. (They don't want me to bring him in with every concern because he's aggressive with them and needs to be sedated every time he visits, and that's costly and stressful for him)
I've got no idea what I'm doing or what's normal. I've got myself worried sick about everything.
I'm just interested in other people's stories or advice. Thanks.