Off topic - Our cat

[Irene]

Hi
Took our cat to the vet this am thought he had cysitis only to be told he has a total bladder blockage and was admitted for emergency treatment.
Can't contact my hubby as he is on jury service. Vet has just rang to say it is more serious owing to a high potassium level in his blood.
I will find the cost somehow as he is only 5 years old but I am here on my own and feel physically sick as it was yesterday morning when we first noticed something then he was out all day and only last night when he came in did we think he had cysitis.
Sorry to go on.
Irene

 

[Jennyonaplate]

My cat had exactly the same thing a little while ago. I was in a complete panic as i didn't know if he was going to survive or not, but the vet explained that if the procedure he was going to do didn't work then they had options - basically if the blockage won't clear they remove his dinkle and re-route his urethra through his bum and he becomes a post-op-tansexual-cat.

My cat has fully recovered from his time at the vets; they flushed through his bladder but it was quite badly blocked, so they sewed in a catheter to help try and clear the blockage some more. My cat being mental and despite having a cone round his head still somehow managed to rip out his catheter (left all the vets scratching their heads in disbelief). Once he passed water on his own he was allowed home, but he has to have a special diet for life now.

All in all his vet bill cost about £380, but that included all his drugs and a months worth of food. I've found a place on the internet that does the food for about £25 which lasts 5-6 weeks.

I know how gut-wrenching it is, but fingers crossed he'll be fine.

 

[Vicx]

Gosh, and there was me thinking mine was the only "special" one! My boy had exactly the same, bless him I remember being so fraught at the time so I sympathise with what you are going through but I had to laugh when he came home and was walking like John Wayne for a while! I'm sure your puddy will be absolutly fine in no time. They are clever peeps these vets! If a tad expensive!

He's on a special urinary diet now which should prevent it from happening again - is that what yours is on Jen??

 

[Jennyonaplate]

Yeah, but mine didn't walk like John Wayne - I feel cheated now!

I mix water in with his food now and he laps it up - apparently he only drinks water if it tastes of meat. Probably why his bladder furred up like an old kettle.

The thing i'm most impressed with though is that my cat will just stroll into his cat basket now, which is good as he's a really big cat, so can be a nightmare on your own!

 

[Irene]

Hi
Thanks both for spending the time to explain things to me. So there are now 3 'special' cats our estimtated bill is £500 there some people would say I am mad.
I don't believe in divine intervention but hubby has been released early from jury service so feel better now he can share the worry.
Vet mentioned a special diet and said toms are prone to infection in this area!!!!
Will let you know how Fudge gets on.
Thanks
Irene

 

[kazzymc]

:hug99:Get well soon fudge

 

[ratty]

One of my neutered boys had this before - he had to have the emergency surgery, at which point his bladder burst, and the vet gave him a 20% chance of actually pulling through ... it was a huge ordeal, and eventually cost about £4000 once all the dust settled.

We kept him on the special food for a while, but he was very allergic to it and he lost all his coat, so it had to stop. UTIs and similar are very common in neutered males, especially those fed on a dry food diet. We now give him a mixture of some dry food (has to be good quality - Burns or James Wellbeloved are best), standard supermarket wet food, and raw food - mainly chicken wings, and lots of day old chicks (sold as food for birds of prey). He has now been well for three years or so with no relapse and he looks great

It is common in male cats, as I said, but because of that the vets know what they are doing and are good at treating it. I have my fingers crossed for your boy, and I hope he recovers quickly.

 

[Vicx]

I feed mine on the Royal Canine Urinary diet of wet and dry. Trouble is it's A)Expensive and B) Boring! There are only two flavours. I try to give them some cooken chicken now and again but feel sorry for them really.

Ratty - Do you think I could alternate it with whiskers wet food then?

 

[Irene]

Hi
It is so kind of you to share your experiences with me. Fudge has dried cat food - Hills along with our other cat Blue who even though they fight quite a lot lately can tell he knows there is something amiss he has stayed in today which is a rareity (sp).
Just waiting for the vet to ring to tell us how he is.
Will post later.
Irene

 

[StaceyUK]

Get well soon Fudge! I have a cat too and know a bit about what you're going through. Ours ended up having blood found in his urine when being examined for something completely different and had to have loads of blood tests, urine tests and ultrasound plus biopsy. Turns out the vet just thinks it's something he has which doesn't seem to be causing him any illness or harm so he's stopped following it up. Our vet is good but even he is baffled and we've come to the conclusion that as it's not causing him any harm that we know of we'll just leave it be. I know what's it like to worry about your 'baby' so I've got everything crossed for you.

 

[Mini]

Hi Irene,

Sorry to hear you Fudge is not well and I hope he will make a good recover.

Love Mini xxx

 

[ratty]

I feed mine on the Royal Canine Urinary diet of wet and dry. Trouble is it's A)Expensive and B) Boring! There are only two flavours. I try to give them some cooken chicken now and again but feel sorry for them really.

Ratty - Do you think I could alternate it with whiskers wet food then?

The urinary diet is a must for the time post-illness, but personally I wouldn't use it long term - it's not got the best quality ingredients in it, though it's the best tool for the job at the time.

I can only speak for my own experience, but after a month or so of making sure my cat was back to normal, I just made sure to keep a good mix of good quality wet and dry ... have a search online, there is plenty of information about an all-dry diet being a contributing factor towards UTIs in cats.

Stop cooking your chicken before you give it to them Cooked bones shouldn't be given to cats, but raw bones are GREAT for their teeth. Mine turn into little wild cats when I give them raw chicken wings, growling and really obviously enjoying it with reactions that plain old cat food would never get!

 

[StaceyUK]

I'm a bit thick....you can give cats raw chicken/fish, etc? I've never given Sam anything like that. I thought I had to cook it first! He's on a strict diet though (like mommy!). Iams Light only, bless.

 

[RUTHYJ357]

Hi Irene sorry to hear about your Kitty, wierd or what ! and all these other cats have had it aswel!!

Hope he is better soon.
Im dog Layla had her "lady" operation yesterday aka spay and she is feeling very poorly. I slept on the sofa with her last nite. Im blooming tired!!!

Things you do for your pet!!

Ruthy xxx

 

[Irene]

Writing this and it is so hard, our vet rang earlier to say Fudge had deteriated rapidly his bladder was like concrete and his kidneys damaged they were being poisoned, I asked the vet if Fudge was his what would he do and he said the kindest thing was that Fudge was put to sleep, he could have opened him up but his quality of life would have been poor - I can't believe it on Sunday he was a healthy cat or so it seemed - the vet explained it could have been building up for a while - we don't see out cat's wee.
I feel terrible because this morning I joked about more expense - I didn't mean it .
Hubby is in the garden and he is so upset, funny thing our son who cat Fudge was has showed no emotion.
I just hope I have done the right thing.
Irene

 

[mod-karen79]

sorry to hear about your loss irene

a few years ago my jack russell, who was 15, started pooing blood and the vet said her kidneys had packed in. we could have kept her going with tablets, but we didn't know what kind of pain she would be in, so dad had her put down. i still can't talk about her to this day without crying - i had her since i was 9 years old she had a great life but it was a shame it had to end the way it did. how sad am i? i'm crying now thinking about her!

unfortunately animals can't tell us what pain they're in so you've done the right thing...take care xxx

 

[ratty]

I am so sorry Irene.

Making the choice to have a pet put to sleep is the hardest one we ever have to make for them, and it's easy to make the selfish decision of keeping them going no matter what their quality of life. It takes a strong and caring person to make the right decision, and I am sure Fudge is glad you gave him a good life and a peaceful end.

 

[RUTHYJ357]

Jeepers Irene im so so so sorry to hear about Fudge, i hope you are ok hun, sometimes its better to let it all out and have a blooming good cry, I remember when my mum put our cat to sleep, i was living in Birmingham at the time and i caught the next train home to Wales i was that gutted, she was part of my life for so long!
I wouldnt worry too much about your son, i bet when he goes to bed tonight he will have a good cry, maybe approach him about it when the dust settles..

Chin up hun and take care

Ruthy xxx

 

[Irene]

Hi
Thanks for your thoughts - I know now I did the right thing for Fudge.
Son has had a good cry just waiting until tomorrow when he says he doesn't want to go to school!!! hubby is devestated he had been crying while I was out.
Our other cat 'knows' something is wrong.
I will pop into the vets tomorrow to settle the bill and collect the empty cat basket - that will be hard.
Thanks again everyone.
Irene xxx

 

[Force Ten]

I'm so sorry to hear about Fudge, Irene. I had to have one of mine put to sleep last year as she had a bad kidney infection and as she was around 18 the vet said he wasn't able to operate as she wouldn't survive the operation. It is really sad when you have to make that terrible decision, but you have to think about the cat and their quality of life.

I still have one cat left and she took on a new lease of life afterwards - almost as if she had to make up for the fact I only had one cat left. She is a real treasure now and I hope will carry on for a few years yet.