Any vets around? Cat's pee pipe problem - when do you call it a day?

[RGPargy]

Hi

My male cat has developed a pee pipe problem, in which crystals are forming in his uretha, preventing him from passing urine.

Anyway, it started on Friday when i noticed he was acting peculiar and holding his back end down so i rang the vet and was able to take him there straight away. She had a feel and said his bladder was HUGE and that she was going to keep him in and insert a catheta (sp?). While he was in, they removed the catheta to see if the bladder would fill up again and unfortunately it did so they had to reinsert it. I brought him home on Sunday night as he was very depressed all weekend (naturally) and the vet thought that he might perk up a bit if he was at home and this might aid his recovery. I had to give him special urinary food and also medication. I had to take him back yesterday to find out the situation and although he was acting fairly normally all the time he was home, unfortunately his bladder had filled up again and i had also noticed him spending about 10 minutes in one spot in the garden trying to have a wee, but it seems that he was not able to do so.

Last night i got up to the baby and noticed that again he was acting weird. He kept trying to wee anywhere he sat, including various places on my bed! In the end i had to shut him out of my bedroom because there's no way, if he were able to, that i or DP were going to be peed on in the middle of the night!

This morning he looks very depressed again and it seems we are back to square one. The medication isn't working, nor is the urinary food that's meant to dissolve the crystals.

The vet said that he might have to be hospitalised for 2/3 days again and have a catheta reinserted but if all this treatment isn't working, when do we say enough is enough?? He's obviously very unhappy. The vet said the worst case scenario would be to amputate his penis () but this seems really macabre!!!

Also, to be very honest, the bill so far is around £500 and we are very very stretched financially. I dont know how much more we can take, cost-wise!

Advice anyone?

TIA.

Oh no, I don't know if the food is meant to dissolve the crystals just stop them forming, something must be done to remove the crystals that are there. He must be in agony!

Are you entitled to go to PDSA or Blue Cross? If you can't afford to pay for his treatment maybe you could get him into a rescue? I'm not sure really if say Cats Protection of RSPCA would take him if you signed them over to them, I know it means losing your cat though

How old is he?

The vet specifically told me that the food dissolves them Yes i agree he must be in pain, the poor thing.

I'm not entitled to any PDSA or anything like that because, although i'm on matleave, DP is earning, but we are just really really stretched financially at the moment.

Not sure about handing him over - he'd be stuck in a kennel for God knows how long, possibly for the rest of his life. After all, hardly anyone would take on a cat with an ongoing expensive illness.

He's only about 6 years old, bless him.

I gather you don't have pet insurance. Most vets will let you pay for treatment in installments in cases of hardship.

Even if the penis was amputated, your cat would still be able to pee squatting, and as cats penises are not usually visible externally, it wouldn't bother him. The most important thing is, will it cure the problem and give your cat a good quality of life, pain free and no recurrence of the crystal formation anywhere else in the urinary tract, bladder or ureters (tubes from the kidneys to the bladder)

You don't say the age of the cat; if young I would risk the big bill. Do discuss this at length with the vet, I'm sure they will do what is best for your cat, do bear in mind that a general anaesthetic carries its' own risks. See if they can work out the costs and come to an arrangement for repayment. I am not a vet, but I honestly think vets are more concerned for their patients welfare than some GPs, and not just because they get paid for the treatment. They won't put an animal to sleep if they think there is hope. Obviously, time is of the essence now, as your cat is suffering. I do feel for you, as I have had (twice) to make the decision to put a sick or elderly cat to sleep and it is truly horrible, especially when they have been with you for many years.

Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

If you can get him over this bout of it, you might be able to stay on top of the problem with medication and diet but it's obviously up to you if you want to continue with the treatment. It's something which can flare up on and off for the rest of their life. How old is he? Also, if you are on benefits or in receipt of family tax credit, you will be entitled to rspca care (unless they've changed criteria in the last few years). I wouldn't think about signing him over to a charity tbh because it's not fair on the cat or the charity to take on a cat with a problem. And stress often makes this kind of problem worse. It's a horrible situation for you and the poor cat!

I just had a quick google to see if there were any charities that you could contact

www.emmathevet.co.uk/tailwaggers.asp

I couldn't find anymore in a quick google sorry, hopefully someone with more knowledge of this problem will be able to provide you with better advice.

Hi Kittensocks. No i dont have pet insurance. In all the 22 years of owning a cat, i have NEVER had a cat with a serious illness so never really saw the need to get insurance. Obviously that will change in future!

Obviously my concern too is whether amputating his manhood would stop the problem. I'm not sure that it will tbh, but obviously i will need to speak to the vet about it tonight when i take him back. The cat is 6 years old.

My vets do offer repayment terms, but even that would be a struggle for us financially. I suppose tho that we'll just have to find the money from somewhere. DP is very very stressed about the cost. My stress is obviously with the cat!

Peggoty i agree that stress makes the situation worse as he got stressed with the new baby and this could very well have sparked off the problem in the first place.

I think i will take DP with me tonight if possible so that he can remember some of the stuff the vet says. Sometimes i forget some of the things they say, if you know what i mean.

Your vet should have prescribe metacam or similar pain relief/anti inflams to help the pain. Should also be on a course of AB to fight infection.

Of course he is peeing everywhere he has cyctitis.

This is the second thread like this in a week.

Loyal family pet unwanted at the first sign of illness, he's only been ill since Friday!

Rehome him or have him destroyed if it's too much trouble.

marmaduke that's harsh!!

RGPargy is quite rightly wondering about the future with a cat with this particular problem as it is usually recurring.

Yes I apologise, it was harsh.

My cat had this and the correct food and diet sorted it out any flare ups were delt with quickly and easily with IV ABs (administered by me) cost was minimal, although management food was pricy.

I sometimes feel folk treat pets as disposable commodities in our 'throw away' society.

Sadly, insuring a cat with an existing medical condition is likely to be expensive in monthly payments, if had been insured before, all the treatment would have been paid for, although maybe not special diet from vets. We tend to forget just how expensive drugs are when we have to pay full price for them. Long term for chronic conditions, it can be a lot of money.

Message withdrawn

Hi RGPargy, so sorry for your cat & your situation. I'm a vet nurse, so will try to tell what i know.
Urethral obstruction is a horrible, painful situation for your cat (and you - financially & emotionally), but in most cases they do get better. I must say, most vets i know would be a bit reluctant to euthanase a cat after 1 bout that has only had a couple of days treatment. Did they put your cat on a drip? This should be standard procedure really, firstly to treat the shock & any electrolyte imbalances caused by the blockage; but also to flush his kidneys & bladder through, diluting the urine, so as to wash out any crystals that might still be there. It's not unusual for a cat to have to be re-catheterised 2/3 times at their first hospitalisation before they're cleared. So i think to consider calling it a day after a brief stay might be a bit premature.
Also, the squatting might not necessarily mean he's blocked up again - his urethra will be hugely swollen & sore, making him feel like he needs to pee all the time even if his bladder is empty (tho you must always bear in mind he could be blocked again, of course). Metacam (as previously mentioned) or something similar should def be given.
If you can, please give him another chance. If you can get him through this bout, it is a condition that can be well managed afterwards. The special diets can take weeks to dissolve the crystals, so expecting them to work now is a bit unrealistic.
Finally, i think if you've had 22 yrs cat ownership without big vet bills, you've been really lucky. I would weigh up what one large bill now (difficult though it may be) really works out at in the grand scheme of things. Sorry if that sounds harsh.
HTH, and good luck with whatever you do xxx

X-posted with oops ! She's right re the Metacam thing, obviously

hi, my Mmale cat has had the same for years, metacam and cystease work really well, and no dried cat food ever again, mine gets it back within days if on normal food, he now only eats science diet. however he has just started again due to new baby as it's stress related too...nightmare...good luck

Marmaduke, i should point out that i never said he was unwanted! I just needed to know if (a) the condition was curable and so would be effective in the long run or (b) if i was just wasting time and putting the cat through unnecessary pain (catheta, hospitalisation etc) if it was just going to get worse and end in uthenasia any way, if that makes sense.

My cat is one diazepam 5mg (1/2 tablet twice daily) and dibenyline 10mg twice daily too.

Ruby - that's reassuring that your cat was ok in the end. £700 12 years ago would be alot more these days wouldn't it! £500 at the moment is already crippling us but as long as he gets better, that's the main thing really.

Caspercat - Yes, he was put on a drip to flush him out and was also advised to not have any dry food, which he hasn't had now since before i took him to the vet on Friday. He did seem to be acting like he's blocked last night but he's since been acting better. I'm hoping he's been for a wee, as i noticed he had mud on his paws this morning, so fingers crossed he's been. He still isn't lifting his tail when he greets me tho, but i dont know if that's relevant or not. The one big vet bill in 22 years is a bargain i guess, and yes, i have been VERY lucky!

I do think his condition is stress related so i'm trying to make a big fuss of him. With a new baby, i think he's been pushed to one side, the poor thing.

It's reassuring to know that it's a curable illness. It's dfeffo put my mind at ease now.

Thank you all for your advice. Will let you know what happens when i've been to the vet a bit later.

Hi - yes I agree with Oops here about metacam and not necessarily giving it.

If a cat is repeatedly getting blocked in close sucession it may be worth asking the vet to leave a urinary catheter in place for a few days for him (hospitalised) to help the inflammation settle down first. The crystals will not disappear immediately on the food, but will reduce over time. In some cases however there can be a sand like silt forms in the bladder that can take a very long time to go. In these cases it can be worth considering surgery to open up the bladder and flush it all out that way. Although that does sound drastic and is indeed not minor surgery, it is still probably a nicer procedure than the urethrostomy (penis amputation) that is being discussed, though this procedure too can be very sucessful. Neither of these procdures are going to be 100% however, and whilst the majority of cats who undergo them will do well there will always be a small number who will not and in these cases where diet management has failed to help too then euthanasia may be the kindest option sadly.

Good luck at the vet with him - look into feliway diffusers too to help with stress - can make quite a difference in some cases. Bottled water instead of tap water to drink &/or a flowing water dispenser (pyramid type thing) seems to suit some cats too. You can add extra water into moist foods too so that can help increase water intake and therefore help the flushing through effect.

Hi everyone.

I went to the vets earlier and unsurprisingly his bladder was the size of a grapefruit again and he had to be hospitalised again. The vet (a different one this time) said that she didn't know why he hadn't had an xray on Friday to see what the obstruction was.

Anyway, I just had a call from the vet on duty at the surgery tonight and he said that Scratch had had a good flushing out and he was recovering from the anaesthetic. We were just chatting about food and special diets when it struck me that in the last couple of months, we have started to use Whiskas, instead of using Felix that we have used for years. We basically both came to the conclusion that it was rather suspicious how this condition had occurred after i had changed cat food. He recommended that if it was going to prove difficult to not let Scratch eat the other cat's food, then to at least change it back to Felix, just in case.

He also said that if he continues to get blocked, then the operation would be an expensive option, but an option nonetheless. He also said that this might not cure the problem in any event and that i should think about my options if he continues to block up time and time again.

The vet said that he could have scar tissue in his urethra which could be causing the obstruction or it could be crystals or even a mucus plug.

So anyway, now we just have to play the waiting game and see what happens tomorrow.

Aw sorry he blocked again. Hopefully he will improve soon.

Thanx, i hope so.

Oh dear RG, I have a cat with Feline Lower Urine Tract disease too (which I take it is the same as your cat) We have always managed to catch it before the crystals block his bladder. If you get him sorted you can normally sort when its happening again. I know because my cat will start to pee in strange place and its bright red! I don;t have insurance for this (I have insurance but it doesn't cover FLUTD because he was diagnosed with it before I got insurance) I take him straight to the vets and he has a shot and it clears within a few days.

What we found is Nemo doesn't drink enough, so when he has a flare up, we get a med. syrine and get water into him that way, and it helps flush out the crystals.

Is your cat netured? apparently un-netured cats are at higher risk from this, Nemo is netured but very unlucky

and never ever give them dried food.

Sounds very similar Sparkly. I have a thread all about it in the Pets section.

My cat had this a while ago, he had an operation which was very expensive but sorted him out, now he's on special (dry)food and he hasn't had a problem in years. He has FIV too, so is very prone to infections, but hasn't had anything at all for a while now.

So there is hope...