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Original poster

QUICK! Rather urgent - have to make a life or death decision for my poor cat :(

57 replies

DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 16:50

I have a 9 year old cat who has had huge urinary tract issues throughout most of his life.
He has been cathertarised (dreadful sp I'm sure but have no idea where to start on spelling that one!) around 6 times.
He's trying to wee and not suceeding again (bloomin would be the night DH is away) so I have to take him to the vets.
Each time he goes and is in for a week. We have insurance but now have to pay £80 excess and financial circumstances mean that there's no way we can keep on doing this
Are there any other options other than having this cat put down? He is a lovely boy and I don't want to put him down simply because we can't afford it.
I know the vet is going to offer this as an option tonight as we have sort of had this conversation before.
Any advice would be really helpful. Thank you

OP posts:
DeJaVous · 09/10/2008 19:25

It's an awful decision to have to make. All I can say is do what you and your family feel is right. You don't want to end up feeling guilty one way or the other.

If you are on benefits there are organisations that can help with vets bills (or at least there were where I was when I was in the UK). I'm afraid I can't remember any names, but MNers will know, they always do.

Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 19:29

Thank you both.
Ruby - I think, unfortunately, it has got past that. He's either got to have the op and then, hopefully he'll just be on normal food, or he gets put down. Mind-you, if I could reverse a good few years then I'd do exactly as you said. As it is, from experience, he goes downhill quicker when on anything apart from the special food.
Dejavous - unfortunately we're not eligible for any assistance. Our situation is complex, we're not on benefits though so most avenues that we explored were closed to us.
Given Dh the facts and we're going to have a chat later tonight. Ringing vets in the morning with a decision. Hate this

OP posts:
lanismum · 09/10/2008 19:36

Hi, my mums cat had exactly this problem, and eventually had the willy op, vet said he has basically turned a boy cat into a girl cat , he took about 2 weeks to get over the op, and didnt seem in too much pain, and for 9 months was fine, sadly the crystals reformed and in the end his bladder ruptured before my mum could get him to the vets, he was put to sleep within the hour , he did have 9 very good months though, really tough decision, I hope it works out for you.

RubyRioja · 09/10/2008 19:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

oggsfrog · 09/10/2008 19:37

Awful decision to have to make but based on the facts as you've dscribed them I would opt for option 4 .

Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 19:39

Lanismum - oh no, thats awful (the bladder erupting part, not the 9 good months!)It's something like that happening which terrifies me. It's a dreadful decision isn't it? Basically it's the chance of more time versus the chance of going in a nasty way..... why is Dh away?
Ruby, thank you. I'm wracking my brains here. will probably end up doing masses of online research tonight and post endless threads. Sorry to all in advance!

OP posts:
countingto10 · 09/10/2008 19:45

I think if it is going to be covered by insurance then the op it the way forward. Someone I worked with had this done to their cat - they had not money or insurance and had to pay the vet by instalments. The vet has given you the option of an op so obviously thinks it will be worth it.

I know how you feel, my old cat (19.5) was diagnosed with diabetes, we had no insurance and some very upset children. I promised the kids that if there was nothing else wrong with him then we would deal with the diabetes. All his other tests came back OK (for his age) and he has a very regular strong heartbeat. This was over a year ago and the vet is surprised everytime I turn up for a check up. It costs me £40 for insulin every 3 months, £1.89 for 10 syringes (from local chemist) and vet only charges me minimum consultation fee. DH always moans because we have been hit by credit crunch etc but I couldn't justify having him put down - he's a lovely old cat. TBH me and the vet thought he would only last a couple of months !!

lanismum · 09/10/2008 19:46

Have just rang my mum as couldnt remember all the details, she said that the op, if sucessful was a cure, not a treatment, so if it works, he shouldnt have the problem anymore, her cat was just very unlucky that it came back, she said she would choose the op route again, because if her cat hadnt been unlucky he would have had a normal lifespan according to the vet.

Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 19:49

Thank you ladies.
I think my mind is veering more and more to the op. It's good to hear success stories.
DD's would be so upset if he had to be put down. HIs brother would also miss him terribly, he's pacing the lounge as I type!

OP posts:
Vulgar · 09/10/2008 19:50

Hi Dorriss,

My cat had the same problem and he died on the operating table while having the willy op. He had gone into shock as we hadn't got him to the vet quick enough. The crystals had formed very quickly while we were on holiday and as a neighbour was feeding him, she hadn't noticed. I still feel sad and guilty about it.

I'm sorry if I'm making you feel worse. I really don't want to.

Do you get the feeling of what the vet thinks is the best option for him?

good luck for you and puss

TheGashlycrumbTinies · 09/10/2008 19:51

Dorris our female cat has really bad crystals and she has been on the special diet for 6 years now. It seems to increase if she is stressed, so we also have a "Feliway Diffusor" a bit like a plug in air freshener, but loaded with "happy cat pheromones" (I think), and seems to help her.

I know how useless and upset you feel when they are in so much pain and desperate to pee.

Sorry not much help, you obviously love your cat dearly and will do what is right for him.

Vulgar · 09/10/2008 19:53

Hi Doris (again),

Yes-i'm cheered too to hear the success stories just poted.. I think I would be tempted to go for the op if I was in the same position.

good luck with what you decide.

worley · 09/10/2008 20:02

doris,
op 3 is really quite common, i used to be a vn before i had my ds's. cats adapt very quickly and the results are brilliant. i have seen crystals form around the opening but they can be cleaned away. this is a very common problem in cats. can you not keep him in most of the time and feed him beofre you let him out so he isn;t hungry and not feeding else where.

Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 20:03

Thank you both!
Vulgar, sorry to hear about your poor cat .
Ours does get very stressed and it was for this reason we let him out (had been a house cat for years) and he is indeed much less stressed outside. Unfortunately it means we can't fully control his diet either.
We have had the diffusers but they didn't work for mine in the time we had them .
I wonder if I started a thread on Cat Sex Change Shocka, that it would entice enough people to tell me their stories about this?!
Probably more likely that I'd just end up with lots of shocked faces though!

OP posts:
Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 20:04

Worley - that's good news
He is kept in at night and fed before he goes out in the morning. Unfortunately I was blessed with an incredibly greedy moggy! I have ssen this blighter eat bread put out for the birds!

OP posts:
Vulgar · 09/10/2008 20:08

Keep us posted.

let's hope it's a good outlook for greedy-kins

Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 20:10

Thank you

OP posts:
oops · 09/10/2008 20:12

Message withdrawn

Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 09/10/2008 20:24

Thank you oops, good point about rehoming too, I hadn't thought of that.

He is on the dried cd / sd depending as he simply wouldn't eat the wet stuff - even though he would quite happily eat almost anything else . If it ends up that he has to continue having special food then I think I will insist he eats the wet stuff.

Thanks fot the website suggestion. i'll check that out.

The vet I saw hadn't done one for ages but his partner did one only the other week. I'm not sure how many he has done though. I'll check tomorrow.

Thank you again

OP posts:
beautifulgirls · 09/10/2008 22:28

There are other manufacturers too that make their own versions of these prescription diets. Wet diets/increasing water intake is a major help in such cases, and if your cat will not eat the s/d (which sounds like the most sensible diet until the crystals are better controlled) then try other diets. Has your vet given you the wet version of c/d? It is usually more palatable than s/d though not quite as extreme in action for acidifying the urine and thus not as effective in the bad situations as s/d. Usually I would have a cat on s/d for 3-6 months checking samples regularly for crystals then move onto c/d or for fat cats w/d for longer term management, or I would use RCW urinary support diet, which is like c/d in level of action in my experience.
There are one or two other threads on this pets section about this exact same problem, and many good ideas for getting extra fluids into the cat - moving water fountains, draining spring water from tuna cans, adding extra water into moist foods etc.

Certainly I second visiting the FABcats website for further info.

Just a though here too - given this is part of an ongoing problem, your insurance should only charge you one excess for this condition per insurance year. If you have not renewed since you last had to claim on it, then you shouldn't need to pay an excess again - I say this not knowing how your policy is set up, but certainly that is the case with the insurers I deal with. Worth giving them/your vet a call about this and finding out what the situation is about this for certain.

forevercleaning · 10/10/2008 14:17

how is your cat today doris?

TheGashlycrumbTinies · 11/10/2008 08:28

Any news Dorris?

Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 11/10/2008 21:02

So sorry, been running around like a mad thing and haven't checked back with the thread!
We opted for the op He had it done yesterday and the vets have rung, he is comfortable and doing ok. We haven't seen him yet. Got to ring back tomorrow at 10 to get further info.
Fingers crossed that it heals well, but not too well! (as that can cause problems, I'm not being mean! )
Thank you all x

OP posts:
Original poster
DorrisMcWhirter · 11/10/2008 21:05

beautifulgirls - have just read your post, thank you for all your advice. I have never heard of w/d and ours is certainly a fat fat cat! I shall mention a few of these to our vet. I was quite suprised that they took him off the s/d so quickly last time actually, I shall have to have discussions
Draining the spring water from tuna is a great idea, especially as we buy that for Dd2 as she loves tuna - water has previously just gone down the sink!

OP posts:
beautifulgirls · 11/10/2008 21:12

If your vet looks a bit questioning about w/d tell them to check the Hills foods handbook they have! It is not the primary use for that diet (more usually weight management) but it is in a minority of diets that acidifies the urine well enough in this sort of condition to actually be indicated to use. When I have mentioned to colleagues in the past I have sometimes had a bit of a until they read it for themselves!

Glad he had the op and I hope that he makes a swift recovery. He has every chance now of having a good quality of life.

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