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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

My poor cat has a blocked bladder :(

27 replies

Fiona1984 · 26/06/2017 20:11

Just dropped him off to be admitted to the emergency vets. Vet says his bladder is blocked, and they have to keep him in a few days.
I understand it's a common thing with male cats, and he's in good hands, but I worry about him. I lost my other cat a couple of months ago, and I don't want to lose him too.
Does anyone else have experience of this problem? I'm not sure what to expect, he's always been healthy (he's 2 in August).

OP posts:

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 26/06/2017 20:37

I don't know if it's the same thing but someone I worked with has a cat who had bladder crystals that caused a blockage. He was in a pretty bad way but is now absolutely fine, he'll just have to be on a special diet for the rest of his life.

I hope your boy is on the mend soon

Original poster

Fiona1984 · 26/06/2017 20:45

The vet has just called me and they found crystals when they drained his bladder, so it sounds like the same. He said kitty is coming around from the anaesthetic very well, bless him. So the immediate danger is over, at least.
He'll have to have a special diet in the short term at least, the vet said. And a maintenance diet after that. Hopefully it won't recur.
Thankfully I have insurance, I'd hate to think what I'd have done without it, I'd have been faced with a very difficult choice.
They're going to keep the catheter in for 3 days. I'm missing him already, it's strange having no cats in the house.

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PinkSparklyPussyCat · 26/06/2017 20:48

I'm glad he's coming round well. I know what you mean about missing them, mine was kept in for 2 nights last year and the house was empty without him. He's asleep half the time but he's still here if you know what I mean.

Keep us posted about how he's getting on.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 26/06/2017 20:51

I nearly lost my cat a while back and he's fine now.

I changed his food to Applaws dry ( can be ordered on Zooplus website) which is a co plate food but he also has a couple of small Aldi pouches a day too. Plus a cystaid capsule that we break into a Lick e Liz - he loves it!!

Incidentally when we changed his food he began to drink more which helps too. I also add a bit of water to the wet food too.

No problems since.

Best of luck 😺x

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 26/06/2017 20:52

Cystaid is £30 from the vet buy easily bought on line for a tenner.

Original poster

Fiona1984 · 26/06/2017 21:42

@DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen I do order my dog food (incidentally also grain free) from zooplus already and I get 3% discount, so good idea.
He's currently on 2 pouches of whatevers cheapest, and Lidl dry food to graze on.

OP posts:

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 26/06/2017 21:48

The Applaws is excellent and they do taster packs for a fiver so you can see what flavours he likes.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 26/06/2017 21:49

I did research the vet recommended food but it had grain in it which seemed to defeat the object slightly

Dizzybacon · 26/06/2017 22:07

My female cat has suffered from struvite crystals.

She is on a wet diet only, I gave up with buying the 'special' vet diet. It was loaded with sugar and making her fat!
With trial and error I found her diet must be grain and cereal free. She eats James Wellbeloved grain free pouches, Applaws shredded chicken and a grain free biscuit in a little boredom buster ball so she can't gobble them all.

At the first sign of a flair up she also has Cystease and Zylkene tablets

Dizzybacon · 26/06/2017 22:09

Both of these tablets you can buy online without a prescription

Mistoffelees · 26/06/2017 22:11

Switch to wet only if you can, The Happy Kitty Company do trial packs where you can choose what you get and you can mix and match larger tins as well if there are certain flavours he won't eat. Sending purry vibes.

MsMims · 26/06/2017 23:54

Glad they've managed to get him sorted. A blocked bladder is serious- can be fatal, so good job you got him there in time.

We had a cat (sadly no longer with us) who had FLUTD which was an absolute nightmare but once he'd had the constructive surgery (a new hole is made to wee out of!) he was fine and only had one incident of cystitis since if I remember correctly.

Have another cat with a history of crystals who has been fine for about 7 years but recently had a flare up of cystitis (thankfully no crystals this time). He's now going to be on cystaid as a preventative.

It's really important to get these sort of cats onto a wet only diet. Cats don't have the thirst drive to compensate for dry food, hence many urinary and kidney problems. But it's especially important for cats with a history of blockages as mentioned above, it's life threatening. FWIW, both of our cats with urinary problems have done well on normal wet diets, we didnt use the veterinary food long term.

Original poster

Fiona1984 · 27/06/2017 06:22

Thanks for all the well wishes and suggestions, I do feel less worried now, just can't wait to get him home. He's such a loving cat, comes for cuddles every morning in bed with me.
I did get upset at the vets, the last time I was there I had to have my female cat PTS after she was run over :(
They're going to ring me later this morning with an update, I'll keep you posted.
He did have the struvite crystals, but hopefully with a modified diet he'll be fine :) I'll also try the Cystaid and get him a water fountain.

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troodiedoo · 27/06/2017 06:29

Poor you and poor kitty. Mine had this, among every other cat ailment going! He made a full recovery and didn't need a special diet long term.

Well done for getting him to the vet. You sound like a caring owner. I know the worry but he's in the best place getting cared for, the nurses will be giving him lots of strokes. Modern vetinary science is amazing.

CrikeyPeg · 27/06/2017 10:03

How is your boy doing today Fiona? Our cat is at the vets with very same thing. Such a worry isn't it.

caffeinestream · 27/06/2017 10:57

Oh good luck.

My old male cat had this - he was kept in for 4 nights/5 days, had to be re-catheterised twice because he re-blocked both times and it took about a month for him to fully recover. I hope for the sake of your bank balance that he's insured - our vets bill was over £1000 not including follow-up appointments/meds, and the ridiculously expensive food he was put on!

He should be okay - most cats recover pretty well but he will need to be on a special diet for life. Ours was put on Royal Canin urinary food and never had a recurrence, or you can buy Applaws grain-free food online, which both of my cats are on now.

Original poster

Fiona1984 · 27/06/2017 11:50

@caffeinestream thankfully I do have insurance. The vet called this morning and they mentioned that is was £560 already! I've been on the phone to the insurance this morning.
He's doing fine, alert and his catheter is working well, it'll stay in until tomorrow at least, possibly longer. There was some blood in his urine, but she said that's to be expected with the procedure. He hadn't eaten overnight, but I guess he's feeling out of sorts and stressed. They'd given him a painkiller, she said his tummy was painful.
She said he is doing well. My own vet is visiting the branch he's been admitted to later today and will call me later with a further update. He's on a drip so won't be dehydrated, hopefully he'll eat soon. He's normally very greedy.

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caffeinestream · 27/06/2017 11:56

Ah, don't worry. Our vet said ours had one of the worst cases she'd ever seen - his urine was really bloody and they thought he was going to go into kidney failure at one point because he just wasn't responding.

He was kept in and put on a drip for a few days and he eventually began peeing/eating on his own. Once he was doing that, they were happy for him to come home and he improved no-end being in his own environment. He was given the all-clear 3 weeks after he was initially admitted but he was well on the mend before then. He was on painkillers, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics for three weeks post-catheterisation.

Poor little thing, it's so hard when they're sick and you can't do anything.

Original poster

Fiona1984 · 27/06/2017 17:27

They called me this afternoon and he has eaten. They said I can come visit him if I want, but I think it would upset us both. I'll leave them to do what they need to do.
Catheter will stay in at least another day, until his urine is clear, and then they'll want to make sure he's peeing on his own. Hopefully will get him back Friday or Saturday.

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Mistoffelees · 27/06/2017 18:43

Aww brilliant news!

caffeinestream · 27/06/2017 20:08

Awww, I'm glad he's eaten!

I visited mine and took him a blanket from home, but tbh it was really upsetting seeing him with a catheter in and he looked so miserable. He came for a cuddle and perked up when I got there but he was clearly in pain and I hated seeing him like that and not being able to help him.

Hopefully with a new diet, he'll be right as rain with no re-occurences :)

Original poster

Fiona1984 · 29/06/2017 12:23

He's just had his Catheter taken out, so it's now a case of waiting to see whether his waterworks are back to normal, so fingers crossed!

OP posts:

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 29/06/2017 15:58

Paws crossed 😺

keeppassingtheopenwindows1 · 29/06/2017 16:07

I lost my poor cat to this a few months back - the block turned out to be a sign of kidney disease. We still miss him lots! Hope your cat gets better op!

CrikeyPeg · 29/06/2017 20:46

Fingers crossed for your boy Fiona. Our cats must be at about the same stages in their treatment as ours had his catheter out last night too. Now we just wait for the phone call telling us whether he has managed to pee overnight.

Sorry to hear that you lost your cat keeppassing we are a bit worried that this is the case with our cat - he had elevated kidney readings when he first went in (although vet did say this is quite normal in this situation) and when she rang last night to let us know they had taken catheter out she said they will run bloods again to make sure his kidney levels have come down.

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