Blocked Cat--Have You Been Through This?

[Kat]

My sweet little five-year-old, Charlie, had been acting strangely the last couple of weeks--urinating outside the litterbox and then straining to go. I brought him to the vet three different times. Twice he was given steroids, antibiotics, and pain killers to help with urinary tract infection. Once he was monitored overnight and then released.

On Thursday he started crying out in the litterbox, so we took him to the emergency vet since a blocked urinary tract can result in death in mere hours. We were told he was not blocked, but to bring him back in the morning for X Rays. So I did, and the X Ray showed he had stones all through his urethra. The vet kept him and got a cathetar going so she could try to get him unblocked.

Now we are basically in a place where we have to wait over the weekend and see what happens. We were told if he doesn't pass the stones by Monday, he probably won't. In that case, the urethra would be damaged and he would need to be put to sleep.

My husband and I are just devestated over this; we love our little guy so much and don't want to lose him. Apparently there is a surgery they can do to help with future blockages, but they can't do it if he is still blocked on Monday. The vet basically said that this is the most serious complication that could arise and that Charlie is "on the fence" right now.

I've been crying my eyes out since yesterday. I am feeling heartbroken at the thought of losing my friend so young and also kind of angry that I brought him to the vet 5 times and they kept sending me home when he had stones until the 5th time. I didn't sleep a wink without him last night; he usually sleeps on my left side, and all last night I kept reaching for him.

Has anyone else been through this with their male cats? How did it turn out? I wonder if I should take him to another vet for a second opinion before we put him down (if it comes to that). I mean, I don't want to prolong his pain, but I don't want to prematurely agree to put him to sleep, either, if there is something else that can be done.

[CathyA]

I would definitely try a different vet.
I have a friend with a cat with the same problems. She's giving him some pain meds.
I would definitely change his food. I think they make a certain food for cats with this problem.
I'll ask my friend for more info.
((((hugs)))))

[goldensmom]

We had* a male cat with the same problem and it was successfully treated. Get a second opinion. Are you near any veterinary specialists? We drove 200 miles to a veterinary specialist clinic but they are open 24 hrs. and take emergencies. Expensive but worth it.

*He was 5 years old at the time and died at 21.

[Kat]

Thank you both for the encouragement. It is so hard to wait. I don't know if we have any specialists in the area and don't know how to find out. I will have to look into it.

ETA: I did have him on bladder health food (the vet gave me that the first time I brought him in). He probably does need more wet food, though. He and my other cat usually don't eat that too much. I feel badly now that I didn't offer it to them more.

[pinkytoe]

DD has been through this twice with her male cat - both times treated successfully though I don't recall the details. I just know it cost quite a bit and that she had to change his diet to wet food only. I agree a second opinion is in order.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

When you get Charlie through this the 2 main preventive measures are food and making sure he drinks enough water. There is specially formulated foods to help with urinary tract health. Back in the days before these special foods we had a cat with urinary tract problems and we had to watch his ash and magnesium content in the food. He lived to be almost 17 years old, and as I said, that was before foods that were made for this condition. Also, another cat we had started having some problems along that line and the vet told us to make sure he was drinking plenty of water. She said some cats only like moving water and advised us to get a pet fountain. He loved it! And as others have said here - get a second opinion! He's worth it.

[fidgiegirl]

Once I was catsitting and had to put cranberry powder either in their food or their water, can't remember which. That was because of urinary issues. Something to look into, anyway.

So sorry. Our little friends sure get into our hearts :(

[Float On]

I'm so sorry your little cat is going thru this. That has got to be painful.

[CathyA]

Try Googling vets in your area. Hopefully something will come up.
fidgiegirl.....interesting about the cranberry powder. I know its good for humans too.

[Gregg]

I agree with everyone that, if it gets to that point, a second opinion is in order before you make any decisions. We have a male cat that is 3 right now and has been prone to UT infections, although didn't develop stones. We switched food to Purina's UT Health Formula and he hasn't had any problems since. Try to keep your spirits up while you all get through this!

[citrine]

I am so sorry to hear that.....definitely get a second opinion! I give my boys wet food and leave the dry stuff out for in between meals. I also use a natural litter with no dust(Essentials from Arm And Hammer)...the dusty stuff can get inside and cause infections.

[Kestra]

I'm a vet tech. I really can't believe they are just waiting. If there are stones in his urethra, presumably he can't urinate at all, since the male cat's urethra is so small. You can't get leave them in that condition as it's horrible for their bladder, kidneys and urethra, plus incredibly painful. Usually they will anesthetize asap and try to flush the stones back into the bladder. Basically keep flushing in and out until they can get them cleared out. Or possibly flush them back in and then do a cystotomy (bladder surgery) to remove them directly from the bladder. The big surgery they are suggesting is probably a perineal urethrostomy (P.U.) which means they remove the cat's p enis, and leave a bigger hole for the urine. Generally this surgery has pretty good success, even though it sounds tramatic and the cat won't block again. Though they may need to be maintained by diet as suggested, as stones can still form. Unless I'm missing something from the explanation, if it was my cat I'd pick it up from emerg and bring it to whatever other clinic is open. If they're going to leave it to Monday, they'd might as well just euthanize him now. Don't want to freak you out or anything. This is just my experience and this is very common condition so we see it a lot. You can probably find lots of similar info just by googling.

[reader99]

I had a male cat that had that. Something in standard cat foods can cause it. The vet did surgery and several hydrations and I forget what all (1990), $1,000 in all, and put him on a special food. He lived nine more years after that.

[Kat]

Thanks, everyone!
The vet called this morning with an update on Charlie. She said he is eating and able to pass usrine (through a cathetar). The urine looks better than it did yesterday; it's not cloudy or bloody. I remarked that these semed like good signs, and she said that they were fairly good signs, but that we can't be too optimistic--we need to wait for the xray Monday morning as that will show us if there are any more stones in the urethra. If there are, she thinks Charlie should be put to sleep.

I have mixed feelings about it. I guess I appreciate her directness. But I kind of feel lke she has squelched my hope, too. Am I wrong about these seeming like good signs?

[Kestra]

Thanks, everyone!
The vet called this morning with an update on Charlie. She said he is eating and able to pass usrine (through a cathetar). The urine looks better than it did yesterday; it's not cloudy or bloody. I remarked that these semed like good signs, and she said that they were fairly good signs, but that we can't be too optimistic--we need to wait for the xray Monday morning as that will show us if there are any more stones in the urethra. If there are, she thinks Charlie should be put to sleep.

I have mixed feelings about it. I guess I appreciate her directness. But I kind of feel lke she has squelched my hope, too. Am I wrong about these seeming like good signs?

Yes, those are good signs. But it is always better for doctors to not be too optimistic just in case he makes a turn for the worse. If she still has serious concerns on Monday I'd definitely get a second opinion before euthanizing. Sometimes, just feeding canned food alone will prevent future blocking. Most seminars etc I've been to indicate that any brand of canned food is pretty good for urinary health. If you have to feed dry then you have to be really careful that it is a good urinary health diet, ideally prescription.

[Kat]

@Kestra--thanks for your input! I appreciate you sharing your expertise. I think that what you described is what they are doing. He has a cathetar in and has been given pain medications as well as steroids for infammation. I think they are hoping he will either pass them or get them back into the bladder as the vet mentioned that they would be doing an xray on Monday to see where the stones were. She said if they had moved into the bladder, they could do surgery on it to remov the stones. She just made it seem like there was a posssibility the stones would be stuck there in the urethra, that they might not be able to get them out. And that is what she said would cause the damage and make it so he had to be put down.

Have you ever seen that happen, where they didn't move?

I'm for the PU surgery if it will help him, but she said they can't do it if the stones are still in there and the urethra is damaged.

I'd appreciate any additional input you have. This is all new to me; I am trying to understand what my other options might be to help him if the stones aren't out by Monday. I really do not want to euthanize him unless he is in terrible pain and there is no chance of recovery.

[Kat]

Yes, those are good signs. But it is always better for doctors to not be too optimistic just in case he makes a turn for the worse. If she still has serious concerns on Monday I'd definitely get a second opinion before euthanizing. Sometimes, just feeding canned food alone will prevent future blocking. Most seminars etc I've been to indicate that any brand of canned food is pretty good for urinary health. If you have to feed dry then you have to be really careful that it is a good urinary health diet, ideally prescription.

Thanks for this information. I hope he makes it. I will do whatever I need to--prescription food, get a water fountain, pay for surgery, whatever else--to help keem him healthy and give him a long life. But what the vet has been saying scares me. I don't know if she is just sharing her concerns of what could happen or if the scenario she paints is a common one. It seems like a lot of cats do recover, so I am not sure why she said all the stuff about the urethra dying off and stuff.

[Kestra]

@Kestra--thanks for your input! I appreciate you sharing your expertise. I think that what you described is what they are doing. He has a cathetar in and has been given pain medications as well as steroids for infammation. I think they are hoping he will either pass them or get them back into the bladder as the vet mentioned that they would be doing an xray on Monday to see where the stones were. She said if they had moved into the bladder, they could do surgery on it to remov the stones. She just made it seem like there was a posssibility the stones would be stuck there in the urethra, that they might not be able to get them out. And that is what she said would cause the damage and make it so he had to be put down.

Have you ever seen that happen, where they didn't move?

I'm for the PU surgery if it will help him, but she said they can't do it if the stones are still in there and the urethra is damaged.

I'd appreciate any additional input you have. This is all new to me; I am trying to understand what my other options might be to help him if the stones aren't out by Monday. I really do not want to euthanize him unless he is in terrible pain and there is no chance of recovery.

There's basically 3 scenarios that I've seen:
1. Cat is too far gone or money is an issue and they are euthanized immediately.
2. Cat is unblocked, as you describe, gets better, goes home with the correct food etc and is fine.
3. Cat blocks once, gets treated but for a variety of reasons keeps blocking. At this point either gets the PU surgery or is euthanized.

I suspect in this case the main concern is that there are multiple stones. Since male cats block so easily it often takes just that one stone. To have multiple stones already in the urethra worsens the prognosis I believe. That's probably why she's not sounding that optimistic. Honestly, I can't recall that specific scenario where the cat was unblocked, treated for a few days and then had to be euthanized, but the vet would know better than I. I've also not been working in a vet office for a few years now, so I certainly can't remember every case. If there are still stones on Monday I think your only option is to try to find a specialist asap who might be able to help a bit more. Since you're willing and able to get the surgery, feed special food etc, I would definitely try all possibilities before euthanizing (which I know you will do). With the surgery and special food the long term prognosis is quite good so it's a disease that is definitely worth pursuing treatment over. I hope everything looks good on Monday and keep us updated.

[Kat]

Thanks, Kestra.

I'm not sure at this point if he would be considered unblocked or not; the vet said he was only partially blocked when I brought him in. The multiple stones thing really bothers me, because I brought him in a total of 5 times. Thursday night she said he wasn't blocked, then Friday morning it's "oh, he's blocked with multiple stones"? I mean, is it possible for all of those stones to form in 12 hours? Or did they just miss it? That is what I wonder.

And I am really not understanding why they can't do the PU surgery if the stones are still there. It seems like an obstruction is one of the reasons to do a PU (that and recurring blockages). But I'm not a vet, so I just have to try to go by what they say.

I live within driving distance of both Iowa City, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois and have been looking for a specialist to help him should the vet have bad news for me Monday. Anyone know of a good website to locate specialists? I have found a couple, but I don't know if I should be looking for internal medicine, critical care, or surgery specialists.

[jennipurrr]

I am so sorry you and your kitty are going through this. I lost my kitty Ty in 2004 to a urinary blockage. It was able to be removed but he didn't have any control on his bladder afterwards and so the vet recommended he be put to sleep. It was heartbreaking to me, he was only three years old. It really sounds like your little one is making some positive progress. Sending good vibes your way!

[Kestra]

Thanks, Kestra.

I'm not sure at this point if he would be considered unblocked or not; the vet said he was only partially blocked when I brought him in. The multiple stones thing really bothers me, because I brought him in a total of 5 times. Thursday night she said he wasn't blocked, then Friday morning it's "oh, he's blocked with multiple stones"? I mean, is it possible for all of those stones to form in 12 hours? Or did they just miss it? That is what I wonder.

And I am really not understanding why they can't do the PU surgery if the stones are still there. It seems like an obstruction is one of the reasons to do a PU (that and recurring blockages). But I'm not a vet, so I just have to try to go by what they say.

I live within driving distance of both Iowa City, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois and have been looking for a specialist to help him should the vet have bad news for me Monday. Anyone know of a good website to locate specialists? I have found a couple, but I don't know if I should be looking for internal medicine, critical care, or surgery specialists.

Probably the stones were in the bladder or higher up in the urethra, so he wasn't completely blocked. And then they descended and then he was blocked. But there's no way to be sure. No, they don't form that quickly but they are incredibly small. They probably have better x-ray technology than we had in my little old practices because just seeing those stones on a x-ray would be difficult in my experience. Regarding the PU surgery, it only removes the very tip of the urethra. There's still a lot inside the cat that they can't get at. I think the main issue with the whole PU/stones in urethra thing is the scarring of the urethra. Doesn't take much scar tissue to block the urethra. So you could do a PU and if there's damage to the urethra further up, the cat could be permanently blocked by the damage and then you really have to euthanize at that point.

Regarding the specialist thing I think I would just pick the closest one and try to just find a main receptionist line to call and explain the situation and ask how to get a referall (probably your current vet would just call and send the records) and they can tell you who you will see. The specialist centre will have a normal protocol for this type of thing. Kind of like you see the emergency room doctor first, in human medicine then they decide whether to send you to the surgeon or internal medicine, or whatever. It's really not something you will have to decide yourself. I'm in Canada so only familiar with our specialist centres. I just searched around for vet schools as they often have big specialist places and found these two:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
College of Veterinary Medicine
2001 South Lincoln Avenue, Room 2271G
Urbana, IL 61802
Phone: 217-333-1192
Website: www.vetmed.illinois.edu

Iowa State University
College of Veterinary Medicine
2270 Veterinary Medicine Iowa State University P.O. Box 3020
Ames, IA 50010-3020
Phone: 800-262-3810
Website: www.vetmed.iastate.edu

Course, I have no idea exactly where those are, but I'm sure you do, if you haven't already looked into them. I'm sure Chicago has several big vet clinics as well. Don't know how big Iowa City is, but likely there's at least one there, too.

[Kat]

Charlie made it through the weekend okay. He is going to have bladder surgery this afternoon. The vet said it wasn't looking like we would have to put him to sleep right now. Feeding him a strict bladder health diet will help dissolve any remaining crystals and buy us some time. The biggest risk is him blocking again. She suggested holding off on the PU for now but it may be an option in the future.

Thanks to you all for giving me hope and encouragement. Special thanks to you, too, Kestra for helping me understand what was happening.

Now I wait to hear that he made it through the surgery okay. I am nervous about it, but I guess it is a fairly common procedure with a high success rate.

[leslieann]

Hoping to hear good news, Kat. Thinking of you and your feline friend.

[Kestra]

That's great to hear. Yes, bladder surgery is quite common. No riskier than any other abdominal surgery. Always nerve-wracking though. Hope he gets to come home soon.

[Kat]

He made it through! The vet said they removed a lot of sandy grit and that some of it was tube-shaped, which indicates that the urethra is clear now. He is doing as well as can be expected. The vet cautioned that he isn't "out of the woods" yet, but is, by all appearances, on the road to recovery. Hopefully he doesn't get blocked again.

Can't wait til the little guy is in my arms again. I miss him something fierce!

Now that I know he is okay, maybe I can get some sleep tonight (well...as much sleep as the baby allows, anyway! :-) )

Thanks again to all of you! It is nice to belong to such a caring community!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Good news and thanks for updating us! I hope Charlie has a long, happy and healthy life with you. :)

[Kat]

Last update, I promise:

Charlie is sitting on my lap right now, purring as I type. I don't know which one of us is happier! :-)

[Gregg]

Wonderful news Kat. Enjoy!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Last update, I promise:

Charlie is sitting on my lap right now, purring as I type. I don't know which one of us is happier! :-) So happy for you and Charlie!

[SiouzQ.]

So happy your kitty is okay! Meow!