Cat Urinary Tract

[lyneveanderson]

We had to rush one of our 2 cats, Sam, to the vet today. He seemed a wee bit off colour last night, but he can get a bit grumpy sometimes but this morning he wasn't trying to get out of the kitchen to get his breakfast and didn't even care when I put the food out. He loves his food so I knew something was seriously wrong!

He kept trying to go to the loo with no success, a quick google search later and I was frantic, as was OH when I showed him the pages. Phoned the emergency vet and took him round (which was a trauma in itself as the roads were really bad).

He had to get a catheter and a blockage removed. He needed a full anesthetic and has to stay in for at least 2 days.

We knew he was overweight, and has been since we got him from CPL 5 years ago, but now so worried :(



Has anyone else got experience of this? The vet said it's because we feed him biscuits, but this is all our wee cat eats... Are we gonna have the same issue with her...?

Sorry for this being so long but we don't have kids or horses (at the minute) and these are our babies!

Thanks for reading :p

[Vic86]

Unfortunatley very common in over weight neutered toms particually those who eat mostly dried food such as go-cat. The poor quality of these feeds will contribute to build up of crystals which then cause blockages. Very scary experience for owners and very very painful for cat:(

Hopefully you caught it nice and soon and he'll make a good recovery. Once he's home you'll want to keep him inside with a litter tray so you can closely monitor his urinating and if your in any doubt he's going off colour get him straight back to vets. Theres always quite a risk or it re-accuring a week to two post blockage. If you feel happy doing it might be worth asking vet to show you how his bladder should feel so you can check if your concernced he's not emptying it.

He will need to go on to some sort of specialist diet now to do everything to try help prevent it happening again. Something like Hills c/d or royal canin urinary s/o. Not cheap unfortunatley but cheaper than GA's and hospitalisation! Your other cat could be put on to these diets too no problem.

Really hope he's on the mend now and you don't have to go through what I know is just an awful thing to see for everybody involved!

Good luck!

(Just encase you wonder I'm a vet nurse!!)

[lyneveanderson]

We have been trying to get him to lose weight, easier said than done! Ella prefers biscuits but Sam goes mad on them. They only get fed low fat biscuits (usually Hills or similar).

The vet said this is likely to cost £500 - we just want him better :) I think we caught it quickly as she said the bloods were better than she thought they would be.

She said we'd probably need to put them on an all wet food diet. Hope thats all it takes to keep him healthy:rolleyes:

[Vic86]

We have been trying to get him to lose weight, easier said than done!

Oh yes definetley, usually like fighting a loosing battle with cats!!

If his diet is Hills or something along those lines in unlikely to of been caused by his diet then? Hills dried is a complete food designed to be soley on its own. I'd be causious of changing him from that to a soley wet diet you then run the very high risk of the start of dental problems, again VERY expensive problems! It sounds like its more than likely he's just one of those poor unlucky boys who's just a good doer and prone to this sort of problem. Have you tried Hills neutered cat, very good for weight loss so would then in turn be good prevention for crystals, blockages etc.

The vet said this is likely to cost £500 - we just want him better I think we caught it quickly as she said the bloods were better than she thought they would be.

Ouch!! Its amazing how quickly vet bills mount up! But brilliant news about his bloods and catching it early makes all the difference. These are the cats that go on to make great recoveries, its unfortunatley the outisde cats that owners never see doing things like urinating etc that are usually missed till its too late.

Hope he's well on the road to recovery, would def advise asking your vet or practice nurse for advise on other dry foods that will suit him better, such as the urinary feeds, neutured cat ect wouldn't advise a soley wet diet or if you decide to go for a wet food feed some sort of dental biscuit such as hills t/d or Royal canin Dental along side it.

Fingers crossed poor lad has no reason to go within a mile of a urinary catheter again:D

[lyneveanderson]

I think we were able to catch it quickly as our cats "talk" to us. We just know when something is wrong, if they are up to something etc :D (like when we came home the other night - both cats bolted.... Into kitchen and there is a whole kitchen roll shredded! And it was on a shelf!)

I was just looking at the Hills neutered cat!

I'd prefer to feed a mix of wet and dry because thats what they are on now.




Poor Ella is really freaked out, she's never been on her own before! We got her as a kitten and she's been to get neutered but other than that she's spent 24/7 with Sam. She keeps going to sit on his blanket.

I'll keep updating :D

[FeatheryFeet]

...

[Vic86]

I think we were able to catch it quickly as our cats "talk" to us

Aww I know what you mean:D

I think a mix sounds best then, especially if this is what they are used to.

Poor Ella must be really scary for her as she probably knew he was poorly before he was wisked away and hasnt come back:(

Hopefully he'll be home asap, keep us updated with his progress!

[Keket]

Hills - BLECH! Really, the best thing you can do to prevent blockages is wet food. Cats don't tend to drink, so a high quality wet food is much easier on the kidneys and urinary tract than dry food. And the business about dental problems is very close to being an urban myth. My cat eats 1/2 and 1/2 dry and wet and she's never had any dental problems. Want cleaner teeth? Cut out the Hills. It's loaded with corn. Corn is mainly startch, and startch are carbohydrates which become plaque. That's where your dental problems come from. Feed a high quality animal protein based canned food and you won't have that problem.

Keket (also a vet nurse)

[Vic86]

And the business about dental problems is very close to being an urban myth.

Def have to agree to disagree on that one!!!!;)

My cat eats 1/2 and 1/2 dry and wet and she's never had any dental problems.

Your cat eats both wet and dry and therefore gets the benefits of both, this could be a totally different story on a soley wet food diet.

I have a 16 month old DLH with terrible Gingivitis as he was owned by a very old lady who'd never fed anything other than a commonly known wet food. I've had him 4 months and he's gone on to a mixer of wet and t/d or Dental and he's got a different mouth. So I'd be horrified to see the results of a soley wet diet for a considerable amount of a cats life and is a something I feel strongly about advising against!!

As for drinking cats will drink what they need. They often don't as most wet cat foods contain about 80% water, but on less wet they would obviously drink more. Water consumption from the diet (wet or dry) would have no effect of bloackages as long as there was always access to water

[stormy's mum]

kitty greenies are good for dental health and most kitties love them

[GarnetFox]

Hope your boy gets better soon!

I just thought I would add what I found out when I was researching cats before getting our kittens. Cat's don't like their water bowls in the same room as their food. To us drinking and eating at the same time seems like a normal thing, to cats they are separate things.

If you don't already have the food and water in separate rooms then I would try it, use a mat to stop any dribbles on your carpet. We have their food in the kitchen and water in the living room. They are on a dry food diet and get through at least 2 bowls of water a day this way, and, judging by how much I have to clear out of their litter boxes, plenty of wee to flush their system out.

[Vic86]

Cat's don't like their water bowls in the same room as their food

Very interesting that you say that! I've never been able to find anything that backs it up but I have over the years had many clients comment on how there cats never seem to want to drink out of the water bowls that are placed next to their feed bowls, but everything else instead and this includes my cat, after lots of experimenting he's decided his favourite watering hole is the dogs bowl which is in the kitchen, and he eats in the lounge.

[Keket]

I have heard cats don't like standing water. So toilets, drips from sinks, roof run-off is all fine, but put it in a bowl and they hate it (fickle little creatures, ain't they?). If I catch Sam in the kitchen sink, I'll give her a water bowl next to her food and she will drink from it, but only when it's first fresh. I have to catch her exactly when she's thirsty. :rolleyes:

[GarnetFox]

I found that snippet in the Vicky Halls cat behaviour books!

Drifter is intrigued by running water but scared of it at the same time, Jellybean shows no interest!

One handy thing of having the water bowl in the living room is that we can monitor their fluid intake easily and notice if one doesn't visit it. Our two also get filtered water (just tap water filtered in a jug in the fridge), maybe they think this is tasty?

[lyneveanderson]

Ours have a water fountain, in a seperate room :) They also use the taps and get a bowl of water if they ask (we just know when they want). Despite the fact we shouldn't I am afraid Sam also occasionally (about once every 2 months) asks for a wee drop of milk:o. Basically when you go to make a cup of tea he swipes the carton, it's always watered down.

Sam does enjoy wet food, where as Ella prefers dry biscuits but drinks lots.



OH phoned the vet to check on Sam today. He needs to lose a LOT of weight, we kinda knew that was coming (we're not blind!). He wasn't eating but they were going to try him with a little fish. I imagine he's really out of sorts, he's not really a people cat (except OH, he LOVES him:rolleyes: ) and sore... We might get him home tomorrow :D I really hope so because we all (especially Ella) miss him!



I'm now totally confused re diet. The vet told OH that we wouldn't be able to feed Sam biscuits again, but we'll wait and see when we speak to her.

[Spoof]

One of my housemate's cats had this issue about 8 months ago. After a lot of research we learned that there are two types of crystals - those from not enough of something, and those from too much. Sooo.. he gets fed the special Science Diet food. 1/4c in the morning and 1/4 at night. He is still 21 lbs and very active. He's also just a big cat, with as much skin as he has we figure he could easily reach 30 pounds.

If he continued to have the blockages there is a surgery they do, as the vet said "give him a girl kitty part" so there is less of a chance of buildup. So far he hasn't had a reoccurrence.

nd the business about dental problems is very close to being an urban myth.
I definitely don't agree with this, cat #3, at seven years old only has 3 teeth left. For some reason, she never chewed her food, just swallowed it whole. Those got pulled last month, and she is still pretty tweaked about it. Fortunately the other two, including big fatty, chew their food!

I will say that it is a real pain having three cats on different foods. Fortunately they were pretty easy to train to stay away from the other's bowls.

Picture of Lupin (big cat) and Misty, the 8lb toothless wonder. :)

[lyneveanderson]

Here's some pics of my boy :)

Please don't say he's too fat... We already know that :o
Fave pic
http://i33.tinypic.com/2rzpema.jpg
Sam's fav position
http://i36.tinypic.com/n4cjyg.jpg
When they're not fighting
http://i35.tinypic.com/fx9jk0.jpg
Minor size difference...
http://i38.tinypic.com/2jwj95.jpg


Hope these show ok

[JJsMum]

Hi, hope your lad gets better soon. I too have a cat which had the very same thing happen to him, he got catheterised to get the blockage removed. He is a big fat neutered tom, seems this problem is quite common with them. Anyway, he has been fed exclusively Hill's CD on the advice of my vet since it happened a few years ago and thankfully no recurrence. At the time, you could also get CD in tins (expensive tho) but I'm not sure if they still make it.

[Meovcorz]

I'm sorry I can't help you. But there may be people on this forum who can.

http://www.cat-world.com.au/forums/index.php?#

[lyneveanderson]

Just to say Sam is now home :) He's sore and out of sorts but at least he's had something to eat. He's not allowed any biscuits, he needs to lose weight. He's got tablets but at least they're ones that get mixed with his good (I've done the whole down the throat thing before and felt awful!).

[Keket]

I definitely don't agree with this, cat #3, at seven years old only has 3 teeth left. For some reason, she never chewed her food, just swallowed it whole. Those got pulled last month, and she is still pretty tweaked about it. Fortunately the other two, including big fatty, chew their food!

The plural of anecdote is not data, but anyhow...

lyneveanderson:
If you do want to switch to a wet diet for UT health, consider feeding your cat raw meat now and then. Tearing at muscle and connective tissue on bones is a great way to help clean teeth. Here's a page with lots of information on raw feeding for cats: http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicleguide.htm

[lyneveanderson]

They're both going to be on a wet diet for a while (Ella will just have to eat it, but will monitor her weight closely). Sam's pills have to get mixed with his food anyway.

Sam needs lose about 50% of his weight, very scary. We're determined to get him there, but right now he needs lots of hugs.



Bill so far £406... Check up next week, will seek more dietry advice then :)

[shiney_things]

I work in an animal sanctuary with cats and have seen this loads of times. The biccies absorb moisture from your cats digestive system causeing the urea to become concentrated and may chrystalise. Cats dont tend to drink much either! I'd feed your cat meat and a few biscuits in a seperate bowl.

Look for brands like james wellbeloved or get royal canin, they have a specific food for cats that have had this problem before. They reduce the risk of it creeping back!

[sonnet]

Unfortunatley very common in over weight neutered toms particually those who eat mostly dried food such as go-cat. The poor quality of these feeds will contribute to build up of crystals which then cause blockages. Very scary experience for owners and very very painful for cat:(

Hopefully you caught it nice and soon and he'll make a good recovery. Once he's home you'll want to keep him inside with a litter tray so you can closely monitor his urinating and if your in any doubt he's going off colour get him straight back to vets. Theres always quite a risk or it re-accuring a week to two post blockage. If you feel happy doing it might be worth asking vet to show you how his bladder should feel so you can check if your concernced he's not emptying it.

He will need to go on to some sort of specialist diet now to do everything to try help prevent it happening again. Something like Hills c/d or royal canin urinary s/o. Not cheap unfortunatley but cheaper than GA's and hospitalisation! Your other cat could be put on to these diets too no problem.

Really hope he's on the mend now and you don't have to go through what I know is just an awful thing to see for everybody involved!

Good luck!

(Just encase you wonder I'm a vet nurse!!)


Scary- so is dry food not recommended at all? I feed my little moggy a mixture- she has the wet pouches- is very fussy so this changes every few days (all brands)- and some days biscuits (all brands).

Poor mog! Hope he feels better soon, my rescue cat had a urinary problem before I got her and she was fine after a little while :)

[Kis Vihar]

I had a cat with this condition, he was on tablets, and a wet food diet. Sadly he went out hunting one day and never came home. :(

We don't have quite the 'range' of diets like Hills out here. I had to travel around 60 miles to find a vet who knew about cats! He said I should feed tinned food, and I could soak the dried food in water! I still do this, every day, for all the other cats (we have several neutered Toms who are most prone to this condition) and they love it. To feed 6 cats, I put 2 big cups of dry food in a bowl, put enough water in to completely cover it and leave it to soak for a couple of hours. Then I mix a couple of tins of cat food in and divide it up. They eat eveything! No more problems with any of the cats.

Their teeth are a bit of a concern. Most of them love tearing up hard cardboard which seems to help their teeth! They don't eat it, they just chomp on it! Is there anything else other than dry cat food that I can give them to help their teeth and gums? (Apart from letting them shred cardboard!)
:)

Good luck with your cat's weight-loss too!! It's really tough helping a cat lose weight!

[lyneveanderson]

Sam had a vet check-up this week. She was very happy that everything was ok. He was bright and happy and well hydrated.

He's now finished 2 types of tablet and she's recommended he stays on one type for at least 3 months as a precaution. We can just pop in and buy these so he won't need to be taken in :) He hates being in the box and being taken outside and although he's not really a people cat at least he likes the vet!

He'd lost half a kg in the week between us taking him to the vet at first and his check-up. We just need to make sure he keeps losing! I threatened to get him a treadmill - but in reality we are just trying to get him to play more!

The vet thinks as he's a really big cat (she thinks he was neutered late, we don't know as he was from the CPL) he'd need to lose 4kg all together - so only 3.5kg to go!

Ella has been eating the wet food and only very occasionally asks for biscuits (we have been giving her a wee drop, shut away from Sam), but on the whole they've both coped really well.

[lyneveanderson]

Just a wee update.

Sam went from approx 10kgs when first taken to vets, OH weighed him today and he's now 6.2kg!!! He's full of beans and his dandruff has vanished:) he could still do with losing more but he's already a different cat to the one wehad when I started this thread.

Sam is not bothered with diet but Ella still begs for food. She's tiny compared to Sam but she's the one always asking for food. I'm worried we're underfeeding them now, surely the advice on number of pouches aday is for outdoor cats?!? How much does everyoneelse feed?

[blackhorses]

Glad your cat is better and slimmer!
We feed the majority of ours biscuits but we don't stick to the same brand for any length of time as we've found the male cats in particular are prone to urinary problems - we had 6 at one time:eek: all on royal canin urinary diet and it sorted it. I think some foods are high in magnesium like Iams which we had ours on for years which started all the problems. Wet food is very high in sugar that's why you get so many dental problems with the stuff - although we have 2 cats on wet food at the mo - one is ancient and has no teeth and the other is old and has renal failure so is on a special diet and is fine at the mo!
We give our cats one handful of dry food a day each, and some of them are a little too portly!!! - but with 18 of the things (all reject feral cats:D) it's rather hard to keep an eye on who eats what!!!:rolleyes: