Anxious Cat and Urinary Blockage

[MonkeyATL]

Hi, all. Our 3.5-year old neutered male cat has always been a healthy and happy boy until, for some reason unbeknownst to us, he developed urinary problems in August of this year.

He had 2 instances of going to the litter box repeatedly, straining, and not much/nothing coming out. We took him to the ER each time, and each time he was not blocked. Last Wednesday night, this happened again. We went to the ER, and this time he was actually blocked.

Our boy spent 2 days in the hospital with a catheter and under observation. He came home yesterday and he's able to urinate just fine - but he keeps on going to the litter box, back and forth and back and forth. (He is bound to be a little sensitive now, I know, but this is all too traumatizing.)

I have two questions, please.

1) Have any of you had success handling a urinary blockage and, importantly, preventing recurrence? Advice on what worked for you?

2) Our primary care vet was going to give us a prescription for an anti-anxiety medicine (Paxil for cats) to start right away, but we have some reservations with immediately taking such a step. Have any of you had experiences with anti-anxiety medication? Were you able to eventually wean your cat off it?

Thank you!

 

[Jem]

So I'm assuming your kitty had a blockage due to Cystitis? No UTI or crystals present when the urine analysis and culture were done?

My kitty had cystitis due to stress once and fortunately never had a recurrence, but we knew the stress that caused the issue. We had a really bad bear season, and they were coming right up to the house and using our yard as a bathroom. Our Chewy was simply terrified of the intrusion. Thankfully, the following seasons were normal, so we didn't really have to do much long term.

While in the throws of his cystitis, he was placed on an antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and anti-depressant for his appetite. He was also on a medication that was said to help with muscle function as he had developed temporary incontinence due to being catheterized for almost a week.

We did not go the anxiety med route for him, as it was not needed for us so I can't comment on that, sorry. But he was pretty dopey with all the other meds, so I'm sure that had a calming effect on him.

We kept him separate when we weren't home so he could have a quiet place to be, in a room that did not have "outdoor" access where a bear could scare him.
We played relaxing music for him. It was an actual CD made for cats to help them relax. They have apps now that play music for cats.
When home we would just keep him close and made sure he had "his" blanket.

My advice is to do some sleuthing to figure out what is causing his distress. If you can figure that out, you may be able to remove it.

Changes in the home, anything from furniture placement to people moving in or out.

Changes to routine - My current kitty developed separation anxiety when our lock down ended and we went back to work. t's been a work in progress to get her better. We did get a product called Zyklene from the vet that is said to be good for calming a kitty without the negative side-effects that traditional meds can cause. We haven't started her on it yet because she sometimes shows improvement, but I'm considering starting it by next week if the improvements I see don't continue to progress.

Animals outside - most animals come out at night (even in cities), so you may not have noticed if they are there.

Does he like everyone in the home? Not judging, but sometimes children can stress out a cat, someone who may have a temper (I know we had one cat who would get freaked out when my husband would yell at his video games ), other pets in the home...so many things can cause a cat to feel threatened...and it's not always obvious.

Be sure his environment is "cattified". Lots of high places to hang out (shelving, cat trees, etc..) as well as comfy nooks if he prefers "little caves" to sleep in. Perhaps even give him an "off limits" area where he can retreat to if he wants to be alone.
Give him plenty of opportunities to mark his scent around the house with scratching posts and blankets/pillows that he can leave his scent where he wants.
Play WITH him.
Try to stick with a routine that includes play time, feeding times, etc...You can also build his confidence by letting him "act out" his instincts. Play with him with a wand toy of sorts, then offer him a small snack after he's caught his "prey", it could also be one of his meal times too.
I would try to encourage a wet food diet as moisture is very important for urinary health.

I'm sure there is other stuff, I just can't think of them right now and I know others will be along shortly to give more feedback.

 

[Micaela227]

Hi! I have a 13 year old male cat, and when he was around 3-4 years he also had urinary blockage, twice actually. He is completely fine now, but it was really scary.
In his case it wasn't anxiety or stress related, since we found out that a biological brother of him, from the same litter, had the same problem around the same age. Sadly, he didn't recover.
I don't remember much about the treatment since I was young, but I know that since then he has been in a special diet. The vet recommended Pro Plan Urinary (I'm from Argentina so I don't now if this is something you have wherever you are from), and he never had a blockage again. He does eat some meat, chicken and tuna from time to time, but the Pro Plan is the fundamental part of his diet.
I'm sorry I don't have an answer to your second question, but I'm sure someone here would have experience in the subject.
Good luck, I'm sure your cat will be just fine!

 

[Jem]

Something else to consider...How are YOU doing? (and others in your household)
Kitties can pickup on our own stress and anxieties, and needless to say, this year has not exactly been smooth sailing for most of us.

 

[verna davies]

I have a cat with stress related UTI. Scan showed debris in his bladder, no crystals and he didn't block. Did your cat have a scan or urinalysis? If he was blocked I presume he had some sort of debris in his bladder to cause it. Feed wet food only and add a little water to it. He may need to be on a urinary food for a while such as Royal Canin Urinary SO. Also look into alcohol free Cornsilk and D-Mannose, I give mine these when he has a flare. Many things can stress a cat that we are not aware of and as Jem said above, look at any changes in your household however small, even rearranged furniture can cause them stress.

 

[lalagimp]

I'm marking this so I can come back to it later. I am not ready to tackle this one at the moment, but I've been through these.
The guy that didn't get blocked has been on prozac for 3 years at the same dose and is mostly okay. I'll go details in followup post.

 

[oyster]

I don't have any experience with urinary blockage but with chronic UTIs and crystals in urine. We were at the vet every 6 weeks for years with huge medical bills. Finally, we went the homeopathic route. It cost more upfront, was a one-time visit, and we never had to go back again. He was cured. May not work for every cat but it did for ours. (Also depends on the skill of the practitioner). He had the treatment when he was about 6-7 years old. He is now 14 years old.
We also changed the water source for our cats. We used to give them tap water and switched to bottled water. Our water is very hard and can contribute to crystals (so our vet said at the time). We did not change his diet at all.