Bladder Obstruction

[OliviaC]

Hi All,

I’ve been posting on here quite a lot lately as my 1 year old orange tabby, Conan, has just not been himself. He’s not been eating as enthusiastically, has been laying around a lot more, and seems to be breathing quickly and a bit labored although he is not coughing and has his mouth closed. After taking him to 3 separate vets who tested him for HCM, Asthma, etc., we ended up at an emergency vet who diagnosed him with a bladder obstruction. He was placed on a catheter and all going well will be coming home this evening. I’m hoping someone can advise what we can do to really keep this from happening again. Also what we can look for in the event it does happen again. I’m a bit frightened because Conan was not exhibiting any signs of urinary issues. He was using his litter box and his urine output hasn’t changed at all. The only reason we thought to do something about this was because we caught him sitting in his litter box for 5 minutes, but only one time.

I’m especially nervous because we did adopt a new kitty one month ago, mainly for the purpose of giving Conan a playmate. We’ve been trying our hardest to get them to mesh nicely but anytime they are out together Conan chases her around and pins her down. Everyone we show videos to says it looks like play, but we can’t help but feel it’s very rough.

Could the stress of the new kitten be causing Conan’s health issue? The vet didn’t seem to think that it would be related, but we can’t help but wonder. We want to give the best life possible to both of our cats and it breaks my heart to think we might not be able to. We were planning to go out of town later this week but canceled because we didn’t want to add stress after everything Conan has been through. I should mention he’s a sweet boy at home but completely the opposite at the doctor offices.

The vet did mention that if this continues to happen we may need to consider a PU surgery. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it worth it to fo ahead with this as a preventative measure for the future? Can anyone weigh in on average price?

Thank you in advance for all of your words of wisdom!

 

[shadowsrescue]

I will tell you that stress can be a big reason for the obstruction. I have a cat who blocked 2 years ago. He had the PU surgery. Then this year in March (almost 2 years after PU surgery) he blocked again. It has been difficult.

First off the number one thing you can do for your cat is to be sure he drinks lots of water. I cannot stress this enough. Also wet food only. I feed high quality canned food and add extra water to each bowl. My cat does not like to drink water. I even tried a fountain. It's just not for him. After this last blockage, I even would syringe him water a few times a day. Right now he gets 1-2 T. of water per feeding. I feed him 3x a day.

PU surgery becomes necessary if the cat continues to block. It's the only way they will survive. The surgery is expensive, but varies by where you are located as well as who does the surgery. We were to an ER vet and the prices was over $2000. I would be sure the vet who performs the surgery is experienced. You do not want further complications. The surgery itself is not very long, but recovery is long. The cat needs to wear a cone for 2-3 weeks and be monitored very closely. It was a difficult time for me and my cat.

Preventatively you need to get water water water. Reduce stress. Getting your two cats introduced together could be causing some major stress. If you are on Facebook, there is a wonderful group called Feline Lower Urinary Tract. It is a closed group so you need to request permission to join. Yet it is full of the absolute best information. Your kitty may need some supplements for bladder health as well as stress.

I hope your kitty will maintain his health and PU surgery will not be needed. Just be on notice that once a kitty blocks, they are at risk for blocking again. You need to watch them very closely. The crying in the litter box without urine output is not good. Watch closely to see that urine output is normal as well as no straining or weak stream of urine. I have 6 cats so knowing who uses the litter box is hard. I had to place cameras on the litter boxes to be sure my kitty was urinating ok.

 

[maggiedemi]

Canned food instead of dry.