Charlie's acting weird. I don't know what to do.

[Mamanyt1953]

Charlie did have some decent pee today, still not HUGE clumps but bigger than nail size. He did the whole 'in and out' of his box thing for a bit again, which of course worries me when he does but he still released a good amount of urine, I think.

The in and out of the box thing may simply be that he still doesn't entirely trust that he'll be able to pee without pain. If that's the reason, it should fade with time.)

But with so much good news, we're going to relax (which will help HIM relax), focus on the good stuff, and see how that goes!

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Sorry, hadn’t kept up. Continue feeding the prescription diet only. You didn’t put in all this effort to mess it up with treats. Unless the treats are prescription, best not to use.

My cats eat canned only. I don’t know when I last saw them drink water, maybe years. Cats eating a canned diet don’t usually drink water. You can add water to food and syringe water in their mouth forever and it isn’t going to make a discernible difference. The only real way to increase their hydration and hopefully dilute the urine is with SQ fluids. You can easily give them at home. Ask your vet if they think it would be a good idea. If not, don’t worry so much about his hydration.

He may still be having some cystitis. That can be irritation from all his poor urethra has been through. He may be emptying it immediately or it may feel like he always has to go.

Or, if his bladder is full and he is only going these tiny amounts he could be having some urethra spasms. You might want to ask the vet about that if it doesn’t resolve. There are antispasmodic medications that can be given.

The other cause of this could be pain which causes stress and that becomes a vicious cycle. If this continues you may want to discuss the use of an oral opiate to give as a trial to see if he urinates normally when he is on the pain medication that will give you an answer.

I agree with you in your concern with him going in and out of the box frequently.

The next time you take him to the vet, ask that they teach you how to palpate his bladder.

He looks great in the pictures!!!

 

[Krienze]

The in and out of the box thing may simply be that he still doesn't entirely trust that he'll be able to pee without pain. If that's the reason, it should fade with time.)

This is what many are telling me! I'm hoping that is the case! He doesn't cry when IN the box, so I don't think he's in pain. He sometimes cries when getting in, but the vet thinks that's just him being dramatic, pretty much, because he dislikes the pen.

He's still in the pen at night only for now. But he's free almost all day save for when I check to see if he has to go to the bathroom.

But with so much good news, we're going to relax (which will help HIM relax), focus on the good stuff, and see how that goes!

What is this "relax" you speak of? I'm unfamiliar.

Hi. Sorry, hadn’t kept up. Continue feeding the prescription diet only. You didn’t put in all this effort to mess it up with treats. Unless the treats are prescription, best not to use.

It's all good! Not TOO much change!

He's not getting many of the non-Urinary tract health treats. Pretty much it was ONLY to get water in him and now that we have the Purina Pro Plan Urinary Tract food, he's not getting those treats anymore. He only had a few, though. His urinary treats came in too and he loves those.

Unfortunately the order of the two cases of prescription wet food I bought were "lost" according to vetcove. I had ordered them on the 15th, then never came in, I contacted the company, they said they'd give me a replacement - then refunded me without telling me, so I'm stuck waiting AGAIN for the prescription food to get here. I do have the prescription DRY food. I'm not crazy about him eating it but it's all that came in. (THAT shipped fine despite me ordering it AFTER the wet)

The wet food he's eating IS still urinary tract health food, though. It's just not prescription. I've been told that's fine to give him until the prescription gets he gets the order in. He'll be getting the script wet once it comes in though.

He may still be having some cystitis. That can be irritation from all his poor urethra has been through. He may be emptying it immediately or it may feel like he always has to go.

His last vet visit his urine test came back good, no utis, etc. So I don't know. I'll be calling the vet tomorrow just to see what they think then maybe taking him in. His urine at least doesn't seem to be pinky nail size anymore though!

Or, if his bladder is full and he is only going these tiny amounts he could be having some urethra spasms. You might want to ask the vet about that if it doesn’t resolve. There are antispasmodic medications that can be given.

Thank you for this info! Had no idea that was a thing! I'll make sure to bring that up when I call.

The other cause of this could be pain which causes stress and that becomes a vicious cycle. If this continues you may want to discuss the use of an oral opiate to give as a trial to see if he urinates normally when he is on the pain medication that will give you an answer.

We've been giving him gabapentin at night to see if that helps and he always has urine and poo in his box in the morning. We decided to skip the gaba tonight to see how he does, but I'll be calling the vet tomorrow anyway and I plan on asking about that. The vet I spoke to after his appt (i think this was on thursday i called) had suggested we give him some more gabapentin to relax him.

As per usual, here are some nightly photos of the "Prince of Gremlins"

I'm pretty sure I caught him about to give the dog a smack to her butt /sigh

 

[Krienze]

He scared me a bit tonight. Walked around the kitchen, cried and his tail was quivering again - which was what it was doing the night he blocked.

I picked him up right away and brought him to his litter box (I think he might have been looking for it but his pen is in the living room.)

He took a pee almost instantly then went about his weird pattern of in and out peeing.

I opened the pen to check on him and he peed a little bit outside of the box.

Obviously he's peeing, so I don't think he's reblocked or strictured (besides, the vet pretty much said he thinks strictures are a slim to none chance at this point anyway and he's healed great) but I am worried he's ended up with another UTI.

I'm gonna call the vet in the morning to be on the safe side. He's settled down now though (as per usual after the in and out) and is just glaring at me for being in his pen.

I was looking at this on Amazon and was debating buying it, does anyone know anything about it? It's not a brand I'm familiar with but I thought maybe it would help. It's not on chewy though, which makes me a lil sus.

 

[purrtinent]

Krienze For a cat who had a urinary blockage, it's best to avoid giving them any dry food at all, and ideally feed them only grain-free canned food (with low minerals, 2% ash is good). If he's well hydrated at all times, you have much less to worry about.

For UTIs, IMO one of the best treatments is not cranberry (worth trying though), but colloidal silver. Colloidal silver (15ppm) for cats is very safe and will clear up any infection in the urinary tract.

Colloidal Silver For Cats UTI

Apple cider vinegar is also an interesting solution: Apple Cider Vinegar for Cat UTIs

Did they find any bladder stones or crystals in the urine ?

 

[fionasmom]

I'm gonna call the vet in the morning to be on the safe side

This is by far the best course of action given all that both of you have been through. If it were to be a UTI, supplements will not help. Some, such as D Mannose, will help to prevent an infection but will not be able to cure one that is already started.

 

[Krienze]

Krienze Krienze For a cat who had a urinary blockage, it's best to avoid giving them any dry food at all, and ideally feed them only grain-free canned food

He's eating the Hills C/D/Iams Urinary Tract Dry at the moment (The Iams was approved by my vet, it's even what he feeds his cat I found out.) However I'm also giving them Purina Pro Plan Urinary Tract wet food and he opts to eat that over the dry more, which is good. I have a shipment of his Hills C/D wet coming in, too. Thankfully. Hoping it gets here soon because trying to get it actually delivered to be has been a drag lol

Eating grain free foods has been their diet. Even on grain free wet food, Jasper and Mia both had UTI issues. Both of the vets I go to now have told me to just avoid trying to find grain free for them and just stick with urinary tract food, which I'm going to do because honestly i've always fed my cats "the best quality" grain free and we've always had problems x.x

Did they find any bladder stones or crystals in the urine ?

During his last visit? No. His urine was clear and good, that last tuesday and also when the weird tiny pees started so one of the vets thinks MAYBE it is a stress related UTI.

This is by far the best course of action given all that both of you have been through. If it were to be a UTI, supplements will not help. Some, such as D Mannose, will help to prevent an infection but will not be able to cure one that is already started.

Yeah, I was mainly just wondering if it's okay to give the cats. I haven't heard a thing about the brand and with it not being on chewy I'm kind of side-eye balling it a bit. I'm def still calling the vet!

Sadly looks like we got a hurricane coming through soon, so not sure we're going to be able to go out to have him checked. But we do have some orbax still. I'm just not sure if it's a good idea to give it to him without proper confirmation that he has a uti x.x

Think the bottle I posted is okay in general though? I've been very much looking to add any urinary health objects that I can to ALL of my cats diets x.x

 

[fionasmom]

Can you call the vet and, under the circumstances of the hurricane, ask what to do?

I don't know anything about that product and have never used cranberry based products with a pet although many do. I have always used D Mannose.

Amazon.com

 

[Krienze]

Can you call the vet and, under the circumstances of the hurricane, ask what to do?

I don't know anything about that product and have never used cranberry based products with a pet although many do. I have always used D Mannose.

Amazon.com

Yeah I'm gonna call here soon!

I ordered the D Mannose! I'll give anything a try to keep my furbabies healthy.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Usually when feeding a urinary diet it is best to only feed it and water. That’s it. Also stick with the same brand of food if you can. These diets are balanced to be fed as the only nutrition the cat gets. When mixed you can throw off the balance. Hard to explain.

 

[Krienze]

Hi. Usually when feeding a urinary diet it is best to only feed it and water. That’s it. Also stick with the same brand of food if you can. These diets are balanced to be fed as the only nutrition the cat gets. When mixed you can throw off the balance. Hard to explain.

The vet gave me the okay for the dry and wet he's eating, the only issue is he's supposed to be on the prescription atm but it just hasn't arrived yet x.x

Did call the vet today and they gave me the okay to give him some orbax since the storm is rolling in and even they will be closing during

 

[Krienze]

fionasmom - I just got my order of d-mannose in. Do you know if it's safe to give Charlie while he's taking orbax?

My plan is to keep him on it for a full week then re-evaluate with the vet if he still goes in and out of his box like a lil lunatic. I'd love to start giving him some of it in his food, though!

I

 

[fionasmom]

In humans, there are no known drug interactions, but since Charlie is on Orbax you might want to wait until he finishes that and then start the D Mannose. It is not an antibiotic, but a non-adherent which prevents bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall and creating an infection. It will not stop an infection which is already underway though.

 

[Krienze]

In humans, there are no known drug interactions, but since Charlie is on Orbax you might want to wait until he finishes that and then start the D Mannose. It is not an antibiotic, but a non-adherent which prevents bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall and creating an infection. It will not stop an infection which is already underway though.

Thank you!

I'll wait to start use it.

I decided to keep him on Orbax for at least a week. He was previously on it for 2 weeks, so I MAY take him back to the vet to see if he's cleared. I'm AFRAID to do that though because we think taking him to the vet last time caused a stress related one. So I'm over here eye-balling him like "You just GOTTA be a gremlin don't you?"

 

[Krienze]

I'm about to lose my mind with Graice.

Charlie has finally started showing interest in traveling outside of the kitchen to try and make it to the cat room to go to the bathroom and Gracie keeps CHASING him away. It's been a month and she's not showing any signs of losing her hostility toward him.

The other cats are totally fine with Charlie - save for Jasper hissing every so often at him (but no aggression)

Gracie's consistently been a bully with chasing Mia out of the cat room to the point where I had to put a litter box for Mia IN the kitchen -.-

I'm trying the feliway spray again, but since the diffuser did absolutely nothing I'm not very hopeful x.x My house is super open so it's hard to try 'reintroduction' via doors and stuff.

Just not sure what to do here.

 

[Krienze]

Sorry btw, not sure why that posted twice.

 

[Krienze]

Does anyone know why Charlie might pee outside of his box?

Is this something I should be concerned with?

This is the first time I've -seen- him do it (no idea if he's done it and i not notice in the pen...)

He got in his box twice, now he's walking around the kitchen, pausing, squatting a bit and peeing o.o

He then peed a few droplets on the counter, and then again while I carried him to his pen. Just squats and pees.

Vet tech I spoke with said not to give him more orbax. But I feel like he wasn't doing this while he was ON the orbax. He did the in and out litterbox thing, but not the peeing in other places thing

 

[rubysmama]

Peeing little amounts can happen with a UTI. But with all Charlie's been through, it could be something related to that. So if I were you, I'd call your vet and get their advice.

 

[Krienze]

Peeing little amounts can happen with a UTI. But with all Charlie's been through, it could be something related to that. So if I were you, I'd call your vet and get their advice.

Yeah, I love the emergency vet I called last night but I still called his normal vet this morning (the one who did his surgery)

It was a different vet I spoke with, but one I've spoken with before (and all the vets know Charlie/helped treat him)

She says she thinks it sounds like stress and that we should get him on the gabapentin again as soon as we can get it, doesn't sound emergent unless he STOPS peeing - but she really thinks the gaba will help. So soon as I get paid, we'll drive up and grab it.

 

[Krienze]

In an attempt to make sure he has access to more litter boxes, we have added a Metal Litter box to our collection x.x It has to be in the kitchen so I found a safe place for it AND it has a cover, so hopefully we'll minimize odor. It's an XL so I'm hoping he'll feel comfy in it. Also hoping the metal reduces risk of bacteria.

honestly I'm debating slowly transitioning to all metal litter boxes since I think they probably clean way better than the plastic ones.