Desperate For Post-catheterization Advice!

[motherof5cats]

I just got my youngest (4yrs old) boy back home after having a catheter put in due to suspicions of a urinary blockage. I say suspicion because I never actually saw him unable to pee, strain, never heard him cry out, I just noticed some pee in the bathtub. This wasn't really anything new, given that he is extremely picky with his litterbox and won't use it if one of my other 4 cats has used his. I should mention that I have 6 litter boxes for 5 cats, all spayed/ neutered, all indoor cats. Anyway, I had this intuition that I should get him checked out, so I took him to my "weekend" vet as I call him, given that he is cheaper than the animal clinic and I take my babies there for minor issues, like shots. The vet said that he wanted to check for a urinary blockage so he drugged him and inserted a catheter. According to him, he had a blockage so he inserted a catheter after unblocking him. I took my baby home and made sure he ate and drank water; granted he wasn't really interested in eating but to be honest, he is one of those cats that are thin even when perfectly healthy. After 72 hrs, I decided to take him to the animal clinic because I felt like I wanted a second opinion. The vet removed the catheter and told me that the other vet did a very poor job of inserting the catheter and sewing it on, as the penis and urethra are very irritated and inflamed; what's more, he said that he doubted that my cat even needed catheterization based on the symptoms described - I forgot to mention that my cat had a near- empty bladder when I took him to the first vet, which I found incredibly odd- and that I will have to be patient now as it will take some time to heal. The thing is that since I brought him home, he has been squatting and not peeing even though I can see and smell drops of urine coming out of his inflamed penis, and he doesn't have an interest in eating. I put some prescription diet food on my finger and put it in his mouth and he ate it just fine. It's been 9 hrs since the catheter removal and I am freaking out.. He is angry at his cone, can't or won't pee normally and won't eat! I felt his bladder and it seems to be filling up slowly and he even lets me put him in the Ragdoll position and help him flush his bladder but with no success. I have a feeling that it's not blocked as drops are coming out, but that he is in pain and hasn't found the strength to do it. I will take him to the vet by noon tomorrow, which is when his vet will be back at the clinic. Has anyone had similar experiences post-catheterization? I only feed them urinary food dry or wet and the stress in our household is minimal as they tend to bundle up and sleep all together. I hope that he won't be in a lot of pain tonight and that he will be better by morning.

 

[lalagimp]

Your experience is completely different from mine. Tom definitely blocked. The catheterization is 2 days at the hospital. When it's removed and he's peeing on his own, he comes home and he has buprenorphine and prazosin, for pain and spasm for a few days. No cone. We did this three times before we got the surgery. THEN HE WORE THE CONE, and didn't have the followup medications for me to administer.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I'm sure you are but definitely keep finger feeding him, for however long it takes to get a meal into him, and then next time et al til he's eating on his own. Can you get some goat milk?
Also rub some honey on his gums.

 

[motherof5cats]

Your experience is completely different from mine. Tom definitely blocked. The catheterization is 2 days at the hospital. When it's removed and he's peeing on his own, he comes home and he has buprenorphine and prazosin, for pain and spasm for a few days. No cone. We did this three times before we got the surgery. THEN HE WORE THE CONE, and didn't have the followup medications for me to administer.

I took him to the ER because I was freaking out. They'll keep him in overnight and try to catheterize him again; he doesn't have a blockage at the moment, but his penis is too swollen to allow any pee to be released (other than the few drops). I can't believe that this happened because I took him a different vet and now I am blaming myself.

Did you go for the PU surgery? Are you happy with the results?

 

[motherof5cats]

I am so grateful for the quick responses, this is the first forum that has been any help. Thank you so much!

 

[lalagimp]

Did you go for the PU surgery? Are you happy with the results?

He came through everything with flying colors. He never was very upset about the PU or the Cone of Shame. He was kind of lonely for the first two week being in the living by himself while the other cats were locked out, but once he got the stitches out he was great. I still left the cone on him another two weeks because of overly aggressive grooming, but he could navigate like a great explorer while wearing that thing. Jumped up on the bed like no one's business. After the surgery he wouldn't poop but about every 3 days and would pee once per day, until he got the hang of things, but no incontinence or accidents, always in his box.
I wish I'd been more educated the first time he blocked. I thought he was just constipated again, but after his father got home he ended up touching him around the side of his bladder and Tom screamed and ran back to the litter box and his father told me TAKE HIM TO THE ER, NOW. He'd been suffering for at least six hours, and you have a 12-24 window before serious damage can be done and they can actually die.

 

[motherof5cats]

Good God, I'm so happy that I took him to the ER. Thank you for the advice, it truly is gold. I've been thinking of resorting to PU as a last resort, but I've read quite a few positive outcomes. If it comes to that, I will most certainly opt for the operation. How long ago did he have it, if you don't mind me asking?

By the way, Tom looks a bit like my Mr Gray (named after Dorian Gray, just saying)

 

[lalagimp]

That's so sweet he's Dorian and not a Christian.
The PU is absolutely the last resort. We were at a rock and a hard place saying we could only pay for one more procedure, either a fourth block, or the PU, and could afford nothing after that. For three blockages and the PU we threw $10,000 at Tommy Gargoyle. His was February 2017. Fortunately he was already at a healthy weight as well, so that wasn't working against him. We try to keep him at 12 1/2- 13 lbs. He used to be 21 lbs until he was 4 years old. He was almost 8 years when he got the surgery. We cut him off kibble cold turkey on his first block.

 

[motherof5cats]

I just got news from the clinic. They said that the initial "blockage" was most probably not a blockage, which was my fear from the very beginning. The catheter wouldn't go in easily because he has a narrow urethral canal and pushing it probably created scar tissue. At this point he developed a UTI, won't eat unless I jab food in his mouth and has a severely swollen penis. The vet told me that he could keep him in the clinic for a couple of days with the catheter in, but in his opinion, the best solution would be to opt for the PU. I am 99% certain that we will do the surgery. It is costly, but in the long run, he won't have blockages and pain. He is 4 years old and has been thin his whole life, unlike my other bulkier cats.

 

[lalagimp]

Eesh.
So an improperly placed catheter mucked up his boy bits. I wasn't able to get Tom straight into surgery, so we left him at the ER for two days with the catheter in just to let things calm down and flow as they should. I was getting different estimates from $1500-5000. The cheapest did not provide any aftercare, so he would need a day or two back at the ER. My vet's office didn't have 24 hr staff for aftercare, and the only qualified staff hadn't done that procedure in over ten years. I ended up traveling an hour away and his surgeon was able to fit him in the schedule that week, over in Virginia, for $2300. They sent him home the very next evening, saying he'd already peed on his own. I dropped him off on a Wednesday morning, the surgery was around 12-1 pm, and he was picked up by 7pm Thursday.
Some places will require your pet stay for three days. I haven't really seen any consistency.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my goodness, I'm SO keeping my fingers crossed for you and your baby!!

 

[motherof5cats]

Thank you, we need all the prayers we can get.. Going into surgery tomorrow and hoping for a smooth recovery. Hopefully, he won't have any complications. I can't believe that the first vet I went to managed to make such a mess! My vet at the clinic said that the mistake made it a necessity, but even if it hadn't been made, he would have most likely needed the surgery in the future anyway.

 

[motherof5cats]

He's been at the ER since last night and will be released most likely on Friday, given that the surgery tomorrow goes smoothly. The whole procedure will cost me about 1k euro which is expensive, but I was expecting much worse. I got a discount because I own 5 furballs that have all visited that clinic for shots or minor discomforts in the past. Thank God

I am so disappointed in the first vet I went to visit. The vets at the clinic told me that once they sedated him last night (when he had a firm and full bladder but wouldn't pee) they managed to relieve him just by gently squeezing him. My poor baby didn't even have a blockage, he was just in a lot of pain and wouldn't push hard enough. All because of the first vet. To think that I took him there for a blood and urine test and ended up with this drama. All because he had the stupid idea to remove urine via a catheter and not by bladder paracentesis. I am at a loss and SO ANGRY at myself !! I felt like what he was doing was wrong but when I asked him why he is trying to catheterize him and why does he keep trying to push it in when the penis was extremely irritated from the fruitless effort at catheterization, he said that he had done this procedure countless times and that the important thing was to remove the blockage; but my baby WASN'T blocked, he was peeing, he just had a narrow urethra.. If he hadn't done this, I could have switched to an all wet food diet and consulted my vet at the clinic. But no, he made my baby suffer. Oh and he gave him Convenia which I am 100000% against. The whole thing is BEYOND me !! Ugh here comes the all caps rage. I feel like I am close to suing him I swear.

 

[lalagimp]

Make sure the vet performing the procedure already knows he's got convenia in his system so they don't double up. My surgeon's office gave it to Tom after the E.R. had already given it to him. If he does have a UTI, they can culture his urine and find out if he needs to be switched to Clavamox, but that med can cause diarrhea.
At least you're getting a leg up on his narrow urethra and getting him rewired, but still... what a bunch of bull.
If he gets a narcotic pain relief, his bowels won't perform in a timely manner until about 2 days after he's finished it.

Pfft. I wish I could have gotten away with 1000 euros. If I had insurance on this guy. Only $3,000 in premiums could have wiped out at least 60% of his bills, and this guy is a pro and running up vet bills since he was a kitten. This honeymoon we've had after his surgery might be the longest he's ever been without a vet visit being a necessity.

 

[motherof5cats]

Luckily I told my vet at the clinic about Convenia the moment I arrived there. The thing is, Convenia isn't considered a bad drug in Greece, which is where I currently live. People actually think that it's what the name implies: convenient. They are completely unaware of the horrible side-effects that it entails; not frequently, but still, why risk it?

I hope that everything goes well. My main concern is the surgery itself of course, but I hope that he starts eating normally post-op. He's already thin and a reeeeaaaally picky eater, so him not eating will be nerve-racking. Did Tom have a catheter after surgery? Did he pee/ poop and eat/drink normally?

 

[motherof5cats]

After the surgery he wouldn't poop but about every 3 days and would pee once per day, until he got the hang of things, but no incontinence or accidents, always in his box.

Whoops just saw that you answered about the pee/ poo part. My nerves are getting the better of me.

Still curious about the drinking/ eating part however, if you could please share your experience.

 

[Furballsmom]

I got a discount because I own 5 furballs that have all visited that clinic for shots or minor discomforts in the past.

whew. Good on you!!
Hang in there!!

 

[lalagimp]

With the cone on, he wasn't able to use the water fountain, so I would put bone broth and water into his wet meals so he'd get enough hydration. The first day I gave him smaller portions, and then the next day as normal. I would take his cone off for meals and then put it back on. He'd run from me to hide under the couch to try to get out of wearing the cone, but if his father was home, he would sit nicely for him while he tied it back on. Apparently mommy is a pushover.

I'm not sure what I wrote online, but here's the link with all the PU tags from the blog:
» PU Stop and Eat the Flowers

 

[baxtersmom]

Oh and he gave him Convenia which I am 100000% against. The whole thing is BEYOND me !! Ugh here comes the all caps rage. I feel like I am close to suing him I swear.

Wow, when I read what you wrote about Convenia I immediately went and looked up why you were against it. I know this is a cat forum and I've been on here because of my cats' health and the death of two of my kitties in the past 3 weeks, but last week I almost lost my beloved dog as well. He had a swollen prostate and the vet gave him not only Convenia but Rimadyl as well. It was touch and go for a week because his kidneys started shutting down. I assumed it was from the Rimadyl but now I realize it was from BOTH! And they never even told me before giving him the injections. He's still not completely back to his old self and I'm sure that's because the Convenia stays in their system for so long. I'll be putting him on a probiotic pronto. I'm so sorry for what you've been going through with your baby and I hope he gets to feeling much better very soon. We never imagine that sometimes the vets we take them to thinking they'll help them actually can hurt them. Now that I know about Convenia I'll be able to make sure neither my cats or dog ever gets it again. Thank you!

 

[motherof5cats]

Now that I know about Convenia I'll be able to make sure neither my cats or dog ever gets it again. Thank you!

I'm happy to have helped. I've been to numerous forums as well and honestly, the amount of invaluable information that I learned here is just jaw-dropping. There are so many kind souls all in one place that it's truly beautiful

I'm getting my baby home tonight! He's peeing on his own just fine, he's on pain meds and antibiotics if I understood correctly. He wants to come home real bad, he's screaming bloody murder when they attempt to open his cage. But to be honest he has ALWAYS been like that. I am literally the only person that he trusts. He won't take a pill orally from anyone, but when I give it to him he sits calmly and swallows it like a champ without fighting back. Thank God, because there will be quite a few pills involved now post-op