Grey tabby urine blockage

[sandcastles]

Ugh I'm so anxious I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight.
My little brother told me about a week ago that his tabby (Luther) was acting weird. He said that Luther was crouching down in a weird position and making weird noises. To be honest I thought nothing of it since Luther is a seriously strange cat. But tonight I heard my brother crying and freaking out... He told me that Luther needs to go to the vet cause Luthers penis is red and when he tried to urinate he wasn't able to and he was very uncomfortable when he tried to exam his penis.

So after further research I think he is blocked. I started to look for emergency vet clinics and when I told them how Luther was acting she told me to bring him in now and that the fee was going to be 150 just for the emergency fee. I got a very hefty estimate and I'm sort of panicking right now. As a family we've dished out some serious money for surgeries for our animals and I have no problem with the concept of paying for their health care but I really don't have any money to really pay..

I researched "vet billing" and found a vet clinic that is associated with it but they open at 8 AM tomorrow. It's a payment plan concept and that's really my only option right now (other than care credit) and I feel really horrible for waiting 9 hours to get Luther the help he needs. I've been checking on him ever half hour and he's just chilling in the living room. Yet every article I read about Luthers possible condition is terrifying me since all of them say "take your cat to the e vet NOW" but the e vet near my place demands the funds up front. I'm so nervous that when I take him to the vet that they'll tell me some incredibly expensive price and I'll be forced to put him down. He's just turned 4 and there is no reason for him to leave so soon.


It feels like I'm gambling with his life right now and I can't help it. I legit only have my $200 for absolute emergencies. (Which this is) and I know that the vet fees are going to be more than that. And care credit seems really shifty to me from all of the reviews and I doubt I will be accepted since I have minimal credit.

My mother is willing to help out but she'd be cutting into bill expenses and this is me living my worst nightmare. I know that this is a potentially life threatening situation for Luther and here I am fussing over the cost.. It makes me want to take back a lot of trivial things I've paid for like my college textbooks.

 

[fairycatmom]

Hi, my cat was blocked several years ago.

How long has he been unable to go?

CareCredit is a good company and I have had no problem with them. You can print out a paper card to bring to the vet. You can always bring him to the ER and then bring him to a regular vet when they open. I brought my cat to his regular vet when he had a catheter. You can also apply for help to RedRover https://redrover.org/redrover-relief-grants

You really need to take him in please

 

[fairycatmom]

Also, during his recovery-if he has STRUVITE crystals-you can use Methionine instead of a prescription diet http://www.1800petmeds.com/DL+Methionine-prod10355.html He is going to need to be on canned food for the rest of his life. For now please take him in and look at this forum it has some good information in it http://www.thecatsite.com/t/319080/cystitis-dexamethasone#post_4004316

 

[sandcastles]

I think it had been close to 48 hours. I put Luther in his crate and me and my brother drove to the vet clinic that opened at 7 am. Unfortunately they said that a doctor wouldn't arrive until 8:30. They referred us to another vet clinic around the corner and we took him in there. They said he was blocked and he needed to be stay there for a few days and brought out their estimate. It was nearly 3,000 and so they told me to apply for care credit which only approved me for $500. They told me all they could do was unblock him and that he still needed everything else to help him survive and I had my mom, older brother, father, and grandmother apply for care credit and they all got declined. I couldn't help but have a breakdown and crying fit.

I got referred to a cheaper clinic and I called and they were over booked until Thursday and I know Luther wouldn't last until then. I called another cheaper clinic and they said $500 to unblock him as well and that other prices may vary so I drove over there to see if they could help me. They examined Luther again and said the same thing the previous clinic told me. But they priced it to 500-1000 depending on if Luther can urinate afterwards or gets blocked again. But I said go ahead and do it and I put 250 of my own money down (asked my mom for $50) as a deposit. They ran blood tests and we had to cut out some other tests to get the price down but the tests came back as expected. So the doctor said that after they unblock him and get an IV in Luther they will retest him. He's staying overnight and they will be updating me over the phone and I'll hopefully get over there tomorrow to get him if all goes well.


I'm calling guitar centers and pawn shops to see who will pay the most for my guitar and I'm putting together some of my signed rare vinyls to see if they are worth cash at some record stores. they told me worst case scenario is that he can't get unblocked is they make him into a female. So I'm financial trying to prepare for the worse praying for the best.

 

[fairycatmom]

Hi,

You are so lucky, 48 hours is extremely dangerous! I know it is a hard lesson to learn. When this happened to my cat I did a lot of research and continue to do so. This is the number one problem of cats in our country all because of what we feed them. Red Rover helped me once, did you apply for help?

They are going to sell you a prescription diet, this is why I told you about the methionine because it will likely be less expensive than a prescription diet. You should ask the vet about it. It can also be bought online or in a supplement store. Methionine is what they put in most prescription diets to melt the struvite crystals as it acidifies the urine. I think the only test he really needed was a urinalysis. You need to know what kind of crystals he has. Does he eat dry food?

The best thing you can do for your cat is to be informed. There are many vets who don't like this, my vet at the time didn't even want to answer my questions about taking him off RC Urinary SO and moving him to canned, so I did it myself and he has been well for years now. He eats only canned food, actually all of my cats eat canned food only-the best thing you can do for your cats is to take them off dry.

I buy 12 can packs of 13 ounce cans online at Chewy or Pet360 of Canidae (green All Life Stages) or Triumph-I buy them when they are around $16 dollars a pack. It is only a little bit more expensive than the Friskies I had been buying (and my cats got sick from Friskies). Fish is bad for cats with crystals, so don't get anything with fish as the main source of protein.

Did you look at the thread I linked too? There is lots of information about monitoring with ph strips and a member posted to some you can get on Ebay for less than $3. Cats urine ph should be between 6-6.5. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/319080/cystitis-dexamethasone#post_4004316

My two main sources of help when my cat was going through this were Dr. Lisa Pierson and her website Catinfo http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth and Dr. Elizabeth M. Hodgkins and her book Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life. Dr. Karen Becker also has this video about cat bladder health http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...-Indicate-Your-Pet-has-a-Bladder-Problem.aspx

 

[fairycatmom]

Also, you have to monitor the ph and make sure it stays within 6-6.5 range and doesn't get below that or become too acidic. If if is too acidic calcium oxalate crystals can form and they are worse than struvites because they need surgery to be removed. Your vet should know what methionine dose he needs to dissolve any remaining crystals safely.

 

[lavishsqualor]

What a great custodian you are to Luther!  Your family is awesome, too, since they all tried to help. 

Crystals are just insidious. I've had two kidney stones in my life and you can't imagine the pain, so I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like for a cat.

Keep us in the loop.  And, again, you're a great guy for taking such good care of Luther.

 

[hellomisskitty]

I'm keeping Luther in my thoughts and prayers...you are so wonderful for going above and beyond to make sure he receives the medical attention he needs. Please keep us posted on how he is doing.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Any news about Luther? 

I've been wondering how you guys were doing.