Help! My cat can't urinate

Angell21

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My cat has not been able to urinate for 3 days now. I took him to the vet 2 days ago. The vet did a needle decompression of bladder and gave him an NSAID injection. Although he has attempted a few times he has still yet to urinate. I can not afford a huge ER bill. I feel really bad for him. Does any one have any advice on what I can do, any will help, please. Thank you
 

klunick

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What jcat jcat said. Bladder can only hold so much before it burst. Urine inside the abdomen will kill the cat.
 

di and bob

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Does he strain often and nothing comes out? Does he cry when he tries? He needs to go back to a vet, get the urine out, and get started on an antibiotic to clear up the infection. Three days is way too long, get him in ASAP. The vet should have tested the urine to see if there was bacteria, call him and see what he did and to inform him of what is happening. He shouldn't charge you as much for a followup. I'm sorry but he needs to get in right now or he will die......
 

BlackCatOp

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In addition, urine contained waste products. Blocked cats end up with dangerously high potassium levels that can cause heart arrhythmias and death (even if bladder does not burst).

How do you know your kitty hasn’t urinated?

I ask, as it is common for an owner to go to work in the morning and return to a dead cat in the evening when their cat is blocked. In other words, cats that can’t pee for ~24hours are typically very sick/dead.

Your litter box may not have urine in it but I don’t believe your cat could go three days without peeing.Watch your cat closely, make sure he/she is not going else where.

However I will also point out, pets are a luxury and if you are unable to afford medical care for you cat, you probably should not own one. Pets rely on us for their daily and emergency needs and those costs should be considered prior to assuming pet ownership.
 

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Unable to urinate is a life threatening emergency. Your cat will become septic and die if the bladder is not emptied. Please get your cat to a vet. Call your regular vet or any other vet in your area. No one here on TCS or the Internet can empty the cat's bladder. Be wary of anyone who claims to have a home remedy or something to help the cat pee.

See if you can get financial help with the vet bills from one of these places:

 
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Angell21

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Does he strain often and nothing comes out? Does he cry when he tries? He needs to go back to a vet, get the urine out, and get started on an antibiotic to clear up the infection. Three days is way too long, get him in ASAP. The vet should have tested the urine to see if there was bacteria, call him and see what he did and to inform him of what is happening. He shouldn't charge you as much for a followup. I'm sorry but he needs to get in right now or he will die......
No crying, he does appear to strain when he attempts. Also the vet did follow up via telephone. Like I mentioned I did take him its been one and a half days now. The issue as I stated in my previous post is the financial inababiliy to pay what the vet and ER are charging and the Vet also mentioned her pricing would have not been any different. I understand it is a serious situation. I was asking if active knew of any alternative therapy I guess. I'm sure many can relate because of this pandemic finances are scarce at the moment. I an the only one working in a household of 4. Thanks for your reply.
 

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At the very least your cat needs to be started on an antibiotic, please call the vet and get one for a urinary tract infection. Over the phone, price should not be much, my last one was under 25.00. I give meds mixed in Delectables Lickable treats from Walmart in the stew, NOT the bisque. I have not had a cat refuse this yet.
 

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It may also be crystals, which are a whole other thing altogether. You really need to get him diagnosed to see what the problem is. If money is an issue then try one of the links that LTS3 posted.

If it turns out to be a UTI and a common antibiotic like penicillin or amoxicillin can be given (ask your vet about one of them if they prescribe something else), take the prescription to a Meijer pharmacy and they will fill it at no cost. You may need to also buy a pill cutter though, often when I get prescriptions filled they only have 250mg tablets and I have to cut them into pieces. I've heard that Publix, Sam's Club, Winn Dixie, and Reasors also offer certain antibiotics at no cost with a prescription but I've not been to any of them myself.

That's if you are in the US though, not sure if there are pharmacies in other countries that do that.
 
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Angell21

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Does he strain often and nothing comes out? Does he cry when he tries? He needs to go back to a vet, get the urine out, and get started on an antibiotic to clear up the infection. Three days is way too long, get him in ASAP. The vet should have tested the urine to see if there was bacteria, call him and see what he did and to inform him of what is happening. He shouldn't charge you as much for a followup. I'm sorry but he needs to get in right now or he will die......
[/QUOTE
The complexity of the entire situation was understood as well I am aware of the severity of this and am in no way insensitive to the potential, ultimate outcome, the point was financially I was unable to pay for an ER or my Vets plan with placing a catheter. Understand, I was not sitting on my thumbs here, after countless hours of research I have found an animal hospital that worked out a payment plan for me and appeared very promising and no way completely irrational on the price that was quoted to me by Affordable Pet Care in San Antonio. The price I received by VCA Animal Hospital was very reasonable. They were amazing! Thanks for your response
 
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Angell21

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It may also be crystals, which are a whole other thing altogether. You really need to get him diagnosed to see what the problem is. If money is an issue then try one of the links that LTS3 posted.

If it turns out to be a UTI and a common antibiotic like penicillin or amoxicillin can be given (ask your vet about one of them if they prescribe something else), take the prescription to a Meijer pharmacy and they will fill it at no cost. You may need to also buy a pill cutter though, often when I get prescriptions filled they only have 250mg tablets and I have to cut them into pieces. I've heard that Publix, Sam's Club, Winn Dixie, and Reasors also offer certain antibiotics at no cost with a prescription but I've not been to any of them myself.

That's if you are in the US though, not sure if there are pharmacies in other countries that do that.
It was in fact crystals, Dr Johnson at VCA Animal hospital and his crew just updated me with great news. Thanks for your response
 

klunick

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It was in fact crystals, Dr Johnson at VCA Animal hospital and his crew just updated me with great news. Thanks for your response
I had a cat that would block constantly even with prescribed food. They ended up doing the surgery to side-track the penis and gave him a girl pee hole. Hopefully just a change in diet will resolve your cats issue.
 

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The vet should also be giving him fluids to help clear the crystals. In the future, feed him wet food and add a tablespoon or two of water to the food and mix it in. Crystals form when they don't get enough water, and they can be very stubborn about drinking. The surgery is the last resort, but it does work. A cat's penis has such a small hole that the crystals can't get through. It's also very painful, which makes the cat even more reluctant to urinate.
 

Talien

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Glad to hear that you were able to get him taken care of. If you are feeding him dry food please ditch it and feed him wet food only, as that will help decrease the chance that he will get crystals again.
 
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Angell21

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My cat has not been able to urinate for 3 days now. I took him to the vet 2 days ago. The vet did a needle decompression of bladder and gave him an NSAID injection. Although he has attempted a few times he has still yet to urinate. I can not afford a huge ER bill. I feel really bad for him. Does any one have any advice on what I can do, any will help, please. Thank you
Update: I want to thank everyone for responding to my post. My cat was released yesterday and is recovering with a catheter in place. Tomorrow he will return to the hospital to have catheter removed. 💕
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