Kitten with urinary tract blockage

Zara12345

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Hello everyone. I am Zara and I recently adopted a kitten who seems to be having a urinary tract obstruction. I got him about a week ago and noticed that he was a little swollen "down there" but it wasn't very apparent so I ignored it. He eats well, plays well and goes to the toilet (he was also given a dewormer a few days ago).

Two days ago he seemed to be having a fever and he seems to be having a fever now as well. He would occasionally come to me and meow like as if he was in pain and I have been trying to figure out what was wrong but he barely showed any sign of illness apart from the fever (even now he's fine as usual) and I noticed that he was still kinda swollen down there. He does wince when I examine him there too.

I have contacted all the vets around me and they are all closed and they will only open on Monday. I am really worried and I have no idea what to do. I am suspecting that he could be having a urinary tract obstruction but I am not sure. If anyone has any suggestions or advice please help.
 

avasimone

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check the litter box a couple times an hour and track his pee and liquid consumption. if he's not peeing, and/or he's having trouble walking, or showing signs of more extreme pain, take him to the emergency vet it will be expensive but that kind of thing is life threatening
 
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Zara12345

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He never drinks water so I've been force feeding him water every few hours. Honestly I don't mind the cost but there are no emergency vets near me; I've contacted everywhere and they're all closed.
 

Stargirl0623

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Unfortunately, a full urinary obstruction (or "blocked cat") IS an emergency that needs attention as soon as it's found.

The most common symptoms are a cat struggling to pee, crying in the box, lethargic, distressed, tender around the lower tummy, licking themselves, straining a lot with nothing (or with only droplets) coming out. If you see these signs, please don't wait until morning, don't pass go. They need access to a vet NOW, even if it's inconvenient for you to get there. If he's still urinating, you may be dealing with some type of GI upset from the dewormer; if he's not, he needs immediate care. If you're not sure, please err on the side of caution!

Cat kidneys and bladder just don't handle getting backed up well. In as little as 24 hours, organs can start shutting down as waste products back up into the bloodstream and the bladder can actually threaten to rupture. It's a very painful way to go. If you suspect that's what's going on, you should NOT try to ride this out or fix this at home--usually they need to be surgically unblocked with a catheter.

A full blockage is treatable the majority of the time and these cats can go on to have long, happy, healthy lives, but when it occurs an emergency situation will develop quickly and get very scary, very fast. I just almost lost my own boy to this, and he went from fine to actively dying in a matter of hours.
 
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fionasmom

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This is definitely an emergency. Even if this ends up not being a true blockage, you have a young cat with a fever and pain and that is enough to try to find him some medical care. If it is a blockage, you may not have the weekend to figure this out.
 
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Zara12345

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I am trying my best to find a vet even in the neighbouring towns; still haven't found one but I am still looking.

Update: I have been observing Percy for the past few hours and much to my relief, he peed a couple of times! So this should mean that its not a full obstruction right?
 

fionasmom

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It could. Is this a sufficient amount of pee that you think his bladder is emptying itself? If it is small drops, repeated attempts or returns to the litter box, or straining, it is not enough. If it seems like he is relieving himself, that is a good sign as far as a blockage goes, but he still needs to see a vet as soon as you can get him to one as there are other things at play.
 

Stargirl0623

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I am trying my best to find a vet even in the neighbouring towns; still haven't found one but I am still looking.

Update: I have been observing Percy for the past few hours and much to my relief, he peed a couple of times! So this should mean that its not a full obstruction right?
Yes, that's very positive! As long as a substantial amount of pee is coming out and he can deliberately produce a stream of it, that's a good sign. You need to watch for more than just the occasional droplet and still treat it as a potential blockage if you're watching repeated attempts that finally produce a small amount after significant effort (when my cat was blocked, he would dribble uncontrollably sometimes; there technically was urine being produced but it was nowhere near enough and not under his control, rather it was physical pressure forcing small amounts out around the blockage whenever it shifted enough to allow it).

That said, however, even a suspected partial blockage still needs evaluation and treatment as it probably has an underlying cause that needs help. Until that's addressed, it could still easily and quickly progress to a full one with very little warning.

So, I still very strongly recommend seeking vet attention as soon as possible--from what you've described, even if his urinary tract is okay, that kitten definitely doesn't sound well and you want to find out what's going on sooner rather than later!
 
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Zara12345

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**UPDATE**
Hello everyone. First I want to thank all of you for all the support and care you've shown these few days.
So on Sunday morning my kitten Percy started becoming a lot worse. I was seriously worried, helpless and had no idea what to do but the previous day I had posted on a local group that I was looking for a vet. From the few contacts that I got, I managed to contact a vet who came home, did a physical exam on him and administered a general antibiotic and some inflammatory medication (sorry if my medical terms are not on spot). He seemed ok for a while but got worse later. At night, he seemed completely drained but was still eating. When I checked on him a couple of hours later he seemed a lot better but I was still very worried and anxious so I slept with him that night (I would wake up a few times in the middle of the night just to see if his chest was rising and falling).

Today morning I rushed him to the vet and the vet seemed pleased with his condition saying that the antibiotic that was administered the previous day had just started kicking in. He also said that he couldn't quite pinpoint what the exact problem was because his bladder was quite small *surprise surprise! No urinary tract obstruction* and also prescribed antibiotics for the next four days to fight off any infection in his body. He also asked me to keep an eye on him and assured me that he was going to be OK.
He is currently catching up on all his grooming after having his favourite meal and seems to be getting better.
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Stargirl0623

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**UPDATE**
Hello everyone. First I want to thank all of you for all the support and care you've shown these few days.
So on Sunday morning my kitten Percy started becoming a lot worse. I was seriously worried, helpless and had no idea what to do but the previous day I had posted on a local group that I was looking for a vet. From the few contacts that I got, I managed to contact a vet who came home, did a physical exam on him and administered a general antibiotic and some inflammatory medication (sorry if my medical terms are not on spot). He seemed ok for a while but got worse later. At night, he seemed completely drained but was still eating. When I checked on him a couple of hours later he seemed a lot better but I was still very worried and anxious so I slept with him that night (I would wake up a few times in the middle of the night just to see if his chest was rising and falling).

Today morning I rushed him to the vet and the vet seemed pleased with his condition saying that the antibiotic that was administered the previous day had just started kicking in. He also said that he couldn't quite pinpoint what the exact problem was because his bladder was quite small *surprise surprise! No urinary tract obstruction* and also prescribed antibiotics for the next four days to fight off any infection in his body. He also asked me to keep an eye on him and assured me that he was going to be OK.
He is currently catching up on all his grooming after having his favourite meal and seems to be getting better. View attachment 398991View attachment 398987
Oh, he's absolutely adorable! I'm very glad to hear that his bladder seems to be okay and that the meds seem to be helping--the combo of a general antibiotic and anti-inflammatories will cover a lot of bases and potentially fix a lot of issues, so it's a solid move if they can't tell exactly what's wrong.

Fingers crossed the little guy is now on the mend and he'll recover fast!
 
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Zara12345

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Oh, he's absolutely adorable! I'm very glad to hear that his bladder seems to be okay and that the meds seem to be helping--the combo of a general antibiotic and anti-inflammatories will cover a lot of bases and potentially fix a lot of issues, so it's a solid move if they can't tell exactly what's wrong.

Fingers crossed the little guy is now on the mend and he'll recover fast!
Thank you! He's doing so much better now!
 
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