Leaking Urine After Catheterization For Urinary Blockage

LeakyVega

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My 11 year old male neutered cat blocked for the first time 8 days ago. He spent about 2 days at the emergency vet where they had him catheterized for ~24 hours. They only found struvite crystals. He was urinating well on his own so they discharged him. The next day I took him into his normal vet because I feared he may have blocked again. He was using the litter box frequently, but was only straining to produce small drops or nothing at all. He had been dripping even while not in the litter box. She confirmed there was no blockage and was able to get a small stream on palpation. We did more tests and everything looked good. I took him in two days after that because he hadn't had a bowel movement since the day I took him to the emergency vet, which would have been 5 days afterward. We agreed it was likely the buprenorphine he hadn't had a break from in those 5 days. One enema later and he was 100% back to himself, except for the dripping/leaking. The emergency tech said he'd be dripping urine here and there for just a couple of days. Here we are 8 days later and he's still constantly dripping/leaking. He's living in an area of puppy pee pads with a litter box and water. I'm constantly changing out pee pads because he's soaking them fast. I mean, they're heavy just after a short while. I feel like he's definitely drinking more water than he used to. This is in addition to the wet food he's now eating (no more kibble, ever). He's eating well, happy, playful, and seemingly normal on all fronts. Doesn't seem to be in any pain. He has had small bowel movements in his litter box since the enema, however, for the past 2 days he hasn't been using the litter box to urinate, he's just constantly leaking. I don't know how long I should expect this. I'm reading conflicting information and I can't really get an answer out of the DVM. She just says his urethra is irritated and probably feels like a UTI, then there's the whole pain associated with the litter box. I just don't think he ever feels like he's got to urinate because he hasn't stopped leaking!

Would you mind sharing your experience after catheterization?
 

silkenpaw

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Is he leaking urine without trying to urinate? I mean, he doesn’t get in the crouching position, right? If not, then he’s incontinent. Either there is still an obstruction and he’s got overflow incontinence because his bladder is too full or his sphincter is not working. Why? Most likely, it got damaged during the catheterization. It may recover with time, I don’t know what the actual chances are, your vet should have access to that information.

Good luck with your guy, I hope he gets better.
 

di and bob

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I agree, the urethra gets very irritated and inflamed during catheterization, the bladder as well. Everything is swollen and may be damaged.i have seen this many timers with humans. It takes time, At least two weeks to a month. I would give it another week and if it hasn't slowed down, then call the vet again. is he on a antibiotic or any meds?
 
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LeakyVega

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Is he leaking urine without trying to urinate? I mean, he doesn’t get in the crouching position, right? If not, then he’s incontinent. Either there is still an obstruction and he’s got overflow incontinence because his bladder is too full or his sphincter is not working. Why? Most likely, it got damaged during the catheterization. It may recover with time, I don’t know what the actual chances are, your vet should have access to that information.

Good luck with your guy, I hope he gets better.
He's having regular bowel movements. His bladder isn't full, I've been taught how to feel for it. H
I agree, the urethra gets very irritated and inflamed during catheterization, the bladder as well. Everything is swollen and may be damaged.i have seen this many timers with humans. It takes time, At least two weeks to a month. I would give it another week and if it hasn't slowed down, then call the vet again. is he on a antibiotic or any meds?
He was taking buprenorphine and prazosin. He had an injection of an antibiotic when i took him into the normal vet two days after he came home from the EV. There is no infection. They did a urine culture before the catheter and then one after during the above mentioned visit. No infection present. He's also had 3 urinalysis done during this whole ordeal to monitor everyone else. He just had a normal, healthy bowel movement but doesn't even bother trying to wee in the box. I agree it's incontinence and I'm all for being patient, I just want him to have free run of the house again and not be soaked in urine all the time. I do what I can to clean him up and keep his area clean. Poor dude doesn't deserve this. I wished I never fed dry. I thought they were eating the best with Orijen. I learned a ton this past week. I don't think this will ever be an issue again knowing what I know now. We just gotta get through this.
 

di and bob

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Ah Ha! The prazosin is for relaxing spasms of the urethra, etc. call your vet and see if you can half the dose and see if taht helps. I think the medication is allowing the bladder, urethra, etc. to relax TOO much! But once again ask your vet first. I have seen this when cats are taking this medication before.
 
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LeakyVega

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Ah Ha! The prazosin is for relaxing spasms of the urethra, etc. call your vet and see if you can half the dose and see if taht helps. I think the medication is allowing the bladder, urethra, etc. to relax TOO much! But once again ask your vet first. I have seen this when cats are taking this medication before.
That totally makes sense, however, he hasn't been be on it for about 4 days now. I did call the vet and express my concerns about the leaking again, she will call me later today. I've talked to her in person twice last week since the blockage and she didn't seem to really say anything about it other than he's irritated and doesn't want to really push. I can agree with that opinion, but how long should the irritation persist for? I'll see what she has to say this time.
 

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I've never dealt with this situation myself so I can't tell you. But the vet should know, hopefully this is not the first time she's dealing with a cat that had been catheterized!

As far as food goes, a cat is less likely to get stones in his bladder if the urine is dilute. Cats do not drink a lot of water, so one way to get the moisture into them is by including it in food. That's where the recommendation for wet food comes from. If you think of what cats eat in the wild, it's closer to wet food than kibble.

I hope your kitty gets better soon. In the meanwhile, you can get him diapers so you can let him out of the wherever you are keeping him, at least part of the time. Here is a place I got diapers from for my paraplegic cat.
 

di and bob

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I have seen the irritation last for at least two weeks. Some cats take longer to heal than others, I hope and pray he gets better soon1
 
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LeakyVega

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I have seen the irritation last for at least two weeks. Some cats take longer to heal than others, I hope and pray he gets better soon1
Update overdue, sorry!
The vet had said that the Prazosin can take up to a week to clear out of the system. It took Vega about 2 weeks after we discontinued Prazosin to stop leaking. I had cleared out a room in the house and put in a large pet play pen to comfortably confine him in until he was healed. I taped large puppy pee pads to the floor, and then placed another layer of puppy pee pads on top of that so I could change them out. He didn't like being stuck in there, but it sure beat being confined to a 42" dog crate. The day that I submitted him to the EV I made the switch to ZiwiPeak canned food. He loves it. He's losing weight on it (was 22 lbs), no longer crying for food all the time, he's more active than I've seen him in years, and he's looking amazing.
 

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My 11 year old male neutered cat blocked for the first time 8 days ago. He spent about 2 days at the emergency vet where they had him catheterized for ~24 hours. They only found struvite crystals. He was urinating well on his own so they discharged him. The next day I took him into his normal vet because I feared he may have blocked again. He was using the litter box frequently, but was only straining to produce small drops or nothing at all. He had been dripping even while not in the litter box. She confirmed there was no blockage and was able to get a small stream on palpation. We did more tests and everything looked good. I took him in two days after that because he hadn't had a bowel movement since the day I took him to the emergency vet, which would have been 5 days afterward. We agreed it was likely the buprenorphine he hadn't had a break from in those 5 days. One enema later and he was 100% back to himself, except for the dripping/leaking. The emergency tech said he'd be dripping urine here and there for just a couple of days. Here we are 8 days later and he's still constantly dripping/leaking. He's living in an area of puppy pee pads with a litter box and water. I'm constantly changing out pee pads because he's soaking them fast. I mean, they're heavy just after a short while. I feel like he's definitely drinking more water than he used to. This is in addition to the wet food he's now eating (no more kibble, ever). He's eating well, happy, playful, and seemingly normal on all fronts. Doesn't seem to be in any pain. He has had small bowel movements in his litter box since the enema, however, for the past 2 days he hasn't been using the litter box to urinate, he's just constantly leaking. I don't know how long I should expect this. I'm reading conflicting information and I can't really get an answer out of the DVM. She just says his urethra is irritated and probably feels like a UTI, then there's the whole pain associated with the litter box. I just don't think he ever feels like he's got to urinate because he hasn't stopped leaking!

Would you mind sharing your experience after catheterization?
Hello ! I know is about 3 years since that happen,but my cat is dripping /leaking after blockage ,I am desperate ,I don'tknow what to do to help him .I asked at the hospital where he was unbloked but the nurse said this shouldn't happen . So I found your post now . My question is your cat recover from that ? how long after ? I need an experienced advice ! Thank you in advance!
 

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When was he catheterized? If it was just lately, the urethra is still inflamed and not working right. As long as he is urinating some, but it won't be as much since he is leaking, he should get better in a few days. Make sure he is eating and drinking as much as you can get into him, leave several little bowls of water around for him to 'find'. You still might get hold of your vet and see what you can do. In the meantime, try to get him to lay on puppy pee pads or some kind of towels that can be washed. To see if a cat has a blockage, press in on the lower abdomen with three fingers pressing on the flat pads, kind of like pressing in on a balloon. if you feel a round, firm mass in the lower abdomen it is a blockage, sometimes they get as big as an orange! If everything feels normal he is fine. You might feel around a little while he is normal to see what normal is like. If he acts like he is in pain, don't push hard at all. I really don't think this is a permanent thing, his urethra is just traumatized. Please keep us informed!
 

Jem

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Hi Alinaelmo Alinaelmo ,
My kitty was catheterized for a blockage. He had to be catheterized for almost a week. His blockage was due to cystitis (inflammation of the urethra/bladder). After taking him home, he was incontinent for close to 2 weeks, the last few days being more little drips rather than leaking. And it took over a month for his urination to be "normal" again.
He was put on several medications, one of them was a medication that was supposed to help with proper muscle tone...I'm sorry I can't remember the name.
I echo what di and bob di and bob asked...when was he catheterized? But I'll add, for what was he catheterized (blockage caused by what)?

I'm surprised that your vet said that this shouldn't happen...my vet told me right away that we would notice incontinence with him...which is why he was given the medications...
 

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I am so glad I came across this site - I have renectly had the week from hell with the same thing went in on Friday night a week ago with a blockage to emergency vet catheter in stayed the whole weekend and was released early Monday morning only to have to take him back Tuesday to my normal vet he drained him and he was going to litter box and peeing a very little - fast forward to this morning Thursday and I woke up to pee in the bed (he sleeps next to me sometimes - had to go to work and was checking the pet cameras all day - called vet and said to bring him back tomorrow morning before work - he is dripping per all over - emergency vet said I should just keep eye on him tonight rather than bring him in only to transfer him back to my normal vet tomorrow but the stress is high I can tell he is not sleeping fingers crossed I don’t know what to do at this point
 

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If I am reading this correctly, your regular vet wants to see him tomorrow morning. That is a definite. If you feel that tonight will be hard, take him to the ER for the evening and then transfer him. I see the ER vet's point, also possibly trying to save you some money, but use your best judgment. The ER vet is probably not equipped to do a complete diagnosis of complications. That does not mean that he is not a good vet, but that his specialty is getting his patients to the next step of routine or follow up care with the regular vet.
 
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