My Experience With Blockages and PU Surgery

[nellyjuke]

Coco doing well & managed to poop on Friday without repercussions. No straining or bloody wees afterwards. Fingers crossed we are on the up now. Back to vets tomorrow for check of surgery wound & if ok the cone can be removed.

He's eating well, starting to wander round getting up to bit of mischief and sleeping lots. His favourite place is under the radiator, perhaps to keep his shaved bum warm!

 

[pisces7386]

Awesome!

 

[fergiefurr]

IMG_5839.JPG

• fergiefurr
• Feb 9, 2017

. 4 months since surgery today. Just got groomed today. Coat rotation is happening and his hair is finally starting to grow.

 

[lazer]

. 4 months since surgery today. Just got groomed today. Coat rotation is happening and his hair is finally starting to grow.

What a gorgeous boy!

 

[lalagimp]

After Tommy's first catheterization he came home with a very irritated penis and was leaking urine everywhere. He smelled so bad when we got him back. He blocked Nov 30 16. He was back under control within 3 days. He was on Prazosin and Buprenex for about a week.
We immediately put the males on a raw diet, but he blocked again last month and they sent him home with slight blood in his urine. He was great that night: full of energy, hanging all over me and getting loves, sleeping with me on the dining room floor, eating, peeing... Until the next day
By noon he was hiding under the bed and not eating and getting less and less out in the litter box.  He was blocked again. 2nd time in 48 hours. Third time within 90 days. We were up to about $6000+
Decision was made to get the PU done because if he blocked one more time it was another $2000 to fix, and wouldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen again, so we did the $2400 and took him to a hospital in Virginia and had the procedure done.
He's got his stitches out. He's made it to the box each time. He just gets in trouble when he tries to groom because his groin is still sensitive and he'll start bleeding, so he's staying in the cone another 2 weeks.
The first time he blocked his pH was 8 and they said he had crystals. The second time he blocked his pH was 7 and they couldn't tell me if there were any crystals. The third time he blocked he had hemorrhaging in his bladder, clogging up the pipes.
So for the last two weeks we've been adding a lot of blood and bone broth to his raw for fluids, and cranberry extract twice a day for these two weeks. Now he's on 1 dose Tuesday and Saturday. When he's healed and we're finally done with the paper pellet litter we have bags of "Pretty Litter" which will change colors depending on the condition of the urine so we may have an easier time monitoring him.

So that's how Tommy Gargoyle was blocked and how we've got to where we are today. People keep saying a wet diet will almost guarantee you won't get another blockage, but that's not how my bub turned out. It's stressful. You don't know where you'll get the money from and you don't know when the treatments will finally be too much to bear and then you get to worry worry worry about your baby.

 

[fergiefurr]

I'm also feeding raw. I add extra water to every meal for extra water intake. I'm also using filtered water. As it looked as it was our hard water that caused the issue in the first place.

 

[rupertg12]

This forum has been my go-to for information about all things PU. It has comforted me through many sleepless nights and now I need some help.

Short history: my husband and I's cat, Houdini, experienced 2 blockages in fall 2015. After the 2nd one, we moved forward with the PU surgery in December 2015. We began to feed him a combination of wet food and dry food - hill's prescription s/d. After almost a year (we thought we were in the clear), we noticed Houdini exhibiting some of the same behaviors he started when getting blocked. We immediately took him to the vet and was given some medication to help him urinate. 6 months later...we noticed blood in his urine. When we took him to the vet, they found struvite crystals in his urine and provided us with medication. Things were going well until last night when he was meowing a lot and straining to urinate. When I woke up in the morning to check on him he was exhibiting ALL behaviors from when he was blocked. We immediately went to the ER.

Now we are being told he has stones. He is currently getting unblocked since the stones are stopping him from urinating. They will then do surgery to take out the stones. From there, we will find out what kind of stones they are. I asked the doctor what causes stones since we have been feeding him the prescribed food. She said a lot is unknown about the right diet for cats that get blocked.

So...what do you feed your cat? Is a raw diet recommended? I'd love to hear from you and help us get through this fork in the road.

Thanks!

 

[nellyjuke]

This forum has been my go-to for information about all things PU. It has comforted me through many sleepless nights and now I need some help.

Short history: my husband and I's cat, Houdini, experienced 2 blockages in fall 2015. After the 2nd one, we moved forward with the PU surgery in December 2015. We began to feed him a combination of wet food and dry food - hill's prescription s/d. After almost a year (we thought we were in the clear), we noticed Houdini exhibiting some of the same behaviors he started when getting blocked. We immediately took him to the vet and was given some medication to help him urinate. 6 months later...we noticed blood in his urine. When we took him to the vet, they found struvite crystals in his urine and provided us with medication. Things were going well until last night when he was meowing a lot and straining to urinate. When I woke up in the morning to check on him he was exhibiting ALL behaviors from when he was blocked. We immediately went to the ER.

Now we are being told he has stones. He is currently getting unblocked since the stones are stopping him from urinating. They will then do surgery to take out the stones. From there, we will find out what kind of stones they are. I asked the doctor what causes stones since we have been feeding him the prescribed food. She said a lot is unknown about the right diet for cats that get blocked.

So...what do you feed your cat? Is a raw diet recommended? I'd love to hear from you and help us get through this fork in the road.

Thanks!

 

[nellyjuke]

So sorry to hear you're going through this again, it's so stressful. I'm early in the healing process with Coco. He had PU in December 2016, after two failed attempts to flush blockage. Post surgery he went on Royal Canin SO urinary wet diet. He also got calcium levels investigated, which is idiopathic. Been on steroids since & ok so far. Have they checked the calcium levels? As high calcium causes the stones to grow, which then causes the problem.

Stay strong & keep us updated. Big purrs from coco.

 

[nellyjuke]

Here's my coco now grooming me!

 

[webmiss]

Rupert , I would switch him to royal canin urinary so. They offer both wet and dry options. The food is a lifesaver, it breaks down stones, I've seen it myself. My poor guy had the pu surgery, constant bladder infections, and countless surgeries to remove the stones. Once on royal canin , no more stones, no more problems.

Now all my cats eat Royal canin uninary so and has prevented any issues in my cats, both my younger cats have never had a problem ever on royal canin.

Good luck!

Ps. I haven't heard very good things about hills cat food.

 

[lokipuss]

This forum has been my go-to for information about all things PU. It has comforted me through many sleepless nights and now I need some help.

Short history: my husband and I's cat, Houdini, experienced 2 blockages in fall 2015. After the 2nd one, we moved forward with the PU surgery in December 2015. We began to feed him a combination of wet food and dry food - hill's prescription s/d. After almost a year (we thought we were in the clear), we noticed Houdini exhibiting some of the same behaviors he started when getting blocked. We immediately took him to the vet and was given some medication to help him urinate. 6 months later...we noticed blood in his urine. When we took him to the vet, they found struvite crystals in his urine and provided us with medication. Things were going well until last night when he was meowing a lot and straining to urinate. When I woke up in the morning to check on him he was exhibiting ALL behaviors from when he was blocked. We immediately went to the ER.

Now we are being told he has stones. He is currently getting unblocked since the stones are stopping him from urinating. They will then do surgery to take out the stones. From there, we will find out what kind of stones they are. I asked the doctor what causes stones since we have been feeding him the prescribed food. She said a lot is unknown about the right diet for cats that get blocked.

So...what do you feed your cat? Is a raw diet recommended? I'd love to hear from you and help us get through this fork in the road.

Thanks!

Poor Houdini and his humans !!! My heart goes out to you all; it's such a difficult time. Have you visited Dr. Lisa Pearson's website, catinfo.org ? She recommends even the cheapest wet food over ANY dry kibble. I also had a horrible time with my Loki as he blocked 4 times within 2 1/2 months. One vet told me it wasn't the dry food (which I'm convinced that it was the major contributor!) another told me to feed him wet food only and make sure it was primarily meat, not potatoes, corn, blueberries, etc. I settled on Ziwipeak, Fussie Cat (fish, I know, right..) and Feline Natural. I would immediately take him off of hill's prescription wet food, those foods are used for a brief time only, not a lifelong diet. I would love to invest the time to make raw; but my job demands don't allow it right now.

Lisa has wonderful information on her website and she saved Loki's life. He's been stone free since October 29, 2014.
I grew up on a small farm with at any given time had 15-16 cats. We didn't feed them dry food, they were "barn cats" and occasionally had table food scraps, if the dogs didn't get them first. Never heard of a male cat blocking until Loki blocked the first time.

With all that being said, I truly hope your Houdini has a speedy recovery!

 

[lalagimp]

I would love to invest the time to make raw; but my job demands don't allow it right now.

It's a drag unless you're full of self awe over what you're accomplishing for your cats. I'm almost over it. I know I can make it. I know how to feed my boys... but it's taking 2-3 hours including the 30 minute bake. by the end of the year I'm probably going to just hire Darwin's Pet to ship me some

 

[fergiefurr]

Raw feeder here. A moisture rich food (wet or raw) is best. Water - An Essential Nutrient for Our Cats' Health

How Much Water Do Cats Really Need????


Feeding for Urinary and Kidney Health - Feline Nutrition



Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection

 

[kittahluva1011]

Hello all! So glad to have stumbled across this website/thread! I have read through some of it and plan to read more.

My 5yo cat Izzy is in the hospital now, going to get PU surgery done.

He has had urinary issues in the past, leaking....peeing on beds....not often, just when stressed. I thought it was just stress/behavioral. We had no clue about blocking until recently. We went on a three-day vacation in early May. Had a relative come by to feed our cats(we also have a 2yo female Scarlet) and we thought they would be fine. Once we came back, however, Izzy was not himself. Crankier, not wanting cuddles like usual. Otherwise, he seemed himself. I wish I had paid more attention.

Last Monday, I noticed him walking and sitting weird. By Tuesday evening, he was lethargic and leaking urine. Took him to a local animal hospital and found out he was almost completely blocked. They kept him for a few days, unblocked him. He urinated for them twice yesterday morning so I picked him up yesterday afternoon. He was so happy to be home. Despite Scarlet hissing at him, from him smelling different lol. But, by evening again, he was constantly running to the litter box, straining to go, and began leaking urine again on the floor. We took him back to the vet, where they noticed he was still very tender and tense. Likely blocking again already. We discussed surgery. Decided to go for it, rather than keep unblocking him and running up even higher bills by constantly bringing him back.

I'm very nervous, hoping he pulls through. A coworker of my husband's just lost a cat from this same issue. He made it through surgery but took a turn for the worse overnight. So, that doesn't help our stress level. But I told my husband last night either he doesn't get the surgery, and we eventually have to put him down from constant blockage trauma...or gets the surgery and *likely* recovers and makes it through. Other than the blockages and crystals in his urine, he is a healthy active cat.

It helps reading about other's experiences and what to expect from all of this. Thanks all! We will definitely be doing the best we can for Izzy cat and making sure we change his diet to a healthier one. I'm actually kind of upset that this might have been prevented had we known it was a possibility. It's sad to me how common this is for male kitties.

 

[maggiedemi]

Does he eat a lot of dry food? This happened to my cat, so I had to limit the dry food to under 1/2 cup, and increase the wet food. I don't know what they are putting in the dry food these days, because this never happened to my childhood cats growing up. They ate as much dry food as they wanted, and caught their own wet food (mice, birds).

 

[kittahluva1011]

Does he eat a lot of dry food? This happened to my cat, so I had to limit the dry food to under 1/2 cup, and increase the wet food. I don't know what they are putting in the dry food these days, because this never happened to my childhood cats growing up. They ate as much dry food as they wanted, and caught their own wet food (mice, birds).

Yes, I never realized the need for wet food. All my cats growing up had dry food with no issues. But all my childhood cats went outside too. My cats are strictly indoor. But I thought as long as they had access to water, they'd be fine. We fed our cats Science Diet, recommended by our vet, until they started throwing up a lot on it. Switched to Blue Buffalo, thought it was better since it says it's grain free and full of meat. No issues on it, except this now. :/

I feel stupid now. But hoping our guy makes it through and we can do better now for our cats.

 

[maggiedemi]

Yes, my cats are indoor now too. I don't know if it's because my childhood cats had access to birds or mice or if they are putting something different in the dry food nowadays, but they never blocked. If you do feed some dry food, please make sure to measure it and keep it under half a cup, or maybe switch to urinary dry food. And lots of wet food. Good luck! Let us know if he pulls through.

 

[kittahluva1011]

Yes, my cats are indoor now too. I don't know if it's because my childhood cats had access to birds or mice or if they are putting something different in the dry food nowadays, but they never blocked. If you do feed some dry food, please make sure to measure it and keep it under half a cup, or maybe switch to urinary dry food. And lots of wet food. Good luck! Let us know if he pulls through.

Thank you! He made it through surgery. I'm supposed to call in a few hours to get an update. The Dr who performed the surgery seemed very kind and even went in on his day off to operate on Izzy.

They told me if he pees for them today, we can take him home tonight. That seems kind of soon? If all is well and they want to send him home we are going to ask if they can keep him until tomorrow. My niece is getting married this evening. We can't skip it so short notice. And we can't bring our cat home from surgery and then immediately leave him alone for hours. :/ Means more cost, but at this point what's a little more debt? lol

Lastly, the vet said they recommend crating the cats as they heal to prevent injury. I'm not sure what size crate. I plan to ask.

 

[maggiedemi]

Glad he came through the surgery okay. I know other members have used those huge dog crates that fit a litter pan and bed. Have fun at the wedding. I know it's so stressful when our fur babies are sick.