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- Apr 8, 2012
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hi everyone, i'm new here. i decided to join after one of my cats fell ill recently and i'm looking for any and all advice and help in keeping him happy, healthy and alive. we almost lost him and it made me realize how much i need to learn in order to keep him as long as possible.
my husband, daughter and i are proud owners of two 4 year old cats- slippers is our male and pudge is our female, they are siblings. we've had them since they were 4 weeks and have lived very healthy lives since, they're affectionate, well behaved and over all happy kitties. since they were old enough to eat kibble, they have been free fed dry food daily and yes, it was cheap supermarket food (terrible, i know that now). they were my first cats ever so i didn't know much about cats. last week, slippers started vomiting up his food out of the blue and i noticed his litter habits were off, he was going in and out every 10 or so mins and sitting in there for several minutes, looking rather uncomfortable and producing nothing. he still ate a little and was walking around, almost seeming normal, but in my gut i knew something wasn't right. my husband kept saying he probably had a tummy ache and to let him go til morning. i'm so glad i didn't. i trusted my instinct and called my vet, we rushed him there to find out he had a severe urinary blockage, she told us another 12-24 hours that way and he would have died, she said we had to catheterize or euthanize because he can't suffer that way any longer. luckily we have some wonderful people in our lives who helped financially as well as a vet who worked out a payment arrangement. he was catheterized and came home 4 days later. the doctor prescribed hills prescription diet s/d canned for a few weeks then he'll switch to c/d for life. the vet said his urethra and bladder were pretty bad and he had "grit" blocking him. he seems to be doing great so far, his litter habits are seemingly back to normal, no vomiting and when i check his belly it feels nice and soft. however, he doesn't care for his new food, which i'm sure switching to wet from dry is a big change and will take time, but the vet said he ate it no problem when he was there, but now that he's home he will even choose to eat the dogs food over his canned food. i've tried heating it up and adding tuna water, parmesean cheese, catnip and even a bit of crushed up dry food, but nothing. he will lick at it, but not eat much to feel satisfied (in my opinion, maybe it does fill him up but he eats considerably less than when he ate dry food so i can't imagine he's satisfied). since it would be easier on us and healthier for her, we have to switch pudge too, who is more resistant than slippers. is there any other tips and tricks someone can offer me to help the transistion?
also, after we found out his diagnosis, i went crazy researching everything i possibly could so i knew what was right and wrong in dealing with this now possibly reoccurring, painful and expensive condition. i read that grain free and by product free wet food is best for urinary problems but the first ingredient of his new hills food is pork by products and it also contains wheat, flour and rice. is it really ok for him to be on this food now? i read that there is nothing comparable to hill's s/d for dissolving urinary blockages and that i can switch to something else instead of using the c/d when it comes time. is this true? i don't want him to reblock, i don't want additional health issues and to be honest, hill's is crazy expensive. but if it's what he truly needs and what is really best, i will do what i have to do to keep my kitty.
lastly (sorry this is so long lol), while slippers was gone at the vet, pudge, who is usually a low key, quiet and rather laid back and anti social cat, started coming out and following us around, wanting to be held and pet a lot. when he came back she resumed hiding and also, started hissing at him whenever he walked by, which she NEVER did before. is it because of his new smells from the vet? i'm hoping this stops soon because it breaks my heart. if it would help to bathe them both so they have equal smells i would (yes, my cats don't mind baths haha) but i'm not sure if it's ok to bathe slippers yet, i know he didn't have surgery perse but they did stitch the catheter in for the 2 days he had it.
i'm really looking for any and all advice in making sure slippers, and pudge, can lead healthy, happy, normal kitty lives as long as possible. it would be ideal if everything can return to normal and they can be totally on wet food by next month and getting along again. i am 8 months pregnant and when baby comes i fear i won't be able to dedicate as much time to regulating their eating habits, as hard as i will try. we have 2 cats, 2 dogs and a 3 year old as it is, i am a busy mom and wife so needless to say, i need some help making my life a little easier too. thanks for all the help!
my husband, daughter and i are proud owners of two 4 year old cats- slippers is our male and pudge is our female, they are siblings. we've had them since they were 4 weeks and have lived very healthy lives since, they're affectionate, well behaved and over all happy kitties. since they were old enough to eat kibble, they have been free fed dry food daily and yes, it was cheap supermarket food (terrible, i know that now). they were my first cats ever so i didn't know much about cats. last week, slippers started vomiting up his food out of the blue and i noticed his litter habits were off, he was going in and out every 10 or so mins and sitting in there for several minutes, looking rather uncomfortable and producing nothing. he still ate a little and was walking around, almost seeming normal, but in my gut i knew something wasn't right. my husband kept saying he probably had a tummy ache and to let him go til morning. i'm so glad i didn't. i trusted my instinct and called my vet, we rushed him there to find out he had a severe urinary blockage, she told us another 12-24 hours that way and he would have died, she said we had to catheterize or euthanize because he can't suffer that way any longer. luckily we have some wonderful people in our lives who helped financially as well as a vet who worked out a payment arrangement. he was catheterized and came home 4 days later. the doctor prescribed hills prescription diet s/d canned for a few weeks then he'll switch to c/d for life. the vet said his urethra and bladder were pretty bad and he had "grit" blocking him. he seems to be doing great so far, his litter habits are seemingly back to normal, no vomiting and when i check his belly it feels nice and soft. however, he doesn't care for his new food, which i'm sure switching to wet from dry is a big change and will take time, but the vet said he ate it no problem when he was there, but now that he's home he will even choose to eat the dogs food over his canned food. i've tried heating it up and adding tuna water, parmesean cheese, catnip and even a bit of crushed up dry food, but nothing. he will lick at it, but not eat much to feel satisfied (in my opinion, maybe it does fill him up but he eats considerably less than when he ate dry food so i can't imagine he's satisfied). since it would be easier on us and healthier for her, we have to switch pudge too, who is more resistant than slippers. is there any other tips and tricks someone can offer me to help the transistion?
also, after we found out his diagnosis, i went crazy researching everything i possibly could so i knew what was right and wrong in dealing with this now possibly reoccurring, painful and expensive condition. i read that grain free and by product free wet food is best for urinary problems but the first ingredient of his new hills food is pork by products and it also contains wheat, flour and rice. is it really ok for him to be on this food now? i read that there is nothing comparable to hill's s/d for dissolving urinary blockages and that i can switch to something else instead of using the c/d when it comes time. is this true? i don't want him to reblock, i don't want additional health issues and to be honest, hill's is crazy expensive. but if it's what he truly needs and what is really best, i will do what i have to do to keep my kitty.
lastly (sorry this is so long lol), while slippers was gone at the vet, pudge, who is usually a low key, quiet and rather laid back and anti social cat, started coming out and following us around, wanting to be held and pet a lot. when he came back she resumed hiding and also, started hissing at him whenever he walked by, which she NEVER did before. is it because of his new smells from the vet? i'm hoping this stops soon because it breaks my heart. if it would help to bathe them both so they have equal smells i would (yes, my cats don't mind baths haha) but i'm not sure if it's ok to bathe slippers yet, i know he didn't have surgery perse but they did stitch the catheter in for the 2 days he had it.
i'm really looking for any and all advice in making sure slippers, and pudge, can lead healthy, happy, normal kitty lives as long as possible. it would be ideal if everything can return to normal and they can be totally on wet food by next month and getting along again. i am 8 months pregnant and when baby comes i fear i won't be able to dedicate as much time to regulating their eating habits, as hard as i will try. we have 2 cats, 2 dogs and a 3 year old as it is, i am a busy mom and wife so needless to say, i need some help making my life a little easier too. thanks for all the help!