Penis Removal (blockage)

[Laney_Jane]

This is why i ended up with the method i currently use. At first i changed my guy to solely wet prescription diet food. It worked but the cost was high. It was $35 per week roughly.

Eventually over time i tested different things. I was reluctant to try dry food, even though it was designed for this issue just because i knew that water intake is especially important for this problem. It however worked just as well as the wet food. I then tried re introducing normal wet food back in to his diet while each day giving him a small amount of the biscuits. He has been crystal free ever since.

I buy a 3.5kg bag of royal canin urinary S/O. It costs around $70 and last for around 3 - 4 months and that is giving it to 2 cats.

What i do is feed them both normal wet food twice a day and in between those 2 meals give them both a small amount of the royal canin biscuits.

Not sure if i made it clear before but my cat had this problem BADLY! he fully blocked twice, had the perenial urethostomy and still got bad crystals until i started the above.

I have never used any pill form of medication. I assume it is just to increase the acidity of the urine and re balance the PH which the prescription food will do on it's own. There is another form of urinary crystal where the urine is actually too acidic but it is much more rare.

I think everyone is afraid of the cost of permanent prescription food for their pet but in this case a small amount added to their normal diet will most likely be sufficient so it doesn't end up costing much more than you are already paying for food anyway. The way i do it costs me at maximum $6 per week for 2 cats.

Thank you so much this is so helpful. I think gizmo has hasld enough! He has been 4/5 times for being blocked and usually it us steuvite crystals for him. He is in the vets today so I will discuss the removal option in more depth, he mentiobed it yesterday. So watch this space!

 

[fodder]

Talk to him about whether this op will solve his problem or just mean that he won't get blocked.

As far as i can tell you will still have to look in to some sort of diet change anyway. The Operation will stop blockages from happening but if your cat gets crystals after the op it will still be very painful for him. It's not something you can just leave them to deal with. If you can solve the underlying cause then it will be much better.

My suggestion would be to try him out on the diet before having an op. If it works you will have saved yourself the cost of the operation and all the trauma for your cat. There can be complications with any op and ideally you want to turn to them as a last resort. I think you might be able to turn this around with just food. Remember, you will still more than likely need a special diet for him regardless of the op.

 

[Laney_Jane]

To everyone who's replied and has had the removal.... What were the side effects you experienced?

 

[Furballsmom]

No side effects other than his being cranky when I have to do a hygiene trim just under his tail. Although he's becoming less so as time goes on and he finds I don't hurt him.

 

[maggiedemi]

No, I just use regular canned food, not prescription.

 

[Tdizz11]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. My 3 year old, Dalton, had the PU surgery in November. He was ONLY fed canned food his whole life and he suddenly became blocked. After, I think, 3 blocks, we did the surgery. It's a tough month post op but everything is great now(knock wood). This site helped me a lot through the tough times.
20 years ago I had a male cat who had one blockage, probably when he was around 8 years old. As soon as we switched him to canned Fancy Feast, we never had another problem.
In most cases it's the dry food that causes it but if you do the surgery, you should still feed him canned from now on.
Poor boy. I wish you luck. The surgery is a life saver. Dalton does not seem to care about the absence of his penis. He's back to his normal self again. Now when he pees, it's like a race horse! They learn how to adapt. The personality does not change. My other male cat acts exactly as he always acted towards him and it's no big deal.

 

[fodder]

To everyone who's replied and has had the removal.... What were the side effects you experienced?

Possibly the only side effect is that you will have to clean him up yourself now and then and just ensure the area is clean. My cats personality didn't change however he does fear the vet visit more

As i was saying previously though, the surgery helps to stop blockages but it won't get rid of the crystals. My vet sort of gave me the impression that it was a choice between doing the surgery or feeding him prescription food for the rest of his days.
In reality, even after the op, if he has crystals you need to change his diet. He won't get blocked but peeing blood is never a good thing. Also if the PH in the urine is off balance for too long you can get other issues going on.

 

[lalagimp]

Tom didn't have any complications afterwards. Some people have said their males get incontinence and end up dribbling small amounts that they don't have all their control over. During his recovery he would pee 1 time per day and poop 1 time about every 3 days. We have still made adjustments to his diet even with the surgery. No dry food. Don't care if it's marked C/D or S/D, if it's dry, it's gone. He gets home made raw food and I spoke to Dr Pierson from catinfo.org and we lowered the bone content in his formula further, to make it less likely that struvite crystals can build. Just because the crystals can come out without emergency intervention, doesn't mean that aren't uncomfortable.

 

[Laney_Jane]

Ok. The little guy has done it! Fingers crossed for his recovery! The vet said he has been a little devil so they liked seeing him calm down when I popped in today. He looked so poorly

Onwards and upwards now, thanks for youe help everyone! Xx

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[fodder]

Good to hear he is doing well and good luck with the recovery.

 

[Laney_Jane]

A little update from gizmo....

He did well for two days after the op. A little blood and urinating in the litter like normal. However, the last two days have been hell. Every time i turn my back he has peed somewhere ridiculous . . Inside my packed suitcase, in his bed, on my work on the table, on his cushion /bed, on ME! Vet said this is 'normal' but I cannot live like this. Any tips before I pull all my hair out and cancel any more work trips??!!

 

[fodder]

It is hard to say exactly what is going on. It could just be side effects from the op.

It could be that every time he pee's it hurts at the moment which means he will associate where ever he went with pain and not want to go in that spot again.

As i mentioned earlier, The op does not fix the problem, It just stops blockages. He may still have crystals that are irritating his bladder causing him to pee where ever he stands. Cystitis can cause them to have less control over their bladder and they can very suddenly get a desperate urge to pee.

You mentioned he had blood in his urine. Are you sure that is from the operation? Seems more likely that it would be from crystals still in his bladder. Check carefully after he urinates and see if you can see any crystals.

You could also do a PH test on his urine. If it is any higher than 6 - 6.5 then there is a good chance that crystals will form.
You can get PH testing kits from places like amazon or probably your local vet.
Or ask your vet to do it for you.

You could also try the apple cider vinegar + cranberry mix i mentioned earlier. If he seems to get better soon after having it then it is almost certainly still a crystal issue.

Your vet will be able to give you the best advice available. Let them know whats going on and ask them for any tips.
I would love to be of more help but in all honesty my cat never experienced anything like this after his op.

 

[Laney_Jane]

Spoke to a different vet. This is completely normal and apparently he does it to make his pain known because he is sore and feeling upset. She said he should be ok as it gradually heels. I always knew I had a very sensitive cat, that's why he got the crystals so much in the first place, but perhaps other cats aren't so dramatic and sensitive to the procedure. Oh well, he's got me for another few days to nurse him since I ended up moving my flights!!

 

[fodder]

Aww. Your poor baby It really sucks when they are in pain and there is not much you can do. At least it is good news that everything is normal. I hope he starts to feel better soon.

I guess if someone chopped my willy off id let them know i wasn't happy to

Luckily he has a great parent in you that is willing to do what it takes to look after him. Good on you

 

[di and bob]

Get a lot of puppy pee pads, or even the bigger human ones to cover furniture, etc. and protect them Put one where he sleeps too. You might have to confine him to one room if it persists, until he learns to use the litter box again. I would have several litter boxes around.I think this will all quit as he heals, it is still early.
I'm wondering if he could have a bladder infection now. If he peed on a pad, maybe they could check that for infection?
Please keep us updated!

 

[karush111]

My cat had the operation at about the age of 7. The vet tested the crystals and found he was unlikely to respond to a change in diet although we did put him on a kidney diet to reduce the stress on the kidneys. The first operation caused some scaring and failed to open the urethra enough and he needed an additional procedure. Once he had the procedure he never had another issue with kidney crystals, but he was prone to urinary tract infections for the rest of his life. This is caused by the more exposed urethra. If you do not keep on top of these it can lead to kidney damage. He lived to the age of 17 and died from Kidney failure which I feel was a success story. The vet was very good about monitoring his kidneys because of his medical history so we caught the problem with his kidneys early on and I was able to treat him and slow the progression.

 

[fodder]

My cat had the operation at about the age of 7. The vet tested the crystals and found he was unlikely to respond to a change in diet although we did put him on a kidney diet to reduce the stress on the kidneys. The first operation caused some scaring and failed to open the urethra enough and he needed an additional procedure. Once he had the procedure he never had another issue with kidney crystals, but he was prone to urinary tract infections for the rest of his life. This is caused by the more exposed urethra. If you do not keep on top of these it can lead to kidney damage. He lived to the age of 17 and died from Kidney failure which I feel was a success story. The vet was very good about monitoring his kidneys because of his medical history so we caught the problem with his kidneys early on and I was able to treat him and slow the progression.

That is very interesting. Any idea why your vet thought he would not respond to a prescription diet?
As far as i am aware there are 2 main causes for bladder crystals. Both of them involve the PH levels in the urine and one is far far more common than the other. In both cases a diet that balances the PH levels generally fixes the issue. Yours is the first case i have heard of where the diet was not recommended.

You said he was prone to UTI after the operation. What were the signs he exhibited when he had a UTI post OP? I often worry about the fact the the urethra is more exposed after this operation.

My cat has had a sneezing issue for about 2 years. Antibiotics fix the problem but when they are stopped it returns. I often wonder if the root of the problem could be an infection elsewhere. So far the vet has not been able to find the cause(After many many tests and thousands of dollars). I guess it is doubtful that a bladder infection wold cause sneezing but it is something else to look in to at least.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[karush111]

To be honest this was over 15 years ago. We may have switched food and it did not stop the blockages. I also thought that calcium can be related to kidney crystals. I believe that is the type that responds best to dietary changes (or is that just humans?). After the surgery the vet said that he had an unusually narrow urethra which did not help matters. The UTI symptoms were somewhat similar to the crystals... Frequent urination and not producing much urine. If you see blood in the urine the infection has reached the kidneys. They are like humans once they get UTI more infections are likely. I would be highly surprised if the sneezing is related in anyway. More likely related to opportunistic bugs to a weak system. I just adopted a kitten who has had UR problems from day one. Again something that can be chronic.