Oy I'm back with Pippin and his problems. We had a good 6 months of good health and now he has a new issue.
Yesterday morning my roommate woke me up telling me that Pippin was hunched over and straining and he was trickling pee on the carpet. I got up to check on him and he was still hunched over and peeing. I pressed on his tummy a bit and he peed more, then went to the litter box a few minutes later and had a nice big pee. He never pees on the carpet so I was concerned.
I called the vet and asked for clavamox for him since I thought he had a UTI. They asked me to come in so this morning I took him in and we just got home.
Last night he was ok-ish. He wasn't running back and forth to the box which is typical when he's having urinary trouble. He was a little sleepier and more lethargic, but not even that much and he did not feel hot. He was eating and drinking normally.
I took him in and during his initial exam the vet tech pushed on his bladder and he started peeing on the table. They were able to get a good sample straight from the source, so to speak! Some blood came out near the end of that.
Well he's full of crystals. He has Calcium oxylate and streuvite crystals!!!!
(
He's not blocked, which is good, but crystals are not. The vet recommended a diet change so I brought home Royal Canin SO. He has been eating crappy food because my roommate and I have 5 cats and so we feed a cheaper food. They've been eating purina cat chow and meow mix indoor food.
I got them to make a copy of the urinalysis and here is what it says:
Sediment: calcium oxylate + struvite +++
RBC's + WBC's
Spec. Grav: >1.035
Urobilinogen: Norm
Glucose: Norm
Ketone: Norm
Bilirubin: Neg
Protein: ++
Nitrite: Neg
Leukocytes: ++
Blood: +++
pH: 7
I don't really understand any of that, but I know that this is a common problem so I'm hoping some of you can advise me.
For those of you with crystal kittys, what do you feed? What exacerbates the situation?
Pippin was in this past summer with constipation which was followed by a UTI and then more constipation. His urinalysis then was clean.
I mentioned to the vet about having a Perineal Urethrostomy to basically turn his penis into a vagina and keep him from getting blocked, but the vet said we should try food change and see if he clears up the crystals. If he gets blocked, the vet said we could go ahead and do the PU at that time. I'd rather do the PU sooner rather than later because I think the risks associated with it are more palatable then a constantly reblocking kitty. What do you all think? Has anyone has a PU done? What were the pros and cons of it?
Pippin ALSO has a heart murmur, which could be a problem during a surgery, so for that reason I'm trying him on the food first too.
Has anyone had ANY luck with a grocery store or less expensive brand urinary health food? If I could find one that was less expensive AND it would also not affect the other kitties negatively, I'd be interested in getting that for the feeder and then feeding pippin twice a day separately with the prescription food.
I'm very worried about my little boy. He never has small issues, only large expensive ones. He seems to be feeling ok and also ate some of the new food, which is nice. I was afraid he'd turn his nose up at it.
Devlyn
Yesterday morning my roommate woke me up telling me that Pippin was hunched over and straining and he was trickling pee on the carpet. I got up to check on him and he was still hunched over and peeing. I pressed on his tummy a bit and he peed more, then went to the litter box a few minutes later and had a nice big pee. He never pees on the carpet so I was concerned.
I called the vet and asked for clavamox for him since I thought he had a UTI. They asked me to come in so this morning I took him in and we just got home.
Last night he was ok-ish. He wasn't running back and forth to the box which is typical when he's having urinary trouble. He was a little sleepier and more lethargic, but not even that much and he did not feel hot. He was eating and drinking normally.
I took him in and during his initial exam the vet tech pushed on his bladder and he started peeing on the table. They were able to get a good sample straight from the source, so to speak! Some blood came out near the end of that.
Well he's full of crystals. He has Calcium oxylate and streuvite crystals!!!!
He's not blocked, which is good, but crystals are not. The vet recommended a diet change so I brought home Royal Canin SO. He has been eating crappy food because my roommate and I have 5 cats and so we feed a cheaper food. They've been eating purina cat chow and meow mix indoor food.
I got them to make a copy of the urinalysis and here is what it says:
Sediment: calcium oxylate + struvite +++
RBC's + WBC's
Spec. Grav: >1.035
Urobilinogen: Norm
Glucose: Norm
Ketone: Norm
Bilirubin: Neg
Protein: ++
Nitrite: Neg
Leukocytes: ++
Blood: +++
pH: 7
I don't really understand any of that, but I know that this is a common problem so I'm hoping some of you can advise me.
For those of you with crystal kittys, what do you feed? What exacerbates the situation?
Pippin was in this past summer with constipation which was followed by a UTI and then more constipation. His urinalysis then was clean.
I mentioned to the vet about having a Perineal Urethrostomy to basically turn his penis into a vagina and keep him from getting blocked, but the vet said we should try food change and see if he clears up the crystals. If he gets blocked, the vet said we could go ahead and do the PU at that time. I'd rather do the PU sooner rather than later because I think the risks associated with it are more palatable then a constantly reblocking kitty. What do you all think? Has anyone has a PU done? What were the pros and cons of it?
Pippin ALSO has a heart murmur, which could be a problem during a surgery, so for that reason I'm trying him on the food first too.
Has anyone had ANY luck with a grocery store or less expensive brand urinary health food? If I could find one that was less expensive AND it would also not affect the other kitties negatively, I'd be interested in getting that for the feeder and then feeding pippin twice a day separately with the prescription food.
I'm very worried about my little boy. He never has small issues, only large expensive ones. He seems to be feeling ok and also ate some of the new food, which is nice. I was afraid he'd turn his nose up at it.
Devlyn