Post catheter/FLUTD behavior

[mason94]

Hi everyone

My 2 yr old cat Diego was admitted to the emergency animal hospital a few days ago, no vet around me would take him without an apt and I could see that he really needed medical treatment. He had been showing some signs of a UTI for a few days but then he seemed better, he was playing and eating and seemed like it had cleared up. Monday morning he was very lethargic, not eating, vomiting and making a strange howling noise when he'd move or I picked him up. Since we couldn't get a vet to see us we had to wait and take him to the emergency vet (only open 6pm-8am).

They took in immediately due to the fact he wasn't able to urinate all day and the fore mentioned signs. He had some crystals and blockage, they gave him a catheter and they said he was ok to come home after the 2nd night there. This cost us $1300, which luckily we had or I don't know what we would've done... It cleaned out our emergency saving account. Anyhow, we picked him up yesterday in the am. We were told he would still have some blood in his urine but weren't told much else. He's eating, but seems to want nothing to do with his water. I've changed water bowls, put a few around the house. Since I haven't seen him drinking any, I put some water in with his canned food to ensure that he's getting some fluids.

My question is basically "What is normal behavior after this kind of procedure?" He's licking himself still and some what struggling to pee but I've been told that is normal because of inflammation. I'm mostly concerned with his not wanting to drink water. I can't afford another emergency vet trip if I'm just being overly cautious. I've never had a cat go through this so I'm pretty much clueless

 

[peaches08]

Since you're adding water to his canned food (terrific!), he may not drink much if any from his water bowl.  Be sure to monitor pee balls in the litter box and if something isn't right, back to the vet he goes.

 

[mason94]

He wasn't drinking, from what I could see, that's why I mixed some of the wet food with water. I know he needs fluids right now and want him to get enough 

 

[andrya]

l have no experience, but l've read posts from others who have done exactly what you're doing. lf he's eating only canned foods with water mixed in he's getting good water intake and may not drink from the bowl. l would keep it on offer though.

Monitor his litter-box trips carefully. Fingers crossed he stays well 

 

[shawna1979]

I've being going through a similar situation regarding keeping my cat hydrated, and it was recommended to me by The Animal Hospital of Morris Park to give my cat smartwater by oral syringe. Per Kat she recommended 3ml 3-4 times a day to keep fluids up and to replace electrolytes.

 

[mason94]

I seen him drinking some water yesterday, which I was thrilled about. But now I have new concerns because he seems to somewhat incontinent now. I watched him pee a little bit yesterday when he was laying on the kitchen floor. And then I woke up to two decent sized puddles of urine tinged with blood on my kitchen floor. Should I be scared? I was told that he would still have blood in his urine though

 

[peaches08]

Has he peed in the litter at all?  Are they normal sized?  I'd call the vet with your findings.

 

[mason94]

there's been some in the litter, but we have another cat so unless I'm watching him "go" I really don't know who did what. The biggest puddles were on the floor though, which I know are his b/c of the blood. I'm a nervous wreck, analyzing everything he does. The hospital we took him to doesn't open till 6 pm and it's only 11 am now. I just really hope it's normal and he's ok now

 

[peaches08]

Your regular vet is closed, and the ER opens at 6 pm?  Well, for him to go outside of the box says he's uncomfortable to me.  Is another vet open?

 

[mason94]

Nobody will take him without an appointment and there's only two regular vets around me. That's why we had to take him to the emergency night time hospital, the vets around here turned us away without an appointment.

 

[peaches08]

That is awful!  I realize what I'm about to say sounds crazy, but what about neighboring counties?  Maybe start calling those vets? 

 

[mason94]

I did call one in a nearby city when we were trying to get him care, give them his symptoms and they said they would call us back but NEVER did. The emergency hospital is a 30 min drive, without traffic, maybe 45 min with traffic. They have been the only ones who will help these poor sick animals around here. It's shameful. But the vets where I live only have ONE vet on duty, that's why they won't take an emergency cases

 

[peaches08]

Well, I guess the best you can do is watch him until tonight.  If he gets to where he is straining and cannot pee, scoop him up and walk into an open vet's office.  Stand up for your kitty if you have to.  Gosh I hope you don't have to but if he needs emergency help then you may have to fight for it.

I sure hope these vets around you never have an emergency themselves.  Sheesh.

 

[cocheezie]

The emerg clinic in my city is open at night, but it is also open 24 hrs over the weekend. Try calling the emerg clinic and see if you get an answer.

If you can't take him in until tonight, leave a message on their answering machine if you can, and be at the clinic's door at 5.45. They may open to the public at 6.00, but someone has to come in early and boot up the computer, etc.

 

[mason94]

OK, so here's an update; He seemed to be in too much pain and still straining to pee. I called the emergency vet and told them the situation and they said bring him back in. We wanted a second opinion so we found a nearby vet who luckily was open today. They told us to bring him in with his paperwork. A few things were very wrong with his situation. The emergency vet did NOT do a urinalysis or send out for cultures (which was on our bill). The new vet looked at his radiograph and ultrasound plus did her own, and COULDN'T see any crystals in either. His penis is very inflamed so she says it does appear to be a bad UTI. He is extremely backed up (constipated) and he was during his emergency trip. They didn't mention this or give him anything for it. Also, the emergency vet had neutered him. Not that we mind, but we were unaware that he did it. It's the only thing he didn't charge us for. The new vet got him to urinate, did the proper tests, gave him a time released pain reliever, plus some injections to hydrate him, gave us something to help him go # 2, and told us to not feed him the Royal Canin. They gave us some Purina RX. Hopefully this helps my little guy because he's been through so much this last week. We go back Weds, fingers crossed that he gets a proper diagnosis and makes a full recovery.

 

[cocheezie]

Crossing fingers and paws for you.

 

[elise1030]

Sorry but what on earth was the vet thinking! Neutering your cat without your informed consent?? What if it was a cat you intended to breed etc. That statement alone has made me angry above all else!
I do hope that your kitty is doing okay. Keep a close eye on him and keep in contact with the vet.
Good luck!!

 

[mason94]

Well another update; He still wasn't doing any better, still straining to pee and not pooping, bloody penis. His appetite still wasn't the best and he wasn't drinking water, so we took him back yesterday because she said she wanted to do an enima. OH AND HIS CULTURES WERE CLEAR. She wanted to keep him overnight and do a full blood work panel, another cath and IV, etc. I'm going to get him today but as of now she says he still isn't pooping! So therefore she didn't give him an enima. My boyfriend is the one who talked to her so I'm unclear of what their exact conversation was. We are paying all this money and yet nobody seems to be doing anything to help. I'm just so frustrated that I want to bawl my eyes out. We're now at $2400 and still don't know what in the world is wrong with him or how to fix it...

I'm going to ask some questions when I get to talk to her but for now I'm just at such a loss

Any idea would be greatly appreciated because I don't have any more...

 

[peaches08]

Any new news?

 

[mason94]

They have been back and forth but now the new vet agrees that he has FLUTD and believes he did in fact have crystals that the ER dissolved. She said to keep giving him some miralax, which I did. And has been pooping since I brought him home. She believes it's a behavioral thing going on and that stress brought on the crystals. She wants him on an anti depressant, but we're on the fence about that. He's eating ok now but not drinking a whole lot, I've given him some water via a dropper and always put water in his food. But if he has any more trouble then he will most likely need the PU operation. He's going to the litter less frequently but still growling/ meowing at times, even when not in the litter. There hasn't been any more blood on his penis. I don't want to get too optimistic but for the time being I'm hoping he's ok.  Fingers crossed that he is finally ok