Hello, my part Bengal, Ben is only 20 months old and has sturvite crystal build up, he is currently in the vets for 3 days, the catheter has been in twice, each time he is blocked and cant pee, he wont eat either, i am worried that he wont even be home today, what happens next?, the bill is going up and we have nearly got to the insurance limit for this year, i dont know if they will still have to keep him in, not sure what happens next, thanks
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struvite worry
- Thread starter zonkford
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Hi. I am so sorry you are going through this with your cat.
Just want to clarify that I am not a veterinarian. The best person to ask these questions is your veterinarian, since they are the ones who have the knowledge and training and have examined your cat. So, the following is just my opinion and my personal views and not to be taken as medical advice.
Feline urinary disease is complex. What I think you are describing is that your cat had a urinary tract obstruction caused by struvite crystals, or there was a high struvite crystal count in his urinalysis.
It is normal for a cat to have some crystals in their urine, but an excessive amount can cause issues.
Urinary struvite crystals are most likely to grow in alkaline urine. Urine with a high ph. Different types of crystals can form in acidic, low pH urine. S as l though I have seen struvite crystals in acidic urine before and vise versa.
Diet plays an important role in the pH of cats urine. There are prescription diets for cats that are fed temporarily to dissolve struvite crystals by acidifying the urine. There are other prescription diets that can help maintain a pH balance in the urine that can be fed lifelong. Many of these diets contain salt to encourage the drinking of water.
Water intake, proper hydration is one of the most important factors to consider with any urinary tract problem in cats. especially crystals. If you think of an 8oz glass of water that has 2 oz of water in it and 3 tbsp of sand in it. Imagine that you need to pour that sand water solution through a small funnel. It most likely will occlude the funnel with sand. But, think if it was 8 oz of water instead of 2, it would most likely be able to be poured through. That is what you want to do. Dilute the urine and it will help prevent obstructions with crystals.
In my experiences, it seems like cats fed a dry diet cat food become blocked more often, But this is just something I have noticed. The veterinary prescription diets come in canned and dry formulas. provided your cat will eat the canned. I feel canned food is better.
More in a little while
Just want to clarify that I am not a veterinarian. The best person to ask these questions is your veterinarian, since they are the ones who have the knowledge and training and have examined your cat. So, the following is just my opinion and my personal views and not to be taken as medical advice.
Feline urinary disease is complex. What I think you are describing is that your cat had a urinary tract obstruction caused by struvite crystals, or there was a high struvite crystal count in his urinalysis.
It is normal for a cat to have some crystals in their urine, but an excessive amount can cause issues.
Urinary struvite crystals are most likely to grow in alkaline urine. Urine with a high ph. Different types of crystals can form in acidic, low pH urine. S as l though I have seen struvite crystals in acidic urine before and vise versa.
Diet plays an important role in the pH of cats urine. There are prescription diets for cats that are fed temporarily to dissolve struvite crystals by acidifying the urine. There are other prescription diets that can help maintain a pH balance in the urine that can be fed lifelong. Many of these diets contain salt to encourage the drinking of water.
Water intake, proper hydration is one of the most important factors to consider with any urinary tract problem in cats. especially crystals. If you think of an 8oz glass of water that has 2 oz of water in it and 3 tbsp of sand in it. Imagine that you need to pour that sand water solution through a small funnel. It most likely will occlude the funnel with sand. But, think if it was 8 oz of water instead of 2, it would most likely be able to be poured through. That is what you want to do. Dilute the urine and it will help prevent obstructions with crystals.
In my experiences, it seems like cats fed a dry diet cat food become blocked more often, But this is just something I have noticed. The veterinary prescription diets come in canned and dry formulas. provided your cat will eat the canned. I feel canned food is better.
More in a little while
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
thanks,i think i feel differently than the vet, so she said stop the pouch food and just have dry as he wont eat anything other than Encore, so in the 3 days i stopped the blockage happened!! because Encore is full of water in the broth, maybe i should take some to the vets if he hasnt eaten today?
I just want to add that my boy Rikki had his first blockage and catherization at 1 and the second at about 2 . We are looking at PU surgery possibly the next time. You aren't doing anything wrong that caused your 20 month old to have this occur. We also hit a maximum for the year on his insurance which made me very uneasy.
Rikki does not like wet food and that is one of his problems. I would definitely go back to wet food and, if you think that your cat would use one, get a fountain.
Rikki does not like wet food and that is one of his problems. I would definitely go back to wet food and, if you think that your cat would use one, get a fountain.
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Well, the last thing you want is for him to not eat as that comes with a host of other problems. I would take the food he does eat, the wet food and see if you can visit with him and get him to eat.
If he was mine, I wouldn’t feed the dry. I would ask for a canned Rx diet and see if I could get him to eat it with some of the Rx food mixed in and if he does then slowly transition over to the Rx food.
Often times a PU surgery is recommended but it is important to know that if you go that route it is best that you have a board certified veterinary specialist do the surgery as it is complicated and if done wrong can lead to life long issues. Another thing to add is that they can still become blocked even after the surgery.
When he does go home, have the veterinarian show you how to palpate his bladder at home so you can identify if he becomes blocked again. Because often just having a catheter in place can lead to cystitis when it is removed and he will present with symptoms similar to being blocked.
Ask for pain medication for him as this is painful. If this was my cat, I would refuse any non steroidal medications because they can cause kidney damage and the kidneys have already undergone some damage just by being blocked.
If he was mine, I wouldn’t feed the dry. I would ask for a canned Rx diet and see if I could get him to eat it with some of the Rx food mixed in and if he does then slowly transition over to the Rx food.
Often times a PU surgery is recommended but it is important to know that if you go that route it is best that you have a board certified veterinary specialist do the surgery as it is complicated and if done wrong can lead to life long issues. Another thing to add is that they can still become blocked even after the surgery.
When he does go home, have the veterinarian show you how to palpate his bladder at home so you can identify if he becomes blocked again. Because often just having a catheter in place can lead to cystitis when it is removed and he will present with symptoms similar to being blocked.
Ask for pain medication for him as this is painful. If this was my cat, I would refuse any non steroidal medications because they can cause kidney damage and the kidneys have already undergone some damage just by being blocked.
