We took in a 1.5 year old un-neutered male stray cat 4 months ago and he started getting blocked a month ago. We rushed him to the vet where he was catheterised and hospitalised and after all the blood work and scans, there was no clear cause, no stones, no crystals, nothing. Ever since then he hasn't been able to pee normally and at best, pees small amounts into the litter box, at worst, strains with nothing coming out until he needs to be manually expressed, and failing that, rushed. Yesterday I had trouble manually expressing his bladder and he started vomiting, so I brought him back to the vet and he is now catheterised and hospitalised. We're racking up over $5,000 in bills and can no longer afford it if there's not guarantee that he won't be reblocked.
The vets keep recommending PU surgery, but it's expensive, seems poorly studied and the complications look plenty, and the last thing I want to do is further lower his quality of life. We live in a small apartment on the second floor with no way for him to leave the house, and I get the sense that he's bothered about not being able to roam. When we open the door, he often wants to come poking out, and we'll let him walk around the corridor, but he'll come back after a few minutes. I wonder if he's better off released to roam on the streets, rather than cooped up in this apartment. He's an easygoing cat and loves being petted, but I wonder if he's just so mild that we can't tell his unhappiness from being in the house. For the first 3 months he was often left alone at home for most of the day with our dog, but he always seemed fine, no issues. The only change I can think that happened recently was me and my partner working from home a lot more starting last month. Could that have made him stressed out and blocked for some reason?
When he gets discharged, we're considering letting him stay a few days to recover but then releasing him soon after because we're just afraid that being in the house again will cause him to be stressed and reblock just like the last time, and this time we won't be able to afford the crazy bills. Of course we're thinking of trying more things like getting him a better cat condo, a running water source, more cystisis supplements (he's already on an all-wet diet and drinks a decent amount of water) but I can't risk these things not working and him getting reblocked.
If we do let him go immediately after he's been treated, he will remain un-neutered, which isn't ideal. The vet said he shouldn't undergo the neutering in his weak state right now either. I don't want to let him go, but I can't help but think that I'm inflicting more pain on him by keeping him... what should I do?
The vets keep recommending PU surgery, but it's expensive, seems poorly studied and the complications look plenty, and the last thing I want to do is further lower his quality of life. We live in a small apartment on the second floor with no way for him to leave the house, and I get the sense that he's bothered about not being able to roam. When we open the door, he often wants to come poking out, and we'll let him walk around the corridor, but he'll come back after a few minutes. I wonder if he's better off released to roam on the streets, rather than cooped up in this apartment. He's an easygoing cat and loves being petted, but I wonder if he's just so mild that we can't tell his unhappiness from being in the house. For the first 3 months he was often left alone at home for most of the day with our dog, but he always seemed fine, no issues. The only change I can think that happened recently was me and my partner working from home a lot more starting last month. Could that have made him stressed out and blocked for some reason?
When he gets discharged, we're considering letting him stay a few days to recover but then releasing him soon after because we're just afraid that being in the house again will cause him to be stressed and reblock just like the last time, and this time we won't be able to afford the crazy bills. Of course we're thinking of trying more things like getting him a better cat condo, a running water source, more cystisis supplements (he's already on an all-wet diet and drinks a decent amount of water) but I can't risk these things not working and him getting reblocked.
If we do let him go immediately after he's been treated, he will remain un-neutered, which isn't ideal. The vet said he shouldn't undergo the neutering in his weak state right now either. I don't want to let him go, but I can't help but think that I'm inflicting more pain on him by keeping him... what should I do?