Urinary blockage hours after catheter removed?

[elise1030]

Has anyone heard of this? My boy blocked up last tuesday(see post in cat nutrition) and we took him to the vets today to have the catheter removed after having it in place for 6 days. He has been home 5 hours and has not urinated anywhere in the house, yet is straining to go every 5 minutes or so and nothing is coming out. I called the vet who said that the likelihood of being obstructed again the same day the catheter was removed is very very slim. So, do we wait? How long do we wait? We're on tenterhooks waiting to see him pee!

 

[stephenq]

If he's straining then he appears to be blocked. He's trying to pee but can't right? Unless the removal of the catheter has made him want to pee but his bladder is empty? The safe thing to do is take him to the vet and have them feel his bladder to see if he has enough in him to pee.

 

[elise1030]

No pee as of since this last post, he is still continuing to walk around trying to do something. There doesn't appear to be any pain( no crying or otherwise). He is still alert and happy enough to smooch around us when he's not squatting.  His bladder is filling up, at the moment it feels like the size of maybe a lemon?

Obviously if he gets to be in pain then I will ask the vet to open up for us. The vet feels its just inflamed and nothing too serious at this stage.

 

[3catsandabird]

Both times Baxter got blocked, the vet had him for a week. Both times they knocked him out, inserted a catheter, flushed his bladder out with oj to dissolve the crystals, removed the catheter and woke him up. Both times they held him to make sure he could pee, and both times he blocked right back up and had to be knocked out, cathetered, and flushed again.

My vet has homeopathic/holistic training on top of the standard vet training. After the 2cd blockage, he introduced me to these little tiny crystals, homeopathic mercury, and told me to give Baxter just a few if he ever showed any troubles in the future. The first couple of weeks after his 2cd blockage were a bit touch and go, but those little homeopathic mercury crystals pulled Baxter through.

He hasn't had a blockage since. It's been 5 or 6 years now since his last blockage.

These urinary problems can be eliminated by adjusting the cat's diet. Switching to Innova Cat & Kitten Food has eliminated the problem for me. The DL Methionine in Innova keeps the acidity up in the cat's urine, never allowing crystals to form.

Hope you and your kitty get this figured out. Definitely not good times for the kitty.

 

[di and bob]

If it's only been hours, he may 'feel' like he has to go but his bladder isn't full enough yet, this happens a lot with humans. Of course keep an eye on him and if he hasn't gone in say 6 hours, definitely call your vet and ask. I know my cats only pee 2-3 times a day, so a few hours isn't much in between. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[elise1030]

Theodore(that's his name) went back to the vet this afternoon. He made it through the night with my husband on cat watch. There was a touch and go period but he made it ok. The vet said he wasn't block but does however have a very inflamed tract. The urinalysis showed a small trace of blood but other than that, it was clean, and no graininess texture to his urine. He has repeated his microlone(steroids), and changed antibiotics to cephalexin from amoxicillin.  So far, Theodore  is peeing a fair bit today. Still won't drink out of a bowl so we are syringing him with water to up his intake. The vet recommended we feed him wet food along with the Prescription diet. He's going back to the vet for a follow-up on thursday this week.  He is still straining to the point of falling asleep in his litterbox, but he is at least producing wee

Things are looking up and I appreciate all the advice and information from readers here.

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
Theodore(that's his name) went back to the vet this afternoon. He made it through the night with my husband on cat watch. There was a touch and go period but he made it ok. The vet said he wasn't block but does however have a very inflamed tract. The urinalysis showed a small trace of blood but other than that, it was clean, and no graininess texture to his urine. He has repeated his microlone(steroids), and changed antibiotics to cephalexin from amoxicillin.  So far, Theodore  is peeing a fair bit today. Still won't drink out of a bowl so we are syringing him with water to up his intake. The vet recommended we feed him wet food along with the Prescription diet. He's going back to the vet for a follow-up on thursday this week.  He is still straining to the point of falling asleep in his litterbox, but he is at least producing wee

Things are looking up and I appreciate all the advice and information from readers here.

Aww .. Poor little fella!

As a suggestion, you could also mix in some warm water to his wet food to increase water levels if he doesn't take to the syringe water feeding. I have a young tuxedo who was diagnosed with crystals recently, but this was found on a routine urinalysis - No blocking or straining previously. He is doing the urinary s/o diet at the moment and to this I add water at every meal.

Many positive vibes and warm thoughts for Theodore for continued improvement 

 

[elise1030]

Just an update on Theodore. We took him to the vet again today as planned and well it's not improving as well as we'd all like. He is having problems with actually using his bladder even though he can actually urinate. The vet was able to express a really good stream but Theodore isn't able to do it on his own.  He is eating small amount of food and water and we are still syringing extra into him.

The vet's game plan is to double the dosage of Microlone per day.  He has given us 3 options. We can have him re-catheterized for 24-48 hours and see how it goes, play the waiting game as we are, or go ahead with the surgery for PU.

So now we have to decide which way we are going to approach it and the vet is as stumped as we are, even after 35 years of being the only vet in a large country town such as ours and having done this surgery many times and unblocked many cats.

 

[oneandahalfcats]

I really feel for your situation .. It must be heart-breaking and frustrating at the same time, to see him struggle and know that you are not out of the words yet in this situation.

I assume it was determined whether he has oxalate or struvite crystals? From what I understand, the oxalate crystals are much harder to deal with. While the catheterization is necessary, it must be making Theodore very sore down there, and I would imagine some loss of bladder muscle condition, must be very common.

I am sorry your kitty and you are going through this. If you haven't already seen this, here is a thread from another member who has documented her experiences with blockages in cats and PU surgery. It might help to provide you with some insight : http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264960/my-experience-with-blockages-and-pu-surgery

Lots of continued vibes for Theodore

 

 

[stephenq]

That's a tough situation to be in.  Keep talking to your vet.  Keep your options open.  Keep a close eye Theordore as you weight these options.  And please keep us updated.

Stephen

 

[elise1030]

My husband and I made the decision last night to have him catheterized again as a last ditch effort before surgery. He hasn't blocked again but he is in a fair amount of pain even after doubling the microlone dose. So, currently he is at the vet having this done. This time it will only stay in for the weekend rather than 6 days like the first time. It does two things. One, prevents him from being blocked over the weekend while the vet is shut. Two, it will allow his bladder to empty fully and allow him to rest and hopefully heal. Then we'll assess what to do next!

 

[elise1030]

So our Theodore is home again with another catheter in place. His bladder was 3/4 full when we took him back yesterday morning. The vet doesn't know what is happening so the catheter is staying in until Tuesday. He is also on a different antibiotic and no longer longer on the steroid. Fingers crossed that it will work this time!

 

[elise1030]

IMAG1384.jpg

• elise1030
• Apr 11, 2014

right after arriving at home with his cone of

 

[jodiethierry64]

Awww poor Theodore! He's a beautiful grey!

I hope this is successfultree this time. I have a female long haired grey who has cystitis. I add water to her wet food and she's a dry food addict so I also squirt her dry with water.

Females don't block like males. I had the opportunity to feel her urine. ( she peed in the bathroom sink) It felt like sand. The water increase has helped her pass.

I did go through this 20 yrs ago with my male, Perkins. He blocked twice in 24 hrs. He never had to have surgery and lived 16 1/2 yrs . and never blocked again.

Water and lots of it!!!!
Hugs and kisses to you Theodore!

 

[red top rescue]

Many years ago I had a cat with this problem.  The vet taught me how to express his bladder and instructed me to express his bladder AFTER he urinated in order for it to be completely empty and thus regain its tone.  He was only urinating about half his bladder when he used the box.  I would express his bladder in the bathtub so the excess urine would run down the drain.  After about 10 days of doing this, once or twice a day, he was emptying his bladder fully on his own again.  I was very glad the vet trained me in this, because not only could I help him by expressing the excess, I then knew how his bladder felt when full, half full and empty.  Also, as long as I was able to express it, I knew he wasn't blocked, and he could be home and not have a catheter in him.

As for the surgery, I don't think you should consider it at this point. It should really be a very last resort, and not all cats do well with it.  It sounds as if his problem is not so much that he's blocking again but that he needs to get his bladder tone back and he still has a lot of sensitivity which is why he's straining.  If your vet is willing, see if he will train you to feel the bladder and to express it.  Also, there's a urinary analgesic  ("AZO," phenazopyridine Hcl) that can be used for a couple of days to ease the irritation.  It will turn his urine bright orange and it can stain things, but it will make him a lot more comfortable. It's not meant for long term use but could help a lot when the catheter first comes out.   I have not had to deal with another cat blocking since then, so there may be new medicines now, but my cat recovered and never had another blockage.  I hope Theodore can do as well.

 

[stephenq]

Paws crossed and make sure you read Red Top Rescues post, very good info!

 

[elise1030]

Thankyou RedTop and StephenQ for your info

I have good news! Theodore had his catheter removed 24 hours ago, and he has improved greatly! No crying in pain, no squatting, and most of all, he's playing and eating again! I think maybe this time the re-cath worked. When he is going litter, he seems to be emptying his bladder fully and certainly not in noticeable pain afterwards. I'm so happy and relieved at this stage but we are still keeping a very close eye on him.

I wanted to add also that when we went back, the vet explained that he used a longer catheter tube than the first time, I don't remember what his reasons were for that however. He also took it out a lot slower than the other female vet did the first time and he said there was no resistance and no gritty feel as he pulled, which is a good sign. He is still staying on antibiotics- enrofloxacin for the next 4 days.

 

[elise1030]

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• elise1030
• Apr 15, 2014

 Mr Theodore today, I'd say he's looking much happier. He has lost a lot of weight however

 

[jodiethierry64]

He's a gorgeous boy! I'm glad he's so much better!

Now eat up Theodore and put your weight back on!

 

[red top rescue]

That is wonderful news indeed @elise1030!  I am so very glad to hear that Theodore is no longer suffering.  Anyone who has ever had a bladder infection can relate to that terrible urgency of needing to go, straining to go, going a drop at a time and never getting that relaxed "aaaaaahhh, that's better" feeling.  Finally Theodore can be a cat again.  Thanks for hanging in there with him and not giving up.