Urinary blockage

[MichelleMatos777]

I have a lot of questions, so I appreciate all help I can get.
Does anyone have any success stories with a cat / urinary blockage?

Has anyone had a cat hospitalized with a catheter, and the cat recovered and didn’t have anymore blockages?

My cat was diagnosed with FIC, but with all the testing done, he didn’t have an abnormal amount of crystals.
The vet first prescribed antibiotics, because cat wasn’t blocked. The vet said it was probably UTI.

2nd time was emergency visit. the vet did ultrasound and urinalysis and still prescribed antibiotics. This time the vet said it was FIC And also prescribed prescription cat food.



*everytime my cat was making frequent trips to the litter box, I took him to vet/ or emergency

3rd time I decided to switch vets because I researched and realized a uti was not likely. Went to a new vet and did bloodwork,and ultrasound. They couldn’t do urinalysis because bladder was too small. Prescribed me pain medication for the cat.

4th time, another emergency visit. Vet prolapsed bladder and only blood came out. Cat wasn’t blocked. He prescribed more pain medication and we made appointment for urinalysis because cats bladder didn’t have enough urine for urinalysis.

5th time, my cat stayed at vet all day, pumped him with fluids to get urine. Also did bloodwork, and xray. Normal amount of crystals in urine. Bladder looked fine, bloodwork looked fine. He prescribed my cat prednisone.

6th time: cat was going in an out of litter, took him too emergency. Vet verified not blocked

7th time: cat was going in and out of litter,decided to wait until morning to take him. ( i got used to cat not being blocked). Vet confirmed not blocked, told me to give my car prednisone 2 times a day instead of once a day

Fast forward to yesterday, my cat was very bad. Wasn’t eating, was vomiting, very weak. Called my vet, my vet came in because it was after hours.
This time, my cat is blocked and urinalysis shows crystals and sugar in the blood. Vet says prednisone ( the medication he prescribed ) could of caused sugar in the blood.
Could sugar in the blood cause the formation of crystals?

Im loosing my mind over this.

my cat has a fountain/ plenty of love and play time

 

[Micaela227]

Hi! I'm sorry you are going through this, I know how stressful it is. I have a fourteen year old cat who had at least one bloakage when he was around 3 (I say at least because I think he had it on two different occasions, but I was a child so I don't remember it very well). His biological brother also had the same problem but another cat we had a the time that ate the same food didn't have any problems, so I guess they were genetically predisposed.
My cat went (and still is) on a special food for this kind of problem and never had a blockage again, thank God. Its called pro plan urinary, and while he does eat wet food every now and then, the vet said that it needs to be his forever diet.
I hope your kitten gets better soon!! Good luck

 

[MichelleMatos777]

Thank you! I appreciate you responding! My cat was on hills diet urinary prescription food, and it’s supposed to prevent crystals. During all of these visits, he seemed to have a normal amount of crystals in urine up until this recent blockage. I’m hoping we can figure out how to prevent this!

 

[verna davies]

Do you feed him wet or dry food?

 

[MichelleMatos777]

We were feeding him hills prescription diet urinary c/d with water and the hills prescription wet food More wet food than dry

 

[slowboost99]

I've been reading up on urinary tract infections because it's possible that my cat has this and I found that giving them bone broth could help. Apparently, it should help flush out the bladder and avoid the buildup of harmful bacteria.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I didn't see anything about inflammation, which I think may have shown up on an ultrasound. I believe inflammation is pretty common with FIC. The inflammation could be in the urethra as well, causing tissue swelling - hence the blockage perhaps. Have any of the vets suggested an anti-inflammatory? I would ask about that aspect. I would also ask the vet if muscular spasms could be part of the issue and what would be the recommended treatment for that. I have heard of muscular spasms in the urethra also causing a blockage - and that it too can be related to FIC.

High levels of steroids can cause a higher glucose reading in the urine, but I personally have not heard/read that glucose can cause crystals. What I do find curious is that the vets you've gone to seem to think some level of crystals in your cat's urine would be considered normal. I am not so sure about that from what I know anyway.

Here is an article on FIC that might help you. Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) | International Cat Care (icatcare.org)
It might be worth it to ask the vet to consult with, or recommend, another vet that specializes in urology.

 

[FloridaTony]

I had 5 indoor cats.. 2 have since passed. One was just 10, died of nasal tumor. The other just passed this past Monday at 13 yrs old of Megacolon. One had two UTI blocks about 4 yrs apart and the other had a block/with blood just once. My only boy left was DX last Oct with IDIOPATHIC CYSTITIS..inflammation of the bladder which looks like a regular block but it is not..it can lead to a full block however. Regardless, he is on AMITRIPTYlNE 5 mg every other day..works like a charm. I prevent as much STRESS as possible as this causes his episodes. Was hard to DX but once I finally got a vet to remove urine from his bladder..it was confirmed it was not bacterial.Just a thought.

 

[MichelleMatos777]

Thank you for the link and information! All the vets we went to/ the testing we had done, all showed normal urinalysis. Struvite crystals are a normal finding in cat urine at low levels. My cat had the normal low levels. His urine though was constantly bloody, and he constantly had blood in his bladder. We tried everything to stop this. The last vet gave us the anti inflammatory for it.
My cat seemed to be somewhat better. He has a cat fountain, but whenever my husband and I saw him going back and forth to the litter, we would give him a couple of syringes of water to help flush his bladder out. This seemed to work with his comfort levels.
This Tuesday he was being his usual feisty self. He was stalking birds from the window, running into his cat tunnel and playing fetch with me and his toy mouse, he was trying to climb into the fish tanks- normal cat behavior.
Then Wednesday I woke up and realized my cat wasn’t at my head meowing for me to feed him. I had to go look for him and he was in his litter, where he remained. He progressively got worst. This time we take him to the vet and loads of crystals and a blockage.
It’s just a bit alarming.
I wonder if the sugar in the blood from the medication , somehow affected his urine PH levels. ???
That’s a great idea to find a specialist!

I didn't see anything about inflammation, which I think may have shown up on an ultrasound. I believe inflammation is pretty common with FIC. The inflammation could be in the urethra as well, causing tissue swelling - hence the blockage perhaps. Have any of the vets suggested an anti-inflammatory? I would ask about that aspect. I would also ask the vet if muscular spasms could be part of the issue and what would be the recommended treatment for that. I have heard of muscular spasms in the urethra also causing a blockage - and that it too can be related to FIC.

High levels of steroids can cause a higher glucose reading in the urine, but I personally have not heard/read that glucose can cause crystals. What I do find curious is that the vets you've gone to seem to think some level of crystals in your cat's urine would be considered normal. I am not so sure about that from what I know anyway.

Here is an article on FIC that might help you. Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) | International Cat Care (icatcare.org)
It might be worth it to ask the vet to consult with, or recommend, another vet that specializes in urology.

 

[MichelleMatos777]

I am so sorry you lost your cat this past Monday. I know how hard it is. Thank you so much for that info! I will ask my vet about AMITRIPTYlNE! Thank you thank you!

I had 5 indoor cats.. 2 have since passed. One was just 10, died of nasal tumor. The other just passed this past Monday at 13 yrs old of Megacolon. One had two UTI blocks about 4 yrs apart and the other had a block/with blood just once. My only boy left was DX last Oct with IDIOPATHIC CYSTITIS..inflammation of the bladder which looks like a regular block but it is not..it can lead to a full block however. Regardless, he is on AMITRIPTYlNE 5 mg every other day..works like a charm. I prevent as much STRESS as possible as this causes his episodes. Was hard to DX but once I finally got a vet to remove urine from his bladder..it was confirmed it was not bacterial.Just a thought.

 

[tnl]

You might want to try, or talk to your vet about, using Cosequin for cats. I had an older cat with crystals. He wouldn't touch the prescription food so after a bunch of research I found that Cosequin can help, at least it did for my cat. You can find it on Amazon, at Wal-Mart or any pet supply store.

"Many veterinarians also recommend Cosequin to help support urinary bladder health. The inner lining of the bladder wall is protected by a layer, which contains some of the same compounds as are found in cartilage. This layer prevents urine and the waste products contained within it from seeping into and damaging the lining. Since the low molecular weight chondroitin sulfate found in Cosequin is available to more than just cartilage cells, the bladder may use it to help support this protective layer. Cosequin is recommended for cats with recurring urinary bladder infections (cystitis, Feline Urologic Syndrome, Urinary Tract Infection) to be given indefinitely as a means to prevent it's recurrence."

Cosequin For Cats | Joint & Urinary Bladder Support | Medi-Vet