Worried Cat Mom Here

[Jackattack0101]

Hi , I'm new to this site and just looking for some advice from cat parents.

This past Friday night I noticed my cat was acting strange. He was grumpy and sensitive and was having problems using the bathroom. I monitored him for an hour and he would lie down in weird places and even hissed at one of my sisters which he had never done in the 2 wars I've had him. I brought him to the very pricey ER vet and they said he had a urinary blockage. They've had him hooked up to a catheter and IV for ~30 hours and he will hopefully come off everything in a few hours and once he's uriniating on his own can come home.

Basically I'm worried about what comes next. I've read lots of information on potential reblockages and new food recommendations but was wondering if anyone else has been through this with their cat and has any advice.

 

[A.w]

If you give him some watered down wet food every day it'll keep him hydrated and he shouldn't block again! I've had that problem before with a few of my cats and wet food has helped a lot. Also, for some male cats if the litter is very small it can get clogged up, I'd suggest trying a newspaper litter or something of the sort!

Good luck!

 

[duckpond]

I am sure others on here that have had cats with this problem will add to this. But from what i understand you will want to feed him wet food, no dry. I would try to stay away from any food that has spinach in it. we want mostly meat in the food.

What type of food have you been feeding, and what is your budget for food? this can help us make recommendations that would work for you.

There are many things that can cause urinary problems with cats, Food being a big one, Urine ph, as is stress, lack of clean fresh water, lack of activity, and a dirty litter box. just to name a few i read about more often. My cats will not use a Newspaper or pellet litter. If yours will that's great, its good stuff. mine hate it and will hold off on going as long as they possibly can, thats not good. I dont use clay, for several reasons, but there are really good alternatives these days. The grass clumping litter is a favorite at my housei buy from chewy, or if you have a kroger nearby their store brand Abound is very good. As is a walnut litter i get at walmart, litter maid brand. and we always have a box of Dr. Elseys respiratory relief crystal litter as well, i have one cat that only wants this

 

[Jackattack0101]

I am sure others on here that have had cats with this problem will add to this. But from what i understand you will want to feed him wet food, no dry. I would try to stay away from any food that has spinach in it. we want mostly meat in the food.

What type of food have you been feeding, and what is your budget for food? this can help us make recommendations that would work for you.

There are many things that can cause urinary problems with cats, Food being a big one, Urine ph, as is stress, lack of clean fresh water, lack of activity, and a dirty litter box. just to name a few i read about more often. My cats will not use a Newspaper or pellet litter. If yours will that's great, its good stuff. mine hate it and will hold off on going as long as they possibly can, thats not good. I dont use clay, for several reasons, but there are really good alternatives these days. The grass clumping litter is a favorite at my housei buy from chewy, or if you have a kroger nearby their store brand Abound is very good. As is a walnut litter i get at walmart, litter maid brand. and we always have a box of Dr. Elseys respiratory relief crystal litter as well, i have one cat that only wants this

Before this incident I was feeding him a mixture of wet and dry food. I was feeding him Science Diet hairball for dry food and Science Diet Urinary as wet food. I'm pretty committed to feeding him only wet food from now on. Especially after having to bring him to the emergency vet which was extremely expensive. Id rather spend a bit more to prevent it happening again rather than pay for the procedure and watch him be in pain again.

 

[Furballsmom]

Id rather spend a bit more to prevent it happening again rather than pay for the procedure and watch him be in pain again.

You are such an awesome mom, we're so glad you came here!!
Something else you could do is obtain a water fountain as cats seem to like the moving water and often will drink more.
let us know what happens

 

[Jackattack0101]

You are such an awesome mom, we're so glad you came here!!
Something else you could do is obtain a water fountain as cats seem to like the moving water and often will drink more.
let us know what happens

I will be definitely looking into buying a water fountain for him when he comes home.

 

[duckpond]

Before this incident I was feeding him a mixture of wet and dry food. I was feeding him Science Diet hairball for dry food and Science Diet Urinary as wet food. I'm pretty committed to feeding him only wet food from now on. Especially after having to bring him to the emergency vet which was extremely expensive. Id rather spend a bit more to prevent it happening again rather than pay for the procedure and watch him be in pain again.

I agree. is there a specific reason you were feeding the urinary wet food? If a cat does not need that particular type or urinary food, it can cause the urinary problems, by throwing the PH off to far the wrong way?

If the vet does not put him on a specific diet, and i would quiz him hard if he does, some of those are bad, but sometimes needed. I would recommend all wet foods.

again depending on budget Fancy Feast, the classics, and the grilled flavors, a new one i just found at tractor supply that looks very close to fancy feast classics is the paws and claws kitchen selects, i just got the beef and poultry pack for mine to try. I also feed quite a bit of Weruva paw lickin chicken, Tiki cat after dark, mine love the chicken and the chicken and beef. Purina one the grain free classics, it is pate. Against the grain caribbean club chicken and cheese, Fussie cat super premium chicken with egg, and the Fussie cat super premium chicken with beef in pumpkin. The new american journey wet food, Nulo minced only, Nutro minced chicken and the sliced turkey. This is just my basic foods, i like a variety these are all fairly low carb, and high protein, some are a little higher in fat but i would rather have high fat than carbs.

I stay away from as much grain, fruits, vegetables, potatoes and that kind of thing as i can. I will not feed a food that has Carrageenan, Agar-Agar, or Spinach. You will also want to stay away from Fish flavor foods, a little bit down in the list for flavor may not hurt, but as a main ingredient i would stay away for your guy.

I free feed Dr. elseys dry food, which you may not want to do, if you will feed only wet. If feeding wet meals i would try to feed smaller meals, several times per day. Large meals raise the ph of the Urine and can cause an issue. 4 or 5 wet meals per day may be better. they done have to be evenly spaced, if you work this can be hard to do. i feed when i first get up, then you could leave a meal out when you leave the house, feed again when you get home, and right before bed? I don't have a problem leaving wet out for 4 to 8 hours, it usually gets eaten before then

I also keep water in several places around the house, wide glass or stainless steel, and a water fountain.
I wrote a lot... lol this is just things i do with my guys.

 

[Jackattack0101]

Just got him home now. He is pretty dopey but happy. They gave me a few take home meds and gave a few cans of Royal Canin Urinary SO and told me to keep him on this food for life using the dry formula if necessary. He has already used the litter box with a normal amount of urine which is great to see.

 

[Furballsmom]

He has already used the litter box with a normal amount of urine which is great to see.

!!YES!!

 

[Jackattack0101]

He is a very good patient so far

 

[cat princesses]

Aw he is stunning! My girl was a long hair tuxedo as well - absolutely beautiful! Glad he's doing a little better!

 

[LTS3]

Just got him home now. He is pretty dopey but happy. They gave me a few take home meds and gave a few cans of Royal Canin Urinary SO and told me to keep him on this food for life using the dry formula if necessary. He has already used the litter box with a normal amount of urine which is great to see.

Dry food is the last thing you want to feed to a cat with urinary issues Vets don't really know much about nutrition and how it can affect health. Nutrition isn't really taught in vet school. A lengthy discussion about nutrition and urinary issues can be found at Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection

The Royal Canin SO and other prescription urinary foods aren't always needed. Some cats may need to be on a prescription diet temporarily for specific urinary issues such as stones but many cats do fine on commercial cat food for life. See these two threads for alternatives:

Holistic Alternative To Royal Canin Urinary So Can Food For Cats
Alternatives to Royal Canin SO

You can discuss alternative diets with the vet but keep in mind that the vet may still push the prescription food. It's perfectly ok to disagree with the vet about food and feed what you feel is best for your cat

 

[Jackattack0101]

Dry food is the last thing you want to feed to a cat with urinary issues Vets don't really know much about nutrition and how it can affect health. Nutrition isn't really taught in vet school. A lengthy discussion about nutrition and urinary issues can be found at Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection

The Royal Canin SO and other prescription urinary foods aren't always needed. Some cats may need to be on a prescription diet temporarily for specific urinary issues such as stones but many cats do fine on commercial cat food for life. See these two threads for alternatives:

Holistic Alternative To Royal Canin Urinary So Can Food For Cats
Alternatives to Royal Canin SO

You can discuss alternative diets with the vet but keep in mind that the vet may still push the prescription food. It's perfectly ok to disagree with the vet about food and feed what you feel is best for your cat

I'm not a fan of all the ingredients in the food the ER vet prescribed but I will keep him on it for a little while. I have a follow up appointment with my own vet later this week and I'm going to see what she says and see if she agrees with the other vet. Regardless, I will definitely be keeping him on a strictly wet food diet. Unfortunately I had just bought a new bag of dry food a week ago which sucks but it will be getting donated to my local Humane Society if they'll take it.

 

[LTS3]

It's fine to feed the SO temporarily while you look for alternatives. You may be able to return the new bag of SO to the vet for a refund.

 

[Monk'sMom]

What a gorgeous guy!
We had something not quite so drastic but in the same vein with our Mr. Monk. The vet also prescribed special food with re-evaluation in a month and another in a year, assuming no symptoms. It worked beautifully. o follow the vet's directives, and here's to happy times ahead.

 

[Jackattack0101]

Update: it's been nearly two weeks since Chevy blocked. He appears to be doing great. We had a follow up with our regular vet and she said that he seems happy and doing well. We have a game plan going forward as far as his food is concerned that I'm happy with. I've never been so attentive to his litter box comings and goings but that's a good thing

 

[epona]

Update: it's been nearly two weeks since Chevy blocked. He appears to be doing great. We had a follow up with our regular vet and she said that he seems happy and doing well. We have a game plan going forward as far as his food is concerned that I'm happy with. I've never been so attentive to his litter box comings and goings but that's a good thing

So glad to hear that! Also yeah once you have had a health worry about intake or output you monitor things like a hawk