my parents'' poor kitty has struvite crystals :-( bladder ruptured

[yssie]

My parents' kitty needs prayers, if you can spare them

. He's the darling in my av <-----


He hates wet food and apparently wasn't drinking enough water. He had a UTI a couple of months ago and they've been force-feeding him water since, but that still wasn't enough: my mum noticed he hadn't used the litterbox for some six hours was behaving strangely and took him to the emergency clinic, where he was catheterized, drained, and catheterized again - and this time his bladder ruptured.. They performed surgery and apparently found loads of struvite crystals and a pea (pea!!) sized blood clot that didn't even dissolve in vitro.


He's coming home now. Not sure what the post-surgery care is, not sure what the prescribed diet changes are other than more acidic food. I'm actually wondering if they'll just give him sub-qs - he's a real pain to force-feed and they'd have to do it multiple times a day to get 2 glasses of water into him, which he'd likely just vomit up anyway

.


I'm just glad he's okay, and so, so grateful that he was already at the clinic when he needed surgery.

 

[VRBeauty]

Poor kitty! It sounds like he''s in good, loving hands though.

 

[lulu]

Hoping he''ll be his old self soon!

 

[PumpkinPie]

poor kitty and poor yssie - I''m sorry your family has to go through this - sick pets are so heartbreaking. I hope kitty feels better soon

 

[Haven]

Poor kitty! Lots of dust coming his way.

I''m guessing they were told to feed him moist food, that''s what we were told when our kitty had crystals. I hope he gets better really soon!

****DUSTDUSTDUSTDUST****

 

[Cind11]

Ohhh, poor kitty - hope he will be ok. I have a cat who had bladder stones four years ago. I am only supposed to feed him wet food now.

 

[LAJennifer]

Oh my goodness! I''m so glad they noticed that he had not used his litter box. Sounds like he got to the vet just in time. They will give him a prescription food - W/D or C/D. Sounds like he is going to be ok.

Do you know what kind of food he was eating before this happened?

 

[scarleta]

Can you get more water by mixing it with his food?
Apple Cider vinegar can be added to food and there is a product on the market
PH - ( minus) can''t remember the company who makes it but a reputable pet store can help.Other than that monitor the PH levels of urine on monthly basis.
Hope it works.

 

[Gypsy]

I hope he''s better soon!

 

[OUpearlgirl]

Bless his heart. I hope he gets better soon. How scary for you and your parents! My thoughts are with you!

 

[trillionaire]

oh my! I wish you and your kitty peace and comfort! We love our furbabies so!

 

[MishB]

Oh dear, sending dust kitty''s way, sounds like he has gotten the best treatment possible.

Our boy has a dickie bladder, when it first happened it was very, very worrying, I was beside myself. But he has never gotten to this stage and fingers crossed with proper prevention (very strict diet) he won''t.

BTW - he is a shelter rescue who has cost us $$$$$$ in vet bills.

 

[Dandi]

Awww, the poor puddy

Sending get-well and drink-lots vibes his way!!! xxx

 

[oddoneout]

I hope the poor cat gets well soon.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Poor baby!

Binks, my middle and fattest fur baby had a urinary blockage last year. Luckily we caught it before major damage was done and the problem was taken care of with the catheterization and muscle relaxants (HA! you want to see something funny? Put your cat on muscle relaxers!). I have to monitor him very carefully now because there''s a high chance of it occurring again. He''s on wet food only, but loves dry and will go so far as to eat the dog food sometimes when he''s still hungry after a meal. He also doesn''t like to drink water

I haven''t found a cure for this problem either. Luckily I know the signs to look for now so we can respond quickly if needed.

I hope your kitty has a speedy recovery!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Sending lots of dust for his quick recovery.

 

[purselover]

***DUST***

I hope the poor baby feels better soon

 

[rhbgirl24]

Aww... hope the kitty gets better soon.

This happened to my moms cat and we found that there are many factors - not enough water intake, the quality of food (some foods have different ingredients that actually will build up and cause crystals.)

With my cat I make sure they are on a high quality, natural food that is specific to urinary health, and I got her a water fountain and she def drinks more than from a bowl.

 

[Maisie]

Ohhh poor kitty! That sounds scary. I hope he gets well soon.

 

[isaku5]

I''m so sorry to hear about your parents'' kitty. I''m sending loads and loads of special kitty-healing dust.


******* Kitty Healing Dust*******

 

[yssie]

Thank you for your kind words, everyone.


He's currently (well, past tense now) on blue buffalo spa select, so pretty good food actually - just not for him! Last I heard (late last night) my parents were told to wean him onto a canned-only diet; that's likely to be a long process. For now he's getting warmed up chicken baby food, new drinking fountains in pretty much every room and a pH reducer with meals.. I suspect he may be put on a special diet if he doesn't catch on in the next few days though.


He's apparently a bit woozy and wobbly so they've got him in the basement, where there are fewer high surfaces he could potentially fall from, and he's getting lots of cuddles. And the dog misses him.



LAJennifer-it sounds like he did, which is such a scary thought!
MishB-I hope your boy stays healthy on his diet!!
HH-they could be twins. He eats the dog's food too.. well, here's to hoping!

rhbgirl-we're hoping the fountains work - they can't work worse than water bowls!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

yssie, I'm so sorry to hear about the struvite crystals

My older dog Byron is very prone to struvite crystals--in fact we had a bout with them just last week after he was sedated (and dehydrated) for an eye procedure. We keep prescription food on hand at all times just in case he gets them. We use Hill's c/d prescription food--it's terrible food in general and he's actually allergic to it, but if we just keep him on it for two days that's enough time to dissolve the crystals and he can get back to his regular food without any issues. I know that Hill's makes a feline c/d food (wet and dry) specifically for struvite crystals. Royal Canin makes one as well. All your vet has to do is call Petsmart and they give you a prescription card that doesn't expire.

I've heard that adding a little apple cider vinegar is a good holistic solution for struvite crystals, however my dog won't touch anything that smells like vinegar, so we just stick with the presription food.

If you haven't already changed the kitty's food, I definitely would. We were using the same food for over a year when Byron suddenly developed the crystals. I used the prescription food until they dissolved (they've never gotten bad enough to form a UTI or stones), then switched food and he was fine. I tried to switch him back to the same brand of the first food with a different protein source and they re-appeared.

 

[yssie]

Update - he's been put on a prescription for a c/d wet diet now (from petsmart like yours NEL

) he'll stay on it for the rest of his life.



And he's back to his ornery self

 

[Dandi]

YIPPEE!!!

 

[Tuckins1]

Poor kitty!!!! I hope everything turns out ok!!