Kitty advice

[flyawayraven]

I know we have current and former vet techs here so I'm hoping some of you can offer advice!

One of our two male cats was rushed to the vet this weekend with a massive UTI and a bladder full of crystals. He just came home today and will be going for a follow up on Saturday.

The vet has him on special food and we have to keep him strictly indoors and make sure he uses a litterbox. So far the keeping indoors part has been a problem because he's used to go out when he pleases.

Really my only main concerns are that his boy parts are still pretty swollen and he's licking them a lot, but given the poking and prodding and that he had a catheter over the weekend, I guess that's normal? He is crying but I think it's more to do with the fact that he's mad he can't go out and he's freaking out anytime somebody leaves the house. I think because he was left at the vet's over the weekend he's terrified we're going to leave him. He doesn't seem to be showing any signs of pain and is relaxing and overall very happy to be home.

I got him to eat some of his new food without a problem but his brother eats regular wet food and while a few bites probably won't hurt him I know that shouldn't be a thing too often. They were both on a dry food only diet which is probably what caused the crystal build up.

He did use the litterbox briefly but it didn't look like a lot of urine came out, but we are using clumping litter so that might be why. Is it normal for him to still be peeing a bit weirdly after all this? He's not constantly running to the box or looking for places to go so I think he is okay. I'm actually very glad he knew what the box was for as he and his brother normally go outside to urinate and defecate.

The biggest trial is keeping him indoors and relaxed. I know it's just attention seeking but he keeps crying when someone goes out and it just breaks my heart to hear him. Hopefully he'll be able to go in and out soon.

[gold.standard]

I'm no vet tech, but from what I know about cats(currently own two, live with 6 others) dry food is most likely the cause of crystal build up. It comes from them not getting enough water. Cats, as a species, have extremely effective kidneys, so they can get a lot of water from the meat they eat.
But now, with the modern pet food industry, a lot of people put their pets on dry food because it seems to be the easier and faster thing to do. Problem with that, cats don't think to drink the extra water they need. So we get problems like infections and the like. Wet food is good for them, and a properly prepared raw diet is even better.

[flyawayraven]

Okay so he is going to the box a lot and peeing small amounts but not crying so not sure what's going on.

[kellyponyfeathers]

Hi!  Former vet tech here.

Umm, let me talk about urinating first, and then food.  (That sounds weird, but that's just how it is with medical stuff.)  You said, "He's not constantly running to the box or looking for places to go so I think he is okay."  I think you're right, and just want to point out that that's key.  Make sure that he's able to pee and doesn't seem to be straining to go.  If he just got over being blocked and having a urinary catheter, then yes, he's probably still irritated and tender down there.  He may lick his parts, and he may pee in small amounts frequently to try to ease the irritation.  That's all OK, as long as he's still able to go.  I think you understand, but just keep in mind that being able to urinate is essential to life.  If he gets blocked again and can't pee, that becomes life-threatening in 1 to 3 days.  I guess I'll give a disclaimer here that peeing in small amounts frequently CAN indicate that he's mostly blocked and only a little urine is getting through at a time.  I guess I'd say use your best judgment here; if he's blocked again, he'll be really uncomfortable, crying, and you'll probably be able to tell that it's serious.  If you have doubts and want to be sure, call your vet's office and ask if someone can palpate his abdomen to check for a large bladder.  You won't necessarily need a full vet visit (expensive) for that; they may have a tech that can do it quickly; just takes a minute.  Then if everything's fine you can rest assured; they may not charge you anything for a quick check (I'm sure you just spent a lot for hospitalization, and you're going to pay again in a week for a recheck).  And if they find that his bladder is huge, you can do something about it.

OK, food issues now.  I'd say keep your cat on the food that the vet gave you; nothing else.  You need to keep him from getting into your other cat's food, even a little, at least for now.  That will probably mean either confining the crystal kitty until you get this medical problem under control, or not leaving you're other cat's food out for him to get into.  Or separate/confine the cats during mealtimes so they only eat their own foods.  This may be important because your other cat's food could cause the crystals to form again.  Or maybe not; different cats handle different foods differently.  But why take chances and set off this whole problem again?  Just make sure they eat separately, at least for now.  You may have to figure out what your crystal kitty can handle and what he can't later.  Keep in mind that discovering what your crystal kitty can't handle may involve more $$$$ hospitalization.  Again, why take chances?  My own crystal kitty is so sensitive to food that she'll get a full blown episode of crystals if she so much as eats a crumb - seriously, a CRUMB - of anything besides her special diet (which consists of Hill's S/D, raw rabbit food, and occasional frozen mice).  She'll cry for a week; I drug her up with a very strong medication, and she still whimpers.  So anyway, diet can have a very strong impact on crystal formation in cats.  Your crystal kitty may be able to handle the other cat's food.  But if he can't, he may need $$$ hospitalization again.  (By the way, Hill's S/D is kind of similar to C/D, at least in purpose, but S/D is "stronger."  I'm guessing that your vet probably gave you C/D.)

As for kibble causing crystals, well, that's too generalized.  Many cats eat kibble and do just fine.  But yes, some get problems, as you just discovered.  Water intake is part of the problem.  Yes, cats on kibble diets don't get as much water from their food, and often don't really drink enough.  More water intake (from drinking or from wetter diets) helps flush out the bladder and wash away the crystals. So yes, increasing water intake (one way or another) can help control your cat's crystal problems.  You might want to talk with your vet about this during your recheck in a week.  Ways to increase a cat's water intake include feeding a wetter diet, encouraging your cat to drink more by buying a pet drinking fountain (for whatever reason, many cats prefer to drink running water and will drink more from a fountain),  and giving subcutaneous fluids. I talk about these issues during some of my previous posts I made in similar threads.  Rather than retype it all, I'm just going to post links here:

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,351699.msg1133846.html#msg1133846

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,315312.msg588624.html#msg588624

By the way, probably the easiest way to increase your cat's fluid intake would be to simply dampen his kibble with water.  There's nothing wrong with doing that, and it's easier and cheaper than buying canned food, which is about 50% water anyway.  As long as your cat still eats it willingly, it will do the trick just fine.  Lots of cats don't even like canned food, but will eat dampened kibble.  (Of course, other cats prefer canned and won't touch kibble; they're such picky critters!)

Good luck!    Keep us posted, and feel free to ask more questions.

[flyawayraven]

Thank you Kelly! Truthfully he is my roommate's cat but we shate custody. He id straining to pee but I've noticed larger and larger amounts of urine are coming out each time.

He was prescribed Clavamox twice a day and I noticed it was supposed to be refrigerated but we forgot and let it sit out for about 12 hours and I'm not sure we're going to be able to get to thr vet before Saturday. Is it still safe to give him?

[kellyponyfeathers]

Crystals commonly cause urinary tract infections (invasions by bacteria) along with the physical blockage.  Clavamox is a common broad-spectrum antibiotic; that basically means that it's effective against a lot of different kinds of infections.  As for whether you need to get a new batch because it wasn't refrigerated for 12 hrs . . . hmmm, I'd say call your vet and ask.

The Clavamox was already in liquid form, right?  If so, then yes, call your vet and ask.  (The medication comes in a powder; you add water to it as directed in the instructions to prepare it for dosing.  As a powder, it's fine at room temperature, but after it becomes a liquid, it needs to be refrigerated.  Usually the vet adds the water and mixes it up for you.)

[kaoskat]

Oh ick! I hope he feels better soon!

[flyawayraven]

Crystals commonly cause urinary tract infections (invasions by bacteria) along with the physical blockage.  Clavamox is a common broad-spectrum antibiotic; that basically means that it's effective against a lot of different kinds of infections.  As for whether you need to get a new batch because it wasn't refrigerated for 12 hrs . . . hmmm, I'd say call your vet and ask.

The Clavamox was already in liquid form, right?  If so, then yes, call your vet and ask.  (The medication comes in a powder; you add water to it as directed in the instructions to prepare it for dosing.  As a powder, it's fine at room temperature, but after it becomes a liquid, it needs to be refrigerated.  Usually the vet adds the water and mixes it up for you.)

Will do! Thank you so much for all the advice, KPF!

Edit: And yes it was already in liquid form. He was supposed to have his first dose at home this morning and another tonight.

[rearing_palomino164]

Vet Assistant here! kellyponyfeathers said it all!

[flyawayraven]

Wanted to give a brief update.

Nigel is doing much better! Each day he is more and more like himself. Case ion point, he started trying to sneak food from his borther's dish this morning and is now actively trying to go outside everytime someone opens a door.

He is still peeing fairly frequently, however, he's not straining near as badl and the amounts are fairly sizable. This morning he did go to the box multiple times in a few minutes but he then was quite content to relax for several hours. He's not crying or obviously in distress when he goes so I'm taking this as a good sign! There was also a bowel movement but it was kind of runny so our guess is either the new diet or antibiotics are to blame. We're just grateful it was in the box.

I am noticing that his brother, Basil, is puking up his wet food in the morning. I think that might be because he eats it so darned fast and it;s been chilled overnight in the fridge. I want to try warming his food up tomorrow morning but I'm not sure what the safest method is. Would a microwave be okay or should I warm it in water? Right now they're going about 12 hours between feedings due to our schedules but they aren't begging for food so I guess they're okay.

[kellyponyfeathers]

That all sounds great!    Sounds to me like good progress toward healing.

For warming wet food, either microwaving it or adding warm water would work.  But if you use the microwave, be sure to stir it up well after heating and before serving.  Wet food tends to get hot spots from being microwaved, so that parts of the food can still be cold, while other spots are near boiling.  I've seen poor unsuspecting pets burn their mouths.