My poor elderly cat very unwell and info or help welcomed

[DisneyAli]

My poor 15yr old cat was this morning admitted to the vets as an emergency with a completly blocked bladder. She has had water problems on and off for about 18 months the last bout was 6 weeks ago. She looked really distressed this morning.

Has anybody had any experience of this happening to a cat or can anyone offer any advice.

I have to ring the vet when i get home from work tomorrow lunchtime to see if they have to operate on her bladder, they had to cathertise her today.

Thanks for reading, i am feeling very upset as she has been with us a long time and has been my best friend.

I made a big mistake of looking it up on the net and wished i hadnt... thanks alison.

 

[Hilary]

Oh Alison, I'm sorry your cat is so unwell . After 15 years with you she must be a real family member.

I don't have any experience to share or advice to offer, just wanted to say I hope the vet is able to give you some good news tomorrow (today now).

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Alison - thinking of you, we have three cats, 2 are now 14.

What's her name? Hope you get better news from the vets today. Let us know what's happening - and we're thinking of you.

 

[catherine]

Sorry, I do not know anything about cats, as we have dogs. I know it must be a very stressful situation for you, so I just wanted to send my best wishes, and hopefully you will have some good news soon.

 

[UKDEB]

We've always had cats, but I've never had one with this particular problem. I hope they get it all sorted out. We had one cat which lived to the age of 22 and just died peacefully one day, so don't give up hope.

 

[Peebee]

I hope you get good news today Alison - I have my fingers crossed that you do.

Our cat is 16 yrs old and was recently diagnosed with a thyroid condition which has caused her to lose weight amongst other things. We were very worried, but apparently the situation is treatable with medication and an operation if we choose, so hopefully she can make a full recovery.

Paul

 

[KayleeUK]

Alison - poor kitty

My Cat Simba (5yrs) has had a blocked bladder before - he had crystals in his bladder blocking him - which meant he couldn't wee, wee.

They had to cathertise him to relieve his bladder as it was quite painful for him not being able to wee, he is now on special food 'Struvite' which helps the crystals breakdown and then he is fine. I have three cat's and he is the only one with this problem although up until then they had alway's had the same food. Even now if he eat's food different to what the vet has prescribed he can have problem's.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for you and my kitties are keeping there paws crossed. Let us know how you get on.

Kx

 

[DisneyAli]

Update on Sprout.

I would like to thank you all for your kind words.

I phoned the vet from work at eleven this morning at that time they were still waiting for her to do a wee. Asked me to go to surgery when i finnished work. Anyway she refused to use their litter tray and was feeling very sorry for herself, only ate a little tuna for breakfast. They asked me to take her home and if she hadnt done a wee by 8.30 in the morning (tues) she had to be back at the vets for opening time.

Gave her a cuddle in the car, and drove home, took her up to her favourite room and she downed a plate of food in one sitting, then like a real princess headed for her tray, she rummaged around for ages at one point just trying to go and i thought here we go back to the vets, but after a few moments she dug another hole and with a lot of crying spent a penny. I dont think anyone has been so happy to see a cat go to the loo. I had instructions to phone the vet once she had been and was advised that she will probably cry for a few times going to the loo as she is very sore and tender from having the catheter in.

The next 24/48 hours will be the telling time, but for now she has given herself a wash and is settling down for a sleep.

Thanks again for all your kind messages and hope we are now on the up. Very kindest regards to you all. alison and sprout the cat.

 

[KayleeUK]

Alison

Glad to hear Sprout wee'd I know what a releif this can be. I used to hide behind the door and peek through the crack to check if Simba wee'd - somehow he knew I was watching LOL

I hope Sprout is on the road to recovery Did the vets say anything about changing her diet?

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Sprout - don't ya just love that name

Fingers crossed that she keeps that pee flowing (if yo see what I mean, in the nicest sense of course ).

 

[Peebee]

Oh, that's great news Alison Cats are definitely creatures of habit and like their own dish, tray, etc. Our Bobo gets put off if the litter tray is moved more than a few inches away

Hope Sprout continues to do well.

Paul

 

[Jinxy23]

Glad to hear Sprout is doing ok - Love the name btw.

I have two cats of my own and if I ever have any concerns regarding them I use a webset called thecatsite.com.

It has loads of information regarding health issues so if you have any concerns you should be able to do a search for bladder problems and get lots of info.

Marie

 

[UKDEB]

That all sounds promising, Alison. Glad to hear she's home safe and sound.

 

[DocRafiki]

Alison--

I am a vet and have been lurking your boards due to an upcoming trip to Europe.

Urinary blockage in females is not all that common, so I have a few questions/tips for you, to help keep on top of things.

--Did she get bloodwork to make sure the kidneys weren't damaged?

--Did she get x-rays to rule out stones and tumors? To completely rule out tumors, you would have to have a special x-ray using dyes. This isn't routinely done over here unless it's a recurring problem, so you might have to ask for it if you want to make sure that is not the problem.

--Did she have crystals? If not, that would be more of a reason to do the dye study.

--Did she go on a special diet? Even if no crystals or stones are present, Waltham s/o diet has been proven to decrease recurrence rates. The Waltham company is based in England, so I'm sure it is available there.

PM or e-mail me if you would rather not call your vet (though you should any time you have questions). I hope this is the end of her urinary problems.

 

[WDWfan uk]

Just LOVE that name - Sprout

I really hope she continues to improve.

Thanks for posting Jen - it's great to have a resident DIS vet

 

[DisneyAli]

Not such a good update on Sprout.

This lunchtime i had to take her back to the vets as she had soiled herself and had not had a pee since coming home yesterday afternoon.

The vet said she has probably got a upset tummy from the medication she has been having or a touch of enteritis from being so poorly. The vet checked her bladder and after 22hours she had very little urine in it, but he seems to think that she has probably become dehydrated as she refuses to drink much and has only had two lots of food since being treated on Sunday>

They had done a blood test to check kidney function and the results showed everthing is in the acceptable levels. They are continuing to treat her for cystitis and have put her on a drip to get some fluid back into her. They are keeping her in overnight to keep an eye on both her urine and possible diaoreaha (sp?). I have to ring up in the late morning to see what has devloped. The have promised to contact me if for any reason she starts to go down hill. She was also sick last night which the vet has said seems to point to upset tummy on top of the other problem.

I will keep you posted and again thank you for your help.

alison.

 

[KayleeUK]

Oh Alison - sorry to hear about Sprout Still have fingers and paws crossed here for you.

 

[Hilary]

I hope you get some good news for Sprout today .

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Hey Alison - how's Sprout doing today? Hope she's getting along alright, been thinking about you.

Amazingly, had a call from a friend this morning whose 18 year old moggy is having exactly the same problems. She's had problems with cystitis for a number of years now and with each episode Charlotte says it seems worse for her, but she pulls through and now she can detect the signals quite early, which seems to help both her family - and the cat

Let us know how you're both doing there.

 

[DisneyAli]

Update on Sprout and my shot to pieces nerves!!!

I had a very poor nights sleep, had a little cry when i went to bed last night as she is always the last cat to have her food and goodnight cuddle as she spends most of her time in the box(computer) room and it seemed so strange shutting the curtains without her here.

Phoned the vet at 10.00am and she had done a wee during the night which they were pleased with and had eaten a little pilchards for breakfast. They wanted to keep her under observation for a few more hours so asked me to go over at 2.30pm. The diaoreha had stopped and she hadnt been sick anymore. She looks better in herself and demanded to be let out of her cage and sat on the back seat of the car most of the way home, until just before i pulled onto the dual carriage way, when i put her back in her cage. When we got home she had about a third of a packet of felix then marched downstairs to go out. This was the first time she had wanted to go out since saturday. She then came back in for a sleep, and is now currently sunning herself on top of the garage roof, again she has showed no interest in going out to this her favourite place for a few weeks.

I had a long chat with the vet and he says like Mrs dazzles friend the situation gets worse each time because of possible scarring in the bladder with each attack of cystitis it causes more discomfort the next time round. Her age is a big factor so he is reluctant to put her on any special diet so he doesnt upset her digestive system too much. She has another 3 days of antibiotics to take, and again i have to keep an eye on her for the next 2/3 days. My work have been very good allowing me off the shop floor to telephone when needed and also allowing me to finnish an hour earlier this Saturday so if need be i can take her back to the vets if needed before it closes.

If the situation doest improve and it starts to affect the quality of her life then i will have a difficult choice to make, but after over 15years of wonderful companionship i would not let her suffer for the sake of having her for a few more months. So we will see how things go.

Once again i thank you all for your messages of support, it has been a great help and comfort to me. I will continue to let you know how things progress. alison.