Why worry about something that may not exist? Take the cat to a vet and find out if he has a simple urinary tract infection.

Your cat may have a UTI or may have crystals or stones forming and partially blocking his urethra. It is extremely important to get him to a vet immediately for diagnosis. If he blocks completely, he can die within a matter of hours without treatment, so this is NOT a wait and see proposition.

Three of my boys have suffered complete blockages in the past - each one only once. The treatment for a complete blockage involves catheterization under anesthesia and perhaps one or more days of hospitalization. It is costly, but it is mandatory if your cat blocks.

The best thing you can do for your cat, assuming he is NOT completely blocked, is to do everything in your power to prompt him to take in more water on an ongoing basis. The more fluid running through his system flushing out any urinary crystals or bacteria, the better. Place water bowls all around your house. Buy a pet drinking fountain. Mix canned cat food into a gruel with warm water. Buy a wide-mouthed fish bowl, put a fish in it, and place it on a cat-accessible table for your cat to drink out of.

As far as using the litterbox again is concerned, most likely he will return to the box once he is healthy again, but there is the possibility that his litterbox avoidance will be permanent. One of my previously blocked boys hasn't used a litterbox since he blocked many years ago. The other two never abandoned the box to begin with. If litterbox avoidance is a problem after your cat is fully recovered, there are strategies you can employ to try to lure him back to the box.

First things first. Get him to your vet ASAP for a checkup.

Laurie

Cat is going to the vet now. We went to the store and got the lowest ash canned food we could find, mixed it with water into a gruel and fed it to all four cats. We have picked up the dry food and will not feed dry to any of the cats because it is very difficult to feed them separately. We have a pond in the back yard with lots of baby goldfish. We will put the bowl with fish out by this week-end. We have bowls of water scattered about and will increase this number shortly.
Please explain the pet drinking fountain idea?
Thank you for your help!

You can purchase pet drinking fountains through most pet supply catalogs and on eBay and amazon.com. Many animals prefer circulating water and are attracted to fountains or even a dripping faucet.

If your boy is diagnosed with urinary crystals, this can many times be managed with specialized diet (though none of my previously blocked boys are on special, crystal-minimizing diets). Again, though, I am convinced that the most critical strategy for preventing blockages and UTIs is increasing water intake.

You were wise to remove the dry kibble, though you could use it up by soaking it in hot water until it turns to mush and seeing if they'll eat it that way. At least you wouldn't be wasting it that way. Or you could donate it to your local humane shelter or municipal pound.

Good luck with your boy!

Laurie

Do you have four or five litter boxes? Its best that each cat has his own box. Sometime a dominant cat will keep the more submissive cats out of the box forcing them to go elsewhere.

Its best for each cat to have its own box AND usually its recommended that you have one extra litter box for the number of cats that you have.

Thanks! We DID have four boxes but cut down to one huge one. I am thinking you are right. We have not thrown the other boxes out and I will set them back up right away.
Our vet gave him a buprenex injection, some buprenex to give him twice a day, and did a urinalysis and sediment exam. Riley (the cat) is to eat C/D feline canned food also. Right now he is separated from the other cats. I guess we will have to feed him separately from now on?
One thing that I have learned from this is to feed ALL of the cats canned food, add water to it, and keep lots of water around for them.

Last night things changed. Riley was spasming on the floor badly. The only emergency vet anywhere around told us that if we didn't have between $1,500 and $2,000 in cash or credit, they would not help us. All of the local vets use this hospital for emergency calls so we are all in the same boat. In addition, this emergency vet has a bad reputation (poor care and price gouging).
We called the woman who assisted us with our adoption and she acknowledged that for people in our area, this was the only option. She said that all we could do was to pretty much wait it out and if he wasn't dead by morning, we should go to a different vet. I watched him all night. He was clearly in pain but for some reason he fought back. We got him to the new vet this morning and they are catheterizing him now. I think that he will be okay. Lots of people are praying for him.
I am wondering if pet insurance would have avoided this situation. I think I will look into it.
Thanks for all your help!

I am so sorry to hear of Riley's condition, but I'm very glad he was able to survive the night and that you got him to the vet in time to save him. How is he doing now?

Laurie

You know, I almost put him down last night. The emergency people said that while I didn't have enough money to pay for catheterization, I did have enough for euthanasia and they were right, Riley was in a lot of pain. I am not cruel but something told me to just wait.
The vet called me and said that Riley is doing really well. He is lucky to have a big bladder. His crystals were big enough to see without a microscope. He is on IV because his kidneys were temporarily damaged. He will stay at the hospital for two or three more days and then will be discharged on a special diet. You can bet I will follow those instructions like they were set in stone!
I cannot believe how fortunate I am to have this cat in my life longer.
Thank you!
Karen

Phew! I've been in a similar situation, and it made me sick to my stomach to think that I would have to let my bank account decide if my buddy would live or die.

I'm so glad it's working out for you and Riley. I hope the rest of his life is uneventful and full of joy!!!

In the meantime, if you like your vet now, check with them about payment options. Yes, emerg clinics are outrageously priced and $1500 to walk in the door is pretty common.So you're kinda screwed there. But if, in the future, you're faced with a tough financial decision, you'll know what your vet's policy is. Many have a "pay at the time of services" policy, but many are more flexible. My vet gives me tons of time to pay. They'd rather just make the cat healthy first. And I feel very lucky to have them. They don't even charge interest or anything.

And I found pet insurance to be tricky and not quite worth it. Check all the fine print. If you find any options out there that are worth it, by all means, post it for us!

Best of luck to Riley and all your furry people!

lisa

Alot of people who adopt these kinds of animals don't understand or don't wish to because of their domesticated lifestyles. that they are adopting, a predator, that means an animal designed by mother nature to kill and eat other animals for food, most cat foods out there found in a supermarket are likely the cause of your kitties condition or/and more likely he was eating poorly at the shelter and slowly it got to him, is the animal neutered? That could be your last hope out of a chronic nutritional issue that may sadly never go away completely. I would first try a good canned like Innova Evo, wellness grain free and go to Felinefuture.com to learn about cat foods and feeding, dry isn't good for the teeth BTW.

Was the cat De-clawed?, De-clawed cats can become biters, spray/pee outside the litter box and sometimes develop, through rarely walking trouble. Its never a good idea to De claw.

We adopted Riley from the Humane Society. He had been found by the side of the road with a pelvic fracture. The Humane Society neutered him and helped his pelvic fracture heal and put him in foster care. We found him on the net under their adoption site. He isn't de clawed. I personally feel uncomfortable with this.
Riley will be discharged today from the hospital. I have a feeling he will be discharged on SD diet with a plan to go to CD and hopefully then to something healthy that he likes. I will do whatever the veterinarian tells me to do. I love Riley and NEVER want to see him in that kind of pain again.
Karen

Please don't de-claw, you want your cat to have claws, otherwise they become biters, pee outside the litter box and if they get outside away from the house they are 75% defenceless to whatever is out there, most cannot climb trees to get away from dogs/ect.. vets also test pain meds on de-clawed cats because the pain is so bad, cats NEAD claws, its much kinder to PTS if they cannot be trained/re homed or have a medical problem that causes them to maul themselves ( note VERY rare indeed) A rough bark like scratching post, some catnip and a good repti mister filed with luke warn water are all you need to end most clawing problems.

"I'll do whatever the vet tells me" Is good to a curtain extent, as far as serious health issues/ shots/ect go, but I think with diet you'll find most foods he sells are going be as much price wise as Innova EVO/ Orijen and be less then half the quailty, you'll get health issues such as dental disease, obesity, kidney shutdown, UTI's ect. because the pet food reps and vets work together to help each other earn money.

Riley came home from the vet but immediately started licking himself on his genitals a lot and also started urinating out of the box. The vet took him back and will watch him for a few more days.
Are you saying that the SD that Riley was put on is not as good quality as some others we can buy? There is no way I want to subject him or the rest of the cats to more illnesses.
I would never be comfortable with de clawing.

It's very common for the licking and litterbox avoidance to continue for a while after a blockage because catheterization HURTS. Riley is undoubtedly still mighty sore and still associates the litterbox with that soreness. Of course it is possible that he may reblock, so it was a good idea to have the vet supervise him a bit longer. But he may continue licking himself for a couple of weeks, and the litterbox avoidance (I'm sorry to say) may be permanent. Not necessarily, though. I've had it go both ways with my boys who have blocked.

As far as the SD is concerned, SD is not a great quality food, but it is essential under these circumstances. SD is a prescription food formulated specifically to dissolve struvite crystals. If Riley will eat it, it's very important that he continue to get it for as long as the vet prescribes. It should NOT, however, be fed to your other cats, so be sure to feed them separately.

I'm so glad that Riley is on the mend!

Laurie

oh .......! I am feeding it to the other cats. There is danger in doing this? Vet didn't tell me. Will call the vet now!
Riley is still at the vets because he continues to struggle to pee. He misses us I know but I don't want to take a chance on his health. We work long hours. I want him to have the best care possible.