I have a cat named Mickey. I've never been through this, but Mickey and Kalie and you certainly have my sympathy!

Perhaps a second opinion is in order....?

Hugs for all of them. Poor kitty.

Sue

This doesn't sound like a urinary tract infection. It sounds like the cat was totally blocked - which is a life threatening situation. Cats that are blocked can die as quickly as within 12 hours.

We've been through this several times. Neither cat needed surgery.

They were kept at the vet's office for several days until the stone passed. The vet did X-rays and/or ultrasound to determine if the stone(s) were small enough to pass.

They were also put on a special acidifiying diet that helped to dissolve the crystals before they formed stones in the future.

I have heard of the surgery you are describing, but it's usually only done if the problem is recurring. It's not that uncommon but I don't know what else your vet might have done to determine that this was the only alternative. Are the stones too big to pass?

If this is the first time this has happened, I think you need to ask the vet why he thinks this surgery is necessary.

Good article about the surgery linked below

Here is a link that might be useful: Feline urethrostomy

Yes I think I'd get another opinion....

Doing the surgery might just be a money maker.

patti

You might want to cross-post this on the Pets forum. There are some really helpful and knowledgable people there.

This is from Kalie: Answering tallys post, the reason they are doing the surgery is because there is an infection along with a blockage, but when they did the x-ray and ultrasound they didnÂt find crystals or stones in his bladder or anywhere, so this is the reason why they are going in, they say they donÂt do it that often, but they donÂt want to do another catheter because it wouldnÂt help him at all, he would continue to back up.

(back to Sandy)Mickey does well with the cath, but it is blocked again as soon as they take it out...this is his 3rd cath now. They feel very confident with what their vet is doing....and has done.

One of our cats had this surgery done last year. He obstructed 3 times in a row, every time they unblocked him he was okay for a few days, and then obstructed again.

It is not an easy surgery, and recovery time is difficult. He had to wear a collar for 3 weeks to keep him from grooming the incision, and he had to be kept as inactive as possible. We bought a small kennel to confine him in, but let him out (supervised) every day. He needed daily pain meds for about a week and we had to take him to the vet to check the wound every few days.

He recovered very well and is doing great now, no more problems, and no more worries that he will obstruct again. After this surgery, there can be an increase in bladder infections. The vet told us to look out for frequent litter box use and pink urine.

Ditto what Marita said. I frequent the Pets forum and have seen this question posted many times. There is also a vet, Meghane, who posts quite frequently. You might get some "free" advice from her.

I think your vet is making the right option, however there must have been a blockage or partial blockage that has backed the urine up and created a secondary infection. I'm not clear because first you say there was a blockage and then you say no stones - so it must be a mucous plug?

In any case, continual catherizations will make the infection worse.

If your daughter trusts her vet, then I'm sure all will be well with the surgery. Good luck!

Poor kitty...I've seen this and like Tally said, it can be fatal so fast.

Sending hugs to Kalie and kitty.

Sandie, when I saw your post, I thought of Louie. Hope he's doing well...what a beauty and charmer he is. :)

The vet said that they could not see anything...stones with the x-ray/ultrasound. But he feels there is a blockage. (I don't understand that either) But reading about it, it seems there could be a mucous plug type thing blocking.

The only experience I had was a male cat that got what the vet said were crystals and he would have bloddy urine. We had him on the special diet. Didn't seem to help as periodically back to the vet.
One thing I think it very important is to make sure he drinks lots. Cats aren't huge drinkers usually and a moist diet will put more fluids into them....but again the special diet has to be considered.

I have huge hugs for Kali and Mickey!!! I'm sorry this is happening, and hope he gets on the road to recovery soon.

Mickey is out of surgery...he had 2 stones that were blocking him up. They were larger than the cath tube which just pushed them into his bladder. Vet said that sometimes you just can't see the stones on film/US. (I know that is true for humans too...been there!) So glad that things went well for him...now for the recovery time!

Oh, I hope that your kitty recovers nicely and with the least possible discomfort. We had a male cat who had infrequent periodic blockage. I don't think that this surgery was even available then. Eventually, after several years, he had a sudden and sharp attack which did take his life.

This is a common disorder in neutered male cats. As Nodakgal wrote, it's crucial for your cat to have as much moisture/water as possible. I am so concerned for my little guy that periodically during the day I leave the tap in our master bathroom running on a slow drip, as he loves to lap the drops, and I change the water in his favorite bowl very often. Also, try to keep your kitty on a low magnesium diet and try canned food instead of dry. The more moisture the better!

Scritches to your boy -
Sable

I'm glad they know what it was, that will help him alot in the future.
Gentle hugs for Mickey! I hope he has a short recovery!

Now breathe Kalie! I know you had to be very upset. Mickey is so lucky to have a wonderful Momma!

Kalie wants to thank everyone for their thoughts! She And I appreciate our KT family!!!!

Connie...I think she is finally able to breathe now..knowing what the problem was.

Oh, poor kitty! I'd never heard of this kind of surgery.
Stupid question, but without a penis, what will he pee out of?

All 3 of my cats refuse to drink out of a bowl, even though I use fresh, filtered water for them. They drink out of the toilets.

They also love my table-top fountain. I picked it up on Freecycle, so if you can find one (or anyone else) I'm sure your cats will love it.

I'm sure they're getting enough water.......fingers crossed, after seeing what Mickey and others have gone through. Poor babies.

Did they just take out the stones or did they have to do the originally planned surgery??

Poor little fellow and poor Kalie. I know she must have been worried sick.

what will he pee out of

Jasdip, the tube is still there, it's just shorter :)

Sandy, glad to hear all went well. The vet did good. Tell Kalie to ask the vet about c/d cat food.

Sandy, I've seen this surgery done quite a few times back when I worked at a vet's office and it was always successful. I'm sure Mickey will do just fine. He will be redesigned more like a female now, he won't know the difference.

It's going to hurt him a bit to pee, though, so don't be surprised if he equates his litter box with pain and starts to avoid it a bit. That's another good reason to keep him confined to a small space, to force him to use it. Once the pain is gone, he should get over any fear of the box.

They did go through with the original surgery...they said it would probably reoccur.

Tally...yes, Kalie will be buying him special food, he has been eating it while there and seems fine with it. I am assuming with all your cats that you have special diets for some and not others....HOW do you keep them from each others food? Ours have always had food in their bowls all the time.

They have a couple water bowls around their house...might be more now tho.

Welllll, the special diet is only for Duffy and Scamper. But be warned! c/d has a high fat content which makes it really appealing for everyone.

I feed Duffy and Scamper on top of a table with measured amounts of c/d in two small bowls. Everyone else gets fed at the regular feeding stations.

The other cats jump up to eat whats left. I don't worry too much if they get a few nibbles, it isn't going to hurt them.

Elmo has had one case of crystals in his urine (same symptoms and treatment). I told him that if he got another, he was gonna become a girl! The price of the "gender change" is the same as treating the blocked badder (or it was in GA then). So far he has been about 5 years without another problem (knock on wood).

The cats only get Purenia urinary tract formula dry food and Purenia canned food without seafood. Apparently, the seafood bits can cause problems once they have had once case of the crystals.

Good luck and keep us posted!

I had a cat go through the same problem, and was catherized, twice...just like your cat. The vet said if it happened again, he would have to do the surgery. The cat lived 14 more years and never had another problem, so he didn't have the surgery. Just lucky, I guess.

I owned two male cats who had this problem and required surgery. Hope Mickey gets better fast.

I kinda wondered if there was a kidney stone issue..thank the lord he didnt have to be *cut*

Kalie stopped and checked on Mickey after work. The vet showed her the 2 stones that they took out...he used a ball point pen to show her, Kalie told him that 'they were as big as my mom passes!!!' Everyone laughed, but she told me they were!! (I usually measure and take a pic using a ball point pen as a size gauge!) Poor guy!

Janie, the vet said the cost was the same also...and after being cathed 2 times, he said it was a better way to go. Thankfully that is what they did!

Tally....Caryn(DD) has a cat that is on that horrid stuff already!! OH MY GOSH that stuff stinks! LOL If we walk in there right after she has fed her one cat...or if she is gone and I go over and do it..it is bad! But, it does seem to help...a bit.

thank the lord he didnt have to be *cut*

Ont Gal, did you not read the thread or did I miss something? Sandy said they went through with the urethrostomy as planned, I think that means they cut him.

Sandy, I think it's cool the vet kept the stones to show Kalie. A picture's worth a thousand words :(

How long will Mickey have to be kept at the vet?

One of our cats went through this last year, with three nights in the hospital with the catheter.

Buddy has been eating Royal Canin "Control" formula since then and has a little kitty drinking fountain which he likes. He's just fine now.

The vet said he should be able to go home tomorrow evening. Kalie has taken Wednesday off to be home with him.

The vet was going to send the stones in to have them anylzed...I told Kalie that maybe Mickey and I have the same type of stones! LOL

Sandy, again I have to say this vet knows what he's doing. He's having the stones analyzed to see which kind they are - because that makes a big difference in the kind of food Mickey needs.

Many vets would just say feed a diet for urinary tract problems. Not so!

There are two kinds of stones - struvite and oxalate - and each forms in opposite conditions. If you give the wrong food you may actually be encouraging stone formation. Struvite requires acidifiers and Oxalate requires alkaline enhancers. If you give an acidic food for oxalate stones you may increase their formation!

Oxalate stones used to be fairly rare, but they are now increasing because so many cat foods are now marketed for "urinary tract health" and they may actually be messing up a normal cat's ph balance:

"In the past, crystals and stones which contained struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) were more common in cats. As a result, diets were developed to minimize the risk of forming struvite. These diets were low in magnesium and cats eating them produced an acidic (low pH) urine. As more cats were fed these diets, both for treatment and prevention of struvite, the percentage of cats with struvite stones decreased, but the incidence of calcium oxalate crystals and stones increased. Struvite is still the most common component of urethral plugs."

Probably more information than you wanted to know, but I thought it might be important. There are different formulated diet foods for each stone - c/d and c/d-O.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reducing Struvite and Oxalate Stones in Cats