question about my male cat...he is 3 yrs old-never had any helath problems?

Question

Thursday night (started at 4.30 pm) he started crying (which he never does) at first we thought he sprained his foot b.c he jumps around and runs and is crazy and he was walking funny-not exactly a limp but not norm. either- and he lost all his energy I wanted to take him to the vet right then-but my husband said wait a bit your just overreacting(!) later (9.14 pm) he was a LOT worse so I said no way are we waiting and at 9.40pm he was at the emergency animal hospital. They (doctors there) said that he has crystals blocking his urethra so he can’t go to the bathroom-they sedated him and at 10.48 pm he was unblocked. They put in a catheter, and he was doing well. On Saturday they took out the catheter and then Sunday they called to say we can take him home. Then while we were on our way there they said he is reblocked!!-they said that his muscles are contracting so much that he cant go to the bathroom. So they sedated him (again!) and then squeezed his blater some urine came out..

-so he is currently on muscle relaxers-liquid every 6 hrs. And he isn’t eating! So they are force-feeding him w/ a syringe! Doctors said this doesn’t normally happen. So what is next?? Can someone give me some info, advice…anything?? Also explain the force feeding…I'm picturing how they used to do it to humans and killed most people!

also he is an indoor cat

Answer 1

Male cats get crystals in the urinary tract due to too much ash and magnesium in their (mostly dry) food. This is FATAL if left untreated for more than 24 hours (so kick you husband's butt) and your cat would die in a lot of pain. It is called Cystitis(also called Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease or FLUTD) and is very common in male cats.

If you cat got re-blocked, then they called you too soon (10 years ago, when my cat was blocked, they kept him for three days).

Your cat now needs to be on a special, low ash, low magnesium diet. You don't have to get the vet food only, though (it's pricy). If you go to pet specialty stores, and ask for low ash, low magnesium food, there's plenty out there. But it'll have to be wet from now on, because it's the kibble that causes this.

Hope your little guy gets well soon.

Answer 2

My cat lived with this his whole life. It happens in both male and female cats, but it's more dangerous in males because their urethra gets smaller as it gets closer to the outside of the body and the crystals collect there and block them.

Now that you know you're cat is prone to this, the doctor will recommend he be on Hills Science Diet C/D catfood. Once my cat was put on this FOR LIFE, he never had another episode. I did go off of it once and use the Hill's that you get from the pet store, and he got blocked again. It comes in dry version, which is all that he (and the other two) ate. Ocassionally they'd get some wet,but the never really liked it. It's texture was kind of dry for a wet food, if that makes sense.

You did the absolute right thing by bringing him to the emergency clinic. This was a life threatening situation. The first time mine was blocked, we had no idea what was going on, we found him in the basement foaming at the mouth. By the grace of God and my wonderful vet, they pulled him through. He wasn't far from death.

Speak you your doctor regarding diet. Some commercial foods say they are low ash, but I never really trusted them. It's said that the ash is what creates the crystals. He may also have to have routine urinalysis done to keep an eye on the acidity of his urine and to see if there are any crystals forming.

Answer 3

Thank goodness you got kitty to the hospital. If you'd waited he could've died!

Here's where you can learn more about urinary tract blockages:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_urinary_blockage.html
and
http://www.caringhandsvet.com/VetTopics/Blockage.htm
and
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/fusfaqs.html
and
http://www.thecatconnection.com/care/urinary.htm
and
http://lbah.com/feline/flutd.htm

Dry cat food has been implicated as one possible trigger for urinary tract blockages. If you've been feeding kitty dry food please check this out:
http://www.catinfo.org

Some have suggested that hard water might also trigger urinary tract blockages.

As for force feeding, not to worry. Assisted feeding is done with a syringe and food moistened to a semi-liquid consistency. If kitty may need this at home, they'll show you how to do it. It's important to keep something in kitty's tummy because a few days without eating can trigger hepatic lipidosis, a lethal liver condition.

Good luck; I hope kitty will be good as new soon!

Answer 4

Sometimes this happens. Male cats become blocked and sometimes after putting in a cath they are unable to go on their own once the cath is removed. Meds sometimes will help and other times will not. follow the vet recommendations and good luck

Answer 5

this can be a common problem in male cats...good thing you took him in..cats can easily die from this. Most cats with this problem are put on a special diet to help prevent further blockages.

Answer 6

sounds like your cat's health or otherwise is in the hands of the gods. find a new, better husband who actually cares about anything besides sex, sport & beer.