Rohan Is Ill, bladder crystals Options

[Mink&WillowsMom]

Please keep a prayer for Rohan -- he's in the hospital.
Stable, should be okay, but he had crystals in his bladder that blocked his urethra, and he almost got to life-threatening stage before I realized. His bladder was about the size of a large apple, and at risk of rupture. This afternoon I saw him try to pee on my bed. I'd seen him pee on another rug a couple days ago, and knew that it was very odd, but the only logic I could put to it was a protest over litter boxes that need changing.

After I scooped him off the bed, he meowed in a very distressed way -- pain from being lifted on his abdomen, no doubt. Then he lay by the door and whimpered, so immediately I found a vet with extended hours and got him in. By the time we arrived, he was blocked and yet so full he was incontinent, just dribbling everywhere. If I'd waited until tomorrow morning he could have died.

I arrived thinking was constipated, fearful maybe a hairball obstruction. Ten minutes later she wants to get him out of the room and into the back to catheterize him NOW, while also quickly trying to get me up to speed on what's happening and how urgent it was. She quickly tried to outline the scope of what I was dealing with, and explain enough so that I can make informed decisions. Meanwhile, I know Roh is soooo afraid here, and first she says "heart murmur," and then I hear bladder blocked anesthesia crystals xrays cardio-myopathy stones surgery die hospital $1500 euthanasia. Flashing like red neon signs in my brain. I'm trying to track the details, but ohmigod she's saying Rohan is really sick, in dire distress and lots of pain, and what am I supposed to be looking at on this financial e$timate? Did I wait too long? What clues did I miss? How did I not know he was in pain? And why the hell did she bring up euthanasia? Is he really that sick he might die? Or is she just giving me a financial out? Finally I realized that's what she was doing, and I just looked her in the eye and said, "euthanasia's off the table."

Honestly, I don't know how parents leave their human children in the hospital. I feel like such a bad mama, leaving him all alone in a cage, catheterized and two IVs, terrified by the drugs and the procedures, and the cone he has to wear so he won't pull out the cath. They let me sit with him for a while, but then there was nothing to do but come home. Fortunately the vet tech who's on tonight will take phone calls so I can check on him through the night.

He's also got a heart murmur and possible cardiomyopathy, but we'll deal with that later.
He's only two years old.
I am really overwhelmed right now.
Just today I told someone I've been trying to shake a sense of doom. *pow* strikes again. Just a little left jab, but still enough to ding me.

So I just need to remind myself, he's doing okay right now. They were able to catheterize him with just sedation, not general anesthesia, to my great relief. His blood panel looks good, and he's not too dehydrated. They gave him pain meds, and flushed out the bladder. She said usually the urine has more of a sandy look to it, and his doesn't, which means he doesn't have nearly as many crystals, which bodes well. We talked a little about what I've been feeding them, and may have found a culprit. Typically, the treatment is a lifetime of very expensive food my other cats in the past have hated. Hopefully it has improved, or I have other options. I'm holding out a thread of hope that this was a one-time thing due to two months of cheap tuna fish cat food.

Kim
PS: I just called the vet tech, who said that he's settled a fair bit, especially after they blocked his view of the room with a towel, and that he was eating some. Luna and Willow are asking me questions.

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[Mink&WillowsMom]

the urinalysis showed "calcium oxalates." Both vets said that it's rarer, and the cause isn't as clear, except that stress can play a significant role. They both said that it doesn't relate much to diet, but more to pH of the urine. It seems to me that if diet can alter pH (since it can in humans, I'm guessing it can in cats as well), then as long as I can provide a diet aimed in the right pH direction, I shouldn't have to be stuck with this expensive, uggy prescription canned food, yes?

has anyone else had to deal with calcium oxalates in kitty pee? ~kim

[5catsmom]

the urinalysis showed "calcium oxalates." Both vets said that it's rarer, and the cause isn't as clear, except that stress can play a significant role. They both said that it doesn't relate much to diet, but more to pH of the urine. It seems to me that if diet can alter pH (since it can in humans, I'm guessing it can in cats as well), then as long as I can provide a diet aimed in the right pH direction, I shouldn't have to be stuck with this expensive, uggy prescription canned food, yes?

has anyone else had to deal with calcium oxalates in kitty pee? ~kim

Hey, Kim, long time no kitty talk. Seriously, I do hope Rohan's doing better. I have such a thing for character cats who are cream tabbies. I wish I had advice for you, but I've sure learned a lot. Dry food has been a staple in our house for longer than I care to remember, I think now after all these stories, we'll have to switch to canned. I honestly had no idea of the dry food dilemma, and I thought I know something about cats. Duh!

I tend to agree about the catheter causing irritation leading to some incontinence. As a nurse, I tended to see that a lot, but since I worked on an OB ward, it was somewhat different. Most of the women felt irritation following the removal of the cath, and personally (I've got five young 'uns myself) I can attest to the irritation factor. It's a foreign body, and no matter how well you clean the perineal area, the betadine or povidine you clean the urethra with, can be as irritating as the catheter. I can't imagine how bad it must be for a male, no matter how many stories I heard about men yanking them out and swinging them around their heads. (Okay, off topic, but the word picture still gives me chills.)

Well, I gotta get ready to go to the doctor myself now and parking at Walter Reed too often degenerates into a catfight anyway, so please let us know how brave little Rohan is doing. It's so stressful having an ill kitty. The worry about the cat, the worry about the bill, the worry about the aftereffects and if you're doing what's right . . . oh, it goes on and on, doesn't it. You could write a book, heck, we all could. You and Rohan, and the other little furpillows take care and write when you can - good to talk atcha again - Barb