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![]() Group: Pet Lovers Posts: 433 Joined: 11-November 07 Member No.: 3,938 ![]() |
My thread is at Goodbye Rosie Goodbye Family, but I really need all your prayers.
My last 5 year old cat Zeus cat threw up late last night and wasn't purring so I knew he wasn't feeling well. He didn't eat this morning so I phoned the vet. He was acting totally normal until late last night. He has a urinary blockage and is undergoing surgery. He is 5 years old. I've had a lot of losses, and I really need him to pull through this. The vet said that he may have kidney damage. He appeared really healthy until this. Unfortunately it's a long weekend and they need me to decide whether to bring him home, to leave him at a different vet's office, one I've never been to, or take him to another city for 24 hour hospitalization. The local vet's office does not have 24 hour surveillance, and I'm tempted to bring him home. But on the other hand, I'm not sure about what complications there could be - does anyone have advice on this? Need some advice quickly... thanks Jan. |
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![]() Group: Pet Lovers Posts: 340 Joined: 19-June 06 From: Western Washington Member No.: 1,750 ![]() |
The first vet was all about selling me the food, but the second and third vets were very clear that moisture was the single most important element about his diet. Cheap wet food he'll eat is better than dry healthy food he won't eat. They suggested I add water or even low sodium chicken broth to his wet food. One vet suggested adding a little clam juice, but since I think that's gross beyond words (childhood prank, long story) I was relieved Rohan thought it was gross too.
Until last summer, I had never even heard of urinary blockages, despite having lots of male cats. But we only fed them wet food. I think that's the key. Most dry food now is just carbohydrates (corn meal, etc.) that cats don't have the digestive tract to digest properly. (The person who invented dry cat food in the 1950s based the ingredients on a human diet.) Cats' digestive tract is way too short to break down grains -- their natural diet is nearly all small animal protein. I do feed them some dry food, but I switched to Natural Instincts, which is grain-free. The wet vet food -- I may as well have been opening the can and scooping it into the trash. Since I have four cats, and have little control over who eats what, I had to put everybody on it, and all four looked at me night after night, "Are ya kiddin' me??" So now they get Friskies and Meow Mix wet. As I said, I want to move them to an raw diet -- I should get some discipline back for another attempt. Make sure lots of water is available, and indulge them with running water. I have three bowls around the house, and both my boys have me well-trained to turn on the faucet and let them drink from a thin stream of water. Also, I tore apart a small tabletop fountain and set the pump in the bottom of one bowl with a little piece of plastic tubing so it shoots up a little stream of water. That's their favorite bowl to drink from -- the noise attracts them. -------------------- ...You precious children, of four feet, whiskers, and mischief...
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 14th July 2025 - 06:06 AM |