Long term issues with urinary blockage?

October 9, 2011 6:10 PM

Kitty has obstruction of bladder. What does this mean for the future? Is this a recurrent issue? Many questions inside.

So today I came home from work to my kitty straining to pee and not producing anything. He was acting fine yesterday (his usual wild, crazy, lovable self... he really is a wild thing), but I observed him today and when he started to not act "right" (looking uncomfortable, attempting to unsuccessfully pee on items of my clothing, cleaning his private region excessively, not running around crazy attacking everything and everyone in sight), I knew something wasn't right and rushed him to the kitty hospital.

So I guess he has a blockage, but they ruled out stones since his x-ray was negative. He is getting cathed and drained right now and will be staying 24 to 36 hours for them to run workups on his urine, blood, and rehydrate him. The vet doctor said that these blockages happen due to a myriad of reasons such as mucus, stones, spasms... she said she didn't suspect an infection on him and he's x-ray was clear of stones but they would know more once they put a catheter and did their workup.

Anyway, I'm terribly lonely and worried for my dear kitty. He's only 15 months old. My other two cats are 7+ years old and have never had any medical issues. My house is so lonely without him.

I know lots of cats have UTI and urinary issues. Has anyone had anything similar happen to their kitty and after being unblocked said kitty was okay and lived a happy, healthy, blockage-free life? I'm so worried he's going to have ongoing issues. It doesn't help that we don't know what caused the blockage.

I feed Wellness Core supplemented with Wellness wet food a few times a week. I might switch to all wet food diet after this incidence if that would help. I don't like feeding by-products or corn-filler products. Any recommendations for a good wet food that helps with blockage issues? I thought Wellness was a good brand, but I just don't know.

Also, here's a requisite picture of my little guy (poor quality, taken with my phone, but really captures his lovable craziness!)

posted by rainygrl716 to Pets & Animals (17 answers total)

My cat had similar things happen twice, in fairly close succession (within months), he went to the vet both times, got expensively treated both times, and after the second time, got put on prescription food for urinary health.

It hasn't recurred again, so maybe the food has helped, or maybe it just hasn't recurred. Regardless, he's fine now and has been for about two years.

My cat is about 6 or 7 now.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 6:32 PM on October 9, 2011

Best answer: Ooh poor kitteh. I know how lonely it can get without them! He is a sweetie, though!

My Melon has struvite crystal problems and has been hospitalized twice for issues. He has also had a UTI as well. In my experience, if it is crystals, they can be a recurring problem if you don't keep on top of it.

What does this mean on the day to day? Prescription food. I have tried to go off twice. He has had issues twice after the initial one. I don't love the prescription, and others will tell you that you can do an all raw diet or a homemade diet, and that may be true, but my experience with struvite crystals is that the food is necessary. For a preference, I buy Royal Canin.

I use scoopable litter. It is a low-dust formula, and I scoop twice a day. Melon and Anton like super-clean boxes and if they aren't up to scratch (heh), Melon will not go like he should. So I want to avoid this.

I have dry food in a gravity feeder and I feed wet once a day, 1/2 can, with a full can of water added. Melon laps it all up, and throughtout the day, he sips from the faucet. He sees me and runs over, and I turn it on for him. I also managed to get a game going for him where I have a huge pippette of water (30 ml) and I squeeze it out sllllooooowwwwly and he laps that up.

I have a Drinkwell and that is going all the time. I change the water every 3-4 days. Melon does not get any treats, people food, milk, anything. His diet is the prescription.

Whatever the doctor orders in terms of pills (perhaps antiboitics, Cosequin, something) be religious about it. Be replicious about getting the urine samples to them for regular checkups. Take the little guy every year for his exam. Get him used to you watching him pee if he is not already. Maybe you can get the vet to teach you to express his bladder so you can get samples yourself. It is not hard, but you need to be gentle and it takes practice.

He may come back from the vet and have some accidents. The cath can make his urethra a little weak. Please don't be mad at him, but do use Anti-Icky poo to clean it. It is the only thing I have found that works. I will sit and think about this, but this is what I have so far.

Best of luck, I know it is hard, but he will be ok!
posted by oflinkey at 6:40 PM on October 9, 2011 [2 favorites]

Cats can develop an interesting variety of urinary crystals. Treatment (like dietary changes) depends on the type of crystal.

My male cat gets UTIs on some brands of dry food so he stays on one that doesn't bother him (Orijen yellow label). When his bladder acts up, he goes on antibiotics and has an acupuncture treatment to 'relax' his bladder. He's quite the relaxed character as it is, but acupuncture puts him in a blissful coma for hours.

The cat is 15 years old and very healthy. I think his first UTI was when he was about 2, so it's had minimal impact on his happiness.
posted by grounded at 6:43 PM on October 9, 2011

We have a cat who has this problem perpetually. She always responds to antibiotics -- for the associated UTI -- but so far we have not found any other method of treatment. She does appear to have stones, which apparently may harbor the e. coli causing her infections, but the only treatment the vet has recommended for that is subcutaneous fluids. (They cannot be operated on for some reason my wife understands better than I do.)

Anyway, I don't have answers for you, other than to say this is a very common problem, and you and your cat have my sympathies.
posted by mikeand1 at 7:02 PM on October 9, 2011

My childhood cat had a blockage and several UTIs and he lived to be 18. His brother never had any problems and lived to be 23. I've got 2 six year old cats now and one has had a UTI, constipation issues, and my vet told me that he is developing some urine crystals, while the other cat has had zero problems. Seems like some cats are just prone to stuff. I've switched their food to natural/grain-free stuff to see if that helps-was just feeding your average purina/science diet/etc before.
posted by fromageball at 7:35 PM on October 9, 2011

Has anyone had anything similar happen to their kitty and after being unblocked said kitty was okay and lived a happy, healthy, blockage-free life? I'm so worried he's going to have ongoing issues.

In November 2009, my neutered male (five years old at the time) was completely blocked, and though the catheter fixed the problem temporarily, when I got him home, he still couldn't urinate very much and remained uncomfortable. I decided after a couple of trips to the ER vet that a perineal urethrostomy was the best option. He had the surgery one week after his initial blockage, and despite one UTI post-surgery, he's completely recovered and is happy and healthy.

The ER practice who saw him for his initial blockage did the surgery because they had a dedicated surgical service. The whole thing was very expensive (total was about $3,500), but that's why I have a savings account.

This is very common in neutered male cats. Mine, unfortunately, was even more at risk because he's overweight. The prescription feline bladder health dry food is also very calorie dense, so I am still working to control his weight. I also have a Drinkwell fountain, and that's increased his interest in water quite a bit. (Aside: I was also feeding Wellness wet and dry when he blocked, and I always thought, still think, it's a good food. Someone else might know more.)

So, if you get him through this initial blockage, you might never have a recurrence. If, unfortunately, he does have recurrent blockages, and surgery is an option, he can fully recover from it. I know it's very scary, but your guy has every chance of being absolutely fine. You're even slightly ahead of the game because you already know the symptoms of a blockage.
posted by gladly at 7:52 PM on October 9, 2011

We have two cats who develop crystals if not on a special diet. We get Royal Canin Urinary SO 33 from our vet. Chazz has been on it since kittenhood some 2.5 years and Theo started on it back in February (he's 6). We feed them separately from our other cats. The urinary food must not be too bad, because they run each other over trying to queue up for meals.

Good luck with your kitteh!
posted by chosemerveilleux at 8:10 PM on October 9, 2011

Our cat developed urinary crystals a few years ago. We switched to all wet food and it solved the issue for her. We started giving her dry food as an option again and the crystals came back. So it's all wet food for good. Both the dry and wet foods were expensive premium brands and we have settled on a non-grain canned food that she loves (FELIDAE grain-free). As a bonus she's slimmed down to a healthy weight with the food change. There are some good older AskMe threads on cat food options.
posted by girlhacker at 8:14 PM on October 9, 2011

We had a cat that used to get this on and off until we switched his cat food. We switched his dry cat food to one from the vets, and once when I was really broke he ate one from the supermarket that was supposed to help prevent crystals forming and he didn't get any so I guess it worked.

I haven't seen either brand for sale since I've moved to the USA but I am sure if you ask your vet they would be able to recommend food. I also switched him to just one small dry meal a day as he really loved his cat biscuts but his main meal was wet tinned in the evening.

Once I switched his diet he never got the crystals again and lived to be 21 years old we switched his food when he was about 3.
posted by wwax at 8:52 PM on October 9, 2011

My mister cat had some sort of partial blockage when he was about a year old, midnight vet visit and the whole shebang. Didn't do an x-ray because they could see crystals in his urine when they expressed it, if I remember correctly. This was two years ago, and he hasn't (yet) had a full blockage. My mom had a lovely I-told-you-so conversation with me, as she grew up with animals and working in vets and stuff, and knows that male cats are likely to have urinary blockages / UTIs / crystals, etc.

My vet recommended I keep him on dry foods, for general teeth health, but that I add about a quarter inch of water in the bottom of his bowl, which forces him to drink the water before he eats the kibbles. When I remember to do this on a consistent basis, I can tell that I have a happier cat, potty-wise.

When he got sick I had been lazy and given him whatever was at the convenience store, but now he gets only Hill's Science Diet (my vet recommends it) - light, because he's about 2 pounds overweight. I'm not willing to risk changing foods to see if it was related to food or what.

I also give him paw gel from PetSmart that is for UTI health, made from cranberries and Oregon grape, which may be a little snake oil-esque but he likes it, and it makes me feel better.

Keeping the litter box immaculately clean is important to mister cat now, because he will pee on any old pile of clothing. Excuse to keep a tidy house, I guess.

It is sad to see them sick, so I hope your kittenski stays nice and healthy for his whole kittenlicious life.
posted by brave little toaster at 9:07 PM on October 9, 2011

Urinary blockage in male cats is pretty common. It can happen to females, too, but because males have a longer and more narrow urethra they're more likely to have a problem. Crystals can form in their urine and block the passage, and if left untreated it can be deadly. A lot of times the cat will have ongoing issues. I'm sure there are some who never have another problem, but with something like this, it's best to be cautious. So if and when the vet tells you to buy special food, do it! It'll cost extra, but it's worth it. Royal Canin and Science Diet are two vet-recommended brands. I believe they both require prescriptions, but there are brands who don't.

You're going to want something like this: . Wet, dry, or both is up to you, and your vet will probably talk to you about the best option.

My cat developed a serious blockage several years back, and since starting him on Science Diet he's not had any issues. I also worked at a veterinary practice for years, enough experience to say that your cat can indeed live a long, happy, and blockage-free life!
posted by metaphorik at 12:40 AM on October 10, 2011

With my kitties, a mix of dry, wet, and raw food did the trick of preventing another UTI/crystals incident. Cats don't always drink enough water, so gooshy/raw food can help sneak a bit more liquid into their tummies.

Disagreeing strongly with metaphorik -- vet-recommended brands are not necessarily the best. I went on about this before if you want to read it. (I also added Nature's Variety raw chicken to the menu once a week.)

If you're concerned about the cost of wet food, give The Honest Kitchen a try. My local store had a sample box for $3.50 that makes a whole pound of gooshyfood.
posted by Heretical at 1:07 AM on October 10, 2011

Our little guy had two bouts in close succession of problems with crystals. This can be very serious -- they go downhill fast when they can't piss and they can die without prompt vet attention.

Long term treatment was a special diet designed to be low in the mineral that forms the crystals (Royal Canin Urinary Diet). This was very expensive and he clearly didn't like it very much and lost weight. He was not a fat cat to start with. After about six months we put him on to a still expensive but cheaper high quality wet food that has no cereal in it (Ziwipeak) on the advice of our vet and he has been fine for over a year now.

It seems that fundamentally the best prevention is wet food, encouraging drinking, and making sure that there is always somewhere acceptable to pee (ie a clean private litter tray).

As far as I know the brands I mentioned are international, but they may not be available where you are.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:28 AM on October 10, 2011

Start here, lots of great info (follow the links on the right as well).

In short, this is a common problem that can be managed, but not cured. With proper management (special diet, Cosequin supplementation, minimizing stress with things like Feliway) your cat may never obstruct again, but there is always a risk.
posted by biscotti at 6:02 AM on October 10, 2011

My son's kitty, Ernie, developed several UTIs after they moved to Brazil. Twice they threatened surgery, but waited. Changed his diet to special urinary treatment formula, which helped some and made the pet food store richer. Also put him on antibiotics. Then they prescribed drops to alter the pH in his water. Three drops a day, in fresh water each day and voila, no more problems. Also, no need to separate the two cats as altering the pH doesn't harm the other cat. Several months now and (fingers crossed) no more episodes. He does eat a special formula food, but over the counter and less expensive than the original. It really seems as if correcting the pH in his drinking water is the major "cure". You might ask your veterinarian about this approach as it sure is simple. Clean water, three drops = well kitty.
posted by eepersmom at 8:42 AM on October 10, 2011

Fear not. I had an orange tabby male who had to spend a miserable week in the animal hospital at about age 7, with stubborn urinary blockage. Just as they had his hinders all shaved for surgery, he had the good sense to start peeing again. With no treatment beyond rehydration and changing to a prescription diet, he lived to be 21 with no further episodes. This is a scary ailment, but vets seem to have a pretty good handle on long term management.
posted by Corvid at 8:00 PM on October 10, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestion. Little guy is finally home and on a prescription wet food diet. I notice he has no interest in drinking water which is concerning. I'm hoping he can stay hydrated enough to stay in good shape!
posted by rainygrl716 at 6:55 PM on October 12, 2011