after the two-week ago drama of a blocked cat with crystals (and a visit to the after hours vet), bo had a great week. until tuesday morning... when we awoke to pee all over the kitchen floor (thankfully in the kitchen) and only 2 small pee spots on the carpet. we took bo back to the vet for another urinalysis (he wasnt' blocked so he didn't have to get sedated)... results: bo still has a UTI (the first round of antibiotics weren't strong enough), he is now on some stronger antibiotics, hopefully this will knock out the infection.
the urinalysis showed that he still was passing some crystals, though they were small, but that worries me. i inquired about a surgery that i read about (and one of nathaniel's colleagues in another office has a cat who's had it) - called "PU" perianal urethrostomy, its "like" a sex change for cats.
i say "like" because some people say it is one, but it really is not since it doesn't have anything to do with the sex organs-it's an operation where they take the urethra and shorten it, moving it forward so it's in a position where the female urinary opening would be-basically shifting it so the cut part is in another place. it makes the area look like the cat is a female, but what it does is eliminate the thinnest part of the urethra and leave the wider part attached to the skin. since the male urethra is so narrow, crystals can block there.
after a PU, it is very unlikely that a crystal will block in the wider opened urethra. this eliminates the "blockage" issue, but not UTIs. however, it is when the crystals block and/or lodge and/or irritate that they can break and allow the bacteria to be introduced in to the urinary tract.
(here's an article about it.)
so, anyway, we got an estimate for the surgery - i expected it to be a lot more. and if we keep on having to take him in for this medicine and that medicine and this test and that test, then we'll spend way more than that in the end. PLUS we wanted to get his teeth cleaned, and she said they could do it all at the same time (under the same round of anesthesia), so that saves a little money there.
i'm just not ready to give up on him yet, and at the same time i don't feel like beating around the bush with getting him fixed either. if, in the end, we'll end up with a surgery like this, then i'd rather go ahead and do it now rather than waiting 2 years and 20 vet visits and 200 pee spots later. i honestly just can't take the pee!
my only concern is that we (i) may be jumping the gun, and it isn't chronic crystals and something different all-together!
what are your thoughts? what am i missing??? time to discuss! i (we) want to make an educated decision!
after the two-week ago drama of a blocked cat with crystals (and a visit to the after hours vet), bo had a great week. until tuesday morning... when we awoke to pee all over the kitchen floor (thankfully in the kitchen) and only 2 small pee spots on the carpet. we took bo back to the vet for another urinalysis (he wasnt' blocked so he didn't have to get sedated)... results: bo still has a UTI (the first round of antibiotics weren't strong enough), he is now on some stronger antibiotics, hopefully this will knock out the infection.
the urinalysis showed that he still was passing some crystals, though they were small, but that worries me. i inquired about a surgery that i read about (and one of nathaniel's colleagues in another office has a cat who's had it) - called "PU" perianal urethrostomy, its "like" a sex change for cats.
i say "like" because some people say it is one, but it really is not since it doesn't have anything to do with the sex organs-it's an operation where they take the urethra and shorten it, moving it forward so it's in a position where the female urinary opening would be-basically shifting it so the cut part is in another place. it makes the area look like the cat is a female, but what it does is eliminate the thinnest part of the urethra and leave the wider part attached to the skin. since the male urethra is so narrow, crystals can block there.
after a PU, it is very unlikely that a crystal will block in the wider opened urethra. this eliminates the "blockage" issue, but not UTIs. however, it is when the crystals block and/or lodge and/or irritate that they can break and allow the bacteria to be introduced in to the urinary tract. (here's an article about it.)
so, anyway, we got an estimate for the surgery - i expected it to be a lot more. and if we keep on having to take him in for this medicine and that medicine and this test and that test, then we'll spend way more than that in the end. PLUS we wanted to get his teeth cleaned, and she said they could do it all at the same time (under the same round of anesthesia), so that saves a little money there.
i'm just not ready to give up on him yet, and at the same time i don't feel like beating around the bush with getting him fixed either. if, in the end, we'll end up with a surgery like this, then i'd rather go ahead and do it now rather than waiting 2 years and 20 vet visits and 200 pee spots later. i honestly just can't take the pee!
my only concern is that we (i) may be jumping the gun, and it isn't chronic crystals and something different all-together!
what are your thoughts? what am i missing??? time to discuss! i (we) want to make an educated decision!
What a pain in the ass! There is nothing worse than cat pee, so I completely understand your feelings there. The surgery is probably the best bet, but how much longer could you wait to have that done? I mean, could you wait it out and see if this clears up on its own, or is it too painful/uncomfortable for him?
ReplyDeleteWhat else could it be? Probably the only other thing might be stress which can cause UTIs (I know personally!)
ReplyDeleteIf he were my cat, I'd likely do the following. 1. Give these stronger antibiotics time to work.
2. Put him on some sort of "calming" medication in case it is stress-related. I know there are some mild options. Heck, you can even buy drops at Whole Foods that you put in water and/or spray, stuff you plut into the wall the emits "calming" stuff, etc. I did this for Clyde and Nigel once when they started freaking out and beating each other up. It did help.
3. If the crystals come back one more time, do the operation. You're right, why keep putting everyone through this?
That's what I'd do!