Poor little guy -- Cat health issues

[forgotten_aria]

We noticed that Nate was peeing in inappropriate places. This is often an indication of urinary system problems, but we thought there was a slim chance that it was just unhappiness with the state of his litter, so we did an UBER cleaning of everything in the litter room, including the scoop and like. It seemed better, but this morning I heard him crying in the litter room. I went to go see if there was something wrong. I observed him spending a very long time and producing almost nothing and then returning frequently. We phoned the vet, who mercifully saw us within the hour.

While there the vet got a sample of his urine (which was mildly bloody. He tested it.

Apparently male cats will sometimes just get urine crystals and that, according to the vet, nate has to be on perscription food for the rest of his life.

The good news is he had no bladder stone. It's all medication and diet change, no surgry, but I'm kind of sad that Nate has a chronic condition. It's going to be tough feeding them separate foods (and yes, the perscription food has a chance of being bad for Iz) since they just nibble at their food.

They gave him a subcontaneous fluid inejction to help him flush the crystals.

I guess I should just feel lucky it's not the bad cat food renial failure problem.

Poor Natey.

Comments

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

It's not just a male cat thing - we had a female cat who had to do the special food for life too.

[eccentrific.livejournal.com]

Either gender can get it, but it's definitely more common in male cats because they have a longer urethra.

Did the vet test for crystals or just assume? Crystals in urine are the most common cause, but certainly not the only. Bladder polyps are another not-that-uncommon cause and they are solved by adding glucosamine and chondroitin to the diet, which is much easier than the special low-ash food for crystals.

By the way, a blocked urethra can be fatal in as little as 24 hours in a cat (worst case), so if you even suspect that might be happening, it is good to be safe and just take them straight to the emergency room.

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

Yes, the vet told us very much the same thing.

The vet tested the urine and found crystals, but oddly not the pH he expected.

[testing4l.livejournal.com]

=( Poor kitty. How old is he?

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

less than 2.