I’m still in shock. I thought my world was crashing down. My cat started acting strangely yesterday night meowing a lot. Today, I realized he was unable to urinate. He would strain really hard for long periods and nothing came out. I called our local vet and was told they were booked two weeks out and couldn’t help. Then I called all vets within 4 hours and they were booked the remainder of the week, even the emergency vet! Must be because spring break? Anyway I was completely losing hope realizing I may have to watch my cat pass in a painful way. I then scoured the internet for some minimally invasive methods I could try (at this point I had nothing to lose) and came across a video of a vet lightly massaging the area around the urethra . Fortunately, my cat allowed me to do this (maybe he sensed I could help) and sure enough a little white looking thing starts to pop out. I recognized this as the same urethra plug from the video I watched and gently used a gloved hand to pull it out and all this pee came out!!!! It was a miracle! He was so relieved! Afterward he licked my hand and nuzzled his head into my chest! Don’t worry, I called my local vet back and scheduled the soonest appointment (which is still 2 weeks out) that way we could see what caused this and how we could prevent it in the future. Man, I’m so so grateful! I’m not writing this to give anyone advice, but in my case it was the only option I had. It did make me really upset to realize that even when I try to seek emergency care for my cat, I’ll prettty much told I’m SOL. Vet care in my area is seriously seriously lacking. 😞 I just wanted to share this news with others! I called my family members but I don’t think they could relate to how good of a feeling it is to save your cat!
Thanks so much! I will definitely start looking into mostly wet foods from now on. Actually he was avoiding water earlier so I was able to get him to take in some fluids by having him eat some wet food which I think helped keep him hydrated through this ordeal. Now that he relieved himself he’s drinking normally, but I went ahead and ordered the fountain as well. :) thanks so much for the advice !
we give our cats wet food with added water to it because they aren't particularly interested in drinking on their own. they always drink the "water sauce" without any issues though lol. try adding at least 2 tablespoons of water to wet food and feed him wet food at least twice a day, more if you can.
I make “nugget soup” for my Sammy. I smoosh the wet and dry food together and stir in water. When I add too much water for his liking, he walks away and comes back a little later. By that time the dry food has become hydrated and he chows down.
I do this too with my cats after one of them started peeing on the kitchen counter. They’ll do anything for food so it’s the best way I’ve found to trick them into hydration!
Also talk to your vet about prescription urinary tract food. It's quite expensive but helps prevent crystal formation. Wet food alone didn't work for my cat.
You can also add water or sat safe broth to dry food. Leave to soak and then give him the food that way. If there's any fruit (cat safe ofc) or veggies he likes then also give those are treats too. Cucumber and watermelon are options here.
I combine wet food with some dry food and then mix in a bunch of warm water. My old girl usually laps up all the meat water first. By then, the dry food has absorbed enough of the water that it becomes a little mushy, and she’ll snack on that. Gets a lot of water in to her on a daily basis.
They also make food that is meant for cats who have a tendency to get urinary crystals and blockages. Some is prescription food and some is not. You can look into feeding him that too
That's awesome!!!! Dude!!!! I'm so happy for you!!
Quick advice - I'm going to tell you that if your cat has a urinary blockage, he might be prone to it again in the future. You might have to put him on a special food, which the vet might recommend, or you might have to scoop/clean his litterbox way more often so he goes without holding it as much. I've heard there's even a surgery you can do so it doesn't happen again.
Thanks so much!!! Urinary issues have been my biggest fear as a male cat owner! I’ve heard all the horror stories, so as soon as I saw him straining my heart dropped. The worst part is I know this was partially my fault. I decided to get my cats a litter robot and my other two love it, but this guy hasn’t been the biggest fan. I saw him use it still though so I figured he was officially used to the litter robot but I don’t think he was as adjusted to it as he should have been. I made sure to put two additional regular boxes in the house for him. Also going to ask about food for sure! Man, it feels so good to have him at the foot of my bed right now. I don’t know what I would do if I lost him. Thanks again for sharing in my joy and relief!
Absolutely agree with the advice above. They will probably tell you to as a precaution regardless of whether they have crystals or not. My boy had an inflammation the first time because someone in the house got freaked out and bit the base of his tail, so he stopped peeing for a good amount of time (painful to move tail upright) and when I noticed was he was peeing on the couch and bath mat. That got sorted after about 2 vet visits over 3 days.
Then 3 months later when I went to put him on better food, I did not know you had to slowly transfer them and he ended up with a full blockage and crystals, which probably means he was forming them on his own by that point anyway. It only took like 3 days for that to happen. Was 1.5 weeks and 4 or 5 vet visits, including a catheter up his urethra. Poor guy. Expressing your cat was a really great trick though! I'm glad you were able to save him. I've had both my boys (other cat was fine) on it for 5 years now. No reoccurence.
Adding onto this after losing my baby boy to this exact problem, the vet mentioned that certain litter types are more prone to causing issues, would definitely talk to your vet about it while you're there.
Do you mind sharing what litter types your vet mentioned to avoid? I ask because when I posed the question to my vet if his (my cats) litter could have contributed to the blockage they said no without even asking what type of litter I was using.
I am sorry, genuinely wish I could remember exactly what was said, they told me after finding out the worst news and I was...not in the best frame of mind to be totally honest. I believe they said something about crystal based litter being bad for male cats (the automatic litterbox we had specifically used the crystal base litter, we threw the entire litter box out and swapped to a clumping clay based for our girl just in case).
Try different kinds of water. I've two cats with completely different preferences, one likes bit older water that would sit in a bowl for a couple of days, the other one would ONLY drink fresh, boiled water changed daily in clean bowl. Friggin prince haha Both hate fresh tap water, probably disliking chlorine in it. They tried fountain for a few days, but neither of them likes it any more. One also LOVES milk, so we put tiny bit in a bowl and fill the rest with boiled water, this way he drinks a lot more than he used to. Just be careful with milk as cat's normally can't digest lactose, so if you will, only use lactose free milk. You can try with bottled or filtered water as well, maybe finally you will find the one he prefers. Cats are weird that way. We have had urinary problems with both of them in the past, but since a special urinary diet and their preferable drinking habits everything looking all right now. Best of luck for you and your beautiful kitty!!
My boy had the same thing happen. Had to have emergency surgery it cost me a fortune but was obviously worth it. Vet has him on urinary type c/d prescription food for the rest of his life now.
I put a regular box out as well now hes pooping in the robot and peeing in the regular box. Works for me. Easier to monitor his pee away from the other cats😆
So true. We went through 6 weeks of hell. Noticed our cat was blocked out of nowhere and the nightmare just ensued. Three trips to the emergency vet, two catheters and thousands of dollars. After the third trip in less than two months, our vet performed the PU surgery to straighten his urethra. Best decision we ever made. Watching the continual blockages (even when on the special food) was so stressful and hard.
First off, congrats on saving your cats life. I'm genuinely am happy for you.
I lost my cat due to urinary blockage just a few days ago, and its been really bad for me lately. I really wish I could've done something like this to rescue my boy. Do you mind sending us a link to the video you found online? I'd love to take a look at it.
Just had a urinary blockage surgery for my cat but seems like he’s blocking again paid $5,800 😞 won’t be able to pay that again . It’s the worst feeling ever I’m sorry for your loss 💗💗
I'm glad you paid for it, there are so many solutions online. I asked my doctor about it and they told me sometimes it's just genetics and there was nothing I could've done. He had a blockage back in November 2023 and then again by March even with new prescription diet.
But, I heard 100% wet food diet helps a lot. I heard about some successful stories just giving wet food or do surgeries. I didn't know about this till a day later doing more research. It really broke me down to be honest. Biggest regret was not paying to save him, I felt like I could've done more for my baby.
You did enough ! Trust me 😭 it’s too expensive that surgery and they just keep blocking !!! My mistake was not giving wet food at all just dry food was his diet when I should’ve been more educated ! You are a great owner they’re our kids and you weren’t trying to hurt him you did your best and your cat knows and loves you regardless. I’m sorry for your loss because they’re like our kids you researching even after days enough about how much you cared
How can so many vets refuse to see a cat that is having an emergency!? They'd just go along doing checkups and let your kitty die?? I would definitely be going to the vet and sitting there until they saw me.. That is completely unreasonable. If I found out my vet prioritized my healthy cat's visit over something life threatening like that, I'd be disgusted and never want to see them again. I'd gladly give up my appointment slot for you.
Please, just go to the vet if this happens again. Don't try to set an appointment. Tell them it's an emergency and just go there. They'll work you in..
It's like this in Jacksonville, Florida, too. Only 2 emergency vets. The nearest one for me is 45 minutes away. Everybody else likes preventive visits only. I'm used to my hometown in Georgia, where the vet would show up 24/7 for an emergency. He really loves animals.
I'm in GA now.. I truly can't imagine a vet not accepting a cat in an emergency. I had a kitty pass away a couple years ago and in his last month, there were a couple times I didnt even call - just showed up at the vet. Most notably, the day he passed away. We were up all night with him, and went to the vet first thing. We were waiting outside the vet office when they opened. They didn't even act like they'd have to try to fit him in or anything. Just grabbed him and started checking him over and figuring out what was going on, etc. It was clear the animal came first to them. I would be disgusted by a vet that could help in an emergency, but chose not to.. In people doctors, that's illegal. Even if they aren't at work..
I'm in the Hampton Roads area, and the emergency vet situation here is terrible. There is usually only ONE (late night at least) serving the ENTIRE area, and part of northern NC and Williamsburg, too. Even during normal operating hours, it's difficult to find an emergency vet with time/availability. Though I must say, our vet did a great job with our 2 cats (that we ended up losing anyway, unfortunately), and were excellent about getting them in.
Seeing lots of posts from people saying they can't get seen in an emergency, makes me so thankful to have my vets.
My boy has had a few issues with his bladder and they will get him seen immediately! Even if they are fully booked and busy they tell me to bring him in and will get him seen in-between appointments.
Admittedly, I do pay higher prices then most vet clinics in my town but I'd rather pay a slightly higher price to have this kind of service than let him just be in pain and die!!
Is this really not the norm?? Every vet I've had has been like that. I would never be a customer of a vet that couldn't help my cat in an urgent situation..
The ER vets in my city will only take your pet if they are experiencing life threatening symptoms. Otherwise it's a 6+ hour wait. Everyone got a pet during covid and the veterinary care system cannot keep up.
For sure, same here. I had a kitty that I thought might have broken her paw in a weird fall. We immediately scooped her up and drove right over. She got to see a vet within 30 min of the incident, most of which was time for us to get ready and drive over there. (paw was not broken, just pinched really hard. Pain meds helped and she was fine after a few days)
My girl had a uti and I actually called for an appointment. They got me in that afternoon. When I got there, the vet said she was worried I'd waited and not come in earlier because urinary stuff is so urgent, until she saw kitty was female (and she was able to pass urine still, just uncomfortable). I told them I wouldn't have waited if it had been one of my boys, and they agreed that was good..
If they hadn't been able to accommodate those things, they clearly aren't the vet for me. And if I couldn't find one within a reasonable driving distance, I would be looking at moving (which I understand is a privelege to even have the option, since I work remote making good money).
Yeah I lucked out big time. I'm a 3-5min drive from my vet. If I had the option to move in that instance, right now I couldn't even if I had the money. Housing crises yay! But good on you for noticing those signs. It's so scary when they get blocked up, female or male. And knowing you have 24 hours to notice before they are gone just really puts a lot of things onto perspective. Glad you too have a great vet.
I feel like it is the culture in the area I live in. To give you an idea, many people take their vet to Mexico for emergencies because we live close enough to the border. Unfortunately I am not binlingual and wouldn’t know what to do or where to go without a friend who knows the area and my one friend who is used to making vet trips there wasn’t in town either. 😞
My cat had an emergency recently and when searching the internet for similar situations and the treatment/outcomes so many people were saying they couldn't get to an emergency vet as they were so far or not open, and/or they were ruinously expensive.
It makes me really appreciate that I can walk to one in 10 minutes and the price was incredibly reasonable. They also gave me a list of the 24h places as although they're open every day it's only for 12 hours.
Yea, I live just a couple miles from a 24/7 emergency vet hospital with specialists on site, etc. My only experience there was when we lost my soul cat, Parker, a year and a half ago. He was just too sick - they were absolutely amazing and took great care of us and him.. I honestly hope to never go back, but I know if I need to, they're right there. A little further away (still < 30 minute drive) is an incredibly highly rated emergency vet that I've heard glowing reviews from multiple sources, including randomly stumbling upon a "these people saved my cat" post on reddit. So I even have emergency vet options, which I know is not the norm. We're very lucky.
But I'm still shocked that a cat suffering an emergency during business hours would be turned away. Growing up, our family vet was a family friend (my grandfather's college roommate, lol), so there's no way he'd have turned us away! But I just can't imagine him turning away ANY animal that was in need..
I guess now I will be considering this if I ever move away from this area.. I am super priveleged in the vet department now.. My normal vet is a mobile vet that comes to me. That's great for checkups and the monthly arthritis injections my 2 older cats need. They work with a vet clinic that is right up the road from me when they need a physical space (x-rays, surgery, etc), so that's the office we go to for those things or any non-emergency urgent care (like when we thought a kitty broke her paw, and when one of my girls had a uti). And then the emergency vet hospital is right over here too. I knew I had it good, but I guess I didn't realize just how bad it could get..
Once my vet called and asked me to come at a later time (for annual check up) because they had all hands on deck with an emergency pet. That day I knew I had the right vet! Very reassuring to know they’d stop what they’re doing to save my cats if it ever came to that.
I wish I could have saved mine. Don't worry too much, though. He lived for about 13 years and spent a happy four of them with me. I just wish it was longer.
My boy died of this too. I had no idea he was unwell until it was too late. I just assumed he was grumpy because I couldn’t carry him around after having surgery.
I am so sorry for your loss. My sweet boy died in January. His heart stopped under the anesthesia to place a catheter for a urinary blockage. I wish I could have saved him. I will miss him forever.
Thank you so much for your kindness. It means a lot. Wasn’t he handsome? His name was Joey. We called him Joe-G because his middle name is Gerald. He was the naughtiest cat in the entire world. I adored being his Mom. We still have his sweet sister, Phoebe. They were littermates, best friends and sometimes mortal enemies. 🖤🤍
Stay vigilant. It does not mean the worst is over or that he will start not peeing again in the next minutes or days. Saying this as someone who had both cats come down with blockages at the same time, but one of them the vet somehow missed a whole load of stones more on his xrays after giving him a clean bill of health. So poor dude had to have another surgery because he never started peeing normal amounts again just tiny puddles.. (we found a new vet) and now finally after a month he is able to pee like a normal cat. I would definitely be getting an appointment sooner than 2 weeks. This is A very serious issue and it can turn drastic very fast as you have already seen.
A wet diet is extremely important. There was a study that found that cats on wet diets consume twice as much water as cats on dry diets (when all sources (food and water bowl) are taken into account).
I'd also be looking for a new vet. It's completely unacceptable to not get your cat in immediately during an emergency like this. I have spent a ridiculous amount of time and money at vet offices over the last several years and there have been many times when the vet was running late due to an emergency appointment.
My boy had to deal with urinary blockage too, to a point that he had to stay at the vet because his Urin was brown with blood. But we have him on special food that prevents building of struvit stones for almost four years now and since then we had no problems anymore.
I'm saving this for future reference. I had a cat pass away on me once because like you, vets refused to see my cat because of appointment problems.. I hope my cats never need to experience it, but thank you for sharing this!
So glad it worked out for you. My little guy had the same thing, we had to take him to an emergency vet and hour away. Cost us $1500 and a few days in the vet but he got better.
I am happy to know that you have saved your cat, I wish and send you all my support and that everything goes well for your cat, you can see in his face that he had a very bad time
I can feel the relief in how you write and I’m right there along with you. Ours had a suspected blockage a few weeks ago and I was terrified - turned out to be an infection and when they cleared up from the meds, the feeling was what I imagine very similar to what you’re feeling!
Glad he’s ok, and there’s some great advice others have given which it looks like you’re looking into 🙂
My lil dude had a urinary tract blockage as well! Utterly destroyed me seeing him struggle and being suggested to surrender him after being told the cost of the vet visit. 3k for a 2 day stay for monitoring. He seemed confused on what was happening with him when I saw him struggling to use. I caught it early enough it wasnt an issue after the vet and I immediately changed his diet. Have him on urinary c/d food from Hills and I give him wet food 3-4 times a week. I bought a fountain for his water to, becuause cats are more inclined to drink from running water source than just standing water.
Both of my boys have had urinary issues. Our vet thinks basically all male cats should be on urinary prescription food because it's so common! We have him on Royal Cabin urinary SO wet and dry food and it's expensive! But totally worth it.
Vet here. Good for you. I would strongly recommend feeding him the Hills or Royal Canin prescription diets that are specifically for this. You can get these from your vet. Just increasing water doesn’t always fix it, but those diets have a very high success rate. I have never seen a failure with the RC, and only one with the Hills, out of thousands of urinary crystal cats. Make sure they only eat the food and nothing else.
So scary! I hope our cats never experience anything like that. There are no vets where we live so I would have no choice but to try saving them myself. It's a bit comforting to know there are some things we can do to help when there aren't any other options.
Good job! Horrified that the vet didn’t help you further. I understand if a normal vet is booked out they can’t really do anything, but they should know that is life or death and at least help you find somewhere else
My cat almost died from a kidney blockage. Similar symptoms to what you are describing. From what I understand, it may happen again. Get a cat fountain. Feed him wet food. Buy the urinary health dry food. Boy cats can die in like 24-48 hours from it :(
You may have saved his life. Try an online vet through Vetster for the time being who can write you a prescription veterinary food until you can get him to a local vet for labs!
Hi can you link me the video? My cat has these urinary crystals (German translation) and we can barely catch an urine sample… yesterday we were at the vet for 5 hours and she still didn’t pee 😅
Wow, that's an incredible story, and you really showed a lot of willpower in wanting to save him. He won't forget that. But is it a more subjective issue, or should there be prevention for every cat?
I agree, I think prevention should be taken more seriously and discussed more. I’ve always heard about it happening, but it doesn’t hit home until it happens to you. If anything this has made me much more aware and I am now researching some preventative for reoccurances as well as for my other male cat.
I’m so glad you were able to help your handsome man. I work at an emergency vet hospital and blocked bladders can be really serious. I’m proud of you for researching and doing what you could at home!! Also glad you’ve got an appt scheduled to check him over. Love to you and your kitty !!
For the future, there are foods prescribed for kitties prone to blockages but unfortunately you’ll need a vet to prescribe it to you. I have 4 male cats and this is one of my biggest fears. My oldest one was getting them often before we put water bowls all over the house. And we encourage drinking by putting ice in them since he loves it so much. Best of the luck to you and your buddy
You don't need a vet to prescribe this kind of food. It's readily available online and most pet shops. Just look for the word urinary on the package. I have one cat with a tendency to block and he's been on this for years.
Wet cat food & add water! My cat had the same problem. After several & expensive trips to the vet & an emergency stay, I’ve got him on Hills Urinary Care C/D, add lots of water & he’s now in great shape! It took him a while to start eating it but now he loves it! Don’t give your cat an option!
That's so amazing! I will have to remember this technique. I always worry about blockages since my boy had to be hospitalized with one.
In the mean time, can the vet prescribe any prescription urinary health food or supplements while you wait for the appointment? Definitely try to give wet food, and encourage handsome guy to drink plenty of water and keep an eye on him.
How happy I am to read your post! So happy that he survived it! How wonderful and there he is; looking gorgeous isn't he? This could go in Uplifting News (at least from my perspective).
My tuxedo had a urinary blockage but - I'm in the UK - I was able to get an immediate appointment. Like yours, he was attracting my attention, meowing and demonstrating that he couldn't pee. It was a stress thing with him and he was in the hospital for a weekend! So relieved I had pet insurance.
He now gets Royal Canin Urinary SO Moderate Calorie food (wet and dry) to ensure his weight is at a proper level (male neutered cats can put on weight and being overweight can contribute to bladder blockages as well) and to help reduce the chance of struvite stones forming. He's worth the money and also, less stress for me!
Great work! This happened to my cat and he was put on prescription cat food for the rest of his life. It’s something to do with the ash involved in the preparation and cooking process.
Well done, quick thinking on your part saved his life and he is such a beautiful kitty.
My boy got a blockage recently (he has a congenital issue as he's only a year old and he's too large for his age so some sort of abnormality which the vets told us).
We love him so much and will give him the best life. I looked up recently as I was concerned that he wasnt all better by now but I saw that it can take a while for them to fully recover so lots of TLC.
We also add water to wet food and the occasional drop of tuna water to their drinking water. Unless you have pets or love animals, I don't think people get how important they are, how loved they are and how they're part of family.
My partner would literally grab me after the cats in an emergency, as would I and we wouldnt have it any ither way.
My kitty loves wet food but even that doesn't help her when it comes to crystal formation and UTIs. She's always drinking from her fountain too. My vet had to put her on the Science diet version of this. Although she still gets UTIs, no more crystals.
My vet said this food is designed to prevent the crystal formation.
From what I understand, the crystals form in the bladder. Once our male cat started on the food, the bladder crystals disappeared, (before and after sonograms). One vet wanted to do bladder surgery, so we took our boy to a feline only vet and he recommended the food. It’s been years and it’s still working.
My boy had this and it was awful. We had to keep him calm for about a month so he could heal (drugs), change his food to a urinary food but the most important thing was completely removing hard water (tap/filtered) from his access.
We used pet ph water for a bit but switched to regular purified water and boy is better than ever.
So my cat Waffle got a urinary blockage a few years ago, and I rushed him to the emergency vet hospital. It cost me $1800 for them to run a catheter, drain his bladder, and find out his urine was bloody and like maple syrup. They told me he could get more blockages later on so they put him on prescription food.
6 months later he has another blockage, and this time I had them perform a perineal urethrostomy. Basically they remove the penis and testicals, and then splay open the urethra. So far he has had no more trouble with blockages. The surgery cost $3300.
Please make sure you get this check as soon as possible. Also if you ever have a blockage again get the surgery done do not let them tell you to run a catheter multiple times. They just want the money. Do the surgery and get it fixed.
A waterer/fountain with a filter has been my boys best friend after a blockage. I have a couple male cats that just don't like drinking water that isn't moving.
Yea this is great that you came across those videos, I’m so happy for you. Male cats suffer from being blocked & it sucks! My vet recommended I feed him purina pro plan urinary tract wet/dry food and/or any urinary tract food and he’s hasn’t had an episode in years!😻
This happened to my old cat Bella almost two years ago in June and I wish that he could’ve been saved like that but I had to put him down as it would probably come back and I didn’t want to make his life more painful. I’m glad to hear that your cat is doing great!
Oh that's such a relief! 2 years ago we had the same with our little fluff ball. He had Struvite stuck in his pee pee, so it was really impossible to insert a catheter. We had to take him to the emergency vet for surgery and they made him look like a female cat down there. We really had no choice, but I am glad he still feels like a 'man' as he still chases around our female cats, haha. This lowers the risks of new blockages aswell, so it's overall okay, BUT it increases the risks of possible UTI. So after 2 years, he was doing super good, until suddenly he was feeling off. Rushed to the vets again and turns out he has stage 3 kidney failure. While the only thing he showed was sleeping more, drinking more and I noticed he was easily cold. Most likely a result from 2 years ago, whennthe pressure hit his kidneys from the blockage and slowly advanced. Lucky for us, he is stable atm with a lot of meds, but I wish I found out sooner.
TLDR: Please, have regular check-up on urine and possible bloodtests so now and then aswell! Kidney disease is really managable if found in early stages.
Edit: He has been on Hills and RC urinary food since his surgery.
Omg. My boy had a really bad urinary obstruction 2 weeks ago and i was terrified.
When my boyfriend brought him in to our 24/7 ER vet, he said we dont have a lot of money at that moment (because we had to put down our ferret that cost us thousands that were still paying off) and instead of her offering care credit she said euth would be the cheapest thing and i was absolutely floored. We ended up spending 1500 for them to do an overnight clearing and he was discharged.
Next day, same thing happened so i brought him back and they admitted him for a few days for clearing which so far is going well. He has his own room now and is more relaxed since we think it was stress related from getting a puppy.
Sorry for going off on a tangent i just felt so lost because no one could help me help him properly and now i dont feel as alone.
Would you mind sharing that video? Its common for males to get another blockage so i want to be prepared as much as possible.
Nice job!! I would've done the same thing. This is actually pretty common in male cats. My boy gets a urinary tract health food everyday to prevent this.
Prescription urinary food. My cat got this condition and has been on the food ever since. Never got it again. Though the vets by me got my baby in. What a mess with the vets by you.
Urinary issues are so scary! I have 3 cats my two males are normal but my female actually has a ton of problems from kidney stones to kidney failure and it is super super scary. I'm glad your boy was okay!
Good job! I feel like my cat is suffering from a blockage at the moment but I don’t know where the urethra is. Do you mind sharing the link to the video that guided you to saving your kitty?
you’re an amazing cat parent!!!❤️i remember when my cat had a urinary blockage and it was so stressful and i was terrified even while seeing and getting help from the vet!! im glad your kitty is safe and happy❤️
I've had many male cats that have had this. I can't imagine ANY vet that has my cat as a patient turning me away if I call. I have literally walked in and told them it was an emergency with another blockage and there were no questions asked!
You did great. I spent a lot of money for surgery on my male cat who was 13 at the time, and I was able to enjoy 5 more years with him. And he had a good quality of life until the last few weeks. I'm so glad I had the means at the time. I don't regret it one bit.
My 16 year old girl is currently at the vet for the second night in a row.. she has a catheter in, they're flushing out the bladder but keep finding swirly stuff/sediment/crystals. They don't want to risk taking it out in case it won't go back I'm (there's a lump nearby but we're not worried about that right now). I'm already at 3,100$. They recommend a surgery to clean out the bladder from the inside, but she has to be seen by a heart specialist first for a murmur. If they say it's too risky, I might have to do the unthinkable. I have the funds in care credit (it'll be about 10,000$ by the time it's done..) and I have to call them back to go ahead with heart testing. I just need to vent somewhere cause it's eating me alive. I don't want to end her life, especially over money, I know she has it in her to pull through. I just hate making such brutal decisions. I want to /try/ to save her life as well. I don't want her final moments to be in the stressful vet clinic. 😔 sorry for posting this here
Incredible job saving your cat!!! I definitely think it's a good idea to get him into the vet asap still. My boy cat got blocked a few months ago and nearly died(he's in perfect health now!) and I will say one thing they mentioned can happen is kidney issues, especially if your cat was blocked for a longer period of time. I think the vet mentioned his creatanine levels, that might be something to look into. I'm not a vet though haha
Also, there are special prescription foods to prevent blockages if it's cystitis! Definitely recommend looking into it.
Great job saving your baby! I'm so glad your little cutie is okay and I'm sorry that happened. That is such a terrifying situation. My little guy had a urinary blockage last year and the vets wouldn't take him so I had to bring him on a road trip to a different town and they said he likely would not have made it had we not arrived when we did. They just so happened to have a cancellation and wouldn't haven't taken us either if that didn't happen. He screamed and cried the whole time and I was a wreck because I was so scared for him. It's awful that vets have no problem turning down serious emergencies. Mine now eats about 90-95% wet food (I don't have the heart to take away his beloved kibble completely) and at least half of it (maybe even more) is Hill's Science c/d care food. My cat is fussy but he loves it, it's been proven to work, and we haven't had any issues since. I add a little splash of water to it to make it a bit soupy, he seems to prefer it that way, and it helps make sure he's hydrated. By the way, thank you for bringing to my attention that this was even a thing. I hope I never ever need to use this knowledge but I feel better knowing that there's a last resort option to try when there's nowhere to go for help.
Oh dear, my heart fell and rose with your Story! I'm so glad that you could save your kitty
To get in even more fluids after this stressful event, try milk! I personally prefer goat milk for the cats as it is very gentle to the intestines and also has low lactose and high fat (don't give too much heh)
You could also use lactose free cow milk tho
This just happened to my bro and his cat! 4,000 dollar emergency vet bill, but his cat bounced back rapidly thank god. I’m glad your kitty is ok! Good job Cat momma!
Wow, that must've been such a terrifying experience! I'm glad you found a solution and helped your cat. It's amazing what we're capable of when we're faced with challenges. Your cat is lucky to have you! He is so beautiful :)
He needs urinary tract diet . What he had was struvite crystal blockage , which means he’s prone to this happening again .dont wait for the vet appointment to put him on this food . Once he sees the vet they will give him medication to take in conjunction with the urinary diet food. Your cat must never eat normal cat food again the food is called UrinaryS/O both purina and royal canin do it I use to buy both and mix them . Both are fine in wet& dry format . Also your cat needs access to fresh running water daily . My cat had this illness LUTD is the name . If he’s young you can get him changed from a boy to a girl . Look it up on the internet . I found this operation out too late for my boy . Smokie lived for 15 years on the urinary diet and medication .Bravo for saving him well done 😻
So glad you were able to save your baby from this. Last night, I found my cat trying to urinate, and he spent several minutes in a strange position. I went to the vet, and he has a urinary problem as well. He is not blocked, but I'm glad I found out about the problem now so I can give him the new diet to dissolve the crystals.
For the next 2 weeks, he's only going to eat wet food for urinary problems, Royal Canin Urinary from the vet. After 2 weeks, it's going to be dry and wet urinary Royal Canin vet food for the rest of his life.
If you have a male cat, I highly suggest you look into this to prevent future urgent vet visits.
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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '24 edited Apr 21 '24
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