Kitty very sick

[Amythest]

I woke up this morning and my little man, my black cat named trouble, was very sick. He started getting ill a few days ago, shortly after the vets office closed on Friday. He had been getting progressively worse over the weekend. I was so sad and worried about him, but I couldn't afford to do an emergency vet call, (they average about 400 plus dollars just to be seen here). His belly was all swollen and hard, he had been having problems going pee and poo over the weekend. This morning my little guy didn't want to eat. I though he was going to die on us, so I called the vet and told them what was going on. We are lucky that we live less then a 10 minute drive away. She told me to bring him right in. When we got there the vet said he had a high temp, and wanted to keep him. We talked about what had been going on. I told her my fears of renal failure, but she reasureed me that it was unusual for a cat his age to suffer from that. He is only going to be 7 in September. She took him in the back and made him a comfy bed. I went home with sad thoughts of him being such a sick baby. The vet promised me that she would call me about 1 this after noon. If he didn't pee on his own she was going to have to do a cateterization on him. She thought he was going to have a obstructed bowel and bladder. Well, 1 o'clock came and she called. I was relieved to a point he was going to be okay. She said he had a very bad bladder infection and crystals that were forming in his bladder. She also told me that he had to be put on a special diet from now on, because his bladder wasn't producing enough acid to keep the crystals from forming, and if he went off it they may come back and and he would need surgery. I freaked out when I found out how much money a small bag of his special food was going to cost us, but he is my little fur baby boy I had to get it for him. He is home now, and we have to keep a good watch over him to make sure he goes pee. This is the second scare he has given me. The first time was shortly after we had him neutred, that was when we found out that he had a potentionally fatal heart condition. He has been off his meds now for nearly a year and no episodes of heart problems. The doctor couldn't believe it herself when she listened to his heart today. I guess that was one thing that he had a ada boy for. But I will not stop worrying about my little man until he is free and clear of these crystals. Funny and yet not so funny thing about it was that he had been eatting the same cat food since he was a kitten, and the vet asked if he got into anything that he shouldn't have. The only thing I can think of was that he munched on some of my dogs food about a week ago.

[smckim]

Prayers and get well Kitty energy sent for him.

[_Banbha_]

:hugz: Energy sent to your little guy! I just went through something similar with my 2 year old but am lucky because she's female and there were less complications and pain too. I know just how sad and scary it feels! I think the special food is really important to cats with renal issues! :hugz:

[Shanti]

You may or may not want to ask about this with the vet, but instead of expensive foods how about adding a little baking soda powder in his regular food?
Thats what we do for our goats to prevent crystals and stones. It keeps the acid balance just right in their urinary track system.

It just a thought. I don't know if it would be helpful for cats. But its sure cheap and natural!:)

[Cindlady2]

Good luck to you and your furbaby!

[Ravens_Tears]

:hugz:energy for you and your furbaby!

[Amythest]

Thanks, I really appreciate all the support. He is like a son to me, because we can not have children. I am glad about that in a way given how the world is now. All of my fur babies are like children to me. So you can imagine how I feel when one is sick or injured. My mother told me that I should have him put to sleep because of the heart condition he had, and now the crystals in his bladder, she says that it is only going to get worse for him and I should have him put down before it gets too expensive because he is JUST A CAT FOR CHRIST SAKES. She doesn't understand at all what it is like not to be able to have children and that the only comfort a person who isn't able to have kids would have is their fur babies. Recently her cat ran away and has been gone for little over a month. She wrote him off as dead and is getting on with her life like he never exsisted. I told my mom that my little guy is like a child to me, and if I had gotten sick too often when I was a kid would she have had me put down? She said that was a stupid question to ask, but she is asking that of me. There are times I wish I was never born to her, because of her views on life and all the torment she has caused me over the years. I just can't make her understand that her insensitive comments hurt so much and that I don't see life as she does. Ever since I became a witch my views have changed so much about life in general. But she will never understand.

Thanks again everyone.

[Amythest]

You may or may not want to ask about this with the vet, but instead of expensive foods how about adding a little baking soda powder in his regular food?
Thats what we do for our goats to prevent crystals and stones. It keeps the acid balance just right in their urinary track system.

It just a thought. I don't know if it would be helpful for cats. But its sure cheap and natural!:)

The problem is that he doesn't have enough acid in his urine to prevent the crystals. It is perplexing to say the least because we have another cat that hasn't presented with the same problem. But then again all animals like humans are different, and their chemistries are not the same either. I will stick with the special food until the threat has passed and I will decrease the amount of special food and add some of his favorite, but I want to keep with the advice of the vet for now. Otherwise it is a 3 day hospital stay, that we can not afford, and some very expensive surgery.

[Pinion]

I am so glad to hear Trouble is feeling better!

I have many cats and some can eat any ol' food and others develop crystals. I have always fed the prescription food until the urine tests show the crystals are gone and then switch the food. They make over the counter foods that help stop them from developing the crystals again. Please talk to your vet about this option to keep Trouble crystal free. Also, canned food is actually better for cats, especially males. It has a higher water content which helps keep their bladder/kidneys healthier.

[Amythest]

I am so glad to hear Trouble is feeling better!

I have many cats and some can eat any ol' food and others develop crystals. I have always fed the prescription food until the urine tests show the crystals are gone and then switch the food. They make over the counter foods that help stop them from developing the crystals again. Please talk to your vet about this option to keep Trouble crystal free. Also, canned food is actually better for cats, especially males. It has a higher water content which helps keep their bladder/kidneys healthier.

I have talked to the vet about the regular urinary tract healthy kitty foods you can buy cheaper in the store. Unfortunately she insists on making me buy that perscription brand food. Matter a fact she told me that if I didn't buy the food for him yesturday then she wasn't going to let me take him home, in order to make sure he was going to be cared for properly and to make sure we didn't feed him something that would aggrivate the situation. I think she was mad because I had already diagnosed infront of her a bad bladder infection. I guess they get a bit insulted when the OWNER knows their pet better then they do, but what she doesn't realize is that I am trained as a Vet Tech. Oh, golly gosh a person would know what she knows for the most part how humbling a sitation. Anyway, I am going to continue with the perscription for as long as I can afford it. Living on a fixed income doesn't help much when you have to buy food for one cat that is 12 dollars for a small bag. I think I will buy later when the tests come back negative for crystals the urinary tract healthy kitty formulas, it will help us save something on the food bill. Sometimes I think they are just out to get more money out of the patients owners!!!!!!!

[Lolair]

Best wishes to your kitty Amythest. The same thing happened to a cat of mine, but it was too advanced to fix with pills. The vet said the only way to save would be to perform an $800 surgery, but that our cat would need the surgery again and again... with no guarantee that he wouldn't be in pain after the surgery. We asked to have him put to sleep - we loved him a lot but the vet made it clear his urinary tract problem would never go away. It turned out some random person paid for the surgery and took our cat!

My boyfriend LOVES his cats and buys a $60 bag of cat food for them from the vet (luckily it's a large bag), only the best for them, he used to only give them filtered water as well, but I drink tapwater and I made him feel silly... Vets can be like human doctors in that they push drugs and food that companies sell them. There are probably some honest vets out there that will give you alternatives to a $12 bag of food.

[Catiana]

:hugz: hugs for you and your baby

[KiNoRonin]

Thanks, I really appreciate all the support. He is like a son to me, because we can not have children. I am glad about that in a way given how the world is now. All of my fur babies are like children to me.


That is how I feel about my TwoWhiteSocks! Whenever I call to your, I literally go "Where's Daddy's Girl!".

That is why I now feel a bit Sorry for getting so Angry with my Girl when she Damaged my Watch.

As for your Furbaby:

Anata No Nekokochan Wa Sugu Ni Naoteikudasai!!! Bonzai!!!

Ki No Ronin