My 10-year-old rescued (as a kitten) male cat has always been very healthy, and we had been feeding him the best kind of dry food we can afford (looking for more meat ingredients than grain ingredients). He'd never been too interested in treats or wet food.
Last Thursday night, he started acting weird, going into the litterbox a lot but not producing anything, licking his butt, lying down heavily on his side and lifting his top leg, acting lethargic, crying in or near the litterbox, and acting like he was trying to defecate outside of the litterbox but not producing anything.
Friday morning we took him to the neighborhood vet as soon as they opened. They diagnosed him as blocked and kept him overnight. He was an absolute terror, hissing and yowling at everyone in the office (he is very affectionate with my husband and me, but doesn't like strangers much), ripping out his IV and catheter, needing to be sedated, etc.
After X-rays and bloodwork, the vet said that he had a lower urinary tract problem that had not advanced to his kidneys. The crystals were struvite crystals and the x-ray showed no stones. They had me pick him up after 26 hours, even though they said that they usually keep and monitor cats at least two nights, because they were closing on Saturday later that afternoon.
I took him home and could barely let him out of the cat cage after a few hours. He was screaming and hissing at me and my husband. When he got out of the cage it took him several hours to be willing to approach us, but gradually he returned to his senses.
He ate (vet sent home dry prescription S O food by Royal Canin), drank, and peed quite a bit (I cleaned the litterbox every time). He also is taking 2 pills a day for 10 days (zeniquin and prazosin) and is getting a liquid medication (metacam) for 3 days.
Sunday, his spirits were high. But he ate and drank and peed a little less.
Yesterday, he wouldn't eat the prescription food at all. I got him to eat a tiny amount of wet food that promotes good ut health (but wasn't sent home by the vet) that I found at a holistic pet store. It's Abady brand. We barely got the medicine down him. He peed twice (small amounts) on the bathroom floor by the litterbox, and a few other times in the litterbox. We have had problems with him peeing on the bathroom floor before, though, so that's not always related to UTI blockage.
Today, he took the pills much better, but he's only used the litterbox once since yesterday afternoon -- and only a very small amount of clumped litter was in evidence. He drank a small amount of water this morning and ate a little wet food. He still won't touch the prescription stuff. We played and cuddled and he purred.
His spirits still seem high, and he is not acting as abnormally as he was right before the block was diagnosed, but I am sick because he won't eat or drink much since that first day home. I change the water every few hours to make sure it's fresh.
Does anyone else have post-blockage experience with a cat? How long should it take him to get back to normal eating and drinking habits? Could it be the medications he is on? He hated being at the vet's office so much I hesitate to take him back in unless I have to, but I also know that UT blockage can quickly kill a male cat.
Last Thursday night, he started acting weird, going into the litterbox a lot but not producing anything, licking his butt, lying down heavily on his side and lifting his top leg, acting lethargic, crying in or near the litterbox, and acting like he was trying to defecate outside of the litterbox but not producing anything.
Friday morning we took him to the neighborhood vet as soon as they opened. They diagnosed him as blocked and kept him overnight. He was an absolute terror, hissing and yowling at everyone in the office (he is very affectionate with my husband and me, but doesn't like strangers much), ripping out his IV and catheter, needing to be sedated, etc.
After X-rays and bloodwork, the vet said that he had a lower urinary tract problem that had not advanced to his kidneys. The crystals were struvite crystals and the x-ray showed no stones. They had me pick him up after 26 hours, even though they said that they usually keep and monitor cats at least two nights, because they were closing on Saturday later that afternoon.
I took him home and could barely let him out of the cat cage after a few hours. He was screaming and hissing at me and my husband. When he got out of the cage it took him several hours to be willing to approach us, but gradually he returned to his senses.
He ate (vet sent home dry prescription S O food by Royal Canin), drank, and peed quite a bit (I cleaned the litterbox every time). He also is taking 2 pills a day for 10 days (zeniquin and prazosin) and is getting a liquid medication (metacam) for 3 days.
Sunday, his spirits were high. But he ate and drank and peed a little less.
Yesterday, he wouldn't eat the prescription food at all. I got him to eat a tiny amount of wet food that promotes good ut health (but wasn't sent home by the vet) that I found at a holistic pet store. It's Abady brand. We barely got the medicine down him. He peed twice (small amounts) on the bathroom floor by the litterbox, and a few other times in the litterbox. We have had problems with him peeing on the bathroom floor before, though, so that's not always related to UTI blockage.
Today, he took the pills much better, but he's only used the litterbox once since yesterday afternoon -- and only a very small amount of clumped litter was in evidence. He drank a small amount of water this morning and ate a little wet food. He still won't touch the prescription stuff. We played and cuddled and he purred.
His spirits still seem high, and he is not acting as abnormally as he was right before the block was diagnosed, but I am sick because he won't eat or drink much since that first day home. I change the water every few hours to make sure it's fresh.
Does anyone else have post-blockage experience with a cat? How long should it take him to get back to normal eating and drinking habits? Could it be the medications he is on? He hated being at the vet's office so much I hesitate to take him back in unless I have to, but I also know that UT blockage can quickly kill a male cat.
I'm trying different water bowls and ice cubes and running water and things to see what our guy likes best.
