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| | MsXKitty | Aug 7, 2007 10:52pm | Just thought I would post this entry here as I'm sure all of you can relate to the worry I was going through! And in the end, the relief.
"What a stressful night! I have two cats, Harley and Chevy. Brother and sister, one year old. Harley was acting quite out of character the past few days. The first 2 days I chalked it up to the 40 degree weather we've been having and him being quite a large cat. But then tonight he would not leave my side. Which is not like him. Every time I moved, he followed. Among a few other behaviours that were not quite right (one example being laying down in his litter box).
So we took him into the after-hours vet. It turned out he had an obstructed bladder/FLUTD. We took him in at just the right time. The problem was he needed to be fixed immediately. Bladder crystals can be fatal in a mere twenty-four hours.
Well, of course then comes the estimate. Nine-hundred odd dollars. We did not have that spur of the moment. The only choice was to put him down. But we pleaded and eventually got the bill down a few hundred. Thank heavens for my family who fronted the money and agreed to let me pay them off. Our entire family is very empathetic towards animals, we treat them as family through and through. I feel so fortunate to have people in life who care to such an extent.
The treatment he is getting has an 80% chance of fixing him completely. I will get an update tomorrow. I am confident in this Doctor, she was very compassionate. So we will see how it goes.
Been a long night, though!
Fast forward 24 hours... Update: Kitty is much better! I love him dearly, but for that much money, he best be better! Got him home tonight and he's been eating and doing all of the normal things. He is groggy and on 2 medications for a week, but so far, he seems like he will be back to normal in no time. Sad to see his little arms shaved for the IV, though!"
Anyone else out there ever dealt with FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease?)
This is actually the second time I have been through this. Our now 14 year old siamese had it at 9 years of age. His condition was quite critical however and was in the hospital 5 days. But 5 years later, he has not had a single health problem since. I can only hope the same happens for Harley, but I'm sure it will! |
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|  velvetskin | Aug 10, 2007 2:08am | FLUTD is one of the most common dysfunctions in cats.
again really sad to hear cats suffering from the illness we cause them and the impact on the owners (emotional and financial).
without even asking i will assume the cat was on a dry kibble diet. a cat that young should not have bladder crystals.
dry food is not only not providing any moisture but it's taking moisture away through the digestive process. cats on kibble do not poop dust so obviously some moisture was taken out of the body to eliminate the kibble.
cats are used to lacking water so they rely on their prey for moisture, so imagine the huge difference between a 70% water mouse to a 4% water kibble.
if you haven't done so stop the kibble immediately for both the cats, if they are related then they could both have a genetic sensibility in their kidneys.
my cat is on her way to a prey model raw diet, but she still eats some dry, after she's done eating i give her water with a syringe. my husband says I'm insane, am i? |
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Sponsor |  jenjen1352 | Aug 10, 2007 4:59am | insane - no. a mite obsessive, maybe. Joe eats soft food plus dry complete food. I keep a BIG bowl of fresh water in the kitchen which both he and the dog use. yesterday I got meowed at, and when I followed Joe out I discovered that sprog had tipped his surplus cereal milk in the water bowl by mistake! the cat was most unimpressed, and as soon as I refilled it he was lapping away before the water settled.
I think he mostly learned to drink water by watching the dog when he was still a kitten. |
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| | | ChoofMonster | Aug 10, 2007 5:35am | Both my cats eat dry food - one exclusively (she is very fussy). With enough fresh water, dehydration is not a problem. My mother's Russian Blue got FLUTD when he was 5 months old - had to put off being desexed for a few weeks.
Should I stop feeding my boy dry food? He will probably still nibble some, but he likes canned and fresh food, too. Kangaroo mince especially - marsupial is not natural prey for felines, but it contains the essential nutrients and minerals. The research I did suggested that there was no problem with dry food as long as the cats had adequate water and vets concur, but that could be marketing hype from the pet food companies. |
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| | velvetskin | Aug 11, 2007 3:27am | i have 3 water bowls and a fountain i got after reading the thread in biobits group. i know for a fact my cat wasn't drinking the amount of water she should have when she was eating more kibble.
she still isn't drinking enough which is why i give her water. my point was cats aren't used to drinking plenty of water since they rely on their prey for moisture, so providing plenty of water wont take care of the problem on it's own. i see how much water kitty drinks, and i can't make her drink more on her own. if i encourage her to eat what i want she will eventually, because cats know what we want, they aren't dumb, they just are really sneaky, but if i encourage her to drink she wont cause she doesn't see the point in it.
so i say: You want to eat kibble? fine, but you have to drink some water too.
before i researched on the matter kitty was eating all dry and when i put wet for her she would give it a lick or two and let it spoil in the bowl.she's very fussy too, it took me time and frustration to limit her kibble to 10-20 grams at lunch.
but ok, say your cat eats kibble and wet and let's say she's drinking enough water, you still have diabetes to worry about. cats are carnivorous, no way they can handle all he carbs in their diet. it's like us humans would eat sugar all the time.
after kitty got spayed she put so much weight on it was scary, she was breathing heavy, she couldn't clean herself (not to mention reaching the butt area, she still wont clean her bottom but i agree it's a lot more sanitary if i do ^_^ ). now she's just a tad overweight and she's all perky and active. before when i played with her she would get tired immediately and it felt like a hippo was running around the house.
another problem kibble causes is bad teeth. cats have an up and down jaw movement so regardless of what we're taught kibble doesn't help clean their teeth because the cat just crushes it between the teeth (or eats it whole), also crumbs of kibble get stuck between the teeth and with the high carbs cause cavity a lot faster. more and more vets realize that this is not a solution to keeping teeth healthy.
chewing raw bone is the only natural way for a cat to keep clean teeth. one should never give cooked bones to cats or dogs because they crush into really sharp splinters.
i really am not insane or obsessed, but the cat's health is the first thing that comes in my mind when i think of cats. i gave her a home she's my responsibility for life! |
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Sponsor | | jenjen1352 | Aug 11, 2007 7:31am | | of course Joe has the freedom to roam, so I'm used to finding dismembered corpses in the hall. weird thing is, the type of bits left varies - sometimes he starts with the head, sometimes the rump. he never eats the stomach or the wings. woodmice, sparrows and assorted moths are his favourites... |
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| | | ChoofMonster | Aug 12, 2007 12:02am | 5) When I adopted her from the pound, her teeth were already rotting from the dry food diet - she was only four years old (about 9 now). For the first month, she wouldn't eat anything unless I fed it to her by hand - now she is obese, and has trouble cleaning herself. Grooming is also a problem, she needs to be brushed regularly. I have tried mixing the foods, removing the dry food and offering her both - she will only eat kibble. Some of the supermarket brands cause her to vomit - the crumbs at the bottom of the bag are to blame, they stick in her throat and expand when she drinks.
Because I missed out on her formative years, I did not get to offer her a variety of foods as a kitten. She had severe emotional issues, I was her fourth owner - took a while to gain her trust.
Domestic cats don't hunt their own prey in order to eat - they know where the food is. They can get lazy and obese, and you can't force them to exercise. She has had urinary tract infections, but I have never heard of a female cat with FLUTD. At least my younger cat will eat whatever I give him. |
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Sponsor | | jenjen1352 | Aug 12, 2007 6:18am | Joe is half alleycat. hunting is where it's at!
I agree though, it's much easier when you have them from kittenhood. I'm now on cat number four, they have all had soft food and crunchies, plus occasional exciting leftovers and prey. water has always been readily drunk, although some of them preferred standing rainwater, as does the dog. a flavour thing? none of them had any sort of UTI, but the first three got leukaemia:( |
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