Phil P.
July 12th 03, 05:46 AM
"Chris" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello,
> We have a 4 year old Maine Coon Male Cat (Sebastian) that was just
> recently diagnosed with kidney stones. First a little history. I got
> Sebastian from someone at a local flea market who found him under a
> garage. So I have no history of his family. Before this diagnose, he
> had a UTI. Our vet said he probably got the UTI from the food that we
> were giving him (Authority). It was a dry food.
Its unlikely a urinary tract infection was caused by food. Was bacteria
actually found in the urine? Nephroliths can damage normal tissue and
predispose the cat to chronic inflammation and bacterial infection.
Btw, dry food has been associated with cystitis, stranguria, hematuria, and
pollakiuria. Canned food would be a much better choice.
So what he did was put
> him on 5mg of Predisolone and changed his food to Hills C/D-S. He
> seemed to gain some weight back,more energetic and not urinating
> outside the box.
Prednisone may have reduced inflammation which may have caused painful
urination that he may have associated with the litter box. Infammation can
also cause a nervous sensation that mimics the sensation that's normally
induced by a full bladder.
Howecer, c/d-s may not have been a good idea because most nephroliths in
cats are composed of calcium oxalate - c/d-s can *promote* calcium oxalate.
Then all of a sudden he started to urinate elsewhere
> with more blood in his urine, we take him to the vet and now he has
> kidney stones.
He may have had nephroliths for sometime - nephroliths in cats are often
clinically silent for years. If hydronephrosis develops in one kidney, the
normal kidney compenĀ*sates which can delay clinical signs which would delay
a trip to the vet and early detection.
The xray also showed he had one kidney larger than the
> other which he might think was something he had from birth.
Possibly. However, an enlarged kidney can also be caused by a nephrolith if
it produces hydronephrosis.
Of course
> not knowing what type of stones he had, he did not have an answer on
> how to treat him.
I'm sorry to say, your vet should not have prescribed c/d-s without knowing
the composition of the nephrolith. c/d-s may have exacerbated the problem
since most nephroliths in cats are composed of calcium oxalate - which
cannot be dissolved.
He was going to research on the problem. Has anyone
> had an expierience like this? If so what measures were taken to treat
> or remove the stones?
The ideal treatment for nephrolithiasis is nephrotomy (surgical removal -
depending on their location) to eliminate the risk of obstruction of urine
flow and death due to acute renal failure. Nephrectomy may be necessary if
there has been irreversible damage to the kidney (pyonephrosis or severe
hydronephrosis). Nephrectomy should *not* be performed unless renal
function is adequate in the other kidney. .
Generally, . surgery should only be performed in cats with nephroliths if
hematuria, UTI, declining renal function, changes in renal size and shape,
or increasing nephrolith size are seen. Unfortunately, your cat meets three
of these criteria - Has his renal function been checked (BUN/creatinine)
(post renal azotemia)?
Is this a problem in male cats or Maine Coon
> Cats?
Nephroliths are slightly more common in female cats than males. I think
there may be a higher incidence in DSH. than individual purebred breeds..
How does this effect his health? He shows no signs that he is
> hurting except the urinating on the floor sometimes. He is the same ol
> Sebastian I know playing with the other 2 cats and getting in trouble.
> What kind of problems will he face if not treated properly soon?
As the nephrolith grows, it displaces normal tissue and, if bilateral, can
result in chronic renal failure and death.
Any
> and all responses would be greatly appreciated. And also any links to
> websites that might have some information of this condition will be
> helpful also.
> Thanks for the time to read,
> Chris
Before you make any decisions regarding treatment, I'd opt for complete
blood work (CBC/chemistry), excretory urography and ultrasounds as soon as
possible.
Best of luck.
Phil.
om...
> Hello,
> We have a 4 year old Maine Coon Male Cat (Sebastian) that was just
> recently diagnosed with kidney stones. First a little history. I got
> Sebastian from someone at a local flea market who found him under a
> garage. So I have no history of his family. Before this diagnose, he
> had a UTI. Our vet said he probably got the UTI from the food that we
> were giving him (Authority). It was a dry food.
Its unlikely a urinary tract infection was caused by food. Was bacteria
actually found in the urine? Nephroliths can damage normal tissue and
predispose the cat to chronic inflammation and bacterial infection.
Btw, dry food has been associated with cystitis, stranguria, hematuria, and
pollakiuria. Canned food would be a much better choice.
So what he did was put
> him on 5mg of Predisolone and changed his food to Hills C/D-S. He
> seemed to gain some weight back,more energetic and not urinating
> outside the box.
Prednisone may have reduced inflammation which may have caused painful
urination that he may have associated with the litter box. Infammation can
also cause a nervous sensation that mimics the sensation that's normally
induced by a full bladder.
Howecer, c/d-s may not have been a good idea because most nephroliths in
cats are composed of calcium oxalate - c/d-s can *promote* calcium oxalate.
Then all of a sudden he started to urinate elsewhere
> with more blood in his urine, we take him to the vet and now he has
> kidney stones.
He may have had nephroliths for sometime - nephroliths in cats are often
clinically silent for years. If hydronephrosis develops in one kidney, the
normal kidney compenĀ*sates which can delay clinical signs which would delay
a trip to the vet and early detection.
The xray also showed he had one kidney larger than the
> other which he might think was something he had from birth.
Possibly. However, an enlarged kidney can also be caused by a nephrolith if
it produces hydronephrosis.
Of course
> not knowing what type of stones he had, he did not have an answer on
> how to treat him.
I'm sorry to say, your vet should not have prescribed c/d-s without knowing
the composition of the nephrolith. c/d-s may have exacerbated the problem
since most nephroliths in cats are composed of calcium oxalate - which
cannot be dissolved.
He was going to research on the problem. Has anyone
> had an expierience like this? If so what measures were taken to treat
> or remove the stones?
The ideal treatment for nephrolithiasis is nephrotomy (surgical removal -
depending on their location) to eliminate the risk of obstruction of urine
flow and death due to acute renal failure. Nephrectomy may be necessary if
there has been irreversible damage to the kidney (pyonephrosis or severe
hydronephrosis). Nephrectomy should *not* be performed unless renal
function is adequate in the other kidney. .
Generally, . surgery should only be performed in cats with nephroliths if
hematuria, UTI, declining renal function, changes in renal size and shape,
or increasing nephrolith size are seen. Unfortunately, your cat meets three
of these criteria - Has his renal function been checked (BUN/creatinine)
(post renal azotemia)?
Is this a problem in male cats or Maine Coon
> Cats?
Nephroliths are slightly more common in female cats than males. I think
there may be a higher incidence in DSH. than individual purebred breeds..
How does this effect his health? He shows no signs that he is
> hurting except the urinating on the floor sometimes. He is the same ol
> Sebastian I know playing with the other 2 cats and getting in trouble.
> What kind of problems will he face if not treated properly soon?
As the nephrolith grows, it displaces normal tissue and, if bilateral, can
result in chronic renal failure and death.
Any
> and all responses would be greatly appreciated. And also any links to
> websites that might have some information of this condition will be
> helpful also.
> Thanks for the time to read,
> Chris
Before you make any decisions regarding treatment, I'd opt for complete
blood work (CBC/chemistry), excretory urography and ultrasounds as soon as
possible.
Best of luck.
Phil.