in article , afr at
wrote on 11/23/03 10:52 AM:

I realize this post is nearly a year old, but since I am here for the same
issue, I thought I'd attach my concerns to this post.

Ninetten days ago, my 8 1/2 year old cat george was howling. I took him
into the ER and he was blocked. They unblocked him, and my vet kept him
for a few days and sent him home. (ER vet saw calcium oxylate crystals
and vet may have seen a struvite. He's on a Ph neutral food now that the
University vet school where I went for a consult, put him on.)

What seems to have brought him around is administering fluids every other
day. This past week, I've been able to back off to every third day. My
problem is that I live alone and so have been having vet techs come to the
house to administer the fluids. I cannot get my cat to sit still for the
approx. 7-8 minuts it takes to get the 150 ml of fluids in him.

We had a followup urinalysis taken yesterday. Specific gravity looks good
and no crystals seen. Tomorrow I will know the results of some other
things they are looking for..


My problem is I am tapped out financially...spent about $2,000 on this,
didn't even pay this month's bills yet. I don't know how much I'll get
back from the insurance company. I live on a tight budget. I am
considering the "E" word, if I have to continue with fluids several times a
wee
k indefinitely.(He was reshopitalized twice before I took him to the
university vet school who advised me about the at-home fluid therapy.)

I know that all of these cases look different. Has anyone had a case like
the one I'm describing--that took fluids over several weeks to stabilize?
What was the pattern after that?


Thank you very much.

ava


On Sun, 16 Feb 2003, The 7 Kitty Brats wrote:

Hi Karen,

Thanks so very much for the advise. Thaddeus had a number of tests and has
Struvite Crystals. His vet said that we got him there before the totally
clogged him up because he could still press on his bladder and get pee. His
bladder was the size of a lemon. Poor thing.
Well, they kept him for 6 hours and put him on a special IV fluid that helps
break down the crystals. He started peeing small amounts on his own. So they
said that I could bring him home.
They have him on Hill's C/D-s food and he is peeing better today. Not
normal amounts yet but close to it. The Dr. said that we need to watch him
for
the next 24-36 hours to make sure he doesn't clog back up.
Thanks again and have a great day!
Amber, and the seven Kitty Brats. :-)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
S*T*R*E*S*S That confusion created when ones mind overrides the bodies basic
desire to choke the living crap out of some jerk that deserves it.

If you change the diet, monitor box activity and keep plenty of fluids
around, often it does not occur again. I sure would not consider "E"!!! At
the first sign of stress (less frequent urination or small balls of urine
clumps in box) get him to the vet. The big cost you've had is the
catheterization and hospitalization. I hope that your insurance comes
through. If you can catch any episodes early, it should not be so expensive.
Keep LOTS of bowls of water around. Consider switching to canned food. Get a
definite diagnosis of the crystals so the righ food can be found. I don't
understand the confusion about which kind of crystal it is.

Karen