Urinary Problem - Male Cat

"T.L.Miller" wrote in message
.. .
Our 9 year old male cat had bladder stones surgically removed last
November and he is having more problems now. He has a urinary
infection that he started taking antibiotics for yesterday. This
afrernoon, he started urinating every 4 or 5 minutes so I rushed him
back to the vet -- he really let loose with his urine on the way to the
vet.

The vet X-rayed him and said that he had a few new, small stones that
were making it difficult for him to urinate. The vet thought she had
pushed some of these back into the bladder and thought that would give
our cat temporary help and that the antibiotic should stop the
infection and his problems would be solved -- at least temporarily.

The vet thought, however, that eventually his "plumbing" would have to
be re-routed so that he would urinate like a female cat.

My question is -- will this cat have decent control over his urination
with this re-routed "plumbing?"

Tom Miller

The procedure you're referring to is called "perineal urethrostomy" and
should be preformed only as a *last resort*. When performed correctly, the
procedure literally turns a male cat into an anatomical female with a
urethral opening that's too wide for stones or crystals to lodge and plug
the cat.

The downside is the wide urethral opening leaves the cat more susceptible to
urinary tract infections and bacterial cystitis - which can be minimized by
keeping the litterbox immaculately clean. Although the cat may become
something of an anatomical female, he does not have the same host defense
mechanisms against ascending infections as a female

If you decide on the procedure, I *strongly* suggest you have the procedure
performed by a veterinary *surgeon* whose experienced in the Wilson
Technique rather than a general practice vet. The risk of postoperative
stricture is *5 times* less with the Wilson.

You can find a board certified surgeon in your area by contacting the
American College of Veterinary Surgeons at 301-913-9550, x. 1 or e-mail
.


An additional benefit of having a surgeon perform the procedure is the
surgeon may be able to tell you if your vet damaged the urethra by improper
catheterization.



However, *before* opting for the procedure, I would ask your vet if she had
the stones analyzed and if the type of stone was determined (urolith or
urethal plug; struvite or calcium oxalate). Struvite crystals and uroliths
usually can be medically dissolved and controlled with a special diet.
Calcium oxalate uroliths, however, cannot be dissolved and usually require
surgical removal.



Unless your cat is at high risk of reblocking, and a urologic emergency is
imminent, perineal urethrostomy should be considered a *last resort* only
after medical management has failed.



Please monitor your cat *very* closely. At the *first sign of difficulty
urinating, or if your cat does not urinate at least twice a day, seek
emergency treatment. Urinary tract obstruction produces a pathophysiologic
state equivalent to oliguric acute renal failure.



Good luck,



Phil

In article , Karen Chuplis
wrote:

This operation is very successful and should not cause a problem. I am
wondering, after the last episode (before this one) did you try a diet
change?

When stones were first discovered in his bladder, he was put on a
special diet deficient in some mineral so that the stones would shrink
in case they were the type made up of that mineral. He also was only
given distilled water to insure that he wasn't getting any of the
mineral -- magnesium??? The stones failed to shrink -- hence they were
surically removed last November.

After the operation he (and his sister) have only had Hill's X/D.
Presumably, the stones he now has would be bigger and he would have had
problems even earlier than 8 or 9 months after the operation.

Tom Miller

In article , Karen Chuplis
wrote:

This operation is very successful and should not cause a problem. I am
wondering, after the last episode (before this one) did you try a diet
change?

When stones were first discovered in his bladder, he was put on a
special diet deficient in some mineral so that the stones would shrink
in case they were the type made up of that mineral. He also was only
given distilled water to insure that he wasn't getting any of the
mineral -- magnesium??? The stones failed to shrink -- hence they were
surically removed last November.

After the operation he (and his sister) have only had Hill's X/D.
Presumably, the stones he now has would be bigger and he would have had
problems even earlier than 8 or 9 months after the operation.

Tom Miller

In article , Phil P.
wrote:

The procedure you're referring to is called "perineal urethrostomy" and
should be preformed only as a *last resort*. When performed correctly, the
procedure literally turns a male cat into an anatomical female with a
urethral opening that's too wide for stones or crystals to lodge and plug
the cat.

Are there other resorts??

Right now he is urinating more frequently than normal and, based on his
growls, it is very uncomfortable. Sometimes he uses the litter box and
sometimes he uses the large tupperware-type container that is his
dining room -- he licks it up afterwards. We feed him in this container
to keep him from going after his sister's food -- he has had a
voracious appetite for the last couple of years of his 9 year life.
He's been checked for various problems.

The downside is the wide urethral opening leaves the cat more susceptible to
urinary tract infections and bacterial cystitis - which can be minimized by
keeping the litterbox immaculately clean. Although the cat may become
something of an anatomical female, he does not have the same host defense
mechanisms against ascending infections as a female

If the opeartion is done properly, he will be able to control his
urination? In other words, he won't be constanly dripping urine?

However, *before* opting for the procedure, I would ask your vet if she had
the stones analyzed and if the type of stone was determined (urolith or
urethal plug; struvite or calcium oxalate). Struvite crystals and uroliths
usually can be medically dissolved and controlled with a special diet.
Calcium oxalate uroliths, however, cannot be dissolved and usually require
surgical removal.

Yes, I think the vet has examined the stones.

Thank you very much for your advice!!

Tom Miller

In article , Phil P.
wrote:

The procedure you're referring to is called "perineal urethrostomy" and
should be preformed only as a *last resort*. When performed correctly, the
procedure literally turns a male cat into an anatomical female with a
urethral opening that's too wide for stones or crystals to lodge and plug
the cat.

Are there other resorts??

Right now he is urinating more frequently than normal and, based on his
growls, it is very uncomfortable. Sometimes he uses the litter box and
sometimes he uses the large tupperware-type container that is his
dining room -- he licks it up afterwards. We feed him in this container
to keep him from going after his sister's food -- he has had a
voracious appetite for the last couple of years of his 9 year life.
He's been checked for various problems.

The downside is the wide urethral opening leaves the cat more susceptible to
urinary tract infections and bacterial cystitis - which can be minimized by
keeping the litterbox immaculately clean. Although the cat may become
something of an anatomical female, he does not have the same host defense
mechanisms against ascending infections as a female

If the opeartion is done properly, he will be able to control his
urination? In other words, he won't be constanly dripping urine?

However, *before* opting for the procedure, I would ask your vet if she had
the stones analyzed and if the type of stone was determined (urolith or
urethal plug; struvite or calcium oxalate). Struvite crystals and uroliths
usually can be medically dissolved and controlled with a special diet.
Calcium oxalate uroliths, however, cannot be dissolved and usually require
surgical removal.

Yes, I think the vet has examined the stones.

Thank you very much for your advice!!

Tom Miller