Should I be worried?

On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 12:45:27 -0500, Priscilla H. Ballou wrote:

Quincy's Pet wrote:

First of all, let me say that I am WAY too attached to my cat, Quincy.

He became sick 12/31/04, but I didn't know what was wrong with him.
Because it was a holiday, I didn't bother calling the vet. On 1/1/05,
I started noticing he was trying to use the litter box, but nothing was
happening. On 1/2/05, he managed to pass a little urine, but he could
barely walk. I called the vet and they said to bring him in
immediately, either for treatment or to have him put to sleep. A few
minutes later, he was admitted to the hospital for urinary blockage.
He was suppose to go home 1/5/05, put he still wasn't urinating by
himself. They said he might get to go home 1/8/05. I went to see him
yesterday. He was very alert and active, he wanted to be loved, was
very vocal, and the wanted to go home. I'm worried he's not going to
come home and vet bill is getting out of hand. I don't care about the
bill, but my husband is becoming concerned. I think he's just jealous
of my devotion to this "animal". I read about using anatomy alteration
in severe cases, which gave me a little hope. Should I be worried, or
should I just be patient?

You got him to the vet, which is the important thing. Any cat,
particularly an altered male, who shows signs of having problems
eliminating should be checked out by a vet ASAP. Waiting too long can
kill the cat. But he's at the vet now. If I were you I'd ask the vet
about the delay in recovery and what might be causing it.

I had a wonderful altered male, Sinbad, many years ago. He had
recurring problems with urinary blockage, and eventually he had the
"anatomy alteration" you make reference to. Essentially they remove the
penis and open out the urethra so he's peeing like a female cat. That
worked like a charm on Sinbad.


How common is this sort of thing, after neutering?


Margaret

On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 01:14:58 GMT, Rhonda wrote:

Uh huh. That is not a good enough answer.

I don't know how well you know this vet, but I would be taking Quincy to
another vet right away.

There is a vet in this area that keeps animals hospitalized forever,
running up big bills, and not with great results. He's a very bad vet
and makes his money by long hospitalizations since he doesn't have many
return customers. Maybe your vet is not that bad, but sometimes it pays
to be a little suspicious.

What is your vet doing that they need to keep him? Is it medication you
can give at home? I'd be tempted to bring him home right away and get
another vet's opinion tomorrow. Maybe go to a cat group or animal
organization that can recommend a vet.


Might go to them first and see what they say about this vet and other local
vets, before burning bridges with this one.

Or, a tactful way to handle this vet might be to say, "If you're not
planning treatments over the weekend, could he come home for the weekend?"



Margaret
who does that with her car sometimes when the mechanic keeps it too long

Margaret wrote in news:2vkrw60sge7h.1559ugj0i1zbj
:

I had a wonderful altered male, Sinbad, many years ago. He had
recurring problems with urinary blockage, and eventually he had the
"anatomy alteration" you make reference to. Essentially they remove the
penis and open out the urethra so he's peeing like a female cat. That
worked like a charm on Sinbad.


How common is this sort of thing, after neutering?


It's very common in males. Nickleby had it, but it was well-controlled by
using the special diet (Hill's C/D).

--Catherine
& Rosalie the calico

My cat Rusty went through something similar some years ago. I
rushed him to a 24 hr. animal hospital as his regular vet was gone for the
day.
He was completely blocked and was hospitalized for the weekend.
I wasn't allowed to visit him but the vets kept me updated by phone.
They put a catheter in to unblock him. Rusty was released only after he
could urinate by himself.
That was his second blockage after he was on a prescription diet for a year
or two. 'Anatomy alteration' was recommended when he was discharged from the
hospital. But his regular vet said that should be the
last resort. So Rusty didn't have the operation. We switched to another
prescription canned food for urinary blockage. Subsequently he had several
episodes of crystals in his urine but no blockage. I made sure he gets
plenty
of fluid by adding water to his canned food. Over the years Rusty's vet and
food bills has been piling up. Many times I didn't think he was going to
make
it to a ripe old age. But he is 10 now.
You have to watch Quincy very closely after he comes home and stick strictly
to a prescription diet for urinary blockage.
Please keep us posted.

"Quincy's Pet" wrote in message
ups.com...
First of all, let me say that I am WAY too attached to my cat, Quincy.

He became sick 12/31/04, but I didn't know what was wrong with him.
Because it was a holiday, I didn't bother calling the vet. On 1/1/05,
I started noticing he was trying to use the litter box, but nothing was
happening. On 1/2/05, he managed to pass a little urine, but he could
barely walk. I called the vet and they said to bring him in
immediately, either for treatment or to have him put to sleep. A few
minutes later, he was admitted to the hospital for urinary blockage.
He was suppose to go home 1/5/05, put he still wasn't urinating by
himself. They said he might get to go home 1/8/05. I went to see him
yesterday. He was very alert and active, he wanted to be loved, was
very vocal, and the wanted to go home. I'm worried he's not going to
come home and vet bill is getting out of hand. I don't care about the
bill, but my husband is becoming concerned. I think he's just jealous
of my devotion to this "animal". I read about using anatomy alteration
in severe cases, which gave me a little hope. Should I be worried, or
should I just be patient?

On Fri, 7 Jan 2005 13:52:26 +0000 (UTC), ceb wrote:

Margaret wrote in news:2vkrw60sge7h.1559ugj0i1zbj
:

I had a wonderful altered male, Sinbad, many years ago. He had
recurring problems with urinary blockage, and eventually he had the
"anatomy alteration" you make reference to. Essentially they remove
the
penis and open out the urethra so he's peeing like a female cat. That
worked like a charm on Sinbad.


How common is this sort of thing, after neutering?


It's very common in males. Nickleby had it, but it was well-controlled by
using the special diet (Hill's C/D).


Do you mean common in all males, or neutered males?


Margaret

Margaret wrote in
:

On Fri, 7 Jan 2005 13:52:26 +0000 (UTC), ceb wrote:

Margaret wrote in
news:2vkrw60sge7h.1559ugj0i1zbj :

I had a wonderful altered male, Sinbad, many years ago. He had
recurring problems with urinary blockage, and eventually he had
the "anatomy alteration" you make reference to. Essentially they
remove
the
penis and open out the urethra so he's peeing like a female cat.
That worked like a charm on Sinbad.


How common is this sort of thing, after neutering?


It's very common in males. Nickleby had it, but it was
well-controlled by using the special diet (Hill's C/D).


Do you mean common in all males, or neutered males?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's common for males,
period -- I don't think neutering affects it either way.

--Catherine
& Rosalie the calico

ceb wrote:

Margaret wrote in
:

On Fri, 7 Jan 2005 13:52:26 +0000 (UTC), ceb wrote:

Margaret wrote in
news:2vkrw60sge7h.1559ugj0i1zbj :

I had a wonderful altered male, Sinbad, many years ago. He had
recurring problems with urinary blockage, and eventually he had
the "anatomy alteration" you make reference to. Essentially they
remove
the
penis and open out the urethra so he's peeing like a female cat.
That worked like a charm on Sinbad.


How common is this sort of thing, after neutering?


It's very common in males. Nickleby had it, but it was
well-controlled by using the special diet (Hill's C/D).


Do you mean common in all males, or neutered males?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's common for males,
period -- I don't think neutering affects it either way.

I've always heard "altered males," but now I come to think of it, I
don't know why their being altered would affect it. It's the length and
narrowness of the male urethra which makes UTIs and cystitis potentially
so much worse for males.

Priscilla

On 2005-01-07, Priscilla H. Ballou penned:

I've always heard "altered males," but now I come to think of it, I don't
know why their being altered would affect it. It's the length and
narrowness of the male urethra which makes UTIs and cystitis potentially so
much worse for males.

Okay, that's just weird. In humans, isn't it the case that the female's
shorter urethra is one of the culprits in more frequent UTIs?

*confused*

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-07, Priscilla H. Ballou penned:

I've always heard "altered males," but now I come to think of it, I
don't
know why their being altered would affect it. It's the length and
narrowness of the male urethra which makes UTIs and cystitis potentially
so
much worse for males.

Okay, that's just weird. In humans, isn't it the case that the female's
shorter urethra is one of the culprits in more frequent UTIs?

*confused*

Yes, at least for UTI's, because for human females bacteria has a shorter
route to travel, from the outside, up into the urethra & bladder.

I don't know how that would translate, male cats for UTI's (although my
male cat's had one), but for blockage it's a problem that their urethra is
so narrow.

Cathy




--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

Cathy Friedmann wrote:

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-07, Priscilla H. Ballou penned:

I've always heard "altered males," but now I come to think of it, I
don't
know why their being altered would affect it. It's the length and
narrowness of the male urethra which makes UTIs and cystitis potentially
so
much worse for males.

Okay, that's just weird. In humans, isn't it the case that the female's
shorter urethra is one of the culprits in more frequent UTIs?

*confused*

Yes, at least for UTI's, because for human females bacteria has a shorter
route to travel, from the outside, up into the urethra & bladder.

Yup. Cats don't wipe possibly the wrong way after using the litter box,
and they don't engage in missionary-position sex. Or at least not that
I've heard about!

I don't know how that would translate, male cats for UTI's (although my
male cat's had one), but for blockage it's a problem that their urethra is
so narrow.

More urethra to be inflamed?

Priscilla