How do I know if he is reblocking?

I am absolutely paranoid since experiencing my first blockage with my cat
last weekend. He has been doing great. I just got home from work and the
first thing I do is go to the litter box. At that time, my other cat was
using it. So, when he was done, I cleaned it and there was two total pees in
it from the day. After a little bit, my little guy who was blocked used it
and he did not pee all that much, although it was not much less at all than
my healthy cat. There was no straining and he is no exhibiting any other
symptoms like he did last week. I would say that the pee in the litter box
amounted to about the size of a golf ball. Does this sound like he is
reblocking? You know, before he blocked, I never paid attention to the size
of the pees in the litter box, so now I don't know what is normal. Any
advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200610/1

I have never had a blocked kitty - thank God - but my 4 year old pees
twice a day an oval about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. He is on
canned food.

MoMo via CatKB.com wrote:
I am absolutely paranoid since experiencing my first blockage with my cat
last weekend. He has been doing great. I just got home from work and the
first thing I do is go to the litter box. At that time, my other cat was
using it. So, when he was done, I cleaned it and there was two total pees in
it from the day. After a little bit, my little guy who was blocked used it
and he did not pee all that much, although it was not much less at all than
my healthy cat. There was no straining and he is no exhibiting any other
symptoms like he did last week. I would say that the pee in the litter box
amounted to about the size of a golf ball. Does this sound like he is
reblocking? You know, before he blocked, I never paid attention to the size
of the pees in the litter box, so now I don't know what is normal. Any
advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200610/1

"MoMo via CatKB.com" u27647@uwe wrote in message news:67b9b159b8f0f@uwe...
I am absolutely paranoid since experiencing my first blockage with my cat
last weekend. He has been doing great. I just got home from work and the
first thing I do is go to the litter box. At that time, my other cat was
using it. So, when he was done, I cleaned it and there was two total pees
in
it from the day. After a little bit, my little guy who was blocked used
it
and he did not pee all that much, although it was not much less at all
than
my healthy cat. There was no straining and he is no exhibiting any other
symptoms like he did last week. I would say that the pee in the litter
box
amounted to about the size of a golf ball. Does this sound like he is
reblocking? You know, before he blocked, I never paid attention to the
size
of the pees in the litter box, so now I don't know what is normal. Any
advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

Add a little salt to his diet- it will increase his water consumption and
won't hurt his blood pressure or kidneys.

Phil

Phil P. wrote:

Add a little salt to his diet- it will increase his water consumption and
won't hurt his blood pressure or kidneys.

Phil

What?! Are you actually suggesting that he add salt
to the cat's diet just to be happy about the size of his
pees?

--tension

"tension_on_the_wire" wrote in message
ups.com...

Phil P. wrote:

Add a little salt to his diet- it will increase his water consumption
and
won't hurt his blood pressure or kidneys.

Phil

What?! Are you actually suggesting that he add salt
to the cat's diet just to be happy about the size of his
pees?

Yeah- That's right. The urine concentration of solutes- especilly
calculogenic crystalloids, depends on urine volume. The higher the urine
volume the more dilute the urine and the lower the risk of crystals forming.

Any more questions?

Phil P. wrote:
Yeah- That's right. The urine concentration of solutes- especilly
calculogenic crystalloids, depends on urine volume. The higher the urine
volume the more dilute the urine and the lower the risk of crystals forming.

Any more questions?

Thank you for your response.

Yes, indeed, I have more questions. First of all, are you a DVM?
I'll be much more reassured, though it wouldn't be necessary
if you can explain the mechanism sufficiently as you did.
I am aware of the value of diluting the urine to reduce
the precipitation factor of crystalloids, but this is not
generally a method for increasing water intake with
humans (including babies who like cats cannot be
told to drink more) and so my next question:

Second of all, I am very curious to know what it is about
a cat's physiology that would protect him from
hypertension and renal disease from too much salt
intake?

Third of all, is there really nothing that could be
added directly to the water to make it more palatable
to the cat without having to make him thirsty or
altering the balance of his fluids and
electrolytes?

Fourth of all, since you are asking for
questions, what is the most common
calculus composition in cats?

--tension

"tension_on_the_wire" wrote in message
oups.com...

Phil P. wrote:
Yeah- That's right. The urine concentration of solutes- especilly
calculogenic crystalloids, depends on urine volume. The higher the urine
volume the more dilute the urine and the lower the risk of crystals
forming.

Any more questions?

Thank you for your response.

Yes, indeed, I have more questions.

It was a rhetorical question...

Seems like you have a lot of research to do...

Are you related to Treeline by any chance?

Ok, I am back and am currently waiting for my vet to call me back but in the
meantime, I thought I would ask the question here. I feel like my cat's
urine output is still get smaller everyday. I went to the vet's over the
weekend (without my cat, just to pick up food) and told the vet about this
and was told that as long as he is peeing when he is in the litter box he is
not blocked. But now when I check, he is only putting out urine that is
clumping to about the size of a dime and I am getting really worried. He is
not straining in the litter box when he does this so could this just be how
he usually is? I never paid attention before the blockage. He had two
decent size urine outputs yesterday, one being about 11:30 last night. What
do you guys think?

Phil P. wrote:
Yeah- That's right. The urine concentration of solutes- especilly
calculogenic crystalloids, depends on urine volume. The higher the urine
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]

Yes, indeed, I have more questions.

It was a rhetorical question...

Seems like you have a lot of research to do...

Are you related to Treeline by any chance?

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200610/1

Phil P. wrote:
"tension_on_the_wire" wrote:
Phil P. wrote:
Any more questions?

Thank you for your response.
Yes, indeed, I have more questions.

It was a rhetorical question...
Seems like you have a lot of research to do...
Are you related to Treeline by any chance?

No, I am sorry I don't know anyone by that name. Why did you
not answer any of my questions? I have done quite a bit of
research about this area, for the record, and the reason I am
so surprised by your suggestion is that it would seem to me
that the very first suggestion you should have made, if you
are qualified (which I still don't know if you are, or not)
should have been regarding the diet itself, and whether or not
it contains sufficient water content.

A cat who has had urinary blockage and likely from struvite
crytals has an essential need for lots of water, a point upon
which we obviously agree. But I question salt in the diet as
being the first and most appropriate suggestion.

The first suggestion I would have made is to ensure that the cat
is on a canned or raw meat diet allowing for at least a 70% water
content, rather than a dry food diet which contains only about
10% water. Cats on dry food will drink more free water, but not
generally enough to compensate what they would get if they ate
a watery diet such as wet food. Cats do not have a strong thirst
mechanism and trying to heighten it with salt, rather than working
with the cats own physiology and giving him a diet which is less
prone to causing a state of chronic dehydration seems a much
more sensible route to me. Since struvite crystals are highly
precipitable in low water content, I don't really see the point of
adding salt to a diet to temporarily increase thirst, and water intake
in a way which would then subsequently trigger a compensatory
response of increased urine *and* salt output resulting once again
in the original state of chronic dehydration. That seems like a
quick fix solution, rather than a definitive answer that might
actually get at the etiology of the original problem.

And I fail to see why cats are *protected* from hypertension. My own
cat is hypertensive, though not from salt intake, for sure. But cats
are prone to hypertension for other reasons, a common cause
being hyperthyroidism, for example, and since chronic renal failure,
which most certainly can result from hypertension, is one of the number
one killers of domestic cats, I am curious to know why you think salt
can be added to the diet so easily with impunity?

I am not a DVM, and if you are, and if you are here in good faith to
answer people's questions, why won't you engage in an informative
discussion with me about this? If I am mistaken about anything
I have said here, I would most humbly appreciate being corrected.
But just telling me that I have a lot of research to do is somewhat
arrogant and condescending of you. It would certainly be informative
for many people reading this post including the original poster who has
problems with his cat.

--tension

"tension_on_the_wire" wrote in message
oups.com...
Phil P. wrote:
"tension_on_the_wire" wrote:
Phil P. wrote:
Any more questions?

Thank you for your response.
Yes, indeed, I have more questions.

It was a rhetorical question...
Seems like you have a lot of research to do...
Are you related to Treeline by any chance?

No, I am sorry I don't know anyone by that name.

That's a surprise.

Why did you
not answer any of my questions?

Google the group- You'll find I've answered the same questions at least a
few hundred
times over the last 7 or 8 years. But the real reason I didn't answer is
because I didn't like the way you asked or your first reply to my post.


I have done quite a bit of
research about this area, for the record, and the reason I am
so surprised by your suggestion

Apparently your "quite a bit of research" isn't as much as you think it is--
Since my suggestion surprised you, obviously, your research wasn't enough
and you don't know as much as you think you do.



is that it would seem to me
that the very first suggestion you should have made, if you
are qualified (which I still don't know if you are, or not)


Qualified? This is a newsgroup, Einstein. Who the hell are you to determine
whose "qualified".


should have been regarding the diet itself, and whether or not
it contains sufficient water content.


No, really? Nothing gets past your lightening quick perception, does it?
Feeding canned food *was* my first suggestion, Einstein. This isn't the
first thread by the OP on this subject. Perhaps you should read the group
to see what has been posted before you shoot yourself in the foot trying to
show how much you (don't) know..


From: "Phil P."
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2006 1:28 AM
Subject: My cat just had a blockage. What now?

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:66lWg.3512$W35.1657@trnddc06

"Whether he had a crystal or plug- your should feed your cat only canned
food if possible. The type of diet depends on the type of crystals: Hill's
s/d for struvite dissolution and c/d for management; Hill's x/d for calcium
oxalate.

Canned diets increase water consumption which results in a more dilute
urine. The increased water consumption also results in more frequent
urination which helps eliminate small crystal particles before they become
large enough to interfere with urination.
You can help increase his water consumption by adding a few more water bowls
and getting a a Drinkwell water fountain."

When your foot heals, visit the Feline Nutrition section on my site and look
up the references on the bottom of the page. You might learn something.

Dry Food vs Canned Food. Which is really better?
http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutr...i ch_is_reall


snip

I am curious to know why you think salt
can be added to the diet so easily with impunity?

Here's why:

J Vet Intern Med 2002;16:788.
Luckschander N, Iben C, Desprez C, et al.
Does increasing dietary NaCl affect blood pressure in adult healthy cats?

Am J Vet Res 2004; 65 (5): 620-627
Buranakarl C, Mathur S, Brown SA.
Effects of dietary sodium chloride intake on renal function and blood
pressure in cats with normal and reduced renal function. .


I am not a DVM, and if you are,

Neither am I.


and if you are here in good faith to
answer people's questions,

I answer questions to help people help their cats- I don't have time for
****ing contests with assholes who read a few websites and think they know
so much.

By the way- why did you crosspost this thread to other groups? Do you want
all the groups to see what a jerk you are?