It's academic. No more PJ

As a sometime lurker on this ng, I wanted to say thanks to the people
here who post their cat questions, knowledge, stories. It's kind of
felt like being part of a community.

Twelve days ago, now, we lost our cat PJ. I say "lost," but I mean we
had to tell the vet to put him under after he told us he could not
catheterize him again. An operation to correct his urinary blockage had
less than 50% chance of working, he said.

PJ was already sedated, so we thought we were doing the best thing for
him, not letting him wake up...

Could someone tell me, though, how common and how serious urinary
blockages are in neutered male cats? PJ was just 2½ years old, otherwise
healthy, well-fed and adjusted, and very much loved and loving. Did we
feed him something that brought this on?

We still miss him awfully, but we're getting over his death, day by day.
Maybe some morning there will be another blue-eyed kitten crying on the
back stoop.

JPM

so sorry to hear about pj. hope you have lots of happy memories to look back
on

--
Sandra

I'm so sorry to hear about PJ. I know how hard it is...and so young.
I hope you find that blue-eyed kitten soon... it does help ease the pain
having another baby who needs you. Carol

"DemoDisk" wrote in message
...
As a sometime lurker on this ng, I wanted to say thanks to the people
here who post their cat questions, knowledge, stories. It's kind of
felt like being part of a community.

Twelve days ago, now, we lost our cat PJ. I say "lost," but I mean we
had to tell the vet to put him under after he told us he could not
catheterize him again. An operation to correct his urinary blockage had
less than 50% chance of working, he said.

PJ was already sedated, so we thought we were doing the best thing for
him, not letting him wake up...

Could someone tell me, though, how common and how serious urinary
blockages are in neutered male cats? PJ was just 2½ years old, otherwise
healthy, well-fed and adjusted, and very much loved and loving. Did we
feed him something that brought this on?

We still miss him awfully, but we're getting over his death, day by day.
Maybe some morning there will be another blue-eyed kitten crying on the
back stoop.

JPM

JPM wrote
Could someone tell me, though, how
common and how serious urinary
blockages are in neutered male cats?
PJ was just 2½ years old, otherwise
healthy, well-fed and adjusted, and
very much loved and loving. Did we
feed him something that brought this
on?

This is quite common in neutered male cats that are fed dry food. A
canned diet provides more water to dilute the urine and prevent stone
formation. (Drinking a lot of water doesn't have the same benefit).

I'm sorry to hear about PJ. I'm sure he had a few very happy years with
you.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

"DemoDisk" wrote in message
...
Could someone tell me, though, how common and how serious urinary
blockages are in neutered male cats? PJ was just 2½ years old, otherwise
healthy, well-fed and adjusted, and very much loved and loving. Did we
feed him something that brought this on?

There is most likely nothing you did that caused his problem. Many years
back my ex and I had a young neutered male who was suddenly beset with
blockage. Several days of antibiotics and manually expressing his bladder
were required to get him in good condition for the surgery.

As the vet explained to me, the male has a narrower urinary tract at a point
prior to entering the external organs. This makes him a more likely
candidate for reduced flow, accumulation of sediments that irritate and
inflame the urinary tract, formation of crystals, and in turn aggravate the
blockage potential. The surgery involved removal of the external genitalia
and bring forth a section of the urethra that was wider and less prone to
blockage. The cat lived a normal life thereafter and was still with my ex
when we split.

"DemoDisk" wrote in message
...
As a sometime lurker on this ng, I wanted to say thanks to the people
here who post their cat questions, knowledge, stories. It's kind of
felt like being part of a community.

Twelve days ago, now, we lost our cat PJ. I say "lost," but I mean we
had to tell the vet to put him under after he told us he could not
catheterize him again. An operation to correct his urinary blockage had
less than 50% chance of working, he said.

The success rate of perineal urethrostomies is about 89%. Your vet lied to
you because he didn't want to- or probably doesn't have any experience in
performing perineal urethrostomies. Or worse, he may have damaged your
cat's urethra during catheterization.

The diameter of the pelvic urethra is 3 to 4 times the diameter of the
penile urethra so reblocking is highly unlikely.

If you have other animals or plan to get another cat, I strongly suggest you
find another vet.

I'm very sorry about you cat.

Phil

"RobZip" wrote in message
. ..

As the vet explained to me, the male has a narrower urinary tract at a
point
prior to entering the external organs.

That's precisely correct. The urethra narrows, almost like a funnel, where
it passes over the pelvis into the penis. Here's a diagram of the most
common location of blockages in male cats.

http://www.maxshouse.com/Anatomy-Pic...enital_sys.jpg

DemoDisk wrote:

We still miss him awfully, but we're getting over his death, day by day.
Maybe some morning there will be another blue-eyed kitten crying on the
back stoop.

JPM

I'm very sorry about PJ.

Candace

So sorry to hear of your loss. It always seems especially tragic when they
are young.

chas