Elwood Update (urinary blockage)

According to the vet, Elwood is doing good. He still shows some signs
te crystils (struvite) so they want to keep him overnight again.

The only thing is, he wasn't eating, which doesn't surprise me as he
is real picky. I am worried about this though - how long can he go
without eating before it becomes dangerous?

The little research I have done suggests that in addition to dry
foods, fish flavored foods and stress can also cause this condition.
Still a lot more reading to do...

I am going to visit him in a few, hopefully I can cheer him up.

On Tue 22 Nov 2005 06:29:30p, Justin L wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
):

According to the vet, Elwood is doing good. He still shows some
signs te crystils (struvite) so they want to keep him overnight
again.

The only thing is, he wasn't eating, which doesn't surprise me
as he is real picky. I am worried about this though - how long
can he go without eating before it becomes dangerous?

The little research I have done suggests that in addition to dry
foods, fish flavored foods and stress can also cause this
condition. Still a lot more reading to do...

I am going to visit him in a few, hopefully I can cheer him up.


Glad he's doing well. When you go visit him, you could try bringing
his favorite canned food (even if he has to be on a prescription
diet, you need to kick-start him back up again) and maybe try hand
feeding him with a tongue depressor or plastic spoon. If the vets
office has a microwave, warm it up a little before offering it to
him. If they've given him fluids, that will help stimulate his
appetite, too, but seeing you might help even more!

--
Cheryl

"Justin L" wrote in message
...
According to the vet, Elwood is doing good.

Thank goodness.

He still shows some signs
te crystils (struvite) so they want to keep him overnight again.

The only thing is, he wasn't eating, which doesn't surprise me as he
is real picky. I am worried about this though - how long can he go
without eating before it becomes dangerous?

The little research I have done suggests that in addition to dry
foods, fish flavored foods and stress can also cause this condition.
Still a lot more reading to do...

I am going to visit him in a few, hopefully I can cheer him up.

Give him a head rub for me. I am really glad you got him right
in where they could care for him.

That's a relief! I'm glad Elwood is recuperating.

I don't know how long they can go without eating before it's a problem,
but I worry if it is more than a day. Is your vet force-feeding him at all?

I hope he ate for you when visited.

Good luck,

Rhonda

Justin L wrote:

According to the vet, Elwood is doing good. He still shows some signs
te crystils (struvite) so they want to keep him overnight again.

The only thing is, he wasn't eating, which doesn't surprise me as he
is real picky. I am worried about this though - how long can he go
without eating before it becomes dangerous?

The little research I have done suggests that in addition to dry
foods, fish flavored foods and stress can also cause this condition.
Still a lot more reading to do...

I am going to visit him in a few, hopefully I can cheer him up.

Justin L wrote:
According to the vet, Elwood is doing good. He still shows some signs
te crystils (struvite) so they want to keep him overnight again.

The only thing is, he wasn't eating, which doesn't surprise me as he
is real picky. I am worried about this though - how long can he go
without eating before it becomes dangerous?

Depends, is he drinking water? If he is drinking water and his health
is fairly good, I would hazard a guess of quite a few days. Before
dangerous? I have read up to weeks if he is drinking water. If a cat is
prone to hyperlipidemia, then there would be a problem of the liver and
too much fat coming available in his body from his storage in tissues
while he is fasting. A day or two is okay in normal situations.

A week without water would be very dangerous. Are they giving him
fluids just in case? That is, water and electrolytes, possibly some
glucose, what they do with people who are not eating for a few days.

Is he showing so many crystals that they are concerned about blockages?
I don't understand why they are keeping him. Is he not urinating? I
wonder what they are doing if he is urinating okay. If you can afford
it, I guess it's best unless this stresses the fellow out and creates
more crystals, if stress can do that. Stress seems to make everything
worse.

"Justin L" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 23:29:30 GMT, Justin L
wrote:

SNIP

I went to visit Elwood last night, and overall I say he is doing good.
He was happy to see me, and even ate a bit of the kibble they put out.

Questions and concerns:

Is it normal for vet cages not to have a litter tray in them?
What if he has to go during the night? Will he just have to lay in it
all night until they get there in the morning? That seemed odd to me.

Is this dry kibble ok for him to eat? The vet says it helps to
dissolve the crystals. . I assumed it was a Science Diet, but why
wouldn't they tell me? She just said it was the right food for
him...??? I will talk to her more about food when I pick him up today

Are they keeping him too long, or just being overly cautious?
When I spoke with them on Monday night, she made it sound like he was
doing really good (there was no blood in his urine)
Then, when I spoke to her yesterday, she said there was still
crystals.
However, when I was visiting him, I peaked at the medical chart on his
cage, and it said something about the catheter being blocked with
sludge, and they had to clean it out?? Is this normal to happen?
Why doesn't the vet mention this? I guess I can understand if it is no
big deal.
I just don't understand why they insisted on keeping him this extra
night. Wouldn't he be better off with me at home in a cage, than in a
strange vet office with no one there at night?
Do they normally have someone there overnight to monitor the animals?
(why do I think of all these questions after the fact!!)

Are all vets like this? I mean, I ask questions, but they really don't
seem to want to share too much information.
This is the 4th vet I have tried in my area, and I am getting very
frustrated!



You have to be assertive and keep asking your questions
until they are answered.

Offhand, I would take my cat out of there. Just my gut feeling. A
catheter blocked with sludge is not good. If they don't want to answer,
they just might be using you to get extra money for the gift giving
season. Don't be a patsy here. There are feline board certified vets.
Animal hospitals that are big. Near any?

"http://www.acvim.org/Kittleson/search.htm and do a search for an
internal
medicine Diplomate/Specialist in your area. American College of
Veterinary
Internal Medicine Diplomates are about the best there is.

If you can't find an ACVIM specialist in your area, my second choice
would
be an ABVP Diplomate/Feline Specialist (American Board of Veterinary
Practitioners). Go to http://www.abvp.com/finddiplomate.aspx"

the above is from Phil P. No guarantee for board certified but the vets
don't sound good. They sound sloppy and mistake prone and not too sharp
upstairs.