Poor Duchess!

[cjsmith]

Sunday she started acting suspiciously like she had a UTI. She'd go to the litterbox every few minutes and deposit a couple of drops. She'd also occasionally deposit some drops in random locations. Not fun. I considered sitting in my vet's office without an appointment, hoping to get out of there in time for a 10am meeting at work.

She quit doing it. She was fine Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday. I had started to think I imagined the whole episode.

Wednesday she started doing it again with a vengeance. The house was a mess. (Fortunately, small amounts are very easy to clean up. Also fortunately, this stuff is rather dilute.) So I made an appointment and brought her in this morning.

Turns out they won't do a thing with her unless they can get some urine to check. Of course she didn't have any! Heck, I could have told them that before I went in. Sheesh. And of course Thursday is the one day that my vet's office isn't open all day, so they can't keep her and watch for a sample.

SIGH

So I bring her in again first thing tomorrow morning. Meantime, she's confined to a room with a moppable floor.

Poor thing.

Comments

[hillybiker.livejournal.com]

One of my kitties had the same and the vet recommended that I get a clean litter box and put some aquarium gravel in it. Then lock the cat in the room with the litter box and water in order to get the urine. Once she goes, use any kind of sealable glass container to pour it into and save in the fridge until you can get back into the vet's office. The aquarium gravel is pretty sterile and won't add anything to the urine when they examine it.

Also, do some research yourself on FLUTD, esp. type II -- overall the recommendation is that it is likely that there isn't much the vet can do. Make sure she gets enough liquid by feeding her a canned food diet, she might need some antibiotics, and potentially things could turn to crystals and cause massive pain or even create a blockage, which is the most dangerous situation.

[kimatha.livejournal.com]

Aw, poor kitty!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Aw, poor thing! I hope it's not too uncomfortable.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

Java gets those form time to time. Antibiotics work fairly well.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I get the impression you had a vet who was a little more interested in problem-solving than my vet seems to be. I've been thinking of switching (this place is a good 20-25 minutes away during rush hour)...

Thanks for the tip on FLUTD. Huh: infection as the primary cause seems to be rare, but FLUTD is "rarely seen in older cats" (which she is) and infection is a more likely possibility in that case. Hrm. Well, I have to admit I hope she's simply infected. I do not look forward to caring for an incontinent cat for the next decade. (She's eleven, but the last cat I had who died of old age lived to 21.5.)

Fortunately, she's clearly not blocked. That bladder was empty!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks - that's good to know!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

She's pretty quiet about pain, so I can't really tell. When I doctored that claw she barely made any noise! But I see no blood in the urine, and she isn't yelping or wincing in the litterbox, so hopefully we've caught this early.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've had those and they are No Fun At All!

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty.

She'd go to the litterbox every few minutes and deposit a couple of drops. She'd also occasionally deposit some drops in random locations.

I'd say it sounds like prostate trouble, except, uh... :-)

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

poor duchess! having just been through that with samkitty, i'm glad you're getting it taken care of quickly. very much not fun.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

This patient has not had sex reassignment surgery. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, definitely not. Especially for her! She's not complaining, but I know darn well it probably hurts!

Hope she's feeling better very soon.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

I take my girls to Hemingway Cat Hospital in Saratoga. They're very good there--including being willing to catheter Flynn when she went through something similar. Expensive. But very good.

Re: Hope she's feeling better very soon.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oo, thanks; that's good to know. I know two expensive-but-good vets: one is an oncology specialist and the other is an emergency (nights/weekends) vet! :-)

[firecat]

Well, if she doesn't have any urine, it means she's not blocked, that's good news.

I hope it's something easily treatable.

[meows-r-us.livejournal.com]

Hope all will be okay.

If you are not happy with your vet, I suggest that you switch vets.

Keep us posted on how she does.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that part is good news. I'm hoping it's a simple infection. Fingers crossed...!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking of that for some time. Maybe sooner rather than later. Mostly my cats have been very healthy and have only needed the occasional vaccination and teeth-cleaning, but if they're gonna start getting sick I need someone I can trust.

I'll post results!

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Poor baby!

Harlie got a UTI last year just as we were leaving for our honeymoon. She kept going to her box about every two minutes and didn't seem to be doing anything. And she was acting weird. We took her in and they thought that's what it was (UTI), then she peed blood all over the ER floor (of course this always happens in the middle of the night the day before we are flying somewhere). The docs scraped up her bloody pee and confirmed that it was in fact a UTI. They started her on antibiotics, but because she was still peeing blood the next day we had to board her at her regular vet while we were gone, rather than leave her with her catsitter here at the house. The antibiotics cleared everything up and she is now on prescription food which is expensive for cat food but way cheaper than kitty-ER. Since on the new food she has not had any UTIs or colitis (something she had a couple of bouts with when we first got her).

I hope Duchess can get diagnosed and on anitbiotics soon if she needs them.

We are very happy with our vet (both regular and ER), but we are on the other side of the bay, so not so good for you. But, yeah, it really helps to have vets you feel like you can trust. Our vets got tested early as Harlie had colitis not long after we got her (tends to be a kitten/young cat thing) and they were really great with the UTI thing. They were very nice when we called everyday from our honeymoon in Alaska to check on her.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

We took her in and they thought that's what it was (UTI), then she peed blood all over the ER floor (of course this always happens in the middle of the night the day before we are flying somewhere).

I shouldn't be laughing, I shouldn't, I shouldn't... but it's exactly what my kitties would do. Jackie's timing, in particular, can be stunningly bad.

Prescription food, huh? Low magnesium maybe? Wet food?

Glad Harlie is all better now!

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

The food is dry food, though it still smells. It is food we can only get at the vet and it is specifically for kitties with UTI issues. Harlie doesn't complain and it has kept her belly and urinary track happy, so we are happy. It is Hill's Prescription C/D.

And thanks! We are happy Harlie is better too.

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty. Happened to one of our boys a couple of times. The young boys (4 of 'em) are all on special kitty food (Science Diet C/D) and the old boy can't be on that, so dinner time is exciting...

Get a vet you're happy with...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Four! I missed something...! Yeah, I don't know what I'll do if/when I have to feed these beasties different foods. :-/

Good point. I'll stick with this one for the nonce, because I'm already halfway in on this particular issue, but I'll switch to (at the least) someone nearby for the next round of vaccinations.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, Hill's. If I have to go to Hill's that won't be so bad. Fingers crossed.

Harlie's a sweetie. I love the icon you have with Harlie -- particularly the claw! That's excellent!

[valcat.livejournal.com]

I am sorry that Duchess is sick. I hope she gets better very soon. My human worries about me having that problem because I am a male, but so far I am healthy even though I am 14 years old. I try to drink a lot of water so I will not have that problem. It sounds very unpleasant.

I will send healthy purrs to Duchess.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, poor kitty! She's been through a lot lately. I hope she's okay, and that it doesn't cost you too much to keep her that way. I've been so lucky with my guys -- they're 14 and 11, and so far still healthy, kine ahora. Given my limited means, and their advanced age, I don't know what I'd do if faced with an enormous vet bill. =shudder=

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I was asked at this morning's appointment how old Duchess is, and I had to think about it. I came up with eleven. I think I was close, but I may have to pull some old vet records to be sure!

At any rate, Little Girl (my newest addition) is eldest at roughly thirteen, and the other two are roughly eleven, so I'm right there with you on the ages. They're all pretty healthy too, il-hamdulillah. And I know what you mean about the bills. Princess did a serious number on my credit card when she was eighteen or nineteen. She was lucky I'd just come off a lucrative contract. Cancer AND... oh heck, long story, but the Visa card cured her and she lived for three more years. I never regretted a penny of it, but I agree it wasn't cheap.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you, valcat! I will scritch Duchess extra tonight and pass on your good wishes.

If it makes you feel any better, Duchess may have gotten this because... lumps of bad stuff... can caught in her fur when she squats. If you are not as furry you might be less at risk.

[shadopanther.livejournal.com]

Poor Duchess kitty!

My (now deceased) calico Bandit once had a UTI in her more senior years. I too worried about whether she would remain incontinent. Fortunately antibiotics cleared it up, and I think we were even able to keep her on the same cat food (Science Diet). (She lived to almost 15 years old. Natasha on the other hand, is about 4.)

Something also to check (but may not have anything to do with Duchess' condition): Is she dehydrated? If you pull at a scruff of skin on her back does it snap back with elasticity or go back slowly? If the latter, she may be dehydrated and could need sub-cue fluids... or just be encouraged to drink more. (I think of this because I had several kitties with kidney? disease that became dehydrated... and the "drops" left in the litter box by Duchess would concern me in this direction.) Something to check anyway... and if she IS dehydrated, definitely talk to the vet about it!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

He did check her for dehydration - heck, I did that too, but he's trained :-). She sure is making water disappear. She just lets it go a tiny bit at a time... every minute or two! Poor thing.

It's good to know that antibiotics cleared it up and she didn't even need a diet change. Thanks!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Joyce and Bob acquired two black kittens, Taj and Romeo. Lucky, the solid gray boy, adopted the four of them. Gizmo moved with me, and Leo adopted all of us. So we have 5 kitty boyz!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh WOW! So Taj, Romeo, and Lucky are "Joyce and Bob's" while Gizmo is "yours" and Leo is "everyone's"? :-)

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

As far as we know. I did pay for Leo's neutering... But it's debatable as to who owns whom (especially with cats)...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

True enough! When Rick left our house we had to decide who "owned" Duchess. When we bought the place I owned Jackie and he owned Isis, but Duchess was a later adoption. We decided Duchess was mine. It made sense in hindsight; I had been the one to bring her home. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hey! Happy birthday to Gizmo!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

:)

Gizmo thanks you!