Hello everyone, this is Sasha's mom, Elizabeth. I'm so sorry I haven't been around, I have such deep love and respect for this beautiful community that helped us try to save Sasha and ultimately held my family's hand when she passed last year. It has been really emotional trying to come back and I'm embarrassed about that. Its been a year since Sasha passed on and now my family is truly in need of some advice/wisdom/experience again if it isn't too much trouble.
Our cat Pumpkinhead (13 years old) about three weeks ago started straining to urinate, urinating bloody urine in front of us on the floor (pumpkin is so proper and would never ever do that normally), lifting his back legs like they hurt him and he would attack us if we tried to touch him. The ER vet said he wasn't blocked. They couldn't find his bladder but said they felt a hard mass, which they later said was probably his inflamed bladder itself. They checked his enzymes that night, said he might have a UTI gave us antibiotics. He immediately did better with the clavamox and Prazosin. He was extremely difficult to give the Medication to after about 5 days in of him doing much better, and for about two days he didn't properly get his medicine and immediately started having the same problem. We rushed him back to the ER and they said he was ok and this time ran full blood work on him, which came back normal accept for "high normal" kidney values ( I believe creatanine) and elevated white blood cells. We have tried on two separate occasions to get a urinanalysis but his bladder has been empty. The vet said that with that kidney value off, she could diagnose him with stage 2 kidney disease. She said in about a month we could try again to get urine because he is ok for now.
I asked her if without the urine results could he be later stage than stage 2 and she said, no, if anything he wouldn't be as FAR as they think. Does anyone know if that is true or not?
She also said she doesn't think he has a UTI because infections of the bladder are extremely rare in older cats. Has anyone ever heard of that before, I recall reading the opposite, that the older they get the more likely it is an infection?
She diagnosed him with idiopathic FLUTD. They did do an unofficial ultrasound of his bladder last time to see if there was urine in it and they said they didn't see any stones. The vet keeps saying that we should wait on the full ultrasound and urinanalysis because the stress could cause him to get worse. She wants him to stay on the Prazosin possibly forever, but Im getting worried that something worse is happening with Pumpkin.
He had an episode tonight that really scared me. He didnt get his medicine today because we ran out and were waiting for the refill, but what happened was so much worse than what he initially had. He started running around the house peeing little spots of blood everywhere, one time a long string of a blood clot, his lower body was visibly contorting and spasming and it looked like he couldn't stop trying to pee, like he was frozen in a painful pee position he couldn't get out of. My husband had just gotten home with his Prazosin which we gave to him, and gave him some Buprenex which they prescribed for him initially also because he was obviously in pain and distress. He just laid down on his side with his back legs frozen in a squatting position, with him lifting his back legs and butt twitching now and again. He also vomited. For a second I thought he was dying. Any attempt to touch him he would cry out. I was so scared... Eventually I moved him to the couch and underneath him it looked like he peed on himself. He had just seemed to settle and now he is going back and forth to the litter box again, where he is getting out tiny bits of urine. I am so scared right now and don't know what to do or what is wrong with him. We've taken him in to the ER vet twice now for a slightly less intense version of this and when we'd get there he would be fine, they would check his enzymes which would be fine and they'd send us home.
All day yesterday he was going in and out of the litter box without the obvious pain and straining, but he was peeing normal sized pees multiple times an hour which made me think he has worse kidney disease than they think. He has also been drinking twice as much as usual (he's a cat who has always looooved water though). I told the vet all if this and she thinks that could fit within his stage 2 of kidney disease and is just in addition to the FLUTD which she says is I the straining, leg problems and blood. I'm not sure what to think....
Does anyone here have any experience with anything like this? Could this be worse kidney disease than they think? He just started going back and forth to the box again and I just don't know what to do to help him. He's on a lot of medication and he does seem a little better, but he still seems to be having more problems than when he first went on the medication and it would immediately make him feel better. Could this really just be an idiopathic bladder issue as the vet keeps saying? Should the vet be considering other possibilities? Any guidance or wisdom or experience would be such a blessing right now. I want to help my boy so badly, but I'm just not sure what to do. He really seems distressed...
Thank you for reading this.... Thank you all and blessings to everyone and all of your babies
Our cat Pumpkinhead (13 years old) about three weeks ago started straining to urinate, urinating bloody urine in front of us on the floor (pumpkin is so proper and would never ever do that normally), lifting his back legs like they hurt him and he would attack us if we tried to touch him. The ER vet said he wasn't blocked. They couldn't find his bladder but said they felt a hard mass, which they later said was probably his inflamed bladder itself. They checked his enzymes that night, said he might have a UTI gave us antibiotics. He immediately did better with the clavamox and Prazosin. He was extremely difficult to give the Medication to after about 5 days in of him doing much better, and for about two days he didn't properly get his medicine and immediately started having the same problem. We rushed him back to the ER and they said he was ok and this time ran full blood work on him, which came back normal accept for "high normal" kidney values ( I believe creatanine) and elevated white blood cells. We have tried on two separate occasions to get a urinanalysis but his bladder has been empty. The vet said that with that kidney value off, she could diagnose him with stage 2 kidney disease. She said in about a month we could try again to get urine because he is ok for now.
I asked her if without the urine results could he be later stage than stage 2 and she said, no, if anything he wouldn't be as FAR as they think. Does anyone know if that is true or not?
She also said she doesn't think he has a UTI because infections of the bladder are extremely rare in older cats. Has anyone ever heard of that before, I recall reading the opposite, that the older they get the more likely it is an infection?
She diagnosed him with idiopathic FLUTD. They did do an unofficial ultrasound of his bladder last time to see if there was urine in it and they said they didn't see any stones. The vet keeps saying that we should wait on the full ultrasound and urinanalysis because the stress could cause him to get worse. She wants him to stay on the Prazosin possibly forever, but Im getting worried that something worse is happening with Pumpkin.
He had an episode tonight that really scared me. He didnt get his medicine today because we ran out and were waiting for the refill, but what happened was so much worse than what he initially had. He started running around the house peeing little spots of blood everywhere, one time a long string of a blood clot, his lower body was visibly contorting and spasming and it looked like he couldn't stop trying to pee, like he was frozen in a painful pee position he couldn't get out of. My husband had just gotten home with his Prazosin which we gave to him, and gave him some Buprenex which they prescribed for him initially also because he was obviously in pain and distress. He just laid down on his side with his back legs frozen in a squatting position, with him lifting his back legs and butt twitching now and again. He also vomited. For a second I thought he was dying. Any attempt to touch him he would cry out. I was so scared... Eventually I moved him to the couch and underneath him it looked like he peed on himself. He had just seemed to settle and now he is going back and forth to the litter box again, where he is getting out tiny bits of urine. I am so scared right now and don't know what to do or what is wrong with him. We've taken him in to the ER vet twice now for a slightly less intense version of this and when we'd get there he would be fine, they would check his enzymes which would be fine and they'd send us home.
All day yesterday he was going in and out of the litter box without the obvious pain and straining, but he was peeing normal sized pees multiple times an hour which made me think he has worse kidney disease than they think. He has also been drinking twice as much as usual (he's a cat who has always looooved water though). I told the vet all if this and she thinks that could fit within his stage 2 of kidney disease and is just in addition to the FLUTD which she says is I the straining, leg problems and blood. I'm not sure what to think....
Does anyone here have any experience with anything like this? Could this be worse kidney disease than they think? He just started going back and forth to the box again and I just don't know what to do to help him. He's on a lot of medication and he does seem a little better, but he still seems to be having more problems than when he first went on the medication and it would immediately make him feel better. Could this really just be an idiopathic bladder issue as the vet keeps saying? Should the vet be considering other possibilities? Any guidance or wisdom or experience would be such a blessing right now. I want to help my boy so badly, but I'm just not sure what to do. He really seems distressed...
Thank you for reading this.... Thank you all and blessings to everyone and all of your babies
