Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
I have a cat that is dealing with urinary issues. Started yesterday with him straining but nothing coming out. I like many others do not have the $2k that the vet will most likely charge.
**I will take him in tomorrow to have bladder emptied, get antibiotics & anti inflammatory which will be around $300. That I can handle. My question is, what can I do at home to help the situation?
I saw online that apple cider vinegar has been used? Does anyone have any experience with home / natural remedies of any kind?
I do understand that it can be fatal if cats bladder is not relieved because of accumulation of toxins and electrolyte imbalance.
And I know that often we are referred to rescues & animal shelters for options with financial help. But unfortunately all of them in my area are already asking for help from community. And last vey I took a cat to for this recommended euthanasia if couldn’t afford to treat, so I’m also well aware that vets aren’t going to help either.
So is there ANYONE in this community that has experience with homeopathic/ natural remedies that can assist?
Hi,
My 1 year old lab was taken for neutering. We were aware that he would be a crytorchild situation as his 1 testicle was not descended. VET did check for 2nd testicle by his abdomen incision but couldn’t find the other testis for a long time. N now recommending to go for a higher level ultrasound with a surgeon..to confirm if there is another testicle or not in the body. N then do the next procedure accordingly.
1. Is that possible to have just one testicle in Labrador dog?
2. If its hard to find the undecended testicle via ultra sound, can we take plan B – the visible n descended testicle is removed n then blood test is done in 4 -5 months for testosterone hormones in blood if anything changes to be sure if there is another testicle in body?
Youemf valuable inputs are much appreciated
Thanks mahesh
Hello?
I am not a reproductive specialist. But I think your vet can ask their lab services rep about progesterone checks or go get an ultrasound or refer to a surgeon for help. These cases can be frustrating but it is really important to make sure a testicle was not left behind in the abdomen.
My question is about urinary crystals and cat blockage. I specifically want to know about jaundice after surgery, but also to know if we should have done anything differently, we lost our little sweetheart a few days ago to urinary crystals.
Details: 4 weeks ago our little fellow, a 2-year-old neutered male, got worms. We brought him to the vet and, with medicine, successfully treated them. They stressed him, and he didn’t want to eat much, but the vet said this was normal. He seemed to get better, but a week ago started acting stressed again, not eating much, drinking very little, but still eating and drinking. Seeing his pee was not possible due to having 2 other cats (and not knowing what urinary crystals are, much less know what to look for)
We called the vet Friday morning, they told us he would probably need another dose of worm medicine, and scheduled an appointment for the following Monday. Keep in mind we had never heard of urinary crystals before, we thought he had worms again.
On Saturday evening, it became clear it was more than worms. He was lethargic, not going potty at all, and just wanting to lay down and close his eyes. We called the vet clinic which was closed, several other numbers for local cat places (adoption, care, etc) and could not get him seen but got the same phone diagnosis at every step, “probably a stomach tumor”.
It was 5pm Sunday before we got lucky, found an animal hospital 2 hours drive away, got a hold of an actual vet through their emergency number, and she agreed to open the hospital late on a Sunday and see him immediately for $1000. We got there at 7pm and by 7:15 he was in surgery to unblock him. She immediately knew what was wrong. His temp was already low, he was very weak and barely moving but alive.
The next morning, we found out he survived the surgery and was recovering with a catheter and IV fluids. The plan was to keep him in the hospital for 3 days and to let him come home if his pee was clear and his blood work for liver function was acceptable.
We got a phone call early on the second day telling us he was occasionally moving in his cage but wasn’t eating or drinking. She said he seemed depressed, and we could visit at 4pm to see if it perked up his spirits. It was the earliest time they could let us visit so we took it.
On our drive to see him, the hospital called us and said he wasn’t doing well. They asked if we wanted the blood work done immediately instead of on day 3 and told us he had become extremely jaundiced. During our visit he could only manage a couple of steps, so we held him, he was clearly exhausted and under the effect of pain medicine.
The hospital had taken the blood after the call and said his sugars were 3 times normal and other things “5 times normal”, and he was a deep greenish yellow in color around his ears. They brought him warm food but he was not interested. They explained organ failure and said his lungs would fail eventually, but he was breathing well.
In seeing us did perk him up a little, he focused on us, but he quickly faded again, preferring to lay down with his tongue out after 20 minutes. We didn’t want him to suffer and linger with no hope of recovering, and he was heartbreakingly euthanized at that point.
Again, I didn’t know anything about crystals before he went into surgery, and I have questions in case his brother, or any cat, is in that situation.
My questions are….
– Was the jaundice a terrible sign or could it have been from the IV fluid, exhaustion, surgery and lack of eating? IE was it normal after surgery, or recoverable?
– Given what I’ve described, should we have waited another day? Could it have been just needing more time to recover? Or is the jaundice and blood work at that point enough to know he’s fought all he can?
We just want to know more. We’re still in shock and miss him terribly, but we felt alone in making decisions, the hospital clearly didn’t want to influence our decision either way. We’re just not sure now that 24 hrs recovery was enough to make a decision, or how serious jaundice is when he didn’t have it pre-surgery/IV.
Any advice appreciated, we found this site via a YouTube video on urinary crystals. Thanks.
P.S. We aren’t second guessing or wanting to hear we did the right thing, it’s too late to help him, but we want to know more in case it helps another cat.
Also, the hospital took a deposit from us when we agreed to the $1000 fee, and said they would accept payments since there was no way to forsee this type of thing. They did seem caring and knowledgeable, but clinical, and would offer no advice on euthanizing or not. We felt alone with that specific decision…. and in hindsight aren’t even sure it needed to be made yet… or did it?
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat.
It sounds like there are multiple issues here and I don’t know how they are related. I don’t expect the crystals caused the jaundice. Most of the time I see the crystals because of poor diet or stress. Stress can be many many things. I suspect this was either a cat with underlying conditions like FeLV fiv or fip. Also I suspect the jaundice was either hepatic lipidosis or parasites.
You sound like you really love your cat but never had a vet who was invested in your cats care. It is my biggest gripe in vet Med now. We don’t care for people who care about their pets. We need to do more in providing both care and advice.
I am also very concerned about the vet who took the deposit and didn’t do pre op blood work. Or talk about the possibility of all of rhe things that can happen if there are underlying conditions or post op complications.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Dr magnifico
Thanks for your time, I’ll try to keep it shorter.
Yes, we loved him and his brother dearly from the day we found them in our barn, a couple of weeks old at best. His feral mom didn’t return, we watched with remote cameras. After bottle feeding him and weaning him to soft food, we got him dewormed, neutered etc. He seemed happy and normal in every way, clean bill of health.
– The jaundice first appeared 24 hours after surgery to unblock him, and he’s never had it before.
– The vet said the surgery was too urgent to wait for tests, and after surgery said testing was pointless until he was ready to leave. She ended up wanting it on day two when he got jaundice, so it did feel a bit irregular.
That’s why I want to know more about what the jaundice meant. We really thought the jaundice and other signals + a bad test result was what the vet needed to know he was not going to recover.
Was that normal with meds? Post surgery? After not having eaten much in a few days?… Or was it the terrible sign we thought it was? It’s so emotional to experience.
We weren’t being told what we SHOULD do, but were asked to make a decision anyway. It’s so hard to do what’s best for him at that moment, especially with how things happened.
We had to leave either way, the hospital was closing. Leaving him there alone for the night, in that condition, felt wrong. Bringing him home for the night felt like it might just make him suffer more. The IV couldn’t come with us she said, it’s illegal, but she would leave the catheter in if that’s what we choose.
It was a “decide now” moment… and then he rolled to his side with his tongue hanging out, exhausted. It’s truly heartbreaking.
We live in a rural community and the only licensed vet is over an hour away. The only local cat care is from a local donation based feral adoption service, run by a woman and a Facebook group of like-minded people, but without a full time vet.
This happens strictly on donations to have a vet visit regularly. Resources are always stretched. Spending lots on one cat means little is available for others. I get that, but we were willing to pay.
What we did is what people usually do at that point, she said, but we don’t care about that, we wanted him to live. Did we do the right thing? It’s too late to help him, but an answer may help another cat in the future.
As you said, premature end of life for avoidable reasons is such a needless loss.
I did call the hospital to ask about the jaundice afterward, what it meant, and was told it was his organs failing and cells breaking down. Again, not technically wrong, but of no help to a non-vet to decide if it’s time.
I can answer any specific questions you might have.
Thanks again.
About hepatic lipidosis, he was a fit 2.5-year-old cat that passed away at 12.8 lbs and had been exactly 13 lbs a month earlier when he was given worm medication.
He was solid, lean and strong in appearance, like most young cats. He was a long-haired male cat often called a Tuxedo, if breed matters.
I wouldn’t describe him as anorexic, though he had stopped eating as much 3 weeks prior, and stopped eating at all 3 days prior. He didn’t have kidney stones, but it was enlarged at the time of his blockage surgery.
He also had crystals in his bladder. She showed me a picture of it opened up with pink colored crystals, which seemed to have worried her more than anything else.
He did pee afterward, and the color was good, but it got dark a day later when jaundice set in.
I’m not sure what else might give you a clearer image, but I can find out, I feel like he still had hope. Also, she wanted to know what specific food brand we had been giving him because he was the 4th complete blockage that week, which is a lot in her practice.
Sorry for the triple response, more information. He was given warm wet food after surgery and didn’t touch it. He hadn’t eaten for 3 days prior, and hadn’t been eating much since he started showing what we thought was worm related behavior, or about 2 weeks before that.
Would it be normal to see jaundice appear in an already exhausted cat AFTER surgery, if likely hepatic lipidosis was not treated immediately by feeding him nutrients through a tube? It all seems to have progressed so quickly.
He was never given a feeding tube, and in hindsight, I don’t see how he could have been expected to take a bite and swallow, he was too weak.
The jaundice though, it was entirely absent pre-surgery and extreme 12 hours later. I can’t help but feel it was not a sign of the end but a sign of hurry up and do…. ??
Closure – When he was diagnosed with worms, the vet missed that he also had urinary crystals forming, likely from being stressed. The change in behavior was attributed to the worms, and we didn’t know until it was too late.
A lot of things went wrong, obviously.
We’ll never know if a young male cat could have survived through the jaundice, after an unblocking surgery, with bloodwork showing levels 5x too high and not an ounce of energy left in him.
The grieving has been difficult through the sense of guilt for not having been able to figure things out in time. I don’t believe in ghosts, but regular activities trigger memories of when he’d join in or watch… which is like a ghost, but the memories bring smiles too.
He touched our lives in such a meaningful way that he’ll never be far from our thoughts, still bringing those smiles.
Hi everyone,
It’s my first time to have a pet her name is Kumiko i got her when she was only 3month now she’s already 6months. When i got her her fur parents didn’t told me initially that her mother got her tail degloved. She was born inverted butt first so her mom accidentally degloved her tail. I have been treating her since then. Her tail will dry up and will last for 4-7days then the skin sheds and bleeds. She’s been wearing Elizabeth collar since then. I am getting desperate already. I consulted a Vet and now they are suggesting to have it amputated. There is no current infection but it doest heal properly. Hope someone can help me. I still don’t want her to get amputated.
Unfortunately, amputation really needs to happen here. Please do this – your kitten is suffering otherwise.
Hello
The tail is already missing the tip. We call this amputated. So I would say your cat already has an amputated tail but a little bit more needs to be removed so the tail can heal properly. It’s not a difficult or expensive surgery (probably $ 300-400) at my clinic. Once it heals she shouldn’t need the ecollar anymore.
Why are the majority of Harford County veterinarians charging $400-$650 to spay/neuter a cat or kitten? Only a few offer under $200 surgeries for what is generally a very simple and quick procedure – I know, as I assist at low-cost spay/neuter clinics. Cecil County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County all offer the same procedure for less than half the going rate in Harford. Several local veterinarians, when clients balk at pricing, are referring them to rescue groups rather than offering a reasonable price for an operation that is ESSENTIAL to the animal’s well-being and longevity, not to mention eliminating unwanted litters.
What can Harford residents do to force changes to make our county more cat friendly and help owners wanting to do what’s right but not at unreasonable cost?
I’d guess the low cost clinics don’t do pre-op bloodwork? Furthermore, costs of everything have gone WAY up, and shelters/rescues are funded with donations and fundraising efforts while veterinarians have businesses to run and employees to pay.
I find $400 to be quite fair. We paid around $700 for our Doberman’s spay about 6 years ago.
I feel like when it rains it pours, we just had our dog down for 3 weeks with a herniated disc and IVDD, now, our 2 year old cat started acting weird. Meowing, howling, laying in the litter box. It’s Christmas Day and we cannot afford an emergency vet visit. What do we do? I suspect it’s a UTI, I just want him to be okay until the morning.
Hello,
Based on this brief description I am very worried that your cat has a urinary blockage which is often fatal if not treated. I’m sorry but I cannot advise anything except to go immediately to the closest ER.
There is no at home treatment and hoping it’s a uti and being wrong may very well cost your cat their life.
I have a 14 year old Yorkie who has been off since Saturday afternoon. She hasn’t eaten much but is still drinking and urinating. She is extremely wobbly and not able to keep her balance, as her back legs keep giving out from under her. I took her to the ER yesterday evening and they mentioned she had a bulging disc. They did prescribe some medication and recommended 2 weeks of rest (no playing, going up and down the stairs, or jumping off the couch). My biggest concern aside from her inability to walk is her continued lack of appetite. She has hardly eaten since Saturday and no matter what I try to feed her, she is not interested. Any recommendations?
hello,
i am never sure if this is hyporexia (decreased appetite) due to pain, or stress, or something else. Some of the pain medications cause sedation, and this can affect appetite. For these medications I advise feeding before the medication. Further if the pet cant walk well due to pain I worry about difficulty passing stool, or urinating as it hurts to stand and posture.
I have a lot of information on this on my blog kmdvm.blogspot.com search IVDD. Also my YouTube channel and ask your vet for an appetite stimulant.
Also check to make sure enough water is in the food to help avoid the feces getting hard as they sit in the colon.
For this disease it is imperative to have a good relationship with your primary vet and to have help getting through the first few days, and weeks.
good luck
I have a 13 yo female domestic short hair. She has a very large ventral hernia and is losing weight very fast in Oct she was 6.9lb, in Nov she was 6.4lbs. The surgery is $2300 which I cannot afford. She gets diarrhea after eating and sleeps ALOT. I hate to put her down, I wish she would go naturally but I dont want her to suffer & need advice. Please help.
Hello
Have you asked for a second opinion from another veterinarian? Try to find a local independently owned veterinary practice that comes recommended by people in your area. Reach out to local rescues and shelters and use social media to try to find someone.
I don’t know enough about your cat to offer more specific information.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best.
My 3 yo male nuetered tuxedo cat Kenobi was diagnosed with FIC by the ER DVM yesterday with no blockage. He is peeing just a dime size at a time. Should I also give him Apple Cider Vinegar as his PH was 7.0 ? Other than his urinary levels, red blood cells in his urine, struvite crystals, his blood work was good with no infection. The ER DVM gave him ; Buprenorphine, Prazosin, & Gabapentin. We have changed his food to all wet Royal Canin Urinary SO from mainly kibble with some wet. We think the stressor was the absence of our 19 yo tabby Tinkerbelle we had to help cross over 2 weeks ago. Should I get Kenobi a companion kitten to replace Tinkerbell? We also are buying a water foundation as he does not drink water enough.
Hello,
I would ask your vet about the following;
Giving sq fluids at home daily, adding a short course of a steroid and the latest opinion on prazosin’s efficacy. (I don’t use it).
Also I don’t use vinegar.
These are a matter of experience and preference. Therefore please ask your vet or find a feline only practitioner to help.
Thank you for your reply. Ill ask but given this study I don’t see why she would.
Summary
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Prazosin administration increased the likelihood of rUO by 14 days; ongoing investigation of other therapies to decrease rUO in cats is warranted. Without specific indications, the use of prazosin for the prevention of rUO should be discouraged.
Link
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/260/S2/javma.21.10.0469.xml
He is doing better this AM and has had at least 2 large urine eliminations during the PM, one I would consider normal. the other the size of a gold ball ( litter clump) We administered 1/2 teaspoon of H2O and ACV orally x2 last night. 1x this am. along with prescribed meds. He is running around to get to food bowl , face rubbing, purring, jumping on the bed, acting like his old self . I plan to continue to water his wet food. He does not seem to drink well. We have bought a fountain to encourage water consumption. He likes to drink directly from the tap so maybe that will work.
My min pin is diabetic. He’s been having some digestive issues getting his diet right with his insulin. I’ve noticed the last month or so that his butt has started getting puffy. Last night it was a little red but, he hasn’t been scooting or biting at it. I also have noticed some slimy covering on his stool at times. I’ve been giving him probiotics and since then his poo has been the color of the probiotics, like a chicken boil union cube.
Hello,
I’m not quite sure of what you are describing. There isn’t enough information to assess this? For example I have no idea what a puffy butt refers to? Is it possible to follow up with your vet for an exam and explain to them in person? I’m not sure if there is a problem here or not but I do know that diabetes is one of the most difficult conditions to manage and it requires a lot of help from the vet staff to manage well.
Best of luck.
Hello,
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat. And all of the others in his situation.
I do not have any experience with apple cider and honestly I am too worried about what is likely already going on with your cat to try to advise anything else other then the er.
I’m working really hard to accumulate a list of affordable places and options. Please let me know if you find anyone locally. Please keep calling everyone and everywhere.
If all else fails offer to surrender your cat to get the care he needs. I know it’s not fair but it’s better to save his life.
Keep me appraised of what happens.
Best of luck