Question
Profile Image
Jodi | 4 years ago
Archie, 6 Mo Old Kitty Has A Neurological Birth Defect (likely) Which Makes Him Incontinent. We Have …

Archie, 6 mo old kitty has a neurological birth defect (likely) which makes him incontinent. We have to express his bladder and colon. His bladder became blocked, so he spent the weekend in ER. He did not have crystals or a bacterial infection, but he had mucus in his urine. Likely because expressing doesn’t empty his bladder completely … guessing. He Came home and we could not express his bladder again after only one successful expression. Back to ER and they are at a loss. It doesn’t help that we can’t find a urologist and clinics keep turning us away. The neuro we found when he was brand new seems to be advising us to euthanize him because of everyone’s QoL. I MEAN REALLY!?!?! Any advise would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

2 Responses

Comments

  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I have had a few cases like this. Cases where animals need constant help to urinate (or even defecate). I tell them you can only fill in for their basic functioning for so long. Maybe months or years but only for so long. At some point the cumulative effects of non function cause collapse. This is where you are. Yes. As much as it is hard to accept it is probably time. There are no other viable options. All are fraught with terrible consequences. This happened to my own dear beloved pup. I actually considered crazy ridiculous options like marsupialization. I was desperate. I had to let him go. His body wasn’t working even though he was still young and mentally 100% aware. It almost killed me. I am so sorry. You are on my thoughts. If it would help please add your Archies story to our storyline section. It is such an important case to share. I applaud your dedication to him. He is so lucky to have found a family who loves him.

    1. Jodi Post author

      Thank you for replying! I am now able to express him. For now at least. We found your videos and had hoped for a different response!! My heart is too sad. He is right now playing with our pup. They are near buds. I don’t know how we could do this?????

Question
Profile Image
Haley Lierman | 9 years ago
I’m 27 And Have Had My Dog Since College. He’s A 6-year-old Male Cockapoo Who…

I’m 27 and have had my dog since college. He’s a 6-year-old male Cockapoo who I adore, and who is normally in great health (besides the occasional ear infection). I take him on an hour and half walk daily, feed him a potato and duck based diet, and make every attempt to give him the best care possible (regular vet check-up, shots, etc).

A couple months ago I realized he was frequently squatting to pee, but nothing comes out. He urinates normally when first let out, but then makes a ton of other squats, prolonged squats, where nothing or just a few drops comes out. At times, its almost impossible to walk at all as he will continue to squats over and over again for 30 minutes. He hasn’t had any incontinence or more than normal desire to go outside (except for every now and then, when he’ll go out, pee once, then keep squatting over and over again and want to go out soon after- but that’s not daily). However, I woke up this morning to a couple drops of blood on the carpet, which I can only assume were from his many attempts. Previously, there has been no presence of blood in his urine.

I’ve been to the vet SEVERAL times, and spent the majority of my savings and money trying to figure out what’s wrong (even with vet insurance, I’ve spent almost all I have). He has had a cystoscopy (camera inserted) to check for urethral cancer (none), full abdominal ultrasound, plenty of x-rays and blood tests done. They have ruled out bladder cancer, his blood work is normal, and the x-rays show nothing except a slightly enlarged liver (though since blood work is normal so they think the was born with it). They have ruled out a UTI, bladder stones, and just about everything else you can think of that would seem obvious. The only abnormalities are really the dysuria, mildly protruding abdomen, the appearance of a layer of fluid on the outside of his bladder, and some abnormal bacteria.

Please help. I can’t afford much more and I really love my dog.

General information about Jackson included in the attached images.

0 Responses
Question
Profile Image
Jana | 9 years ago
Since Last Night I’m Detecting This Strong Odor Around Cookie; Seems It’s Coming From Urine…

since last night I’m detecting this strong odor around Cookie; seems it’s coming from urine (as I detect it when I sniff stains on her pee pads as well when sniffing around her rear end. It is strong enough that I caught a whiff even as she just walked pass me.

Here is the thing – it is strong but not really a stink and not anything I’ve ever smelled before which I’d know what it might be. Smells kind of sweet and the closes thing I can compare it to is the way my hair spray used to smell like (back when I still had hair and was using hair spray) when particles dried and mixed with dust.

That is very confusing and I don’t know what to make of that. I imagine infection would have BAD odor whether bacterial or yeast …? I don’t want to just assume it might be from the meds as assumption is the mother of all f*** ups. Friend’s dog was on chemo so when her urine reeked they assumed it was from the chemo. Meanwhile it was a massive UTI and went under the radar until the dog exploded with blood from her bladder. (potty accidents and other issues were chalked up to the original issue the dog had, massive brain and brain stem inflammation).

So I don’t want to make the same mistake and assume one of the meds are behind the smell when something else could be going on.

Thoughts?

7 Responses

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    honestly…i would get a vet involved.  sometimes they can identify a malady based on the smell, but they’d want to do further diagnostics.

  2. Jana Post author

    I AM getting vet involved but no vet in today; doesn’t look like an emergency and tomorrow she’s traveling “to the other end of the world” for physio appointment. So trying to see if anybody has any experience or insights.

  3. Jana Post author

    Quite sure it’s coming from the urinogenital area, as that’s where strongest when I sniff her all around as well as stain on pee pad also had this odor. Only slight actual urine odor mixed in with it.

  4. Anonymous

    has she been tested for diabetes?

  5. Jana Post author

    Blood work and urinalysis about a month ago. Clean. No signs of an issue other than the strange odor which started yesterday. No increased drinking, no increased urination, no other signs.

  6. Anonymous

    weird. good luck figuring it out!

  7. Jana Post author

    Weird is the word. It is possible it’s from one of the meds she’s on I just don’t want to make faulty assumptions.

Question
Profile Image
Pawbly | 9 years ago
I Am Looking After A Cat Who Is Not Eating After Being Treated For A…

I am looking after a cat who is not eating after being treated for a bladder infection on 10/31. He returned home on 11/3 after being under vet supervision, and although he was somewhat active, he was still being lethargic and then slowly started to decline again (not eating, although drinking and using the litterbox). He was taken back to the vet on 11/7 I was told that he is depressed and misses his owner. I returned to the vet today and was told again that he is “starving himself from depression”. He has since stopped drinking and using the litter box. Any advice on what to do?

3 Responses

Comments

  1. Carolyn Hedlund

    Also, the owner is out of the country until June! I am the long-term caretaker.

  2. Kate McKelvie

    Hi Carolyn,
    There are steps your vet can take if he has stopped drinking as well as eating- give fluids subcutaneously, prescribe an appetite stimulant, etc. Did they run bloodwork? You can tempt his appetite, possibly, by offering Fancy Feast, or Gerber’s turkey or chicken baby food. Sometimes they’ll try tuna, or rabbit (vet sells.) You can syringe feed him with Hill’s AD(add water.) Worst case scenario- they can hospitalize him and/or place a feeding tube. They need to do something to turn him around.
    If you can post a head shot here, I could send him Reiki long-distance.

  3. Carolyn Hedlund

    Thank you, Krista. I appreciate your advice. The vet only suggested taking him to an emergency vet and said that they would run tests that would cost 3-5K, with no mention of a feeding tube or any other suggestions for sparking his appetite. Although he did give us nutritional gel, he was not interested in that and we have had to force feed it to him to at least get him some nourishment. It seems as though he should be taken to another vet! Thanks again. Best,
    Carolyn