Kitty Has Reoccuring Urinary Stones and Obstruction

Aw! That's rough. He must have it really bad. Our kitty had crystals but didn't need surgery so our costs were not nearly as high.

So far so good with the urinary health food. We did not use the prescription type because it has poor reviews for quality. You didn't mention the format of food, so I wanted to comment that cats in general, and particularly those with urinary issues, should not be on a dry-food only diet. If you've been using only dry food that could be part of the problem, even if it is an Rx. Switch to at least 50% canned. Possibly 100% at least for now to see if you can halt & reverse a pending issue.

I know this is a sensitive subject with all pet owners, and it is with me right now because I have a beloved kitty of my own that is having health issues.

At 11 years, your cat is considered a senior cat. How is he doing otherwise in terms of heath issues? How is his overall quality of life? Is it deteriorating or holding steady? Are the urinary issues the only problems, or is there more going on?

The reason I ask is because, sometimes when older pets start having health issues, and the bills start running high, we need to start evaluating what is really best for the pet. Sometimes it's best to let the pet go, even though that is really hard on us, the pet owner.

I've gone through before with my first cat. She had lots of urinary issues and finally developed cancer. She was just miserable. we could have spent thousands of dollars on meds and treatments with no guarantee, but we made the difficult decision to put her down. Our thought was, why put her through more misery when the outcome was unclear? She had led s good life, and had been with us for 15 years.

I'm in the process now of having to make the decision about 11 year old cat that we adopted 3 years ago. It's hard. I want more time with her, but is it really fair to her to let her suffer?

I understand your feeling of letting your cat down, but maybe the time has come? I don't know, I'm not with you and your cat, and I'm not a vet. But it may be time to broach the subject with the vet.

I am so sorry if i have upset you or offended you because that was not my intent. I hope all goes well with your cat. I know how important pets are, really I do.

Best wishes for you.

I had one who had the same issue, and we ended up doing what amounted to a sex change surgery on him to widen his urethra enough to allow him to pass crystals.

Did you change his food? What's he eating? What treats do you give.

Basically, you have to switch to a low magnesium kibble and low magnesium treats. No more fish. Purina makes a Urinary Tract Health formula food that is sold in the grocery that my Siamese liked better than the expensive stuff the vet sold me. That's worth a try. Buy chicken treats and wet food only.

Be sure he's getting lots of fresh water as well. A fountain style waterer with filter really helps encourage them to drink more.

Finally, I suggest that you look into a country vet. The vets in town charge a whole lot more around here. When my kitty had his blockage, he spent 4 days at the hospital and it cost me $500. In town it would have cost me two or three times that amount.

After we realized the problem and changed his food, we didn't have another blockage.

Best of luck!

Have you discussed a perineal urethrostomy with the vet? That might be what Fuzzy is talking about.... they cut the end of the urethra off and it lets stones pass easier. We just had to put our pygmy goat down due to this. We got two more years out of him, but the stones were just to big. poor little guy wasn't even five yet. good luck!

oh, i'm so sorry.
i need to go grab my adored year old siamese baby and hug her!
i would let this little boy go. that's just far too much money, and he doesn't understand why he has to keep going through the pain and trauma.
i'm SO sorry. {{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}
khairete
S.

what kind of prescription food were you getting? My one cat Bastet (female) had bladder stones (not the struvite ones and had to have surgery) and another cat Fritz (male) seemed to have aot of urinary blockage. Vet told me I had to keep Bastet on prescription meds to keep the stones away and although it was expensive, I have found that it is for the best since Fritz has had problems too (and taking them to vet and getting surgeries is even more expensive). I have 7 cats and everyone eats the same food. I get Royal Canin Urinary SO Feline. Everyone likes it and I haven't had any problems. If you haven't used it, give it a try. Here is a link if your vet doesn't carry it and you want to try it (price is right too) http://www.petfooddirect.com/product/6085/Royal-Canin-Vet...