My cat is sick and I am so sad. *update*

[missajane]

*update* - So she has a severe UTI with crystals. They also found (yes I had them do an ultrasound) that her bladder is abnormally small which is part of the problem. The other part is she was born with only one kidney.

So now we start her on antibiotics, change her food (she was eating dry) and hope we can keep her healthy.

The vet was surprised she hadn't had a UTI yet and said we must be doing something right.

But the fact it got severe so quickly makes me think it didn't happen quickly and I just didn't notice and I feel like a terrible kitty mom.

Thanks for the thoughts ladies! I really needed it. *end update*

Yesterday I noticed she was hovering in her litter box, but never actually peeing. Yes, I noticed. I was doing laundry all day and the litter box is in the basement with the laundry.

Then last night DH noticed it too (he was helping me fold some sheets).

This morning DH wakes me up and says "I think we need to call the vet - I still don't think she peed and she was hovering again."

I call at 8, they give her a 10am appt.

Not only is the vet a little worried, but she insists they keep my baby for observation the rest of the day.

I call at 4:30 to see when I can pick her up and get told that I can't. She still hasn't peed and they have given her IV fluids. DH leaves work, we meet at home to get some food (vet's office didn't say we had to, I asked if I could since I would prefer she get some food comfort) a toy and a bag she likes to sleep on.

When we get there they tell us that they are worried she is in renal failure and if there is no urination by AM they will do an ultrasound. I cried ugly. They let us go back and say good night to her. She was in this cage in a private room all huddled in a corner.

We both held her and told her she had to pee. Literally begged her. The vet hugged ME as we left.

So DH and I spent the night at home (we both had plans separately we bailed on) being sad and comforting our other cat that is devastated because she has never been away from her sister this long.

Our Cadence is about 16 mos old.

[womet]

Oh sweetie, I am so sorry. {{{hugs}}}

[Mrs.Beagle]

Hugs, MJ. I hope she pees and you're able to take her home tomorrow.

[hike]

I'm sorry :-(

[missajane]

I've had a weirdly sad, rough week emotionally and this is just really fucking with me. DH is devastated. This is "his" cat.

Thanks ladies.

[missajane]

Oct 10, 2012 20:38:22 GMT -5 @gypsy said:

Is this the gray one?

No, this is my tabby.

[Deleted]

I'm so sorry I hope your kitty makes a full recovery soon.

[StJess80]

I'm sorry.

My first cat on my own, Milo, had similar issues. I took him in, and he wasn't eating, and he wasn't peeing. He ended up being in kitty ICU for over a week. When I finally was able to take him home, he had a tube inserted in his throat, and I had to blend special rx canned cat food with water, draw it up w/ a big syringe, uncap his tube, and feed him through the tube. I believe it was 4x a day. Then, in between those feedings, I had to give him water, which was the same procedure (minus the food, obviously). Also, before and after feedings, I had to clear his tube by forcefully shooting water into the tube. I believe this went on for about 6 weeks.

At the end of it all, he made it through. He was only 2 when this happened, and he lived to be 11. (the vet thinks he died because of this--his older body didn't show the signs this time) It was a pretty hefty vet bill, but worth every penny.

Stay strong for kitty, and I hope she makes it out ok. (((hugs!)))

[jene]

Hugs. I hope your kitty is better soon!

[yellowbrkrd]

I'm so sorry. I hope your kitty is okay.

[missajane]

Hopefully this works. It's a photo of Cadence.

[rubytue]

Poor kitty! I hope she pees!

[lolaburns]

She might have a urinary obstruction and not renal failure. Renal failure in a cat of such a young age is rare unless they have ingested something bad like a lily plant. Best wishes and hope your little fur baby goes to the bathroom soon.

[FrozenSunshine]

Poor kitty! I hope she's okay.

[missajane]

Oct 10, 2012 20:58:49 GMT -5 lolaburns said:

She might have a urinary obstruction and not renal failure. Renal failure in a cat of such a young age is rare unless they have ingested something bad like a lily plant. Best wishes and hope your little fur baby goes to the bathroom soon.

They said renal failure because she has been drinking and given fluids and they were unable to feel any fluid in her bladder (I guess you can feel that in cats??).

[Kore]

Sweet baby girl! I really, really hope she pees soon. I'd be so worried & scared, too

[Deleted]

Your kitty is so cute! This happened to my parents' cat a few weeks ago. They gave him IV fluids and some other meds for a few days and he's much better now. He's also getting old (he's 13) so his chance of recovery was probably less than your cat. Hopefully this is just a weird thing and she'll get past it!

[Deleted]

I'm so sorry. Please keep us updated on your baby.

[mbcdefg]

What a pretty cat.

Sorry hon, I hope you get good news soon.

[ellipses84]

We had a similar issue with our cat with kidney failure. We ended up doing IV fluids daily at home and switched her food. The IV seemed scary, but it was pretty easy and helped her feel better for a long time ((hugs)).

[StJess80]

She is pretty! I love her inquisitive little face!

[Nonny]

Aw, poor kitty and poor you. ((HUGS))

It's so hard when pets get sick because they can't tell you what's wrong, and being at the vet is so stressful for them.

[Rachael070707]

Ugh, this hits so close to home because we just lost one of our kitties last month to renal failure at a young age (4 yrs old). He didn't ingest anything, just luck of the draw :-(

Your kitty is adorable and I hope that she gets well soon.

[StJess80]

Just another thought, is there a possibility that she ate some moldy corn somehow? We lost a cat to that. We didn't even know it was toxic. Mention that if there is even the slightest possibility, like a kernel behind the trash that was missed or something.

[wannabe]

I'm so sad for you. I hope everything turns out okay.

[treedimensional]

This doesn't sound like renal failure at all to me. I agree with the person who said it is more likely a blockage. Usually easy to feel, because the bladder will feel hard and round. I've had 2 or 3 cats where this happened, and they all got catheterized like IMMEDIATELY to keep the bladder from bursting.
I'm horrified for you. Prayers and hugs.

[mrssavy42112]

Oh no, I'm so sorry your kitty isn't doing well. The reality is, the vet knows more than we do. If it was something as simple as a blockage, they'd know by the color of their private area, the way they react when they try to squeeze some urine out & also from a blood test. I forget which mineral it is that is elevated when they have crystals. My cat has had this 3x, so I know the routine. No vet would jump to that conclusion without making sure that none of the easier to fix problems were it. You can definitely feel a full bladder from the outside. It feels very hard when it is too full or full of crystals.

I really hope your vet can help your cat quickly. She's beautiful.

[liveintheville]

Oh, I'm so sorry! I hope you get better news today.

[mrssavy42112]

I'm so glad to hear that they found it relatively quickly. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's really hard to detect these signs in them, particularly when you have multiple cats & have no way of knowing which pee spot in the box belongs to who! Be glad that you found it at a stage that they are able to help her. The fact that she has one kidney may have contributed to it worsening quicker than normal.

Your vet may suggest you get a water fountain to encourage your cat to drink more. I've tried several that haven't worked. After his last bout about 3 weeks ago, I got this one & it works great. All of the cats gulp from it all day. His bathroom habits have improved dramatically. You might want to consider this one.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NIZAH6/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

[woowoo]

I'm an occasional lurker, but just wanted to say we had the same thing happen with our 6 year old cat on Monday night. We were doing all the right things (grain free, high quality food, cleaning litter box regularly, etc) but then went on a two week honeymoon and we came back to a sick cat. She was trying to pee ALL the time, and even peed on our bedspread a couple of times on Monday, the second time was right in front of me, while looking straight at me. It was clear she was sick.

She ended up having a huge bladder stone, and needed surgery Tuesday. I feel horribly guilty that we left her for so long and she ended up sick, but the Dr. insisted that some cats are genetically disposed to having these issues and it wasn't our fault. We now have to feed her a special diet to prevent crystals.

To make it MM...did you know surgery to remove a bladder stone in a cat, plus recovery in the hospital, plus special food is nearly $2K? It is. :-|