Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,
Disclaimer: We lost Beau on December 6, 2020 though not due to complications regarding Urinary Tract Infections, but instead his heart. I ask that at this time I do not receive e-mails or messages about Beau as we go through the process of grieving. Thank you for being understanding. We love you Beau and miss you so much.
So to catch those who are new up, Beau had a double surgery – a Cystotomy and a Perineal Urethrostomy done at once – in order to help him with his issues with his blockages and urinary tract infections.
Things did get incredibly serious and there were points we thought we might lose him, but luckily, since the surgery, it seems we’re in the clear and he’s now finally doing extremely well.
I wrote a little update about his recovery before, but I wanted to go into more detail about the aftercare and the specifics of what recovery looks like for him, in case you end up with a cat who’s sick and needs these surgeries.
It’s quite a jarring thing to go through if you’re not prepared (especially seeing all that bruising). So hopefully this will help you in a way I wish I had a post to have helped me.
Beau’s been back with us for about 7 days now and his care routine is starting to become, well, routine. Beau’s moods have been up and down, but his healing process seems to be going well.
He sadly hasn’t been wanting to move a lot these past few days, though that’s both a blessing and a curse. It means there’s a chance he’ll get constipated, but it reduces the chances of him opening up his stitches as they can’t be caught on anything and he’s not trying to lick them at all.
I’m really proud of my little guy, but I’m still in a state of perma-worrying about him – as I’m guessing any attentive pet parent would.
Vet’s Instructions for Post-Surgery Aftercare
Home Care Instructions
Keep an e-collar/cone on for the next 14-21 days
For the first meal at home please feed half of the normal amount (anaesthetic may cause intestinal upset)
Ensure that he is kept in QUIET for 7-10 days. All activity is to be strictly monitored and minimized.
Use Yesterday’s News cat litter during the healing process
Precautions & Warnings
Please monitor the following and make sure to notify a hospital:
Vomiting/Diarrhea
Excessive Drinking
Coughing – Lasting more than 48 Hours
Specific Instructions
Do not allow Beau to lick or chew at incisions.
- This will cause an infection and delay the healing process
No bathing/swimming until the incision is healed
- We are however allowed to use dry shampoo/mousse on Beau to clean Beau.
You will expect dripping of urine/blood from the incision site (urethral area) for the next 3–5 days. No discharge should be coming from the abdomen incision site.
Please come in the next 14-21 days for the suture removal
Please come in 3 days for recheck and fentanyl patch removal
Medications
Clavaseptin: every 12 hours. Antiobiotic.
Tolfedine: 1 Tablet after a meal once a day. This is an anti-inflammatory
Cosequin: 1 Capsule once a day. This is a joint supplement, can be used as an anti-inflammatory.
Gabapentin: 1 tablet every 12 hours. This is a pain medication.
Prazosin: 1/2 a tablet every 12 hours. This is a urethral relaxant.
Buprenorphine: Start this once fentanyl patch is removed. Every 12 hours.
Post-Surgery Recovery Day 1
After Beau was discharged from the vet, we decided to wait a bit before feeding him his next meal. We wanted to make sure that there was enough food in his body when giving him medication.
Your vet will mark down which medications you can give your little one without food, but I still recommend giving your little one some food even if the medications don’t say to (unless strictly advised not to.) Sometimes cats will get the shakes if they have medication and no food or water. I’d try to avoid having this happen as much as possible.
Once Beau was home he immediately walked to the “man cave” we made him. My sister recommended putting it together since we had construction going on above us at odd, unpredictable times of the day that would really stress beau out. The man cave consists of our dining room table, a bunch of blankets lining all sides, cardboard to insulate sound on the top, and towels in case of any accidents and for further comfort on the floor. We also put in pillows, Beau’s favourite toys, and a bunch of other things that he loved.
On top of that, we put an air purifier into the man cave running constantly on low so that we could white-noise wash out any noise from construction above us that might happen. We put this man cave together a couple days before his operation and I’m assuming he still remembered it from two nights before since he ran straight into it as soon as he got home. Mission to give him a safe, anxiety-free place to hide and recover in was a success.
Beau didn’t want to move much, and who could blame him. He was very bruised. I have pictures, but they are very graphic and I will be willing to share them with any pet owners who are in the same situation as us who would like to compare, but I would rather not publically have them on our blog in case anyone is squeamish or doesn’t want to see little ones in pain.
Beau didn’t have too much energy to walk around on day one, and spent the night soiling himself. We made sure to cover him with vaseline/petroleum jelly to try to protect him from a rash, covering all of the parts he would let us. (We weren’t too successful on day 1 as he was too grumpy from the surgery and would hiss and growl, which is not common for Beau at all.)
Beau ate a total of 3/4 a can of wet food on this day and luckily also drank a lot of water.
At around midnight Beau joined us in bed as the medications had kicked in and he was feeling better. He actually jumped onto our bed, which we were surprised and ever so happy about.
Post-Surgery Recovery Day 2
In the morning we woke up to a pet parent present – Beau had peed inside of his litter box.
This was exciting for us, as we mistakenly thought Beau would have no post-op behavioural problems at all (the vet had warned us there likely would be) until we found that he had soiled himself throughout the night as well.
I realized Beau had also peed all over me while I was sleeping since he likes to sleep in the bed with us.
Behavioural issues like this (peeing in the wrong place) can definitely be common for kitties with urinary issues, especially after they get a Perineal Urethrostomy. But these behavioural issues can get a lot better, and immediately after the surgery is usually the worst time for these types of issues.
Always prepared to clean urine, we cleaned the house with Nature’s Miracle Stain & Odor Removal, which is a product I’m learning to love more and more, especially given our current situation. It just works, and I’m reminded of its effectiveness every time I use it, even though I still hate the smell.
Beau ate about 1/4 a can in the morning with his medications. He didn’t want to eat much more and happily ate his medication with Salmon Pill Pockets and some Feline Greenies to reward him for being such a good kitty.
Day 2 was a very hard day for Beau as his swelling began to get worse.
He wouldn’t let us pick him up or try to clean him. He refused to eat more than 1/2 a can of wet food, and we had to entice him to eat by putting his treats into his food (he’s picky and prefers the taste of kibble).
Although I would rarely recommend this method, we really had to make sure Beau had something in his system at all times as his pills were spread out through the day and Cosequin, for example, is in a powder form that must be sprinkled onto food, so if he didn’t eat his food, he didn’t get his medication… Boo.
Something I highly recommend in situations like this is to mix the medication into a very small amount of food. Make sure the powder soaks in so your little one doesn’t see it, and have them eat it so you know they’ve had the full amount. (We started to do this on day 3, and it proved successful for the remainder of his recovery process.)
On Day 2, Beau didn’t come to bed with us. He rarely left his man cave unless he was using the litter box.
Beau still hadn’t pooped since being home, and as anxious pet parents, we worried about this, so called our vet in the morning to schedule an appointment to make sure everything was okay. I know this may sound pretty extreme for two days’ worth of constipation, but I don’t regret my decision since it allowed me some peace of mind.
When you have a little one who underwent two major surgeries, I firmly believe you have to be as cautious as possible! We also didn’t feel so bad since we had to take his Fennalyn patch back for the vets to properly dispose of.
Beau had also soiled himself to the point of his hair clumping together. For this reason, we set out to buy more vet wrap to cover his tail and protect it from his constant soiling.
Beau didn’t mind this at all, and it definitely helped his tail stay a bit cleaner. (If you are going to use vet wrap, please make sure not to tighten it too much as you need to make sure that the blood still circulates to your little one’s tail. Remember, the goal with pet wrap is just to make sure the tail stays clean, not to really tighten in on the tail for any reason.)
Post-Surgery Recovery Day 3
Beau’s bruising got really bad on surgery recovery day three. It was so bad it had spread to his tail and his underbelly. We were very concerned with this and were glad that we were going to take him to the vet.
Because he hadn’t eaten much the day before, it was easier to get Beau to eat his Pill Pockets and wet food. He started the day off strong with almost 1/2 a can of food, which we mixed with water and microwaved for 15 seconds. This is something we carried on doing whenever Beau wouldn’t eat his room-temperature/fridge kept food.
Now here’s the catch. If you have put medication in the food, you SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT put it in the microwave. This is EXTREMELY important. If your little one hasn’t finished their whole meal with the medication do not reheat and try to entice them to eat the food in other ways.
I’m also a little bit weird about the microwave. I’m actually one of those crazy alien humans who refuses to have or use one in the house. Ours has been tucked away since we’ve moved in, but I will use it only to warm up Beau’s food once.
If he doesn’t eat it the first time I will mix some warm water into the food instead to prevent it from getting too dry. This usually works for me, and oddly sometimes Beau will eat more of it when it has warm water rather than being in the microwave.
Please be careful if you are going to use warm water for your little one’s food as you are going to want to make sure it’s not too hot so you don’t burn them.
Our vet visit happened in the afternoon and the vets were happy with Beau’s recovery. Beau had pooped a little in his carrier on his way to the vet and everyone was happy to hear that he wasn’t fully constipated. However, they were concerned that he wasn’t eating much and gave us permission to mix some dry kibble into his wet food as long as it was either Urinary S/O or Urinary C/D. We chose to go with C/D as it is also meant to reduce stress. And while Beau’s man cave was helping with that, any extra help with reducing anxiety was still greatly appreciated.
The vet also prescribed Beau some stool softener as she noted he hadn’t pooped even when he was with them (so about 5-7 days), and the X-Ray showed a lot of build up. She said we didn’t have to give it to him if he was pooping normally, but she would much rather have everything out of his system as soon as possible to reduce the chances of another emergency visit.
So, we got him started on Lactulose which was to be given every 12-24 hours based on results and needs. They also noticed Beau was more bruised than has ever been and recommended that we try icing him again. They then cleaned Beau up a bit and sent us on our way home.
On the car ride home, Beau pooed on himself again, but we didn’t notice until we let him out of his carrier. Although it was probably uncomfortable for Beau, we were glad he was able to go without the need of Lactulose. Still, however, we decided to give him some as a precaution, choosing to give it to him once every 24-hours instead of every 12 hours, at least until we got all the rest of what was backed up in his system out of him (he hadn’t let go of very much).
That night it was a lot easier to feed Beau. Given the fact that he has a kibble addiction, we were able to get him to eat a lot of his wet food by microwaving it first then mixing some kibble into his food. Beau also smiled for the first time since the surgery that night while we were petting him. We knew this was a great sign and we couldn’t stop petting him because we didn’t want that smile going away!
Before bed, we decided to ice Beau. It was actually a bit difficult to do as the bruising was pretty raw. After icing for some time, we put 100% petroleum jelly Vaseline onto Beau, which he didn’t seem to mind.
I would honestly recommend icing before putting on Vaseline for anyone who is dealing with the same issues. The ice seems to numb your little one enough for them to tolerate putting the cream onto them without fuss. We also decided to look into alternative ways to calm Beau down, discovering that there is actually music that can help.
[Click here for a Spotify Playlist for Calming Music for Feline Anxiety & Stress]
Post-Surgery Recovery Day 4
In the morning when we found Beau, we noticed he had discharge on his staples. Worried, we immediately e-mailed the vet letting her know and sent her a picture of the discharge. (We wake up at around 5 AM, and our vet opens at 10 AM.)
Pacing the house hoping for the best, we started to prepare for Beau’s day.
We built Beau three faux litter boxes out of cardboard, making sure that there was no lip so he didn’t have to climb.
This is super important to do, especially because Beau was no longer refusing to leave his man cave. Beau was choosing to walk around the house at this point, but only for a few minutes at a time.
We knew that he would be ready to use his litter box instead of soiling himself and I kind of wish we had thought of the idea sooner.
How to make a Faux Litter Box
Cut one side off of a very long cardboard box. (You’re going to want to make sure it’s a long box, as your little one is probably going to have to stand up before they’re done peeing and it will reduce the amount of dribble left on the floor.)
Line the bottom of the box with a large garbage bag (this will make it a lot easier to dispose of the litter.)
Pour a small amount of Yesterday’s News litter on top of the plastic bag.
We actually noticed Beau doesn’t need a lot of this litter for him to want to use the litter box. Unlike clumping litter, Beau will dig for a short amount of time clearing space and will use the box immediately. Often he pees directly onto the plastic rather than onto the litter, so the less litter we use the more economical it is for us. This will highly depend on your cat though, so try different things out.
I would highly recommend placing a number of these litter boxes around your house. Even though Beau was moving on day 4, if there wasn’t a litter box near where he was he would pee directly on the floor (or himself.) No beuno.
At 10 AM we received an e-mail from our vet letting us know that the discharge looked normal and that as long as it wasn’t turning yellow or constant throughout the day we were fine. This was such a huge relief for us and we continued Beau’s medication routine.
Nothing new to report from Day 4 other than his bruises got a lot worse BUT he did start stretching, which was a good sign that he wasn’t in too much pain.
Post-Surgery Recovery Day 5
The morning started off pretty smooth. I had the morning off so I could spend more time monitoring Beau and making sure his process was going smoothly. Beau was eating fine, he was taking his medications fine, and he was letting me clean him a bit.
We received a phone call around 11 letting us know that Beau’s tests came in stating that he didn’t have cancer. (This was a worry for us as his bladder was very inflamed when they took him into surgery and he had a slight heart murmur.)
They deemed the cause of the inflammation due to him having crystals for so long and his uncommonly small urethra (a genetic issue) not allowing enough crystals to pass through even with medicated food.
This was the best news we could get, especially because it made us feel like we made the right choice taking him into surgery.
It’s possible he would’ve needed the PU surgery later in his life even if he would’ve recovered from his UTI issues without the surgery this time around. At least this way, he had the surgery when he was young and in great health.
We let the vet know that Beau’s bruising was still getting worse and had moved onto his tail and stomach. She let us know that this was quite normal and that we should continue icing him as often and long as possible. We let her know that we were already doing that and asked if it was possible for us to put aloe on him. (Knowing that aloe works miracles on bruises.) She gave us the green light, but told us to be careful and use an ointment instead of spray to make sure we don’t get any onto his cuts or in his mouth (as aloe is toxic to kitties if ingested.) We let her know that we would be using pure aloe or an aloe cream made for pets based on whichever gave us the best results.
In the evening we got worried though as Beau started peeing some blood.
This was the first day that Beau peed blood in his recovery. We had been previously warned that cats will sometimes pee blood within 5-7 days of recovery, but it was so odd that he just started on the 5th day.
Unfortunately, our vet was already closed at this point so we decided to wait instead of rushing him to the emergency. (Reason being: we didn’t want to stress him out and the blood was a bright red with no signs of blood clots.)
Beau was also peeing more regularly, so we were certain it was just because we had more opportunities to see his urine on the 5th day, especially with him using the litter boxes versus the dark towels placed in his man cave.
That night Beau visited us in bed without us knowing. It looked like he had slept with us for most of the night, but he wasn’t there with us in the morning. How did we know he’d been there? My partner and I woke up soaked in pee and blood.
Luckily, we don’t mind having to clean after Beau and were just happy he was getting back into his normal rhythm.
We took this as a sign that at least he was recovering enough to want to sleep with us. We also looked on the bright side – it’s so nice to have him pee consistently than watching him go through blockages. All in all – a messy but still very positive process.
Post-Surgery Recovery Day 6
We woke up to Beau vomiting. Needless to say – this terrified me.
I e-mailed the vet’s office immediately telling them about the blood and the vomit, letting them know that his vomit had no blood and looked like the food was just undigested. We also let them know that we put aloe on him the night before, but we were certain he did not lick it off himself.
Almost immediately after sending the e-mail I took a look into Beau’s litter box and discovered… the biggest poop I have ever seen a cat make! Honestly, it was around 7-inches long!
When the vet-tech called us at 9 AM I let her know about his big poop, and she said… “I’m pretty sure that’s why he threw up.” Our little one was probably pushing so hard he couldn’t keep the new food in.
She also let us know that sometimes bleeding stops after 10-days, but it’s not very common. She reminded us to keep watching out for blood clots, but as long as the blood is bright red, we should be fine! Thanking her, I hung up the phone to cuddle Beau and guess what… ALL OF HIS BRUISING WAS GONE!
I don’t know what to thank! The aloe? The anti-inflammatories? The ice? Everything combined? It was the biggest achievement/success we had during the week and were stoked to see this much progress overnight!
Nothing else to report from Day 6 other than Beau let out another doozy that night and we were pretty certain he released everything that had been backed up for the past week or so.
Post-Surgery Recovery Day 7
We went in for another exam for Beau to see when we were going to take out his stitches & staples.
During the exam, the vet was so happy to see how well Beau had healed and was very surprised with his overnight recovery. She examined his new urethra and stated that we should have no worries regarding the blood. Everything looked like it was healing and there were no signs of blockages or clots. Success!
We asked the vet if we should take Beau off of his pain medications at this point, and she said that it should be fine too as long as he continued to stay active. If we noticed a decrease in activity, Beau might be in a lot of pain and wouldn’t want to move. We promised to keep a close eye on him and took him off the pain meds.
Beau was fine the rest of the day. He walked around much more than usual. He cuddled with us again and overall had a great time exploring the apartment and playing with us and his toys. Good as new, nearly!
Final Thoughts on Beau’s Cystotomy & PU Double Surgery Recovery
That concludes what our first week looked like. We’re so happy to see Beau’s recovery going smoothly and hope that our experience helps anyone who is going through the same situation.
I will post an update with what’s been going on in week 2 and will let you know what removing the staples was like (happening on the 14th day.)
I want to assure you that going through all this was frightening, but probably more so than it should have been.
Bruising looks terrible on cats, and it’s painful to watch your loved one suffer and for moods to be low when you’re used to a bubbly little cat bouncing all over the house all day. It’s not an easy thing to go through, but it’s obviously completely worth it at the end of the day if that’s what your pet needs.
Behavioural issues with peeing should get considerably better after the first few days, which are certainly the hardest of all. But get through those and you’ll start to see a lot of improvement very quickly.
As you’re going through this process I encourage you to constantly update your vet, asking questions whenever you might be worried. Don’t be concerned about bothering them if something different has popped up (like more bruising and/or blood in stool like Beau had). I know we have an especially supportive vet’s office, who was never annoyed at too many questions, and maybe you’re unlucky and end up with a vet slightly annoyed – but it’s more important to look out for your pet’s well being than it is to not annoy your vet. Oh and, you just spent thousands on vet bills paying for a surgery – your questions should definitely be covered in that huge cost (for me, over $2997 CAD).
For now, I haven’t got the graphic pictures up, but if you’re a pet parent who is worried about their little one’s recovery and want to see pictures of Beau’s process, let me know through our contact page and I will email them to you. I know it can be really helpful to see other people’s processes and we’re more than happy to help folks out who are going through the same problem. <3
UPDATES SINCE THE SURGERY
The following are all the posts I have written since Beau’s PU Surgery that relate to the surgery or complications he had because of the perineal urethrostomy.
March 4, 2018 – An Update About my Cat’s PU Surgery & Double Cystotomy (No Complications)
June 6, 2018 – It seems Beau has another Urinary Tract Infection (First PU Surgery Complication)
June 12, 2018 – An Update to Beau’s Most Recent UTI (First PU Surgery Complication Update)
August 22, 2018 – What the Vet said about Beau (our cat) Not Eating (Non-Complication, though regards vet treatment to cat with PU-Surgery)
January 13, 2020 – Taking Both Cats to the Vet & Update on Beau’s PU Surgery 2 Years Later (Second PU Complication)
October 15, 2020 – Beau gets another UTI due to the stress of moving countries / accustoming to a new space
December 6, 2020 – We had to say goodbye to Beau today due to complications with his heart. Luckily nothing to do with Urinary Tract Infections or the P.U. Surgery, however, Beau will forever be missed by us.
Hi! My name is London and my baby is Tobias. He is a 3 year old BEAUTIFUL black cat. He has already had a catheter put in once by Banfield (in petsmart) they failed and he became blocked again. It’s been so hard on me, seeing him in pain. We have been to so many doctors that don’t know what to do. Today we went to one today where they said that the likelihood of the crystals coming back from another catheter is 40% . But if they do the PU surgery , and if it doesn’t fix it then they’re talking about euthanizing him. So we are doing the catheter first in hopes of it fixing the problem for now before the surgery as a last resort. Jump to tonight, they said the catheter isn’t going to fix the problem so we have to go forward with the PU surgery.. they are doing it this coming Friday when his kidneys are hopefully stable enough to do so. I am so worried and reading your post helps me feel like I’m not alone. I keep thinking of the what if’s. What if the surgery doesn’t work. What if I never moved and stressed him out to crest crystals. What if I took more pictures of him, would God do this to me. I just can’t stop crying and any kind of support or advice you can give .. I would really appreciate 🙁
Hello London, I’m really sorry that you’re experiencing this and epathize with being essentially told that this is a last resort situation. I remember when the vet gave us a similar option we were both completely devastated, though my husband kept repeating over and over “He’s had a very good life and doing this surgery would only raise the chances of him surviving, especially if the other option is straight up ethenatia.”
I truthfully don’t know if there is any major advise I can give to you, other than, please talk to your vet about your concerns. The more you get to know your vet, their track record and what the process for your little one is, the calmer you can be so that you can support Tobias when he’s with you. I’m not sure if he’s with you currently or is in the hospital, but I know that the days we were experiencing Beau getting blocked over and over, Beau would come up to us for cuddles and kisses what seemed to be more than usual. Whether that was just a co-incidence or Beau actually needing us in those moments, it just reminded me about how I needed to stay calm and collected so he wasn’t stressed out by me.
Please feel free to keep me/us updated about Tobias’ surgery and recovery, even pre-surgery.
hello my cat baby had surgery on thursday the 8th of october and he has been home since the 1oth. i am so very stressed and worrried about him being comfortable or if hes in pain? i just really need some advice and i hope it gets better i think the worrying makes me so stressed i just want him to not be in pain, he has been sneezing alot and that worries me, he also moves around alot and hes not eating much at all or drinking water. please help and give me some advice, thank you
Hey Juliet, from what I remember, it took Beau a number of weeks before his appetite was fully stimulated again and unfortunately pain is a bit unavoidable in the first few weeks. If you are overly concerned, I would highly recommend talking to your vet about getting Science Diet Urgent Care (A/D). It is pH balanced, similar to C/D or Royal Canin S/O, but it’s higher in fat and is stinkier in hopes of stimulating appetite. While that food isn’t great in the long-run (ie. it’s not specific to urinary health and will often make cats obese), it’s a good appetite stimulant after most surgeries.
In regards to your kitty not drinking water, you can get them to drink using a syringe, but don’t over do it and if your cat seems too stressed out, stop. Though, if your kitty starts eating, mix water with their wet food! That always does the trick for us!
The most important thing in the early days is that your cat is regularly peeing, even if they are just soiling themselves through it. In regards to the sneezing, it might have something to do with the ammonia in their urine, so a regular cleaning may be required. I would definitely call your vet though, because they may have more answers for you in regards to that.
Hope that helps you out.
We just brought grandkitty home last night. Oh man, I was not expecting all the blood on his legs. We were told not to clean him up😳 He’s leaking urine all over. We have him crated. I think we’ll move to an X-Pen with a cover. I noticed a VERY swollen area around the surgical site, we’ll keep our eye on it, I just wish I had seen the area last night with the vet before bringing him home. He looks so sad and depressed. My hear is so broken 💔
I’m so sorry to hear that that’s happening to your grandkitty 🙁 I’m hoping everything is as normal, and yes it’s a bit shocking to see how much swelling and such can appear on our cats after the PU Surgery.
Does your vet have an e-mail you can send photos to? That helped when we were very worried.
Hello Johnny, I’ve just been through a similar but somewhat more prolonged experience with Milo, my 10 year old Bengal Mau cross. I’d known he had stones since July but they weren’t causing any problem so he was put on C/D in hopes of dissolving them. However he started having recurrent cystitis and by October he started peeing a bit pink, so on Halloween he had a cystotomy. The procedure should have been about 45 minutes but ended up taking 3 hours, as they discovered he had hundreds of sand grain sized stones in his bladder. He was not in a good way afterwards but, as he’s a very nervy cat, the vet felt he’d be better convalescing at home in familiar surroundings to keep his stress levels down—also I work in healthcare so could keep an eye on his vitals and symptoms myself at home. The recovery actually went very smoothly and within three weeks the surgical wound had healed up so well there wasn’t even a scar (the vet community in the London is very close-knit and vets try to one-up each other on the meticulousness of their surgery).
He was doing great at first but then blocked up three times over the next 7 weeks and first thing on Christmas Eve morning he had to be rushed in as he couldn’t pee out more than drop. Now for context I am very close with the two vets at my practice and trust them implicitly—my options at that point were euthanasia or perineal urethrostomy, they were straight-up but sensitive about it. Milo has been a very well loved member of the family for just over a decade and the PU procedure is highly successful so it was really the only option. He, also, has a slight heart murmur, which he’s had since he was a kitten and this makes a general anaesthetic more risky but as he’d not reacted worse than expected after the previous extra long surgery, we expected him to tolerate it sufficiently and apart from some arrhythmia during the procedure it all went as expected. I picked him up around 2pm that afternoon to take him home and he was pretty alert but doped up on opiates and all kinds of meds. The vet said to expect discomfort and some blood during his first couple times toileting.
That evening he got up and went to his litter tray (lined with birthing pads instead of litter) and nothing could have prepared me for the 20-30 seconds of screaming he did on his first pee—I was absolutely hysterical. He jumped out of his tray and rolled on the floor in pain, losing bowel control and having quite a generous poo at the same time. The bathroom floor was covered in pink pee and it looked like he’d done about half a pint of it, but as I could see his belly distending I thought he’d pushed too hard and torn his internal stitches, we some of it going into his abdomen. I rushed him to the emergency vet and she properly checked him over and was extremely reassuring, insisting nothing was torn and the acidity of his pee on the fresh wound would have been very painful.
Overnight he was kept in a large hutch that the vet had loaned me and at 6am on Christmas Day he cried out again, not like the first time but still a good howl. He’d peed and had another poo in the hutch but it was absorbed by the towels and he hadn’t got any on himself. He settled straight away afterwards. Fast forward through the day, he really perked up, curiously wandering around the flat looking for attention, engaged with my cooking Christmas dinner, and even had a good chunk of lamb. That night he decided to sleep on a table and I woke up in the morning to him having an incontinent moment where there was a trail from the table to his litter tray, but it was clear, no blood at all.
Over the next few days I’ve had to sit with him for up to an hour locked in the bathroom to reassure and calm him down, and all of his pees have been clear and pain-free since. Some constipation is expected on any creature on opiates (and following surgery where the GA stops the digestive process temporarily) so I expected this. He had his first follow-up on Friday and all was good, no bruising or ooze but the vet noted he had quite a bit of poo inside him. That evening after reassuring him it shouldn’t hurt anymore he did literally the biggest poo I’ve ever seen, it was probably a good 40cm long.
It’s not even been a week since the surgery and he is about 90% of his usual self again. He’s had his usual voracious appetite and, between his usual dry C/D and trialling some new wet C/D stew food, he’s been eating every bite and wanting even more. I have noted one thing, he is WAY more affectionate than he’s ever been before, others whose cats have been through this procedure have said similar things. He wants to cuddle up on or next to me to sleep now and previously he’s been fiercely independent about his own private sleeping space. He seems to have adjusted to his new ‘equipment’ well and is now starting to feel confident going on his own (one issue is not being able to dig, and the other is some PTSD about the pain he had the first couple times).
Looking forward now to him being able to have his surgical collar off once the wound has healed, as he absolutely hates it. It was reassuring to read about your experience knowing that the things we went through were quite normal and usual, but I still experience some guilt as he didn’t know or understand why I took him in to go through such an ordeal, and at the same time I couldn’t exactly ask him if he was willing to go through it, I had to choose for him. But given how well he’s pushing through and how happy he seems now being able to pee freely I know it was the right choice, but I genuinely hope this is the last surgery he needs for the remainder of his life.
I’m so sorry you had to go through this with Milo and I completely agree, it can be completely devastating and stressful to ultimately make the decision between the rainbow bridge and having the surgery. Looking back, we’re still so happy that Beau underwent the surgery. (I say as he jumped on my lap for his morning cuddles while I answer questions)
I’m glad that he seems to be doing better so quickly, I’m shocked, especially because he’s an older kitty. I’m wishing him a continually speedy recovery and would love to know how it goes. <3 Wishing you all the very best <3
Well it’s been just over a month now and Milo is all but back to normal minus a few half grown patches of fur from the surgery… after all the stress and worry and the very poorly way he was at the beginning of recovery he’s like a kitten again, jumping around, playing, being naughty and, well, being a cat. He ended up having the collar on for 3 weeks as he’d go straight to the wound to lick within seconds of removing it. In fact he figured out how to rub the edge of the collar on the wound which prolonged the healing and also required it to be debrided—but in the end it has healed beautifully with no scarring or anything. With the fur growing back he literally looks like a female cat down there.
Now that he’s off the sedation, painkillers, antibiotics and other drugs, he’s not quite as affectionate, but about the same as before any of the surgeries… I think the gabapentin made him high AF like he’s on ecstasy or something and just wanted to be held and cuddled all the time like a raver from 1998.
In retrospect the cost to him was high with a lot of recovery for the poor little chap to go through, but he clearly has a strong will to carry on living and he’s now more ‘himself’ than he has been in years—this has eased my conscience quite a lot about putting him through it, and I’m so glad to still have him around for, hopefully, quite a few more years.
Thank you so much for your detailed blog. Our kitty had PU surgery on Monday and we had been struggling to figure out what to do over the past few days and concerned that he was not going great. I had been searching on the internet and your article popped up – what a find. YOUR story has helped us so much. My sincere thanks and appreciation for taking the time to detail your daily experiences. I can’t thank you enough.
Steven, absolutely no worries! Really glad I could help. Wishing your little guy the absolute best recover and never hesitate to comment if you have any other concerns <3
Awe, Beau is just adorable! I’m so glad I found your blog! My 2 year old kitty just had a cystotomy, going on the 3rd day of recovery right now. This post and all the comments have definitely made me feel a bit better.
My cat is on recovery day 3. She’s only eaten a bit of a squeezie treat (the tube treats that look like GoGurt lol). So I’m starting to get really worried. The vet told me to let them know if she doesn’t eat by tomorrow. Thankfully, my kitty hasn’t had any accidents and uses her box frequently, however, she has yet to make a BM. Since she hasn’t eaten, I’m a tiny bit less worried about that, but nevertheless I’m still a wreck!
Her safe space is in my closet, but she will not let me put blankets or anything comfy down. She likes the hardwood floor…what an oddball! I even bought her a new, very soft bed.
I’m writing this at 4 in the morning as she has woken me up with her lethargic meows. I wish I could take away her pain!
My vet never mentioned things like cleaning her or her incision site (if needed), or even using any ointment. They also never gave me any follow up appointments. Her aftercare paper just states to have her stitches out in 14 days. I hope my girl starts to perk up soon and eat some food. I’d hate to take her back in to the vet since it’s extremely stressful for her considering how shy and scared she is of anyone except me. This whole experience is very emotional. She is my first pet and I’m worried about everything! I’m even doubting the vets! I feel terrible about it.
Anyways, thank you so much for this detailed day-to-day recovery post! I’m so glad I’m not alone in this experience.
Hey Ally, first off thank you! He’s really one of the sweetest cats I have ever met and I’m so glad he’s in my life.
In regards to not eating: it’s super, super normal although I agree quite worrying for the pet parent. It can take up to a week sometimes post-surgery, so make sure you’re really keeping her hydrated.
Your vet should also have a food that’s extremely high in fats called “Urgent Care.” It’s offered to cats and dogs who won’t eat post-surgery (or sometimes even when they have issues with anorexia.) I’d give your vet a call to see if they stock it and if in their opinion it would be a good option.
As for the incision site, your vet probably didn’t mention cleaning it or ointments since the cystotomy doesn’t usually have too much leakage or draining. Beau’s cystotomy scar healed much faster than his urethrostomy although, as mentioned, in our case it leaked a bit during the recovery process. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s also why your vet didn’t suggest another visit before her stitches are removed. If you have any concerns, definitely don’t hesitate to give your vet a call, especially if they didn’t give you any aftercare tips.
The last piece of advice: never feel terrible about doubting vets. Not every vet is a good vet (that’s not a dig at your vet.) We’ve received some really terrible care from vets, especially post Beau’s surgery (since unfortunately, we moved far from the vet who gave him the surgery). We had a vet open Beau’s incision site and even state: “I think something is wrong with his penis it looks like he’s chewed it or something” which really made me unconfident in the vet as he wasn’t even aware what a urethrostomy scar/incision looks like.
That being said, again, if you’re ever worried about your vet or worried about the information they gave (or didn’t give) you, do not hesitate to ask questions. It’s their job! If they give you attitude or if their answer doesn’t make sense call another vet and ask them what their opinion is.
I’m sorry you’re going through this with your cat, I completely understand the anxiety, stress and fear. I’m glad you found the blog and that it helped! Let me know if you have any other questions I can help out with 🙂
This article is saving my sanity right now!
About 2.5 weeks ago my 2 year old boy Remi had his first blockage due to struvite crystals, and while the emergency catheter procedure went well, he experiences a number of complications after it was removed. He was having urethra spasms, hypotonia (i think that’s what it’s called?) and severe inflammation. He was unable to urinate, and difficult to express a couple days after the first was removed.
On my vets advice, we placed a second catheter, hoping to give his body a chance to relax a little, and once that came out 48 hours later, all was well….. for 48 hours.
So, after he began having spasms, the hypotonia and inflammation again, he’d been through so much, and we all agreed another catheter wouldn’t help, but likely make things worse. So we decided on the P/U surgery.
He’s now day 2, and he came home today. I’ve seen him do two nice big wees already. Eating a little (enough to not make me worried about that), and he’s drinking fluids. However I did notice some bleeding and got worried! Especially because it’s nearly 11pm and the vets office is closed.
My vet did tell me it may bleed a little, but, i did forget that in the moment. This article, as well as everyone’s shared stories has calmed me a lot. That a little bleeding is ok! So i can relax a little, and just make sure to keep a close eye on things.
I’ve never been through anything like this with a pet before, and I have been feeling a little overwhelmed and worried I’m not doing everything right by him, especially because he seems so tired and in a bit of pain tonight (normal i know, but also very heart breaking to see). But this story and reply thread has helped so so much!
Remi is however very determined to try and get to his surgery site, he’s got two cones, but still flails about trying to get to it, any tips that may help calm him? I’m currently just trying to distract him with something else, but do worry he’ll pull a stitch or two as he kicks and rolls trying to get to the stitches. (Please note, he actually managed to escape his cone during the night while he had his second catheter and managed to pull that out himself, so I plan on being with him 24/7 for at least the next 6 days.”
So sorry about your kitty! This article saved me last summer when my 2 year old boy Walter was going through the same thing. He had two blockages and a PU surgery- the doctors told me his urethra was the tiniest they’ve ever seen, haha. Poor guy. Post surgery he was VERY uncomfortable and the first few times he peed it bled profusely, I freaked out and called the vet but they said it’s normal- so no worries there. I ended up having to put him on Gabapentin for the pain and anxiety and that helped calm him down a LOT. He also had to wear a double cone contraption taped together with packing tape because nothing else would work- the big cone was too loose and the small one wasn’t long enough to keep him from the stitches. It was a rough journey but you’ll get through it! I know how bad it can be, I was a total wreck for a whole month and couldn’t stop crying. But now he’s fine and happy! Just know that you’re doing everything for him that you can!
I’m glad to hear Walter is doing well and that he’s happy!
It’s a very big surgery for the poor little guys. I think my main problem with Remi at the moment is that he is absolutely adamant that he wants to lick and clean, and even with the cone, he’s squirming and really flailing about to try to get to it. I know he’s in a bit of pain, and it’s probably very very uncomfortable, so I might call the vets and see if there is anything that might calm him down a little? Maybe if he’s a bit less stressed he might not try to get to it as much.
Now entering day 3 post op, and he is otherwise traveling really well I think. He’s weeing well. Eating and drinking.
Thank you so much for this post. My kitten (1 year and 1 month) had his surgery today and I will be bringing him back home tomorrow. I’m finishing up my last 2 weeks of college but I had no choice but to get his surgery done this week. I just worry about the recovery.
Wishing your kitten a very, very speedy and thorough recovery. Please feel free to keep me updated on his recovery <3
Hi Johnny,
Thank you for your post!!! My 3 years old cat Eggy has been blocked 5 times during the past two months…I just got pregnant but I worried about him all the time, couldn’t sleep for days. I think the only option I have now is to do the PU surgery. I was so scared of losing my cat during the surgery until I saw your post…I don’t think I have another choice… Eggy is blocked again today. Could you please let me know which hospital did you go to and the total cost of the surgery plus hospitalization?
Thank you so much and Happy Easter!
Jasmine
Hey Jasmine, do you mind shooting me an e-mail so I can let you know where I went. I’d rather not have all of that information public on the site. Thanks 😀
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY!! Where can I find your email address?
Here’s a link to our contact page 🙂
Hi there! So glad to hear Beau is doing well.
Pickles underwent PU surgery a week ago today. He doesn’t have a lot of energy at the moment- he is sleeping a bit and seems a bit lazy. Did you notice this with Beau at all?
Absolutely, even though Beau had the energy to walk around he was much lazier for a few weeks.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. My little Sparky has just had his op this morning (24th Jan) after a very stressful week. Reading this has helped me understand what to expect and is very reassuring. We were having fears that this wouldn’t be the best thing for him but this morning we had no choice after a bladder leak. I’ll be getting his man cave and supplies ready for his recovery at home which I hadn’t really thought about or how to deal with it so this has really helped ❤️
Sarah, I’m so glad you found this post. I’m really hoping it brought you a bit more peace in this stressful time. Always feel free to reach out or comment if you have any questions during the recovery. You have an army of pet parents who have gone through a similar battle here to support you <3 Wishing Sparky a very quick recovery.
Our boy Enzo had a cystotomy last Saturday but we had a setback today and he’s now at the vet, being catheterized and monitored, awaiting PU surgery on Saturday morning. I am an emotional wreck, especially about the surgery, recovery, and making sure I do everything right so he’ll heal and get back to his normal tenacious self. Reading your post about Beau, and all the comments, is helping me channel my anxiety into knowledge, but if there are any other words of wisdom or tips I would really love to hear about it.
Alicia, I’m glad you found my article. The best advice I can give you is the advice no one wants to hear, try to stay calm through this process. I completely understand the anxiety, because trust me I was in the same boat. Keep a close eye on Enzo as soon as he’s home and make sure you can have direct contact with your vet (whether it be a phone call or an e-mail.) I’m also here for you any time you have questions. Though I’m not a vet, I may be able to answer some questions you have that aren’t particularly medical. The calmer you are in this process, the calmer Enzo will be. He’ll be doing a lot of sleeping, so make sure to spend lots of time with him in the room (when you’re home of course.) I hope Enzo makes as great of a recovery as Beau has. He’s currently sitting in his bed by my feet.
So far so good. He is peeing, eating, drinking. He’s much more active than I expected (even played a little with one of his favorite toys) although still sleeping a lot. He has a bit of diarrhea (sorry – kinda gross) so I called the vet and she said it might be the antibiotic and is going to give me some medicine to help with that. I’m super nervous about the best way to keep “back there” clean.
Hey Alicia, thanks for the update! That’s crazy to hear that he’s already playing! It took Beau a while to start playing, which was funny ’cause the vets kept telling us “make sure he does no activity” and he did a good job of not being active all by himself!
Diarrhea is much better than constipation, so you’re in a good place. Give his backside a clean with a warm wet cloth (a light dab, just to loosen up any debris should be good enough). You can also use waterless shampoo if you really want, but the warm wet cloth should be good enough for now. Do you have any vet visits in the future for check-ups? Our vet saw Beau once a week for about 2-weeks post surgery, just to make sure everything looked good. She also did us a favour of cleaning out certain areas we were too scared to clean (ie. his incision site).
So happy to hear this good news though! Keep me updated <3
Sir Johnny I have a 13 year old cat and underhone the same procedure sa Beau had. He had surgery this Monday (Jan 7, 2019) 8:30pm and today was his 1st day of post surgery. Is your cat also sleep alot during that time? When did he started moving or standing? He seems to be so cold so I ask the vet to warm him up a little. I am really scared because he is so old but he was a sweet, smart, bubbly cat. Please email me I will send you his picture . I hope you can sen Beau’s photo so I could check if my cat os recovering as fine as Beau does. I love him so much.
Hi Ara, I’ll shoot you an e-mail, but I’ll also answer this publically. Yes, Beau slept a lot, a lot, a lot. He started walking by the second day, but only to use the litter box. He still had moments where he peed on himself, but if he ever needed to poop, he would walk to the cardboard box we set up for him.
As for warming your cat up, I’m not sure what the answer for that would be. I’m unfortunately not a vet, so I wouldn’t know if there would be any complications or if it could potentially harm him, however, we did lay down a number of blankets for Beau to sleep on and built him a little cave to keep in sound and warmth.
Sending you an e-mail now 🙂
One of my cat’s started to have noticeable symptoms as I arrived home from my neighbor’s NY party; he was acting differently along with a distressful meow sound. I checked to make sure he had not accidentally bumped into something but as I touched his arms and legs, he did not cry louder; thus, I left I fed him some food (which he started to eat) and waited for the morning to see if it was nothing to concern myself over. Overnight I heard him throw up and figured it was just hacking of hairball or he had overeaten, as that was normal for him; therefore, since I was drowsy I did not register it could be a more serious issue. However, a few hours later when I finally woke up, I heard him throwing up again. I re-assessed him to be acting differently, still having a distressful meow, attempting to hide himself, and being lame to me trying to get him out of his hiding spot. As it was not the most ideal of days for this situation, I had to figure out which veterinarian was open as I had not thought about an Emergency on a pet before. Finally, I called one location that offered an emergency phone number and was able to take him to be seen.
The whole time along with days later, I still wonder how could I have known sooner along with how life threatening this was as this is my first experience with male cats as I had always preferred females over males and not encountered this with them. As an additional note, I did grow up with both genders but I am not sure if living on a ranch made a difference in what we noticed in each gender. Albeit, each vet I talked with after this incident, has told me there was no way I could have known as this is an event that happens to a number of male cats and not necessarily all of them. Plus, cats experience the event due to different reasons and at different ages typically ranging between 2 to either 7 or 8 years. In my case, my cat is just over 5 with my other male cat of the same age not having any signs of this happening.
I still am not sure that comforts me, but to know that the veterinarians were able to unblock him was a relief . . . until he could not go on his own after a catheter was removed. Day 5 of this is not getting any easier as the second catheter (placed on him after the first self urine attempt) broke. Today (in the evening) was to be the day he would have his second chance to self urinate if the blood was clear or tomorrow at latest. Even though it was an early break, the veterinarians attempted to see if he was able to urinate on his own. My heart sank as he explained it was not successful; therefore, he was calling to see to let me know a third catheter was going to be inserted. This is leading me to consider this to be a sign of needing PU for my baby.
As I always try to find out the worst of all cases from the beginning – NY day, the discussion of PU being a possibility or euthanization, the realization of either is the still painful. At the moment, I am leaning towards surgery as he seems to be doing fine other than being unable to go on his own and am researching more and more about the whole situation to how he may have got here, options to pursue, and what to expect. My current dilemma though is choosing between 1) a place that involves a higher cost for the surgery but includes post op recovery of 2 days, 2) a place that is 1/2 price in surgery where I would either take him home for recovery the day of operation, or 3) take him to an ER location after the 1/2 price surgery so that he can be monitored post op for a few hundred less than option 1. In other words, Option 1 = 100%, Option 2 = 50%, or Option 3 = 80%. This is where your post really comes in handy for me to know what to expect if I chose the 1/2 price with immediate home post op. I have to thus ask if you had the option of leaving your cat for 2 days? If so, what was your reason for not doing this? If not, would you have considered this if it was available? There is also the mentality running thru my mind of “you get what you pay for” that would be leading me to the 100% option, but it was the location itself that told me of the 50% off place along with it’s ability at their satellite location offering the 30% option after surgery. From online reviews, there is both good and bad reviews on both places which makes it that much more difficult to know what could be the better choice.
All I have to say in the end: this experience is definitely teaching! I wish all those that have to face this path best of luck and thanks for sharing along with passing along the knowledge and experience.
Hey Miss B, choosing to leave your cat at the vet all comes down to your comfort level. I truly don’t remember how long Beau was at the vet after surgery. I believe we picked him up the day after surgery as he was in too fragile of a condition to pick him up immediately. I wish I had written the exact times and will see if I have journal entries or logs to confirm.
In general, I recommend leaving your cat supervised for at least 24 hours for major surgeries. Unfortunately, while rare, complications do occur and it’s much better for your cat to be in the hands of professionals rather than your own. Now, this is not always possible. For example, our vet closed at 7PM and cats were left unattended for 13 hours. If this is the case with your vet, I would recommend picking up your cat sooner than later.
In regards to reviews, I wouldn’t recommend looking at them solely. I would recommend actually speaking to the vet and seeing how many times they’ve performed THIS operation. Due to the fact that this operation is performed less frequently, there are higher risks. If you are financially stable enough to support any of these options, I would make the decision lye on the vet who has had the most experience with the surgery and the least amount of complications, even if it means taking your cat home earlier or later.
I hope that answers your question and I’m sorry if this response was a bit muddled. Please feel free to let me know if there was something I didn’t answer or if there are any other questions you do have in general.
I’m very sorry you’re experiencing this, but I’m glad you found the blog. I’m very, very grateful for the advances medicine and science have made because Beau is still healthier than ever! I truly cannot thank our vets enough.
Hi Johnny,
Thank you so much for posting this information. My Sophie was diagnosed with kidney stones and we are looking at options now. Surgery is a real possibility. Your blog has taken a lot of the fear out of this situation for me, and I so appreciate it.
Thank you! And Merry Christmas to you and yours (furry, fishy and human)!
Kathryn
Kathyrn, I’m glad the information helped you! Never hesitate to shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment if you have extra questions or need some support!
Merry Christmas to you and your family as well <3
Hi Johnny, my cat had the surgery last week as well but he vomited once (no blood, only food) and has been having diarrhoea for last two days. I called up the vet and they told me to stop the antibiotic. Did Beau also had a similar experience post surgery? I thought everything was going really well, his surgery sites are recovering well except little bit of blood…
Hey Kate. I’m so sorry to hear your cat is going through that. From what I still remember Beau did not experience any vomiting after the surgery. He had a lot of constipation until he took stool softener then had diarrhea for a few days (because of the softener).
A little bit of blood/liquid can be fine. It should definitely be something you tell your vet about, but it usually resolves itself.
you have been beyond helpful Johnny. Please don’t apologize!
I called the vet this morning to have their travel doctor come out to see him. I’ll speak to her more about the food options. He is currently on the vet prescription RC Urinary SO, but speaking with the clinic this morning, she mentioned a lot of their vet RX food can address urinary issues.
I hope this isn’t too controversial, but have you looked into CBD for cats at all?
I’m wondering if some of his issues aren’t stress related, and that may help both of my anxious kitties?
I read a few articles that seemed positive to help a lot of issues with aging cats and believe it’s legal now (although, not a lot of research on cats) without THC in the blend.
Hey Tammy, I’ve actually never thought about it and never have read up about it so I have absolutely no opinion about it. I will definitely look into it.
I think I would personally be uncomfortable using it if you’re saying there’s not much research, but it’s still worth reading and thinking about.
This is so helpful. Thank you Johnny (and Elyse with your current updates).
My Zed is in as I type for his PU surgery. He’s a 10 1/2 feral rescue who has not had serious issues with his health until Saturday night. Looking back, I think he may have had urinary issues, but if it was stones or crystals, he seemed to pass them and be OK the next day. I’ve been feeling significant guilt over the weekend that I’ve not addressed it before and feel like I should have known..
At one point there was a discussion about putting him down. I think they were almost giving me an “out” because of the cost. I’ve paid $6800 so far, with the final estimate being closer to $8K.
I’m lucky to have an emergency fund, but it breaks my heart that some would have to make a very difficult decision if they didn’t have the means to continue with the treatment.
I knew Saturday there was a problem, and seeing as it was the Long weekend, had to take him into an emergency vet. They took him in right away, placed in a catheter and had him on pain meds.
He appeared to have a blockage that was causing him so much distress that he chewed it out, causing significant damage to his penis in the process. There was concern that there was not enough usable tissue to perform the PU surgery. Fast forward a few tear filled and stressful days and the surgery is being performed. Reading the detail of the recovery, I’m extremely stressed about making sure I’m doing everything right. I’ll be back here to follow along with your day to day and am in the process of building him a man cave! 🙂
He’s ‘challenging’ to most people. The vets put a “caution” sign with a shark on the outside of his cage :). He is very high strung, doesn’t like change or strangers and is very curious, but with me, he’s my faithful companion. Follows me around. Always with me and much more affectionate than his sister. It’s been so odd being home without him!
I appreciate all the detail you have provided and will contact you for pictures. The results sound alarming, so if I know what to expect, I’m hoping I’ll be better prepared.
Thank you again!!
Tammy, I am so very sorry to read about this. This is beyond stressful and yes please do keep me updated. I didn’t know that cats have gone as far as trying to chew stones out. Beau has been blocked about 4 times in the time he was with us, but we were never talked to about the PU Surgery. Every time, Beau has been fine by peeing it out with urethral relaxers. It was only the 3rd time when we were told “he would die” if something wasn’t done with the 4th time being the day/a few days after. (As mentioned in the blog)
I’m sending you all of the love and support I can muster and am always here for a chat.
Thank you for this blog! I am bringing Oliver home today after almost 2 weeks away. He had the blader surgery last Friday and the PU surgery this past Tuesday. I visited him yesterday and he is rareing to go. I have a dog cage ready to go because the vet does not want him jumping. Not sure how that will go but the longer i can keep him still the better. During this ordeal he pulled out 3 urinary cathetrs and 2 IVs. I am nervous about bringing him home and how he will react to beig contained. But reading your blog was awesome! Thank you!
Hey Deb, so glad to hear that the surgery went well, minus the ordeals! Beau is usually a fairly active cat, after the surgery his energy was super low though (partially because of the meds and partially because of how sore he was.) I will say in the 3rd week it’s harder to keep them still, but in the second it was him walking around and not jumping, even if he wanted to be right next to me.
Please keep me updated!
Hi! Last night i felt like a new mother getting no sleep! But that was nothing compared to today! Feeling confident with him in the cage, i went to a doc appt for myself. Come home to this banging noise. Oliver was thrashing around and struggling to breathe! Turns out he got his doughnut collar stuck in his bottom teeth causing his e collar and soft e collar to strangle him!! Luckily i got home in time! Now i am afraid to leave him alone. My poor other kitties are so neglected right now! The vet called and said they were supposed to give me an rx for an anti anxiey pill. They have not called it in yet. I am so nervous. Tonight i plan to put him back in the cage because i know he will jump off the bed. My othèr thought was to put the mattress on the floor next to he box spring. He will jump but max height will be 15 inches. Half that if he uses a couch cushion i can put next to it. What do you think would be best, cage or mattress strategy? Thanks for your help!
Hey Deb, so sorry to hear about the choking. To be completely honest, I am never comfortable with putting more than one collar on my little guy. I get the fact that we want to make them comfortable, but safety is more important at the moment. I will say, Beau has gotten his paw stuck in his collar before (the one with his tag) and choked himself. Ever since we kept the collar off of him (especially since he’s an apartment cat, so we have a bit less to worry about.)
If you can get him to use the mattress, that’s a good option. We made stairs for Beau out of books. See how it goes while you’re awake and monitor him to see how he gets on and off the bed. The biggest concern should be making sure the other cats don’t get to him. (Because them trying to console him or clean him can tear the stitches.)
So, it is day 5 since the PU surgery, and day3 home. Oliver is doing well! He has adjusted to the cage and will stay in it for regular intervals, giving me some time to do stuff around the house and love on my other kitties. The vet gave me a script for Amitriptophyne, but i have decidec not to give it to him. He has calmed down so much since that first day home and we both sleep well at night! He has jumped off the bed a few times and onto the bed once (he is so fast!) So i have put a cat leash on his doughnut collar and it slows him down long enough to give me time to get up and help him! (I am not as agile as i used to be lol). Anyway, we just atebreakfast and he is sleeping on my arm. Overall, i think he is doing great now that we are settled into a routine! Is there a way i can send a picture?
Deb! I’m so glad to hear! You can definitely send me a picture. If you go to the contact section of my site it’ll shoot me an e-mail which I’ll respond to immediately. (You can attach the photo there). You’re also more than welcome to dropbox the image to me!
Oliver got a clean bill of health! He healed wonderfully! The results showed calcium oxylate stones. What is the next step for management? He is on Royal Canin SO and I have bought two more water fountains. Any other suggestions?
So happy to hear! Congratulations! <3
I would mix water into his RC SO to get more water into him (if he likes it that way.) You can also look into adding Cosequin into his diet as it is an anti-inflammatory. Different vets will say different things about it. Note: it is not meant to prevent urinary Crystals is it originally was assumed to do, but just to make sure that the bladder is conditioned. Talk to your vet about it, see what they say. Our original vet lived and stood by it and we used it for a number of months, while our second vet said that it’s not as effective as they originally thought since Cosequin is a lot more effective when injected versus ingested.
Otherwise, just keep your little one’s stress levels down. If you know that there is construction nearby, build him a little hidey hole and play some calming music to drown out that noise. Otherwise, just let the RC SO do it’s magic and you should never have issues again! (Please don’t take him off the RC SO. It can be a huge mistake as other foods may not regulate the acidity in their stomachs. This isn’t to say that there aren’t others out there, it’s just… there aren’t any that have properly proven so yet. At least in vet clinical studies.
So, this morning Oliver started vomiting. I rushed him to the vet. They think he is just having urethra spasms, causing the nausea. They gave me anti nausea, pain meds, and something to relax the urethra. I am waiting for the anti nausea shot to kick in because he even threw up,the pain meds at the vet. We are home again but he is just sort of sitting by the bathroom door.
Sighhh, I thought we were homeward bound with his health.
Hey Deb, unfortunately sometimes things like this happen. Have they given him a urethral relaxant at all? And has he been eating anything or is he taking these pills with nothing in his tummy?
He has been taking the antibiotic after meals. He is also under tremendius stress. Last Friday, he got scared and went after my brother who is visiting. In return, my brother hit him on the head with a dvd. I have been sitting with Oliver in my room, counting the days to when my brother leaves (Thursday). My poor baby. The vet said i could try and give him that anti anxiety pill. I am undecided because he just got another round of medicine to take. Yes, the vet gave him that pill to relax the urethra. But it is a huge capsule so I am not sure how to give it to him. Maybe the anti anxiety would be better??
Hey Deb. That brother of yours doesn’t sound like the friendliest person, I’m sorry he did that to Oliver, but I can also understand his feelings towards a protective kitty. The anti-anxiety should be a good addition, especially if he’s getting riled up. Since your brother hit him on the head, he may also still be stressed because he smells the scent of your brother. (Dependant on how long Oliver holds grudges. I know Beau gets over things very fast, while Kalista holds grudges for hours if not days.) What form is the capsule for the urethral relaxant? You can try to crush it and hide it in his food, (or a pill pocket) or if it’s a proper capsule, I definitely recommend opening it and spreading it on his food (or also emptying it in a few pill pockets). That’s what my hubby does because he doesn’t like opening our cat’s mouths to give them their medications.
Hi! I have been taking apart the capsules and mixing in a small amount of food so I know he eats it. I decided to not give anti anxiety pill…too many side effects. I am eagerly awaiting Thursday morning! But you wont believe it….today the smoke alarm battery died and it has been beeping!! Nothing like adding even more stress to the house. I am currently awaiting the fire department to change it. (I cannot reach!) Oliver won’t come out from under the bed but I did get him to eat his medicine portion. And he spits out half of the antibiotic liquid. Ahhh, we push on. Thanks for all of your help! It is helpful just to share everything!
I know it’s not the most fun to do, but after administering the liquid antibiotic see if you can close his mouth so he can’t spit it up. We sometimes do this with pills and rub the bottom of their tongues to keep the medication in. I also don’t know if you’re able to mix liquid antibiotics into things like milk supplements or broth. You may want to call your vet and ask. Worth a shot!
I’m so sorry to hear about the fire alarm. I know both of our little ones absolutely hate it!
So, the latest update is that Oliver is peeing in corners on the carpet. Today is the last day I will have anyone in the house so I hope as he relaxes more, this behavior disappears!
I hope so too. Is he straining at all when he pees or making any noises?
He does not seem to be straining and he does not make any noise. Yesterday after his dinner, I was petting him and he was purring and getting all “moochy” (loving) when I saw urine flow right out. When he realized it, he squatted. I am thinking partial incontinence? Perhaps from a combo of the surgery, stress, and the medicine. He has one dose left. Our house has been quiet and empty, just the way we like it! Tuesday I go back to work (I am a teacher) so I hope he does not get stressed out that I will be gone long days now. I am trying so hard to get back into ournormal routine.
Beau had incontinence issues until he got his stitches removed. Apparently, it’s super common with cats to develop incontinence due to the stitched rubbing on their new opening, so I’m hoping that it’s from that. (Especially since he’s noticing when he pees). While you’re away try to leave some noise on (like the radio, some soft music or even recordings of yourself), it should help keep his stress down, but truthfully (and without seeing his progress), I think you’re on a good track 🙂
It is funny you should mention stitches. The surgeon saidhe would have disolving and non-disolving stitches. I had a 2 week follow up to have them removed. The doc took him in and brought him out so fast saying everything looked good. I ased about the stitches and he said there were only disolving stitches. And in Oliver’s back end, I can feel something scratchy or scabby. I have this feeling that the surgein messed up. I am thinking of taking Oliver to our regular vet for a check. What do you think?
It’s definitely not a bad choice to get a different set of eyes to look at your kitty 🙂 Sometimes different vets will spot different things! I fully support your decision 🙂
Hi Johnny. The most recent update is that Olliver has developed strictures. He has been dripping pee all over the houe and vomiting. I have decided to give one more surgery a try. It will be a revision surgery. No promise that he won’t form scar tissue again but when I visited him in the hospital tonight he was so feisty and wanting to walk all around despite the tubes and drugs, etc. So I think he is willing to give it one more good fight. I will keep you updated. Not sure of a day for surgery, possibly tomorrow or Friday. Since I am back to work teaching, my friend said she would come to my house several times each day to check on him. Prayers and warm thoughts are appreciated!
Deb, I’m so terribly sorry. I’m wishing the best for Oliver and please, please, please keep me updated.
Hi Johnny! It’s been a few weeks since Oliver’s third surgery. He goes in for checkups every week and so far all seems well. He is such a trooper wearing the cone for so long! I bought him a Kong soft cone and he doesn’t even try to get it off. The last time I put on the plastic cone he managed to untie it and get it off! I’m sure he had a field day licking all day long but no damage done. Overall, he is doing well. Just one weird thing…when he eats he howls. Like something is hurting. But he has a good appetite and eats all of his food, doesn’t throw up. He never howls at other times. Strange. Everything else seems normal. Sorry I never got to the interview questions. Things get so busy during the school year. Hope you and your critters are well!
Hey Deb,
So glad to hear Oliver is doing well! I’ve never tried the Kong Soft Cones before. But I think I’m going to have to try it out! Beau’s not so bad in his cone. He tries to get it off sometimes, but he’s never gotten it off yet.
I’ve never heard of a cat who howls while he eats before. Beau is a bit of a howler though. Although, it’s usually just night howls or… “Kalista!! Where are you!!”
…and no worries on the interview questions! Take your time!
Hi Deb,
I know this wasn’t a question for me but just thought I’d offer my input: I also tried to use a combination of small E collar and donut with my cat, and it was a disaster. The vet actually told me she had heard of cats strangling themselves with donuts, so I got really paranoid and went to get him the next size up of E collar so I could combine two E collars, and when I got home Walter had somehow gotten out of the donut/cone combination. So I would say the two E collar combo is the way to go. Just put the larger one over the smaller one. That’s worked well for Walter. The drawback is that they can’t eat or drink on their own really, so you have to hold a bowl/plate of food up to him to eat, and syringe feed water mixed with a tiny bit of wet food, which Walter actually really liked.
Also I know how hard it is to see your kitty in a cage, especially when they don’t like being confined, but it was definitely the best option in my case. Once you get the anti anxiety meds that should really help your cat calm down and be okay with being in the cage. It gives you some peace of mind since you won’t have to worry about him jumping on things or getting into mischief in some other way. I had Walter in the cage basically 24/7 for the first week, and started to let him out for short periods of time when I could observe him after that, and now he’s out permanently two weeks after surgery. Hope that helps a bit!
Thank you! Oliver had the nickname Houdini in the hospital. No collar they put him on kept him from reaching his incisions! Now, i just dont let him out of my sight for more than 30 min. And i dont leave home without someone watching him, (i live alone.) I sleep in the room next to the cage so if anything happens i will hear it. My other kitties are confused but adjusting because they know i am still in the house. Is Walter back to normal?
Thanks! Today the snipped some of the outer scars. They were able to get a cath about 3/4 up. So something is blocking closter to the bladder, perhaps grit or crystals, or even scar tissue from all tge caths he had to have reinserted in the beginning. Tomorrow tge surgeon will put him totally out and try one more time to get the cath through. If he can’t he will go through the bladder, sort of top down. Then he wikk sew the cath in like a stent so the urethra can heal around it and maintain a good opening. The stent will stay in a couple of weeks. Thanks again for all of your support!
Poor Oliver. Hang in there Deb. Thinking of you both and sending good thoughts for his continued recovery.
Oi, I’m sorry to hear that the catheter didn’t make it through all the way. I hope this makes you feel better: I spoke to my vet about catheters not going through all the way after the PU Surgery and she said that it happens fairly frequently but it is always much easier to manage than with a natural urethra.
Always here for the support, and always happy to get updates from you. I’m glad that this blog was helpful to you.
I’m happy to report that the surgery went really well. That cat is a tough one I tell ya. The vet said he was up an hour afterward, albeit groggy. He’s grumpy, so won’t let anyone touch him without sedation so I’m happy to get in for a visit and clean his cone and bedding. He’s been eating well, peeing some, but not pooping yet. That isn’t a surprise.
I’ve built the mancave 2.0. My initial design wasn’t great, so I moved the kitchen table in and pretty much built it as you did for Beau. Thank you for the suggestion.
I”ll be checking back in with his progress over the next few days!
Amazing! Tammy, I’m so darn happy for you <3 Yes, please do keep me updated and hahaha Mancave 2.0! Is it terrible that I miss our mancave and would love to bring it back, but we do also need to eat... so... I don't think I really can? I hope your kitty enjoys the mancave as much as Beau did.
So, just an update on Zed’s recovery. It’s day 5, and day 3 since he’s been home.
He seems to be doing really well. Don’t want to jinx anything, but I feel like a Marley recovery is happening! 🙂
I’ve got him confined to the spare bedroom/my office with a built up man cave, that he wasn’t too interested in until last night.
Friday, he was excited to be home and I couldn’t really settle him down. He would whine every time I left the room and bump his collar on the door, so in we stayed.
I slept Friday night on the floor in his room, but neither of us got much sleep. He really just wanted constant affection, which I was happy to give, but I’m not sure he was getting enough rest. First day back home and he was adjusting.
He was (is) eating like a champ. He’s drank a bit of water, but not as much as I would like. I’ve been adding water to his food constantly to make sure he is getting enough. He’s peeing, without straining, 3-4 times a day in the litter box, so that is good. No blood and he doesn’t seem to have any discomfort. He pooped just before leaving the vets and had a soft poop Saturday, but nothing Sunday. I’ll watch that, but not surprised seeing as that seems pretty common after surgery. I’ll keep an eye on it.
I’m giving him antibiotics 2/day and pain meds 3/day via liquid. That’s been a major challenge and I’m concerned I’m not getting enough of the antibiotic in him. The first dose ended up with me in tears feeling like I was torturing him! I’m getting a little stronger 🙂
He has a small amount of blood a couple times coming from the incision, but not leaking blood. Mostly I’ve noticed a couple spots on the blankets/towels after the fact. It looks pretty good IMHO.
I’m meeting with the vet today, without Zed as getting him into the carrier is so stressful for both of us. I have pictures and mostly want to talk about food and a diet going forward. I’ve been free feeding both cats for just over 10 years, so I’m not even sure where to start with a timed schedule. If I feed at 9am and 9pm, what happens if I stay out until 11pm? Or 1am (which doesn’t happen very often I will say!) Will try and figure something out that works for all of us (Zoe, my 2nd chubby cat included).
Saturday I set up a webcam in the bedroom so I could watch him and give him some space so he could rest. I stayed in my own bed for 6 hours Saturday and Sunday night and he’s resting a lot today.
So, I’m pleased with how things are going. He needs more rest and seems a little off today. Maybe because I’m working in here? I’ll move to the living room with my laptop this afternoon.
Thanks everyone for the support, tips and great feedback!!
Hi Tammy
So happy to hear that Zed is well on his way to having a Marley recovery. Marley sends hugs and purrs .Keep us posted.
Tammy! My reply never posted 🙁 Dumb internet! This was my reply:
So glad to hear about the recovery!Sounds like everything is on track! If you’re adding food into the water, commonly cats won’t drink anymore. Beau was the exact same way. He hasn’t drunk since we started adding food to water and at first, we were concerned, but then we asked our vet how much water he should be drinking based on his weight and started adding that exact amount every day. (You may want to think about that if you’re worried.)
As for the open feeding thing. We have Beau eating 4 times a day. If we feed him a bit early or a bit late every so often, he’s 100% fine. Dependant on what food you’re going to be giving Zed you may also be able to open feed them urinary specific food which is also safe for cats who don’t have urinary issues. The only thing is: I would make sure the majority of Zed’s food is wet food still and only use the kibble when you absolutely have to. Let me know what the vet says! I’m very interested to hear <3
Hi Johnny.. thanks for the tip on the proper water amounts in food.
I’ll figure the amounts out and do that.
I’ve ordered a ton of Royal Canin wet and kibble (Urinary SO and Calm).
Discussed a schedule with the vet that I’m trying to figure out.
4 times a day would definitely be a challenge some days. Zed is only 8.4lbs, so a tiny little ball of might, so less than 1 can of wet a day is fine for him. He’s crazy for kibble, so I may try some wet in the morning and dry later in the day so it can be left in case I’m out. He absolutely wants the majority of his diet to be wet though.
Zoe can eat the same even though she is quite a bit bigger. He said the ‘diet’ formula doesn’t have that much less calories and the I’m hoping the calm helps both of them get a bit of their feral out and help them relax a bit.
Day by day!
Sounds like a good plan. Unfortunately, I haven’t found much success with the RC or SD foods in terms of weight loss. Beau’s been steadily gaining weight since being on a prescription diet. He currently eats only 1 can of food a day (and doesn’t ever ask for more. Trust me, if he’s hungry…. he lets me know!) I’m actually shocked with how much weight he’s gained on the food, but we’ve been working at making him exercise more. We’re actually currently saving up for one of those cat wheels… but they’re so darned expensive! But I have a very strong feeling he’d use it since he’s such a big runner.
So, thinking of Deb and Oliver and so thankful that Zed had a Marley recovery!
An update an maybe some suggestions, since you’ve all been so helpful.
Zed had his cone on for only 10 days. The vet OK’d it coming off (his cat had the same surgery a couple months before and wasn’t doing that well, so he was really pleased with Zed’s recovery at that point).
The day it came off, he went obviously crazy with the scratching and licking, but surprisingly, left the incision alone.
I’ve got them both on a pretty good feeding schedule now (1/3 can twice/day of wet and a 1/4 cup of dry for the 3rd feeding). Zed, like Beau, will only eat a bit at a time, but Zoe has learned to eat all hers at once.
He’s pooping and peeing and eating and drinking, so this is all good.
Here is my concern. He doesn’t seem as happy. He doesn’t purr as much. He is constantly licking, scratching and biting. He has a ‘wound” under his chin that he’s scratched so hard all the hair is out and it’s almost near infection. It’s healing, but itchy, so he keeps scratching. I’m stalking him all day trying to get him to stop. I put a warm wash cloth on it as much as possible to try and give him some relief.
I’m concerned he’s allergic to the new food. I gave it some time because of the surgery and all the recovery and the total change in diet. But it’s been 5 weeks now and while he’s doing everything else properly, the itching and licking concern me in general, but especially the issue under his chin. It’s like he’s always uncomfortable. He’s coughing up a lot of fur balls, which is understandable, but is occasionally doing this breathing/coughing fit where nothing comes up. I saw a YouTube video and it may be asthma?
I would love to take him back to the vet, but the last visit (when he was OK’d to take the cone off) was a disaster. Pretty sure Dr Larry doesn’t ever want to see him again 🙂
I’ll call tomorrow to see what they think about the food, but I’ve read that Royal Canin and Hill’s urinary SO both are basically the same as far as ingredients go.
I was up half the night worried, and don’t want to take him off the vet diet, but am concerned may be the food that is bothering him. Too soon? Should I worry?
Can definitely be an allergy. I currently don’t have internet so I can’t do a whole lot of digging for you, but I would see if the whitefish blend for CD or the Stew has different ingredients. From my knowledge a lot of the royal cabin and Science diet vet food is safe and will help dissolve/maintain crystals. So you may want to talk to your vet about switching your little one onto one of those diets as soon as you know for sure that the crystals are gone. I’ve been told mixed things about the pet store version of royal canin and can confirm that Beau got crystals while in the pet store royal canin sensitive stomach.
See if your vet agrees with the “most vet prescriptions will take care of urinary problems”
There’s also a line of Purina for urinary issues. Personally, not a fan of Purina, but the vet stuff may be better than the pet store stuff.
As for the cuddles and purring, that’s normal. Beau refused to be cuddled for months. He wouldn’t let us rub his belly (which was his favourite thing). I think it took us about 3 months to get back to our regular cuddle and petting sessions. That I’m less concerned about.
I will have internet in 2 days and will be able to help out a bit more then (when I can help you research ingredients and what the differences between your old food and new food are) I’m sorry I can’t be of more help right now
Oliver is home! He had a partial revision yesterday and all went well. Vet wants checkups every week so I will drop him off Monday mornings before school, and pick him up on the way home. And he will need to wear the cone for 6 weeks. There was a lot of scar tissue, most likely from him licking too much. Seems like 2 weeks was not enough healing time before taking the cone off. So the surgeon will examine him every week for a couple of months to get ahead of any scar formation.
That completely makes sense. If I remember correctly we had Beau on the cone for 2 months. (Partially because he had a lesion at the same time.) But I would completely agree that 2 weeks is not good enough for it to heal, you need at least 3 weeks minimum before the cone is off.
Hi Johnny. Wow, Beau had the cone on 2 months also! Well, I went onto Ammazon to look for something more comfortable and decided on a Kong canvas type collar. It has a tie at the top. Oliver would have a velcro or button cone off in 5 minutes! LoL! It arrives tomorrow, hopefully it works. So far he has been doing ok at home. He wants to be in my arms constantly and cries when I go out. I am a little worried about going to work tomorrow. Other than that I think he is doing well and he is certainly peeing like a race horse!! He has not pooped yet but I think that is trom anesthesia and pain meds. He last pooped yesterday right before I picked him up in the morning, so I am not worried.
Oh and Tammy I scrolled through the posts and saw your well wishes. Thanks!
Deb! Glad to hear he’s peeing like a racehorse! Let me know how the collar goes. I’ve never tried KONG’s before. We’ve actually only used an e-collar before since neither Beau or Kalista have minded it.
Hi Tammy, I’m sorry you’re going through this, it really is the worst! It has definitely been helpful to talk to others who have gone through or are going through the same thing. It can be very alarming when you bring him home, to see what he looks like and how he’s acting- I know for me it was really distressing to see Walter acting aggressively towards me out of pain, because he is the sweetest cat ever- loves all people and other animals, and I had never heard him growl or hiss before this. So I wouldn’t be at all surprised for your cat to be very upset for a while. Just know that it’s normal.
Also the way the surgery site was bleeding for the first few days was also very alarming to me, so feel free to give me your email address and I’ll send pics if you want some point of reference. I am lucky to have a very reachable and helpful vet office, so I’ve been emailing them pictures every now and then to check if it looks how it’s supposed to when I’ve been freaked out. It was great for me to be able to use a crate for an extra large dog (the crate is so large I can climb in it comfortably, which gives him plenty of room), that way I don’t have to worry about Walter wandering around the house and getting into things, getting stuck somewhere because of the cone, or jumping around too much. Definitely have LOTS of pee pads ready to go (I had to use these rather than the Yesterday’s News litter- Walter was just playing with it and trying to eat it rather than peeing in it), and other towels/linens that you don’t mind getting dirty. I’ve done one or two loads of laundry every day for the last week and a half- it’s a lot to keep up with. The pee pads make it easy to monitor how often and how much he’s urinating, and the color of the urine. I hope that your kitty gets through the surgery well! <3
Elyse.. thank you as well. This is amazing and very helpful. I actually had gone to pick up a few items that Johnny mentioned, and then went back out to get 150 pee pads after I read your update! Man cave is ready and I’ll keep him in my office/spare room for the next few weeks. I’m fortunate to work at home, so will able to be with him all the time during his recovery.
I didn’t have a vet, because it had become so difficult to get him into a carrier after a few years I just stopped going. He’s an indoor cat who I didn’t think had any health issues previously (I wonder now). That said, my cat sitter works for a mobile vet (great option if I can’t get him in the carrier) and works at a vets office, which is very close to my house.
His surgery went very well. He’s a tough guy and she said he was up an hour after it was done. The incision site looked so painful, but I was somewhat prepared because Johnny kindly sent some pictures of Beau. I would love post op pictures of Walter for reference. I’m thinking Johnny has your email address, so will ask him to give you mine instead of posting it here? Hopefully that works.
I’ll update over the weekend as I’m picking him up at 11am tomorrow. I’m hoping for a “Marley’ recovery. Walter has had a tough go as well. I’m sorry you are still going through so much stress with him. Hopefully his release last night worked out and the everything is fine until his appointment Saturday!
I’m so glad to hear that the surgery went well! I really do hope you have a smooth recovery. You definitely have enough pee pads to last for a LONG time, haha! It will come in handy because I have been changing Walter’s every time he pees, which is very frequently, since I don’t want to leave him in trapped in a dirty environment. Another thing I forgot to mention that really helped was getting an extra anti anxiety medication for Walter. I don’t know what meds your kitty has been prescribed, but Walter was on the standard prazosin to relax his urethral sphincter 3x per day, buprenex for pain 3x/day, and onsior to help with inflammation 1x/day. He wasn’t on pill antibiotics initially because they had given him a shot (although he later got infected and is now on enrofloxacin). What really helped was adding on gabapentin, which is another pain med that could be combined with the buprenex. Buprenex alone didnt’ seem to be doing much and Walter was still extremely agitated and seemed to be in a lot of pain (like I said before, growling at me, whining a lot and visibly trembling especially after he would urinate). Every cat is different so your situation might be very different, and your cat may respond differently to the medications he will be on, but if he looks to be experiencing a lot of pain and anxiety don’t hesitate to ask your vet for additional medication- stress can really slow down the healing process. As soon as Walter started the gabapentin he calmed down right away and was able to sleep and heal.
And thank you, it’s definitely a roller coaster- Walter is keeping me on my toes! He peed a lot again late last night, totally normal urine with no blood, and this morning his incision looks better than ever, actually much more healed and less irritated looking than yesterday, and he’s acting completely normal. Go figure. I still have his appointment booked for today and feel dumb cancelling it now but he really had me freaked out yesterday! Better to be safe than sorry I guess 🙂
Hi Tammy
My Marley recently had his PU surgery. After it was over the surgeon told me that Marley had a juvenile penis ( this is due to being neutered too young , which a lot of rescue groups do) and the surgery had been more difficult because there is less tissue to work with.. Thank god the surgery was a success. His recovery could not have gone better. . The worst part was having to keep the cone of shame on . I think it bothered me more then it bother him ! He had no pain,swelling, bleeding or urination issues. I have a couple of other post on here if your interested in reading about our experience. Post op was no where near as bad as I feared and prepared for. Hang in there and try not to over stress. Hopefully you will have the same experience I did.
Fingers are so crossed for a recovery like Marley. Zed is far from a chill cat, so I’m thinking he may be a handful in a lot of ways. That cone… ugh. I feel the same. I so want to take it off of him.. he seems so sad and uncomfortable with it on and his eyes seem to be pleading 🙂
Thank you for the VERY positive results. I’m glad it was so easy for Marley and will hope the same for Zed.
Tammy- I can so relate to your experience- this week after 2 caths and 3 reblockages I went ahead with the PU or and have been questioning my sanity using all my financial resources. In the end I had to choose to proceed instead of putting Isiah down and right now and waiting to hear if he is urinating or not.. The vet had to use a magnifying glass to do the OR so it was trickey.. It is devastating to have this problem- the poor cats suffer so much and the agony of waiting for the other shoe to drop is the same as if it were a family or friend. I just wanted to tell you- I KNOW and hope your baby is fine.
I hope it turns out well for Isiah, JoAnne. It’s really a terrible experience to go through and each of our pets have different circumstances.
I’ve not wanted to update because it’s been really difficult. I ended up having to put Zed to sleep on October 1st. While his post surgery went pretty well, there were further complications that were likely the root of his issues to begin with. I thought he had reblocked because he was urinating blood clots. I took him to emerg immediately and he was diagnosed with FIC (Feline Interstital Cystitis) which is all in the urinary disease family. He’s a VERY high strung cat and as much as I’ve tried to ensure his life was stress free, it wasn’t enough to keep him from developing these bladder issues. He was sedated at the hospital and I was going to have to keep him that way to reduce stress (and the last 3 months were certainly stressful for him) for the rest of his life. While I did bring him home, he stopped eating, urinating and became a little aggressive, even while sedated. I made the heartbreaking decision to let him go a few days after his last episode. It was my first experience in having to do that, and it was unbelievably difficult, but in the end, I felt I was keeping him alive (and suffering) for me. He was a rescue cat that had no chance until we came along, so I feel at peace knowing he was loved and had a really great life. It’s been 1 1/2 months and I still miss him every day.
Sorry to be such a bummer on this site that everyone has had a lot of challenges with their babies, but in the end, turned out OK. It’s difficult and stressful and most cats do really well after the surgery. Zed’s issues were more complicated.
I wish you and Isiah the best.
Thanks for your detailed account! I am going through hell right now and am such a nervous wreck for my sweet boy Walter. To give this context, my husband got a job in the military and left for basic training, where we will be allowed virtually no contact for eight weeks, on June 5th, and Walter blocked for the first time on June 10th. The vet said he has an abnormally small urethra and it was very difficult to catheter him- he had one that came out because it was apparently defective, so they put in a second one, and I was able to take him home after five days. That visit cost me $1400. Now it’s been a little less than a week since bringing him home and he blocked completely again this morning.
I went in already expecting to go ahead with the PU surgery like they had recommended, and so he got the surgery today, which was another $1,400 at the least, $1800 at the most (don’t know for sure yet what the total will come out to). The vet called me after and said that it did not go as smoothly as they wanted, his urethra is so tiny that it retracted when they cut it and they were trying to run the catheter up the side of his urethra without knowing it before they were able to finally get it in.
So he’s post surgery now and the urine is flowing freely, but I’m SO nervous about bringing him home, and I am struggling with this so much. I am all alone and can’t even talk to my husband about this. I am a nervous wreck and basically crying constantly. It was my birthday yesterday and probably the worst birthday ever. 🙁
To top it all off, we are scheduled to be moving across the country in a little over six weeks for my husband to start his new job, which means driving for four or five days with two cats, so if there are any complications with his recovery whatsoever I don’t know what I’m going to do. He is the sweetest and most loving cat ever, and he’s not even two years old yet. I’m so worried that there will be complications, ugh.
Hey Elyse,
This sounds so, so, so stressful and I’m so immensely sorry that you are facing this alone. Please know that I’m always here through e-mail if you ever need to talk about anything. A couple quick questions though, did Walter have any urinary issues before your husband went for basic training? You may have already been told this, so excuse me if I’m just repeating what a vet has already said, but a lot of times urinary issues come from stress. Your little one might be stressed out because your husband has left and is gone for an elongated period of time. When your little one is back I would suggest trying to give him things that remind him of your husband for him to feel close to him. It might not be a solution or that might not be what the problem was at all, but it’s still worth a shot. With us, we think one of the biggest issues was how much noise was happening the month Beau got sick as our upstairs neighbours were doing construction for about 8-10 hours a day.
I’m glad that urine is freely flowing and sadly there are complications that may happen with the surgery. We actually just faced one of them, but they’re super easy to remedy, especially after the surgery. The move will definitely be hard on the cats and it may actually trigger a lot of problems for Walter, but there are things you can do for him. There are prescribed anxiety/stress medications you can give him (you can also use the urethral relaxant medication Prazosin, but I would 100% talk to your vet about this). There are also plenty of calming foods you can feed Walter during your travel. One being Science Diet which will still help with the urinary problems. There are also treats such as VetriScience Composure Feline Bite-Sized Chews, although I’m always a bit skeptical about treats like these. I’ve had experiences with customers that have been great and ones where owners have said they’ve done absolutely nothing. The same can be said about Feliway Sprays, Nature’s Mircable Calming Spray, Sentry Calming Collars, Nutri-Vet Feline Paw Gel, Anxiety & Stress Control by Natural Pet, Elite Cat Calm Aid, and Vet Classics – Calming Aid. Again, I cannot personally vouch for how much these work as a lot of them I haven’t tried, but I have heard good things from a lot of customers and have spoken to multiple vets who say, “They work for some cats and not others,” which is true of so many products.
If you notice your little one is stressed at home, try some of the music I wrote for Beau. It really helped him, and whenever he still gets stressed we play it for him. There’s also plenty of “calming music for cats” so if mine doesn’t work for you you’re bound to find something that does! Let me know if you need help finding any, I’ve gone on down plenty of rabbit holes trying to find something that works for Beau which is what ultimately got me to write music myself for him.
Again, always feel free to comment or e-mail me if anything comes up. PU Surgeries can be scary to go through alone and I’m just glad that my man was with me throughout the process. I was an absolute mess and couldn’t stop crying, honestly, sometimes it still hits me what Beau had to go through, but I will say we are much happier now with it and Beau’s doing better than he ever has been… complications and all <3
Thank you so much for your reply!
I don’t know what might have been the trigger for these issues, but we were gone for almost three weeks prior to my husband leaving (we flew home and got married) and our two cast were being watched by a friend while we were away, so that may have been stressful for them. However they seemed totally fine and we were back for about three weeks before this happened. They’re both generally very happy, cuddly and easy going cats, not prone to stress or high strung, but he may have been hiding it very well.
I took home Walter this evening and it’s been very stressful so far… I got an XL dog crate from the vet office for him, and it’s padded with towels that have his smell on them, and lots of pee pads, and I covered it with a few sheets to minimize the external stimulation since the crate is too big to fit in a bathroom. He’s on prazosin, buprenex and onisor (for inflammation), and they gave him a shot of anti-biotics that will last for two weeks so I can skip the clavamox. He has been really restless and uncomfortable, basically thrashing around trying to lick his wound site (which is impossible because he’s wearing a cone AND an inflatable donut thing), and he would only eat a little bit of his science diet food when I tried to feed him. He’s usually a great eater and loves the food so that’s concerning but it seems like it’s just the stress of the new environment. He’s peed a little bit, but I’ll feel better when I see him go again. Right now he’s sleeping FINALLY and I’m playing him some “music for cats.” The main stressor is that my other cat is trapped in the bedroom so she doesn’t freak him out, and she will NOT stop crying. It’s driving me absolutely crazy. She stops as soon as I go in the room with her, but I have been afraid to leave Walter alone for too long. 🙁 And annoyingly, the vet changed his med schedule from 7am, 3 pm and 11pm to 9am, 5pm and 1am, and today they didn’t give him his 5pm meds so I had to do that when we got home around 6 pm, so now I have to stay up until 2 am to give him his next dose… sigh.
Hey Elyse,
No problem for responding! Always happy to do it! The eating gets better, he’s not going to want to eat much the first few days. Beau ate about 1/2 a 5.5oz can for a few days before he made it to 1 5.5oz can a day (which seems to be his regular now.) The needles for anti-biotics are the absolute best! They’re lifesavers and I can’t tell you how happy I am that medicine has come a long way, because I hate pilling Beau (even though I’ve got it down to a T now.)
Glad to hear you’re playing some music for cats, let me know how they work for him. I feel you on the being driven absolutely crazy because your other cat is crying. You can try putting on a radio so she feels like someone is in the room, but she may just be crying because she actually does want you (or to see Walter.)
As for the meds, I wouldn’t stress too, too much about the schedule. As long as they are in within an hour of the suggested time you should be fine. I’d double check with your vet, just because every vet has a different opinion on it, but when we were pilling Beau I ended up getting a gig that caused me to have to change his schedule by a few hours. I was recommended to pill him an hour earlier each day. See what they say though.
Did you grab any shampoo for Walter? That’s going to be a must over the next few days.
Hi there! So it’s been a little over 48 hours since bringing walter home, and day 2 was definitely easier. After I wrote you before, my night was hell, basically- I was up until 4am, went to the vet three times in between 1 and 4, because he just wouldn’t calm down and they recommended me getting the next size up of E-collar and combining the two collars instead of the donut, which he HATED. So I went and bought it, and when I came back, somehow the little wizard had managed to get off the cone and the donut and was licking his stitches frantically. So I freaked out and rushed him to the vet again, but they examined him and said he was fine, just a little inflamed but everything in place still. The two-cone combo seems to be working well- it looks really silly and he can’t eat or drink on his own with it on, but I’ve been syringe feeding him water mixed with a tiny bit of food so that he stays hydrated and he actually loves it! I’m giving him the vet’s recommended amount of water per day considering I also mix water in with his wet food. He’s also been eating normally which makes me happy.
We went back to the vet yesterday to make sure he was okay because he still hadn’t peed on his own, and she said that he’s definitely not blocked, she was able to get him to pee easily, and that he’s probably just holding it from stress, so she prescribed some gabapentin which is definitely doing the trick. That combined with the buprenex has him pretty relaxed all day. So now he’s on onsior, prazosin, buprenex and gabapentin. Today was great and he peed a few times, a huge amount this morning actually, but then tonight he got really agitated again and after peeing he started bleeding quite a bit. He also got really upset and started growling, which he never does, so I know he’s in pain from peeing 🙁 He spent the next 30-ish minutes frantically scratching everything and peeing all over everything, poor little guy. I called the vet to make sure this was all okay, and they said it was, I even emailed them a pic of his bleeding because it looked so alarming to me. But I guess that bleeding after peeing is pretty normal for the first few days. He just seems so uncomfortable.
I’m curious what your vet said to you about watching out for blood clots- mine didn’t mention anything about blood clots. Also, I was wondering why you didn’t have Beau in a crate or keep him in a confined space- did your vet think that it would be better for him to not be confined? Just curious. I’m wondering how Walter would do if I let him out of the crate. It almost seems to be causing more stress than it’s worth. I’m just paranoid about him bumping into sharp things and jumping up onto furniture right now.
You definitely want to watch out for blood clots, but if he’s peeing a good amount you shouldn’t have to worry much. Blood clots usually don’t have enough time to form if there’s a constant stream of urine.
We didn’t have Beau in a crate because we had no other animals (other than the fish) at home. It’s better for them to be around the house rather than trapped in a crate (although your circumstance is a lot different as the other cat may be a problem for him as she may try to clean him.)
I wouldn’t worry too much about bumping into sharp things or furniture, it’s really about the other cat.
We knew putting Beau in a crate would stress him out. He hates carriers as a first and never wants to be too far from me. He’s commonly by my side at all times of the day, so leaving him completely alone was never an option. During his recovery, I actually set up my office closer to his “man cave” just because sometimes he’d want to come to sit next to me and sleep. It’s also good for your cat to get some exercise even though they are in recovery. This shouldn’t be any running, but he needs to be walking every so often so he can poop (unless you have him on laxatives, which we had but tried to avoid if we could.)
Thank you for keeping me so updated with Walter. I’m glad that the second day is a lot easier for you, and hope that they continue getting even easier <3
It’s now the third full day that Walter’s been home, fourth full day since his surgery, and he’s doing really well! He finally pooped last night, and I think I was so happy I could have cried. I never thought I’d be so happy to see a cat poop. It doesn’t take much these days! It was a normal sized and normal consistency poop too, so that’s good! He also peed a lot last night and it seemed still painful, but less so than the night before, so I think it should just continue to get better. He had a lot of energy this morning, in a good and normal way, not an “agitated because I’m in pain” kind of way, and he’s been really cuddly and sweet. His crate is so big that I can crawl in there with him, so I’ve done that a few times and he’s crawled up onto my lap so I can give him chin scratches which are his favorite. Crossing my fingers that it’s all uphill from here!
So very happy to hear about the poop! Trust me, we were super excited when Beau pooped the first time.
I didn’t realize how big your crate was! I thought it was one of those smaller hard carriers. No wonder your vet recommended the crate 🙂
I’m really hoping he continues to improve as much as he has been!
Hi! So just to give you an update (and others who might be reading, searching desperately for positive accounts of cats with the PU surgery like I was), Walter is still doing pretty well! It’s now been eight days since the surgery, and I brought him to the vet on Friday for a checkup even though he didn’t need one until next week, because with everything that’s happened i’ve gotten really paranoid. The vet checked him out and said everything looks like it’s healing really well, he’s peeing normally, etc. The only slightly weird thing was that he has only pooped three times in eight days, which isn’t necessarily bad, especially since the poop is normal in color, consistency, size, etc.- so the doctor told me it could just be after effects of the surgery.
Also concerning was that I noticed he had started to smell pretty bad- not really a urine or feces smell, which made me suspect infection, although I didn’t think it was that since they gave him a shot of antibiotics that allegedly lasts for two weeks. But as I suspected, the doctor said his surgery site does seem infected and they removed some of the scabbing that was ready to come off, in which the infection became more apparent. So he was prescribed enrofloxacin/baytril, first as a liquid suspension, which he took EXTREMELY poorly (foaming at the mouth so bad I thought he would choke, jerking away so violently I almost stabbed him with the oral syringe, it was a nightmare), so I went back and got it in pill form. That is working well so far. I’m just concerned because he has been acting “off” for the last two days, and my suspicion is that it’s either from the antibiotic side effects, or it’s because the vet visit coincided with his first full day off of pain medications. He had been on buprenex and gabapentin multiple times a day for the last week, so I think he might just be having a bit of a withdrawal. He’s been pretty lethargic, not wanting to move, and way less interested in his food than he normally is. He is eating, but it’s a challenge to get him to eat all of it, and I’ve had to space it out in small meals throughout the day because he just won’t eat it all in one sitting. Side effects of enrofloxacin do include lethargy, decreased appetite and depression, since it’s such an aggressive antibiotic, so that makes sense. He never seemed to have any issues with being on clavamox, but enrofloxacin is apparently much more fast acting and effective. So that’s what’s going on; I’m looking forward to his seven day course of the antibiotics to be over so he can start feeling more like himself!
Hey Elyse,
Let me speak on the poop for a quick second. Your little one may not poop very often for a bit after the surgery. For about 2 months Beau started pooping once every other day. It’s a really weird phenomenon that sometimes happens with kitties who go through certain surgeries. Beau has since returned to pooping every day, but it can be pretty normal as long as it’s not diarrhea or if he’s constipated/straining to poop.
I’m so sorry to hear about the infection. Those are literally the worst to deal with, especially because you’re facing a bunch of the side effects. You may already know some of these tricks but I would warm up the food in the microwave (I know, I hate doing that… especially because I don’t use microwaves myself), mix a couple of his favourite treats or try putting broth or another type of mixer into his food. When Beau wouldn’t eat (or chooses not to eat now), that does the trick. For the first few days Beau was going through his PU surgery he refused to eat anything at all (first off because he hated wet food, and second because of how lethargic he was.) I know you’re late in the game now, and you wouldn’t expect them not to eat, but a change in meds can really drive them bonkers. Beau would eat about 2 or 3 greenies every 8 hours. It was insane and I don’t know how he made it through to be honest.
Thank you again for all the updates! <3
Well Walter is eating normally again and his energy level is back up, but i’m actually pretty worried about him at the moment and I’ve scheduled another appointment for him to see the vet tomorrow. He seems to have regressed back to his behavior before the PU surgery, where he’s trying to pee every five seconds and peeing on everything indiscriminately, and there’s a bit of blood in the urine again 🙁 I don’t think he’s blocked because he’s still producing urine but he’s going so frequently that it’s in small amounts each time. I really don’t know what could be causing this since he’s on antibiotics that would be treating a UTI if there was one, and it doesn’t look like anything is blocking his urethra as far as I can tell (I’ve been pretty worried about the urethra over-developing scar tissue and healing shut, which is a rare complication but can happen). This is just stressful since he was peeing totally normally just four or five days ago, and I don’t see what is causing this behavior other than potentially the fact that he’s no longer on Prazosin or any pain meds.
I was actually just panicking and about to take him to the vet now on emergency hours, because he’s been trying to pee non-stop for the last half hour or so with nothing coming out, and just as I made the decision I see that he peed MASSIVE amounts in four different spots throughout the house within the last five minutes. I don’t know what to make of that? I am glad that he’s getting so much urine out, but why is it taking so much straining? I guess I’ll (hopefully) find out at the vet tomorrow!
Hey Elyse, tell them to check the stitches. I know Beau wanted to pee on everything for a bit because the stitches were irritating his opening. We only found this out two weeks after the surgery during the checkup. Sometimes while healing the stitches go into the opening. You can’t really do anything about it because taking them out too early may cause other problems, but it’s a good thing to ask anyways! This would also explain the bit of blood. Hopefully, it’s that too, because that’s such a simple thing!
I don’t know if I’ve already linked you this article, but recently Beau had another UTI (not a blockage luckily), but it caused him to bleed for a few days. He was fine after about a week and a half.
Let me know what they say the cause is 🙂
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely ask about that. I have been examining the stitches and incision site every day and the only thing that looks weird is this mass right underneath his urethra, where I think the bulk of the stitches might be, and earlier it looked like part of it was kind of flopping around his opening (I can’t think of a better way to describe it), and then after he peed a ton earlier, it looks like it’s gone… so maybe that was causing irritation. Hopefully that’s all it is! In the geyser of urine he peed earlier there was no blood, thankfully. It was completely clear. He is also due for his two week checkup to get the stitches out on Saturday! So I’ll keep you updated 🙂
Hi Johnny and everyone else!
So some updates with Walter: turns out that the irritation he was experiencing (and the really frequent urination still two weeks after the PU surgery) is because he has multi drug resistant E. coli in his bladder! E. coli is the main cause of most UTIs, but this particular strain is resistant to all but three antibiotics, so the enrofloxacin wasn’t working, along with the injection they gave him when they performed the surgery. So now I have the right kind of antibiotic (which unfortunately only comes in a liquid, so that’ll be fun to give him) and I have to administer it twice a day. He had no problem eating pills in the pill pockets, but he went CRAZY last time I tried to give him the liquid baytril, so i’m really not looking forward to this. I think I may try to mix it with different foods and see if that helps at all, cause I read that it works on some cats. So that’s where we’re at. Other than the infection, he’s doing well and is acting like himself! I can’t wait to hopefully be able to take the cone off in a week or so, and hopefully I’ll manage to find a solution for the antibiotic so that I’m not traumatizing both of us 2x per day for the next two weeks.
That really sucks to hear! Tell me if you have any difficulty with the food. I’ve gotten pretty good with giving syringes so I may be able to make you a tutorial to show you how to easily do it in case the mix with food doesn’t work! Let me know <3
Haha he did NOT take it well- I tried to mix it in with food and he just took one taste and squinted his eyes like he knew exactly what I was up to. So I swaddled him in a towel and scruffed him, tried to squirt it into the cheek pocket so I wouldn’t choke him or make him aspirate the medicine, but he just jerks his head away and flails so violently that I honestly can’t even tell how much he’s swallowing. And he foams at the mouth so much that I can’t tell. It’s such an ordeal. *sigh*
Would it be helpful for me to make a video for you or would is it just a case of “my cat just hates the syringe and I’m doing it properly”. (note: this isn’t me judging your ability, every cat is different and I’ve definitely had to play around with each of my cats to get the position that works the best for them)
Hey Johnny!
So Walter’s doing well- he’s been on his antibiotics for about two weeks now, but the vet ended up extending his course to four weeks since he’s had so many issues. We took the cone off permanently and he’s using regular litter again! All seems to be going well. He’s definitely peeing less frequently, but the same volume, which I’m hoping means that his bladder inflammation has gone down and the bacteria is gone.
I just took the cone off for good yesterday, and since then he’s been running around like a total maniac which is kinda fun to see. He wants to play all the time, haha. And he’s not grooming excessively so that’s good. The only weird thing is that I’ve found him in a few strange places that he normally doesn’t go- and I hesitate to say that he was hiding, because he came right out when I called him, but he had gone underneath the couch and then behind one of our other couches in between the couch and the wall, and even into his cat carrier on his own, which he never really does. Maybe he’s just glad to be fitting into small spaces again.
I’m wondering if you’ve ever given Beau a cranberry supplement, or heard good things from the vet about it? I have read a lot of good things about it being an extra preventative measure against UTIs.
Hey Elyse, Beau did the same when he was off the cone. I think it’s pretty normal for them to explore tighter spaces after being off the cone. If he’s going into smaller places than usual and you’re afraid that he won’t come out of them I would recommend a spray bottle instead of your voice or a broom. But from what you’ve said: he just sounds like he’s happy to be fitting in smaller spaces. Sleeping in the carrier can be pretty normal. Kalista actually sleeps in her carrier every night. We used to think we locked her in a room (which is pretty impossible in our apartment), but one night I woke up to hearing her climbing our bookshelf to get into her carrier.
As for cranberry supplements. They can be great. I personally don’t use them for urinary purposes because a number of my very close vet friends say they don’t do anything (just because you will need A LOT of cranberries for it to have any effect), but I have read a lot of the research that has gone behind them. Studies have sadly shown mixed signs on whether or not they actually work or if it has any effect in small amounts (on humans included.) Basically, the easiest way to describe it is: they can help condition, but they probably will not help cure or prevent. That being said, cranberries have a lot of other benefits, especially for antioxidants. I used Cranimals and would give it to Beau by mixing into his kibble and shaking it up so it coats the kibble. Sadly a lot of kitties hate the tart taste of cranberries, so if you can mix them into their food somehow making sure that there is more food than cranberries you should be good. There are also some treats that you can also grab “Get Naked” treats that include cranberry. I can’t say how well they work or if cats like them, because I’ve never used them, but I do know that I used to have repeat customers all the time for them. I’d definitely have a chat with your vet to see what their full stance on cranberries are, especially after the recent studies that have shown no signs of helping with urinary issues. I know it’s a conversation I like to have with as many vets as I can, since I really like the idea of holistic vets, but there are just some things that are considered “natural cures” that don’t do as much (or anything) compared to medications/antibiotics.
If you’d like, I’ll try to find some of the studies that proved against cranberries to share with you just so you can read about both sides. But, at the end of the day, there’s no harm in trying it since it’s 100% cat safe.
If you have any resources about the cranberry supplements that would definitely be helpful! I will ask my vet as well. I’m just worried since we are moving across the country in two weeks, which coincides with when he stops the antibiotic, and I REALLY don’t want another UTI to flare up from stress. Anything that might help prevent it, I will try.
This morning Walter didn’t seem to have much of an appetite which was strange, and then an hour ago I discovered the hugest hairball I have ever seen in my life- poor guy was probably not hungry from all the hair in his stomach. Lol. I am sure it’s because he has been grooming so much since getting the cone off, since he couldn’t groom at his own leisure for like a month. Hopefully I won’t see another one!
Hey Elyse,
Will definitely send some over when I’m back home! I’d also advise you to ask your vet if you could buy some spare antibiotics in case there’s a flair up. We keep extra medications for emergencies in our house since we know there will always be a chance Beau will have a flair up. It was actually recommended to us by a few vets who have seen him post PU. Just make sure to only use them if you see blood. If he seems like he’s straining use the urethral relaxant instead (immediately) and you may be able to avoid using the antibiotics. (as he can struggle without an infection and just based on stress)
Start wrapping him in a blanket that you’ve slept with to scent it and make sure to put it in his travelling carrier/crate. That way he can feel a bit more calm on the journey. You can also give him antianxiety medications/calming treats for the road. I have some I can recommend to you. Sadly again, they don’t always help every cat, but you can test them out before the road to see if they help yours.
I can also give you some great products or resources for hairballs that have worked for us and have ensured our cats poop then out instead of chuck them up. I’ll be able to send those when I’m at a computer and not on a phone if you’re interested. It could definitely be the reason he didn’t want to eat. They do cause a fairly upset tummy.
Poor little guy! We’re rooting for him 🐾♥️
Hi Johnny,
Just thought I’d give everyone an update on Walter. He’s doing well but we’re still dealing with things related to his infection. The last update you heard was when he was on the 4 week course of trimethoprim sulfa, I think, because they did a urinalysis and culture to determine that TMS was one of only three antibiotics they could give him to treat that specific bacteria. We finished the course and RIGHT before moving across the country and during his last checkup appointment, we found out that there was STILL bacteria present in the urine 🙁 at this point the doctor told us that it might be different bacteria, no way to know without doing a culture, and that the safest thing to do would be just get through our move and take him to the vet when we get settled to do another culture.
Thankfully we moved to a city with one of the best veterinary schools in the country, so there are a ton of good vets here. We got him the second urinalysis and culture and sure enough, it was not E. coli bacteria, but two other types that were resistant to TMS. Of course. So he must have picked up another UTI after we kicked the first, almost overlapping with it. The two types of bacteria he currently has are resistant to everything except one antibiotic that is super hard on the kidneys and has to be injected, so we said no to that. It seemed like a situation where the cure would be worse than the disease.
Throughout all of this, Walter has been almost entirely asymptomatic, so the doctor told us that we can just wait and see in a few months if the bacteria is still there, as long as he doesn’t start showing symptoms. According to the vet, certain types of bacteria are okay to just kind of hang out in the bladder, as long as they’re not bothering the cat too much, it just depends on the situation. He’s acting totally normal, eating really well, playing and cuddling, and the only thing that seems even a little bit off is that he does groom more than he used to down there and is still urinating maybe SLIGHTLY more frequently (as in, four or five times a day at the most I would estimate). But maybe that’s just his “new norm” after the surgery. He’s not vocalizing, straining, urinating outside of the box, or anything of that sort.
It’s been more than six weeks and his urethra has healed perfectly, according to the vet, no signs of strictures or anything, and his urine is completely normal other than the bacteria (no crystals). So we’re very happy about that! I’m starting to look into non-antibiotic treatments and preventative holistic things for UTIs in cats, and we’ll go back in a month or so to do another urinalysis and see if he still has that bacteria!
So glad to hear that the vets have pinpointed what was happening with Walter! Also, how lucky that you moved to a place with one of the best vet schools!! That’s always exciting news.
I noticed Beau’s peeing habits changed after the surgery, but now they’re back to about once to three times a day (dependant on how much water we give.) He also cleans his “downstairs” area for a bit longer. This isn’t usually a problem, but if they get rough with it they might start an infection. Beau did this once already, but it was a quick run of antibiotics and a bit of cone shaming.
Thank you again for the updates! And I’m going to do some reading about this! I actually don’t know of too many preventatives (other than the regular “cranberries”) but I’m sure there have to be loads.
Elyse.. thank you for the updates too! This is very current for your and I’m about to go through it as well, so appreciate all the detail from your posts (and of course Johnny’s!)
oh Elyse, poor you and poor Walter. We feel your pain! It’s such a struggle. I can’t wait for the meds to be done and for his cone to be off!!
Johnny graciously offered a video and I watched a few on Youtube as well.
I spoke to the vet yesterday and he assured me I was doing it right, BUT, it still feels like I’m trying to murder Zed each time. I’m cutting his pain meds back.. it was a very small amount and I thought I won a battle because I put his last 2 doses on a few pieces of kibble and he ate them. The vet told me yesterday that it has to be absorbed into the mucous membrane of his check to work. Oops. Guess he doesn’t really need it anymore, although, I’m just going to wean him off. It’s only 0.1ml, so much easier than the antibiotics to give him.
I put a bit of the antibiotics (1ml) in food too. He actually gagged when I put the bowl to his face. It was kind of funny, but he wasn’t having any of that.
They are pretty smart! 🙂
Good luck.. it was get only slightly easier, but hopefully he’ll be as good as new once this dose is done!
Yes, giving meds is the worst! The pain meds Walter was on were actually fine, he didn’t mind that much, but these antibiotics are just awful. I’ve had to give him four doses now and we’ve developed a routine that seems to work well finally!
Step 1: lay out a towel on the ground and prepare syringe of antibiotics and second syringe of water mixed with wet food. Get paper towels ready! Also prepare his breakfast/dinner (mix in some water and microwave it so it’s warm).
Step 2: at this point he’s expecting food, so he willingly comes to me and I first take his cone off (this is impossible to do with the cone on) then wrap him in the blanket. I sit cross legged on the ground with him in the hole in my lap, so I can kind of restrain him with my legs, and lightly scruff his neck. I stick the syringe behind his canine tooth and give him the meds slowly, a tiny bit at a time, which substantially reduces the mouth foaming, and blow puffs of air lightly in his face to get him to swallow it. I’m holding his head with my free hand so that he can’t thrash it around too much.
Step 3: give him the other syringe of water/food mix to wash out the taste, then immediately give him his breakfast/dinner.
Step 4: put cone back on when he’s done eating!
Finally I feel like he’s actually getting the dose he needs of this medicine, without most of it being gagged up or spit out. And he’s a lot calmer when I am not freaking out, haha. The blowing in the face thing REALLY helped, I would suggest trying that if you haven’t already! Good luck!
Thank you for your information! Meow Meow had PU surgery last Sunday. I think he is doing ok, He did pee when he came back home. Today is 3rd day, but he didn’t pee at all, he looks tired, doesn’t want to move a lot. I am kind of worry that he is not peeing all day.
I wouldn’t worry too much. He may also be peeing on himself (Beau did this a couple times because he was too sorry to move. Check whatever he’s sleeping on to see if he did pee. I’d also recommend emailing or calling your vet just to let them know. It’s true that sometimes the incision closes, but it’s not very common. Always here for you if you’re worried or need a chat!
Oh good! I found this simply because I needed to find out if it’s okay for them not to poop right away. My poor boy had his surgery on Friday and just my luck it’s a long weekend. I already freaked out once and took him the emergency vet to make sure he didn’t pull a stitch. On top of that my other cat keeps trying to get the strings on his cone, but he’s urinating he just growls afterward because he can’t lick himself and probably had some pain. I’m just waiting for my vet to come back to the office to see if I can do something for his possible constipation, but hopefully, he ends up being like yours and poops after a few days. He’s eating incredibly well so I’m sure he has to poop or feel like it. I just can’t wait to get over this recovery hurdle.
The poop will definitely come! It’s pretty normal for them to be constipated especially since they aren’t moving much and are extremely bruised. Don’t worry too much about that for sure, it’s better they can’t poop than can’t pee!
Wishing the best recovery, and glad you found the blog. Don’t feel scared to email if you’re super worried or have any questions. 🙂
Hi Kate
My Marley was straining to poop after his PU surgery and it was very hard. My vet told me to give him MiraLax. laxative. It’s a tasteless powder that you can mix with his food 1/2 tsp twice a day. Only needed it for a couple of days. I mixed it into Fancy Feast Broths and he never knew it was there. He loves these and it helps to get extra fluids into him.
I am so happy I found this blog. My poor baby Peanut went from a very happy playful boy to almost dead in the matter of hours. This started midnight of Saturday morning. Took him to an Er that afternoon. He is now at a specialized surgery center. His kidney function levels came down enough yesterday the dr decided to go ahead with the pu and remove kidney stones. Everything went well….. Dr called this morning and said Peanut has only peed once since the surgery. They put the cath back in and will let his body rest for 24hrs. Then remove the cath again. My question is did it take a while for your cat to urinate on his own after surgery? I am so worried for my baby and i know he is in the best hands right now. …. The ER almost lost him twice. They had a kinked catheter in him 24hrs…. I was not very happy with them. But at least they kept him stable. Sorry i am making this so long i am just one sad stressed out meowma💜
Hey no worries, thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately, all surgeries come with complications. Our vets actually lost Beau once during the operation but resuscitated him back to life pretty quickly. Please feel free to keep me updated on Peanut’s health! Always happy to be here for kitties! Especially those going through a similar battle <3
I’m so glad I found this blog. I think there’s a pretty good chance that Ivan will need PU surgery. It’s very worrisome because I have another cat and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to take time off of work to watch over him. Many decisions to be made, but this blog was super helpful and gives me a much better idea about what to expect post op. I’m so glad that Beau is doing so well!
Hey Catherine, I’m so glad you feel that way (about the blog!) I’m happy to have been able to help out by sharing our experience with such a crazy event. If you ever have any worries or need a chat never hesitate to contact me or leave me a comment. <3 Sending you some hand squeezes right now and hope everything goes well with Ivan <3
My little fur baby max is having his PU surgery right now. His whole bladder was full of struvite crystals on the ultrasound and his catheter kept getting blocked. I’ll visit him tonight and hopefully get to take him home tomorrow!
Wishing you the very best Rachel! Please feel free to keep me updated <3
Went to visit max tonight, and man I was shocked at how bloody his backside was! I didn’t realize that the surgery was so messy. Hopefully I’ll get to take him home tomorrow, need to find a way to quarantine him so he doesn’t get the apartment too messy.
Rachel, yeah it’s actually kind of scary how bloody and swollen they get. I know looking at Beau’s backside the first week was really sad and depressing. Honestly, Max won’t be moving too much for a while. Make sure you lay a lot of towels down though, because he probably won’t want to use a litter box for a few days and will be soaking himself.
Hi 😀
Nice to hear that Beau made a wonderful recovery. My cat just got PU surgery done about 6 days ago, and he’s very hissy whenever he starts to pee. I told the vet about this, so he prescribed Pumpkin some diazepam, which helped a little bit but he’s still kind of hissy. Did Beau deal with behavior changes like this? Also, Pumpkin has a bit of discharge where he pees. Again, I showed the vet and he said it’s fine and healing normally. Did Beau have anything like that on his incision site? Other than that, my cat has been doing really well and I’m so proud of him!
Thanks!
Erin
Beau wasn’t super hissy when urinating, but he’s not a very vocal cat at all. Honestly, even when he was struggling to urinate before the operation we wouldn’t have been able to tell if we weren’t watching him physically struggle. You could tell Beau was uncomfortable peeing after the operation because he couldn’t pee standing up. Commonly he would lie down and pee on himself, or when he was standing he would fall after or walk away while peeing then pee lying down.
Yes, Beau had discharge on his stomach from where the Cystotomy took place. It was a clear liquid that freaked us out when we first saw it. We called the vet multiple times about it, especially since our release notes said no discharge was supposed to happen. The vet said that as long as it wasn’t yellow, it was regular healing and that it should be fine.
I’m so happy to hear that Pumpkin is doing really well, and I wouldn’t be too worried about the hissies right now or the discharge! I’m hoping him the absolute best and would love to get some updates!
Thanks for stopping by Erin !
Thanks for the reply!
Reading through everyone’s personal experience with PU surgery has made my cat’s surgery more bearable. Today is the 7th day since his surgery, and he’s starting to move around and wants out of his crate so I’m pretty excited knowing that he’s on track for recovery. Thanks again for the reply and I will keep you updated! Maybe if other people read what I have said then they too will know what to expect more when their own goes through this surgery.
Thanks! :~)
No problem, anytime Erin! I’m so glad to hear your little one is ready to move around!! <3
Hi!
It’s been a little over a month since Pumpkin got his surgery, and I thought I’d stop by to give some updates. I just got back from the vet, they did a check up. They said he can lose the cone next week since he still has some stitches and a scab over the incision site. WooHoo! A little bit after I first commented, Pumpkin had a blood clot AND he had a minor infection. The blood clot went away after about two days, and he was peeing/leaking blood for that time. The infection was very minor. He was prescribed Clavamox for two weeks and it went away. He also struggled with diarrhea, like it was insane. He would poop every night and it was just a nasty puddle of dark brown, haha. After he finished all of his meds about five days ago, the diarrhea stopped. He’s doing very well now and back to his crazy self. No Behavioral changes, and he doesn’t urinate anywhere besides his litterbox which I was worried about, but no problems there. I documented every time something was wrong, like when he had his blood clot, and took pictures of the incision site for reference. If you would like pictures, or if anyone asks I would be happy to provide.
I hope Beau is doing good, I just read your update from a few days ago. I’m glad both our cats are doing well! :~)
I’m so glad to hear that Pumpkin is doing well! Yes, please feel free to e-mail me pictures so I can take a look at them as well. You can get a hold of me through the contact section on the blog and either dropbox me them or I’ll e-mail you back so you have my e-mail to send them directly !
Thank you so much for the update and hope Pumpkin is going to have a long and fulfilling life! <3
Beau is also doing really great. I'm so proud of the bugger <3 And happy for his health <3
Hi. I have a Persian cat named Moki and he just had a PU surgery. He’s still at the vet clinic and hasn’t eaten for 2 days already. I’m planning to bring him home later and see if he’ll be feeling better at home. I am new to this and I am worried of what I need to do to help him recover. I don’t even know where to start or what questions to ask to help my cat recover. I’m totally lost. 🙁
Hey Imee, you might want to try giving him some treats that he really likes. The first night Beau was with us he didn’t want to eat his wet food. He ate a little bit of kibble, but we gave him some really awesome freeze-dried treats. He didn’t eat much of them, but he ate enough for his stomach to have something in it. Because your little one won’t be moving around much his appetite will be VERY small. I think when Beau started eating again he would only eat between 1/4 a can and 1/2 a can a day.
Please keep me updated about Moki <3
my boy Doug is in surgery as i type this for a PU, what a nerve racking experience ,glad i could find some encouraging write ups ,thank you
No problem at all! Thanks for reaching out and wishing you all the best with Doug <3
Hi Jonny
Thanks for write up and all he tips! My little man had PU surgery yesterday. My vet is sending him home with a stent so he will be continuously dripping urine. He doesn’t want him straining to urinate. My vet suggested that I confine him to bathroom but I just can’t do that to him. I put up a gate to the kitchen so he can stay with me and it would be easy to clean up after him. Also set up a place for him to sleep .For at night or when he just want to chill I bought a mesh tent ( habitat) used to put cats in so they can be outside. It is set up the bedroom so I can sleep right next to him and he can see me. The bottom of the tent is mesh and I have carpeting. So I put down a comforter and topped it with a water proof tarp. Then sat the tent on top . Then inside the tent I put a sleeping bag which is water proof then covered by XL wee wee pads taped together. I’ll have food and water and a small litter box with Yesterday News. The tent is large (5′ X 6″) enough that if he is upset and can lay in there with him. He’s a real momma’s boy and I feel so bad for him I just want him to be comfortable when he comes home.
Nina, this set up sounds amazing! I’m so happy to hear you spent so much time on a place for your little one to be close to you. I’m sure he will really appreciate it. Please give me updates on his recovery. I’m wishing you the very best.
Thanks Johnny
Marley has been home since Friday and he is doing so well. He spent the first night in the tent. Virtually no dripping from the stent because he is using the little box. He now has run of the house. He slept all day yesterday on the couch in the living room and slept with me in bed last night . He hasn’t been interested in eating so I have been holding his bowl inside the cone for him and then he’ll eat. I originally tried removing his cone while feeing him but he immediately went after his stitches, so it has to stay on.
Yesterday morning I was concerned about the way his stitches looked ,I thought maybe he had loosened some. My vet asked him if I could email her pictures . I did and she said everything looked great.
His incision looks amazing . No bruising or swelling …at least not yet. He was given a shot of a long term antibiotic before coming home. His only medication is Tripod which is topical cream that acts as an anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and pain. reliever .
He seems comfortable and does sleep a lot ( so what else is new).Surprised he is tolerating the cone as well as he is. I can’t wait for it to come off.
Tomorrow we have a vet appointment to remove the stent. His stitches are supposed to come out in 2 weeks.
So exciting! I’m so happy for you Nina. I hope his recovery keeps going smoothly. And I’m glad your vet lets you e-mail her pictures. That’s such a helpful resource.
My Jaspurr is on his 3rd day of recovery from PU surgery. I did the same thing with my pet tent!!!!! I have slept in there with him at night and when he gets restless I crawl in and pet him. 😁😁
Aww that’s so sweet! I did the same to be honest. Didn’t even care that it smelled like pee!
Hi, Thanks you very much for sharing your experience with Beau’s recovery. One of mine Jesse, just had cystotomy surgery. This is his first evening back home and all he ants to do is seek out the other cats and get lots of loving. I am keeping them separated for now. I think the “cone of shame” frightens them a bit.
Regarding the litter, I don’t get that litter when I am, but was wondering if you think shredded paper would work ok. It’s either that or the clay litter which I really don’t want to use.
Thanks again for sharing. Hoping my Jesse recovers as well as Beau did. 🙂
Hey Kay,
So happy to hear Jesse is out of surgery and I’d love to be informed about his recovery! Wishing him a very speedy one. Agreed, definitely keep your little ones away from him for a while, they may want to lick at him or console him and the first day he will be in much less pain than the days that follow (unfortunately.)
Shredded paper should be fine, but I would definitely see if Jesse takes up to it. I know Beau was wetting himself for days before he started to use the litter box again. When he did, he actually stopped using litter altogether (we currently have 5 litter boxes in our house, because why not… and sometimes he will use the empty one, just because!)
Anything you can do to stay away from clay litter!! Does your vet not have any paper-based litter?
No problem for sharing, I really hope Beau’s recovery helps you with Jesse’s! <3
Hi Johnny,
Thanks for your response and encouragement.
So far, all has been going well. His energy level is amazing. I thought he was going to be subdued but apart from the cone, you can’t tell that he just had surgery. The first 2 days he peed small amounts quite frequently but now it seems to be at longer intervals. He pooped this morning (day 4) so very happy for that. 🙂
His appetite is slowly picking back up and I do syringe feed him a little just before his pain and antibiotic meds. I am now letting him walk around the house. I have 3 other cats, including his brother. The other 2 are just kind of curious and sniff his nose but his brother hisses at him. Go figure. I am sure there will be some payback when he is fully recovered. Ha!
He used the shredded paper litter but I could tell he was not comfortable in it. Yesterday he used the regular clay litter (which I know is not the best thing) but It’s all that’s available here unfortunately.
Thank you again for sharing your story with Beau. It has continued to give me hope that all will be well.
Kay
Kay,
Absolutely no worries. It’s what I hope to be here for! Very glad to hear that everything is going well so far with Jesse! Also, so glad to hear that he has higher energy levels in general! That was honestly one of the scariest parts for me with Beau. He was the kitty who didn’t want to move at all for days. But the good news is… he’s more active than ever now and it was all very worth it!
Glad to hear he used the shredded paper, but sorry to hear he wasn’t so comfortable in it. Make sure to check up on his incisions when he uses the litter. That’s the only thing you can do at this point. You can probably clean him with a dry paper towel as long as you don’t use too much pressure (if litter gets stuck!)
No problem again! Always here !
Thank you for your detailed account. Our cat is currently in surgery, and I plan to implement some of your recovery strategies into our plan!
Ellen, no worries! I hope some of my article will help you out! Always feel free to reach out and know you’re not in this alone. Your little one is in my thoughts <3
I know the joy of a kitty who isn’t feeling well joining you on the bed. Sending purrs of healing and comfort to you both
Thank you Connie <3
hello beau its dennis the vizsla dog oh hay wow that sownds like a ruff week for everywun both yoo and yore hyoomans!!! i am glad that yoo ar feeling better now and am sending yoo lots of vizsla tail wags for yore rekuveree to kontinyoo!!! and the hipster kitties send purrs!!! ok bye
THannnkkkyewww Deniis! 😀
Poor Beau ! You and him are so brave going through this ! We’re glad to hear that Beau is recovering well, and we send him tons of healing purrs. Purrs
Thank you Swiss cats, so much <3
Beau’s a tough little dude! I can’t even imagine how stressful this is for all of you. I’m a wreck over something as routine as a dental. But I was inconsolable when Bear had a tumor removed almost three years ago. We hope Beau’s back to his glorious self soon.
Thank you, we hope he recovers 100% too. It is really stressful and I don’t think I could have imagined how crazy this could all be. But I’m so grateful and I think Beau is too (as he’s sitting in my arms purring right now.)
Wow. You all went through the proverbial wringer washer! Esp little Beau!
G;ad he is on the mend now and we sure do hope he says well…and happy for a long long time.
Sending purrs and hugs and some doggy wags, too.
None of our kitties have had surgeries other than spay/neuter or cleaning teeth, but petcretary and pawppy have had more than their share of major ones…and yes there are no textbook cases, each creature/peep is unique and we are glad you were able to find an empathetic and knowledgeable vet.
We had to change vets too, when our Minko was so sick…the original one thought petcretary was crazy to hand feed him…sheesh, these furs are our kids and we love them. So with the new vet and good support he did pretty good for three years till he had a stroke past June:(
No vet or the strongest love could help that…sob…
Agreed. I’m so glad we found our vet and I’m really hoping that we continue this amazing relationship we’ve built. I’m actually really nervous to move in case we never find a vet as great as her, but that’s just worries.
Whoa! Chizzy had one of those surgeries to enlarge his urethea. That was back before the internet and we didn’t know anything. He was very ill after surgery. When he came home he started going on the box and peeing a little every two minutes. We figured since no one told us anything that his kidneys were shot and helped him to the RB. He went through so much. I’m glad his vet told you what to expect. I don’t even think Chizzy’s vet knew what to expect as the surgery was new. Healing purrz for the rest of Beau’s recovery.
I’m so sorry to hear about Chizzy’s experience. This makes me so sad. I’m so grateful for our vet, and for all the support we’ve been getting through the internet. I’m extremely attached to Beau and could never imagine helping him over the RB. Honestly, one of the emergency vets brought up the RB and said it might have to be an option for him, but we chose to go to another vet for a different opinion who really helped us out with Beau and gave us more options.
I really hope that now with the internet, with more experienced vets & with more resources no one will have to make RB calls unless they know 100% it’s time.
Sending you so much love right now.
Glad to hear that Beau is on the mend and we pray he stays well!!!!! My what an experience!
It’s been crazy in our house since day one, but we’re so glad he’s been so stable.
Any time a kitty needs surgery, we can’t help but worry. I am glad it went well and Beau is recovering.
We’re glad too! This is actually the first time any of my little ones go through surgery… So it’s been a very scary process!
We’re purring that Beau makes a quick and full recovery. No surgery is easy.
thank you Island cats <3
Glad Beau is recovering well and continued POTP.
Thank you Lee & Phod! We’re hoping that it continues to go by smoothly!