UTIs and elevated kidney levels in cats

Tnyc wrote: I have no clue what the surgery would cost today. I paid $1200 for it in 1989. That was for the surgery alone, not the prior hospitalizations, which was a lot of money at that time. People thought I was totally nuts. My 11 y/o, whose kidneys shut down this past November, had vet bills amounting to $4000 for his two episodes three months apart.
I hope all turns out well.

Holy crap! that is what this hospitalization with IVs, catheters, etc. is costing us. if they wanted to do that too, and considering that is what you paid 20 years ago (so, it must be double that now!)-there is no way that would be affordable!

thanks for the good thoughts everyone, I just pray the kidney levels come down tomorrow!

Thanks again Tnyc (and everyone else), for all the info! Here it is almost midnight and I am sitting on the computer trying to read up on elevated kidney levels and the like. I am glad to know though that even if, God forbid, his levels don't come down by tomorrow, that there are options other than surgery and death for him. all I have been worrying about is the idea that, God forbid, the levels don't come down and the only option would be ridiculously expensive surgery or death. Glad to hear that is not the case.

We went to visit him tonight, me and my children. He looked so much better than he did yesterday! And the urine line coming out of him while still tinged with blood was so much better than yesterday where everything coming out of him was pure blood. He even licked and playfully bit my oldest, whom he adores! I hate to get my hopes up too much though, he did look good.

thanks again for everything and I will update tomorrow, please keep those good thoughts coming.

OOh! that is a good idea Tnyc! We have done urine cultures on him but only at his once per year check ups. Maybe they do need to be done more often-that is a very good idea.

i won't know anything until this afternoon-I am going to call the vet around 1 pm (if they haven't called me by then) to see if they have results.

Stupid internet been down all evening.

Anyway, great news!! spoke to the vet earlier today (BTW, we go to Park Slope Veterinary on 5th Avenue, have been going to them for 6 years now), and his levels came down a lot! His BUN on Sunday was 218 and now is 118 and his creatinine was 15.8 on Sunday and is now 5.1!

So, he is doing good and while his levels still aren't at normal, they are going in the right direction! We went to see him again tonight and he was so much better even from yesterday, he even tried to roll over on his back for my oldest to rub his belly. But, with the cone collar and tubes, he wasn't able to. But, definitely perkier and more himself today.

They are going to pull the catheter either tonight or tomorrow and then keep him there for 24 hours after the catheter is pulled just to make sure he doesn't re-block. When they send him home, he will have 2 or 3 different meds to take and they are going to change his food from the Science Diet CD to another prescription food, not sure which yet.

Thanks for all the good thoughts everyone, keep them coming!

sweet tea wrote: is he getting the UTIs because of crystals in his urine? our cat has that, though he's not gotten quite as sick as yours either time he's been near-blocked (knock wood).

what's helped us is 1) low magnesium wet food and 2) this powder we put on his food to change the pH of his urine so the crystals don't form. both times he's been sick, we've also ended up (after trips to the vet and prescriptions for muscle relaxants and antibiotics) squirting water in his mouth with needleless syringes.

if this is a crystal thing, talk to your vet about the powder -- they make both pH+ and pH- versions, depending on what kind of crystals are involved. i'm convinced it makes a big difference. we put him on it after the first attack, and the second attack only happened when we had (long story) lowered his dose. and he's happy to eat it, since it's mostly beef powder and catnip.

they say no crystals in the urine, and I know for a fact there were no crystals last time. i believe last time they said his urine was 'sandy", but no crystals. this time, definitely no crystals. i wonder if that powder would help him anyway?

I just printed out the page with supplement on it, going to show it to my vet and see what they think. thanks

OK, new problem! They still haven't taken the catheter out because his bladder is not contracting on it's own. They say if they give his bladder even a little squeeze, he pees. But, it is not doing it itself. So, they are leaving the catheter in and are giving him some meds (I can't remember the name, I was out on the street with screaming children when the vet called yesterday), that will help his bladder contract on it's own. Once that starts happening, then they will pull the catheter and then once again wait 24 hours to make sure he doesn't re-block and then he can come home with a bunch of meds to take.

They are now saying he most likely will not be home until Friday or Saturday. The blood in his urine is 99% gone, when we went last night to see him, it looked like pure urine and he once again looked even better than the day before.

I also spoke to the doctor about doing periodic urinalysis on him to try to combat this happening again in the future (thanks for that idea!). Figure if he gets tested every couple of months, they could see if something is coming and we can be pro-active and maybe nip it in the bud before it becomes a big traumatic event like this again.

The vet thought that was a great idea, so, from now on, I will be taking a urine sample to the vet every 2 months or so to be tested. I also think he needs to eat wet food, which he really doesn't like! I am going to have some hard time getting him to eat wet, but, i am going to try.

I also think my cat is just predisposed to this stuff! I have had male cats my entire life (the cat we had before him lived to be 14), and this is the first cat I have ever had who had this problem!

He ADORES chicken! the one pleasure there has been this last week with him being gone is being able to eat a piece of chicken in peace-LOL!

homeowner wrote: LTS, glad to hear things are looking up. My cats are pretty finiky, but they do like the Max Cat gourmet wet foods. They come in flavors like Veal Pate, Seafood & Tomato Bisque, Savory Hunter's Stew with Venison, and Beef Ragot. They come in small single serving cans, so you can try it out without breaking the bank.

thanks for the tips, but, he wouldn't be allowed to eat those foods. He is going to have to continue being on prescription food that supposedly helps with UTIs, they are just going to switch him to something other than the Science Diet CD he has been eating for 4 years (which obviously didn't help him one fucking bit!!!)

Well, I once tried wet food, and honestly, the cat did not eat for 2 days. Dead serious, it just sat there for 2 freaking days! i finally got fed up and put his dry food out, and, yep, he gulped it down. I remember I kept saying to hubby, well, he is gonna eat it eventually, if I don't give him anything else. nope, not my darn cat, 2 freaking days!!!

The vet did call me a little while ago to tell me that yeah! the meds were working and the bladder was now contracting by itself! the vet said this was the first time since my cat has been there that he had an actual empty bladder! Woohoo! Vet said that was very good news! They are going to pull the catheter tomorrow morning and if all goes well, he will be home on Saturday evening!

As for the kidney enzymes coming down more, i totally forgot to ask! they had said the other day that if he was still there Thursday, they would do another kidney level work up on me. the vet didn't mention anything to me about it and until just a minute ago, I forgot about it myself. I will ask when I go to visit him tonight.