Hi I hope this is okay to post here I’m just really looking for reassurance. Photo is my baby Wirt. Last night we noticed our 1 1/2 year old black cat wasn’t able to pee after being in the litter box for 10 mins back to back. We took him straight to the emergency vet and has Flutd and Struvite crystals. The vet said we got in just in time and felt okay to send him home since he wasn’t blocking, we got bunch of medicine and a new strict diet plan. So far he went to the litter box twice, first time it took 3 mins and he was able to pee a little bit and the 2nd time it took a min and produced a little more pee. He’s also acting like his old self again, being very sweet and playful. The thing is that I’m trying to keep my expectations in check as what I read online he can still block. If that happens we will have to make the decision to put him to sleep since we cannot afford a 7k hospital visit. But we’re also feeling optimistic because he’s peeing and being his old self. If anyone has experience with this, is this a good sign that he will be able to recover or should I still keep my expectations in check? Much appreciated thank you
Great of you to notice this, and that you went to the vet - you already know you saved Wirt’s life.
My understanding is that dry food is not really ideal for cats. In the wild, these small carnivores, eat small prey and get the liquids they need from their food. This is why where I live, people say that cats don’t drink water. The simple urinary dry food, makes them drink more, so by peeing more the crystals don’t get formed. The medicinal food for struvite, on top of that it has also has something that dilutes the crystals.
The water fountain you got sounds like a great idea. Since you have more than one cats and if you don’t live in a tiny studio apartment, please conciser having - if you have for example 2 cats:
Currently I have only one cat and he had the same issue twice during the summertime. Both times he had to do a procedure with full anesthesia. Since he can go out almost whenever he wants and during summer whenever he wants, and because we live in a neighborhood that we feed the strays, during summer he was also eating low quality dry food. This is -most probably- why he had the second, perhaps even the first incidents. Something that worked in our case was the following: during winter he eats the simple urinary and during summer the medicinal for struvite. Several years have passed since the last incident, but it’s true that during summer I am super alert.
Of course double-check what I say with your vet, and if you are told something different, please let me know!