Newt Goes to the Vet

Poor Newt, he has been having some issues lately.  A few weeks ago I noticed he was going to his littler box very frequently.  I also noticed, that he was trying to pee, but very little was actually coming out.  He was eating and drinking well, and did not see to be in any distress.  But, he kept making trips to his toilet.  Dirk came home early that night and brought him straight to the Vet.

We are very fortunate, Cheyenne is doing her professional training at the local Vet’s office.  So, Newt was in very good hands.  He was given some injections, and started on an antibiotic. We also started him on a special diet for his urinary health. Within a few days, all was back to normal.  Happy kitty once again.

Newt isn’t a huge fan of the new food, so we mixed it half and half with his regular food.  He found this to be to his taste and gobbled it up each day.

Fast forward to this week.  He started visiting the cat box multiple times again, and again he was only peeing little drops.  We brought him back straight away.  This time he needed to have a catheter placed, and he was found to be in some renal failure.  The vet started and IV and he was given a fluid bolus.  Poor Newt had to spend the night at the Vet’s office.

Today he is back home, he still has the catheter in place.  He is NOT a happy kitty.  He has to stay in the bathroom to avoid getting cat pee all over the house.  Luckily for me, our bathroom is all tile, so it will be easy to clean up once the catheter come out.

What have we learned?  Newt has what is called FLUTD, or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease.  He will need to eat a special diet for the rest of his life.  (No mixing his food with his favourites any more).  For some reason, his urine is not the correct PH level and this leads to the formation of crystals.  These crystals can block the urine flow out of his bladder, causing pain and can lead to renal failure if not treated urgently.    This condition is most often found in male, desexed cats that are of middle age, over weight, live indoors and eat dry cat food.  But, it can affect any cat regardless.  Newt is just over a year old, and not over weight.  He is desexed, lives indoors and loves his kitty kibbles.

He is less than thrilled today, but is making plenty of urine.  I won’t share of picture of him in his cone, wouldn’t want to embarrass him.  So, here is a picture from before he was fitted with the cone of shame.

He is scheduled to go back to the Vet tomorrow morning to have the catheter removed.  Hopefully with the antibiotics and change in diet, he will be back on the road to good health.

Anyone have a cat that has had FLUTD?  How did they (and you) tolerate the treatments?  I know it has been breaking my heart to hear him crying.  He wants that catheter out!  And he wants that cone off!