Ashley's Vet Appt is Tonight - Back from vets - still spraying

[Anikaca77]

Ashley has been battling with peeing/spraying outside the litter box now for a long time as you will see in this thread that gives you some more insight on the situation I've been dealing with.

http://www.petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=149072

I noticed about a week or so ago my husband told me that there was pee in the tub and I thought maybe it was Claudia peeing outside the box and having problems with crystals. So last Monday night there was pee in the tub again and I got a sample of the pee and took it to the vets Tuesday morning to have it tested. The vet called back and said there were alot of crystals in the pee and I needed to figured out who was pee that was.

I figured it was probably Claudia because of this history with her doing it in the kitchen and Ashley's been more of the sprayer in the house but according to the test they did Claudia's peed showed a few crystals but not a lot, not as much as the first test did.

I got Ashley to finally pee yesterday and she did it in the tub and I called the vets this morning and they said it looked like we had a match.

They might send her pee away but I have to wait to hear back from the vet and ask her a couple of questions.

I kinda wonder if this whole time that Ashley's been spraying is because she has crystals but yet back in Feb. 09, I took a sample of pee from Ashley right as she was using the litter box and they said she didn't have anything so can you have crystals in one sample and then the next sample their could be no crystals?

I'm going to ask the vet this but I'm confused as to why Ashley has them now and she didn't have any back in Feb. or maybe she did and their test they did wasn't good enough to test it.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Melissa

[Anikaca77]

I just spoke with the vet finally and they said Ashley's pH was 7 and she has struvite and oxalate crystals but she said their really isn't a reason to tell why she is getting them now, when she didn't have anything back in Dec. 08.

Since Dec. we brought Ozzy into the house but he never messes with Ashley and the kitten really doesn't seem to bother her as far as we see.

I scheduled a vet appt. to have Ashley come in and get a recheck done to see what her weight is and see what we can do for her.

Claudia has some crystals in her pee but they are nothing like Ashley's and Ashley's been peeing in the tub, kitchen, and other places.

The vet recommended we switch everyone to this C/D food since everyone can eat it and that way we don't have to do separate feedings but our one cat Hermes is very sensistive so I'm not sure if his tummy will agree with this or if I should just do can food for both cats.

I will let everyone know how Thursday's appt turns out.

Melissa

[Prairie Purrs]

Best wishes for Ashley!

Gatsby's been eating the s/d dry food and the c/d canned, and his pH is much better. I hope the change in diet helps Ashley as well.

[catmandu]

Thats sadly a sign that something is amiss 3when the litter box is missed by Cats who are normally clean. We are praying for Ashley that its nothing serious, and she will be well soon!!
:love::love:

[columbine]

Would you consider getting a cat drinking fountain? Sometimes cats get crystals when they don't drink enough water, and many cats prefer to drink running water. It's good to get a rubber or plastic mat to put under the fountain, as many cats enjoy playing in running water as well!

Another thing you can do is serve them canned food with extra water mixed in. Smudge also gets a supplement called Cosequin mixed into his "salmon mousse" that strengthens the lining of the bladder, and is helpful no matter what kind of crystals a cat is contending with.

Love, Columbine

[Anikaca77]

Hi Columbine-

Actually the very weird thing is that Ashley drinks a lot of water. I see her a lot drinking from the water bowls and she begs for water out of the faucet and we give it to her when the bathroom is free.

The vet said about giving her can food because of the water and I told the vet that she is always drinking, she's been like this though for a while and I think it's just something she likes to do but we had her blood tested 6 months ago back in Dec. 08 and it was fine and showed nothing just like her urine so I'm not sure what's going on now.

I really hope it's not stress causing this problem. I'm worried that maybe she's upset with us for bringing in more cats into our house and she acting out this way. I'm not sure.

When Ashley was put on the valium earlier this year she was hanging out with us in the living room which normally she didn't do and she just seemed happier and recently she has been hiding under the bed sometimes now and peeing in the kitchen and bathroom and I just feel so bad for her. I really hope that this isn't from stress and that we will be able to make her feel better again.

Just needed to vent a bit I guess.

Melissa



Would you consider getting a cat drinking fountain? Sometimes cats get crystals when they don't drink enough water, and many cats prefer to drink running water. It's good to get a rubber or plastic mat to put under the fountain, as many cats enjoy playing in running water as well!

Another thing you can do is serve them canned food with extra water mixed in. Smudge also gets a supplement called Cosequin mixed into his "salmon mousse" that strengthens the lining of the bladder, and is helpful no matter what kind of crystals a cat is contending with.

Love, Columbine

[columbine]

Wow. That's a brainbuster, all right. Usually I think of "pain peeing" from crystals as a totally different situation from "stress peeing," and I've never heard of a cat having both kinds of crystals at once. That's truly weird - it makes me wonder whether there might have been two different cats' pee in the sample.

At least it sounds like the valium helped her, so maybe she's able to pee but holding it out of nervousness? Do the other cats attack or watch her in the litterbox?

Anyway, another thing that helps with stress is Feliway, a sort of "kitty incense" that mimics their "this is a safe place" facial scent hormone. And since there are indeed crystals involved, it might be worth asking the vet whether Cosequin (a supplement to strengthen the lining of the bladder/urethra) might help.

Please keep us posted!

Love, Columbine

[phesina]

Prayers and love for Ashley.

And a candle: http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l=eng&cid=9086141

[Medusa]

Valium should've helped w/the inappropriate spraying. If you didn't wean her off it but just stopped the medication, that's probably why she's hiding under the bed. I sure hope she feels better soon, poor girl.

[Anikaca77]

Hi Columbine-

I've never heard of a cat having both crystals, I could be incorrect maybe but I'm pretty sure that's what the vet told me. I sorta feel maybe I should try to get another pee sample from her just to have one re-tested just to make sure and have them send it away to lab just to make sure our vet isn't missing anything.

We had Ashley confined in the bathroom so no other cats were able to pee in the same spot that Ashley did and I took her sample as soon as I saw it in the bathroom.

She held herself for about 6 hours, I put her in the bathroom at 1 p.m. on Sunday and she finally peed right before 7 p.m. and I went into get the sample and left her out of the bathroom. So I wonder if she has the crystals when she's holding herself this long and not any other time.

The valium does help her occassionaly but she still is going outside the box and I don't know if this is from the crystals or not. I just wonder if she has been having crystals and they didn't catch it this earlier this year or not.

I don't think she is holding herself either because she does use the litter box. I know sometimes our 3 boys are just full of agression at times and just chase her and I don't know if they do this because she growls at them or not.

I've tried Feliway and it didn't help her at all. I've also tried some herbal things that didn't work.

Thanks,
Melissa



Wow. That's a brainbuster, all right. Usually I think of "pain peeing" from crystals as a totally different situation from "stress peeing," and I've never heard of a cat having both kinds of crystals at once. That's truly weird - it makes me wonder whether there might have been two different cats' pee in the sample.

At least it sounds like the valium helped her, so maybe she's able to pee but holding it out of nervousness? Do the other cats attack or watch her in the litterbox?

Anyway, another thing that helps with stress is Feliway, a sort of "kitty incense" that mimics their "this is a safe place" facial scent hormone. And since there are indeed crystals involved, it might be worth asking the vet whether Cosequin (a supplement to strengthen the lining of the bladder/urethra) might help.

Please keep us posted!

Love, Columbine

[Anikaca77]

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. Ashley has a vet appt. to get a re-check since finding crystals in her pee and I'll be able to find out exactly what she said Ashley has in her pee.

Melissa

[Anikaca77]

Hi All-

Sorry it's been pretty crazy around my place. Ashley does have both types of crystals, more struvite crystals the the oxalate ones but she did have both.

The plan for right now is to take Ashley off the valium since I was only giving it to her once a day now and to feed all the cats Hill's Prescription food C/D multiformula.

For a 20 lb. bag the cost is $56.19 w/tax it's $59.56, they do accept coupons, which I printed one off from Hill's website (they have a $5 coupon :) ) and the grand total for just a 20 lb bag is $54.56

I wish I could find a tad cheaper cat food for everyone but I will do what I have to do. Claudia needs the cat food as well, since she still has a few crystals but it's not as bad as Ashleys. I bought a 4 lb bag just to try everyone out on it and everyone seems ok with it but man $60 each time is a lot of $$ when I was used to spending $32.85 for a 15 lb. bag which we just recently switched everyone to, to help slow down vet bills.

I had a luggage bag sitting out yesterday and Ashley peed on my bag and I got it at a yard sale a few years ago so I just tossed it out. I've been trying to keep Ashley in the bedroom with 2 other cats (the 2 she likes) and keeping the 3 boys who tend to harass her out in the living room/dining room and kitchen area and it's hard to keep doing that but if it helps her out I guess it's worth it.

I'm hoping she doesn't continue to spray more and more. She seems very happy when she's in the bedroom without the boy cats that harass her.

I just have to keep an eye on her and hopefully she stops, if she doesn't stop the peeing/spraying she'll have to have an ultrasound done to see if she has a bladder stone.

Please say a pray that things turn out well.

Melissa

[Pinot's Mom]

Prayers from MD - come on Ashley, you can work this out, honey! :love:

Maggie and Pinot-girl

[katladyd]

I'm not a vet, but my Ming gets crystals (badly) from stress. He is on meds, but the Purina One for Urinary Tract Health has worked better for him than either the W/D, C/D, or S/D did for him. A plus is both me cats can eat it.

[Catty1]

If your experience is like mine, you will find that your kitties may actually eat less of the food...and when you think of the extra vet visits it might prevent, it becomes pretty cost-effective!

Best of luck with this...did the ver say how many days it might take for the food to begin dissolving the crystals?

With Oscar, the crystals were gone in a week...but then, he had just a few.

Prayers that all works out!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I hope that the new food will help both of your cats and that everyone will continue to like the taste of it. Hopefully the spraying will stop quickly too. Good luck.:)

[Anikaca77]

I asked the vet on Wed. when I had Apollo in there and she said wait about a month, unless I notice she's not doing well. This past Wed. she peed on the bathroom floor so for right now Ashley and a few of her other female step-sisters are chilling out in our one bedroom that has the bathroom attached to it and the other boys with maybe 1 or 2 girls are out in our living room/dining and kitchen area. The two boy cats just harass Ashley from time to time and I'm trying to keep her as calm as we can for now. She seems to be very happy with this new living arrangement so we will probably keep it up.

It's hard though because living in a one bedroom place it's hard to cut off space like this but it's what's best for her for now.

Thanks,
Melissa




If your experience is like mine, you will find that your kitties may actually eat less of the food...and when you think of the extra vet visits it might prevent, it becomes pretty cost-effective!

Best of luck with this...did the ver say how many days it might take for the food to begin dissolving the crystals?

With Oscar, the crystals were gone in a week...but then, he had just a few.

Prayers that all works out!