Lily going to have bladder surgery on Tuesday (Update: Back home from surgery! #20)

[Kirsten]

Those who are on Facebook may already know that Lily and I have been through some really rough weeks! I've posted before here on PT that she was having an episode of spraying in February when she suddenly started spraying like a male. This, however, improved after a while and aside from occasial spraying incidents which I thought were behavioral, she seems to be fine.

Then, by the mid of August, she took a turn to the worse. At the vet's, she got a treatment for bladder infection, but there was no improvement. At that point, I thought it might be a jealousy issue because the first spots she was spraying were the places were Luna loved to be. After a while, she sprayed everything in "my" room (the place were I'm sleeping, resting and where my computer table is). She was spraying walls, furniture, curtains, heaters, my bed, even the kitty bed - the situation was quickly getting out of control. After a while, she started spraying outside this room also: more furniture, doors, the dvd player, the stereo, my router ... my entire place is a mess now! Also, her behavior has totally changed over the past weeks: my formerly relaxed, confident kitty appeared to be unhappy, nervous, even in pain.

Of course more vet visits were in order; last Monday, I insisted on an ultrasound. My vet did so, and we saw something in her bladder that looked like a stone. I was almost relieved! Next, we took an x-ray shot - and no stone was to be seen! Her urine was checked for crystals - nothing. No hemoglobin, but a few leucocytes.

My vet suggested pain meds to find out if that would change her behavior. Started this week and noticed a change, she seems to be more relaxed and I haven't seen her spraying over the past few days; instead, she started wetting her kitty bed at night, where she was sleeping which I thought was most alarming.

Today, I saw her going to the litterbox twice, without peeing. Thinking of a urethra blockage, I brought her back to the vet this afternoon. Another ultrasound was made, and we saw that "thing" again. It's inside her bladder, it can't be moved, and it doesn't cast a shadow like stones do. So, it may be a tumor. :( Whatever it is, this thing needs to be taken care of, and I hope it can be removed (Besides, she's not blocked, she peed when we came home from the vet).

Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning, and I really hope she'll be fine! Apart from the recent issues, Lily has always been healthy, she's in a good condition, so I hope she will soon recover from this. And I sure hope it's no cancer! At this point, I'm almost glad that there's something that can be done.

The vet bills ... oh my! Needless to say, considering that I'm on disability pension, this entire thing will ruin me financially. But it's for my girl ... :love:

I really, really hope she'll cope well with the surgery and will feel better when she recovered. And - the most important thing - that it's no cancer!

[Karen]

You and she will be in our prayers!

[kaycountrygal]

I'm sorry to hear about Lily's health and the need for an operation. Of course you will do what has to be done to hopefully help her; I understand. Now let's hope and pray that the vet can remove whatever and that she will be alright. Poor cat must have been in quite a bit of discomfort. She's a beautiful girl. Good for you for persisting until your vet found the problem. You're both in my prayers... Kay in NC

[pomtzu]

Good wishes and positive vibes being sent out to both you and Lily. Think positive!!!! :love:

[Catty1]

Prayers for Lily and for you!

I'm sure she will feel much better with that nasty thing removed!

I just wonder...would your vet be open to you doing some volunteer work in exchange for some of the cost? Or maybe the vet and staff have pets that they want gorgeous photos of?

Hugs and good luck!:love:

[Queen of Poop]

Prayers for you and Lily. Diego sends sympathy purrrs. He had a bladder stone removed a few years ago.

[Asiel]

I'm so very sorry to hear about Lily Kirsten. Sending prayers and good wishes for her speedy recovery and hopefully it won't be a serious issue when they remove whatever is in there.
Think positive thoughts, good luck...keep us posted.

[Pinot's Mom]

Prayers!

[cassiesmom]

Big big prayers for Lily, Luna and you, Kirsten.

[Randi]

Oh Kirsten, I'm so sorry. :( I really hope that the removal of whatever it is will solve her problem, it's apparently painful for her.

I think Candace's idea of offering help with photos, or other things is good idea to help pay for the vet bill. I know it's not much you get on disability or pension. I do a bit of cat-sitting myself for a small fee, which helps me survive, perhaps you could do that, too.

You're in my thoughts and I'm sending positive wishes for Lily and hope her operation will be successful. :love:

((((hugs))))

[momcat]

Kirsten, I'm so sorry to hear that Lily hasn't been feeling well. More than anything, I hope her surgery goes well and the problem will be resolved. Please give her some comforting feel better lovies from me? And please let us know how things work out?

[phesina]

Oh, dearest Lily, and Kirsten and Luna, you have all our prayers and good wishes and love coming along, that the surgeon gets to the bottom of all this and is able to take care of it.

Thank you so much for going that extra mile, at the very least, to help darling Lily. She must be hurting and having such a hard time.

I think that is a fine idea, too, to offer your excellent photographic skills as at least some payment.

God bless you all,

Love from Pat and cats (all of us) :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Kirsten]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and for keeping Lily in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm really devastated tonight. I was doing some research on bladder tumors earlier today, and the prognosis is NOT good. Maybe the tumor (if it is a tumor, but after all that I've read, I'm pretty sure it is) is too widespread to be removed from her bladder, maybe it has spread to other organs ... Oh, why didn't I insist on an ultrasound when she first started spraying in February?

Losing Lily is a horrible thought; I have always thought that she would still be with me long after Luna had gone. With Luna's health being declining, I was beginning to prepare for the day she's no longer with me, but now it's Lily ... Lily, who has never been sick in her entire life!


As for making some additional money: I'm not allowed to as my pension is so low that I need additional welfare, and the welfare agency would take every single extra cent I'd make.

[Karen]

As for making some additional money: I'm not allowed to as my pension is so low that I need additional welfare, and the welfare agency would take every single extra cent I'd make.

Hmm, maybe you and I could do a book together, and any profits we split, your portion could go into a separate account in Lily's name instead yours? In Switzerland maybe?

[Freedom]

I'd seen much of this on FB, up to the meds. Glad to hear those helped as that was a clue to what was going on.

Prayers from here for Lily to do well Tuesday, for what ever it is to be removed, with clear margins.

I agree with trying to volunteer with the vet to help pay off the bill. Then the welfare need never know.

[phesina]

Praying for Lily and you, dear Kirsten.

You have been doing everything you possibly can all along, and you didn't know then what you know now. Please don't torment yourself with "I should have done..."

God bless, and love to you and Lily and Luna.

Pat and all the cats :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Snowflakes]

Our prayers Kirsten and to Lily: Be well girl, we're all praying you get back to health!:love::love::love:

[catmandu]

I am so sorry that I missed this Kirsten.
All of us at the Found Cat Hotel are sending our prayers for Dear Luna, that she will be with you and Lily again soon.:love::love::love:

[katladyd]

Kirsten, I could have sworn I posted on here yesterday, but I don't see my post anywhere. Oh the joys of growing older. :) Anyway, I am praying for Lily to make a complete recovery. Let the money issue take care of itself. Once they have done the surgery they can't exactly take it back, can they? I once tried to use the "can I volunteer my time to help pay this?" on my vet and I got a resoundind "NO". So, I have a huge vet bill that I pay on when I have some extra money, which isn't that often. What can they do? So far, as long as some money comes in once every month or two they are satisfied.

[Kirsten]

Thank you everyone for your advice and support, and for keeping my Lily in your thoughts. Means a lot!

Lily had her surgery this morning. My vet picked her up at my home at 8:15 a.m. (my car broke last week and hasn't been fixed yet) after a rough night (Lily wasn't allowed to eat after 6 p.m. yesterday and was hungry, and Luna was confused about the fact she had been fed separately). I was staying at home with Luna.
Around 10:15 a.m., my vet called to tell me the surgery was done. The good news (in fact, awesome news as I didn't expect this!) - no tumor in her bladder! The bad news: there was nothing in her bladder that looked as if it could be responsible for her problems, so we still don't know what's bothering her. Last week, I have started a treatment with a pain med called Melosus, and she responded well to it, was more relaxed and - as far as I can tell - hasn't peed outside her litterbox, so it seems her spraying was caused by pain.
What's strange: We definitely saw something inside her bladder in the ultrasounds she had on Monday and Thursday last week, and it looked like a tumor. My vet said when she had opened her belly today, her bladder looked from outside as if there was something in it, but when she opened it, there was nothing. She took biopsies from the bladder tissue and now we have to wait for the result. Could be that there was some kind of inflammation that has healed in the meantime as a result from the Melosus treatment. The entire thing is a little strange - and makes me feel a little bad 'cause we've put her through that surgery without finding anything. On the other hand, it would have been worse if they'd found a tumor!

I got Lily back this afternoon, and she's miserable and upset. She will spend the night separated from Luna, I've made a "sick room" for her with many blankets and spots to hide. When I enter the room, she'd be hissing and growling at me, that's how miserable she is (and still under the influence of the anaesthesia, judging from the way her eyes look like), but I was able to calm her down, so she came over and gave me some - pretty wobbly - headbumpies. She also ate a little, an hour ago. If she keeps it down, I will offer her some more before I go to bed.

I hope she'll have a good night and will feel much better tomorrow. Oh, and btw, she already peed several times and used the litter box. I was surprised to see this was working so well, after all, her bladder has been opened, I don't even wanna imagine the pain and the discomfort! But it works, even though there's some blood in it (which is pretty normal due to the incision).

I will keep you updated!

[cassiesmom]

I'm just checking in for an update. I am so glad you're home! I hope you will all have a restful night. Sending positive thoughts! :love::love::love:

[Catty1]

Wonderful news! I saw this on Facebook too.

I wonder if - with the pain meds - that whatever was in her bladder managed to get peed out? If she wasn't in pain the urethra would be more relaxed. Remember she peed very little before you started the pain meds? Maybe the thing had moved and was blocking her - but came out with the meds.

Anyway, I am happy she came through so well, and is eating a bit. Is she on pain meds from her surgery too?

Hugs and cuddles to both girls!:):love::love:

[Karen]

but I was able to calm her down, so she came over and gave me some - pretty wobbly - headbumpies. She also ate a little, an hour ago. If she keeps it down, I will offer her some more before I go to bed.

I hope she'll have a good night and will feel much better tomorrow. Oh, and btw, she already peed several times and used the litter box. I was surprised to see this was working so well, after all, her bladder has been opened, I don't even wanna imagine the pain and the discomfort! But it works, even though there's some blood in it (which is pretty normal due to the incision).

I will keep you updated!

Aww, so glad there's no tumor. What great news, and hopefully she keeps feeling better and better, and she and Luna can forgive each other and life can get back to normal!

[Kirsten]

I'm just checking in for an update. I am so glad you're home! I hope you will all have a restful night. Sending positive thoughts! :love::love::love:

Thank you, I really hope so. I just went back to her to offer some more food, but she's hiding in a cave of the scratching post (none of the girls never used that one before) and refused to come out, and she was hissing and growling again, she sounded really mad. I'm worried about her!


Wonderful news! I saw this on Facebook too.

I wonder if - with the pain meds - that whatever was in her bladder managed to get peed out? If she wasn't in pain the urethra would be more relaxed. Remember she peed very little before you started the pain meds? Maybe the thing had moved and was blocking her - but came out with the meds.

Anyway, I am happy she came through so well, and is eating a bit. Is she on pain meds from her surgery too?

Hugs and cuddles to both girls!:):love::love:

Yes, she's still on pain meds.. That thing we saw in her bladder had the size of a thumbnail, so I seriously doubt it has passed her urethra. My vet said sometimes inflammated tissue looks like a tumor in the ultrasound, maybe it was something like that. I guess the biopsy result will tell.



Aww, so glad there's no tumor. What great news, and hopefully she keeps feeling better and better, and she and Luna can forgive each other and life can get back to normal!

I really hope our life can get back to normal but I'm afraid there will be a lot of aggression between Lily and Luna the next days due to the surgery. Lily is even hissing and growling at me because she feels weak and defenseless, and Lunas presence will make it even worse. Luna, on the other hand, is unusually relaxed without the "Naughty One" around, so she might be frustrated when Lily will be eventually released from "her" room. I hope they can work it out as things where a little better between Luna and Lily over the last couple of days (Luna responded in a positive way to the Feliway plugin and Lily to her Bach flower remedies). But as long as Lily is still feeling weak from the surgery, there'll be aggression - even towards me. :-(

[kaycountrygal]

I'm glad for Lily and you that her operation is over. Sure hope she continues to get better. I hope all of you have a restful night.

[phesina]

So glad there is no tumor! And it's good to know she's peeing in the box again.

May your recovery go smoothly and well, Lily dearest, and may life get back to normal for the three of you soon.

Love from Pat and cats :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[smokey the elder]

I wonder if she has interstitial cystitis, which is basically inflammation. I've seen several cats with this and they are often prescribed Cosequin, the same stuff for joints. It apparently has anti-inflammatory properties and have seen it work really well. It comes in a capsule that can be sprinkled on food.

[Kirsten]

Hmmm, interesting, haven't heard about interstitial cystitis before, but maybe it's something like that. Hope the biopsy will shed some light on that. Whatever it is, her pain med, Melosus (which has an anti-inflammatory effect also), seems to help.

Lily was spending a rough night. When I last looked for her in her room around midnight, trying to persuade her to eat (which she did eventually), she was still hissing and growling, and she was also hiding. The next time I entered her room, which was about 6 a.m., she was resting on of the blankets I put there, and when she saw me, she came and gave me headbumpies. I offered her some food and she ate, obviously hungry. 20 minutes later, she wanted to leave her "sick room", and so I released her. There was some hissing and growling between her and Luna, but not as bad as I expected.

She seems fine throughout the morning, much to my relief. But around noon, she had an accident! :( Obviously she tried to jump onto a high cabinet - and fell. I'm afraid it's my fault. :( To prevent her from jumping, I removed the scratching post next to cabinet which she usually used to jump onto the cabinet from there. Instead of that scratching post, she has obviously climbed a chair and tried to jump onto the cabinet from there. Even a healthy cat would never manage to do that, so I don't know what has gotten into her. She fell - and landed into her water bowl. I wasn't around when it happened (otherwise I would have prevented that), but heard the noise. I couldn'd find Lily, but I saw the mess with her water bowl and guessed what happened. And I couldn't find Lily; I searched my entire place and eventually found her behind the tv rack between the cables where she stayed for a long time. :( I panicked and called my vet at home (vet office is closed on Wednesday afternoon), asking her what happens if the incision in her bladder has opened. She said that in that case, urine would flow into her abdomen but she doesn't think this would happen so easily. She advised me to watch out for Lily peeing, and if she does, her bladder would still be intact.

However, it took a long time until Lily went potty again. And she was taking a rest in the strangest places, such as my shoe shelf, which I found most alarming as she never did something like that before. Eventually, around 7:30 p.m., she was peeing - but not much, and it was mixed with blood. Since I was worried, I called my vet again but since Lily was eating and walking around, she didn't think she was severely injured. She said that the two days following the surgery would be the hardest. So, I hope Lily will feel better tomorrow, but her fall this noon was as bad setback. And so far, she hasn't peed again, so I'm still a little worried ...

[cassiesmom]

A candle for Lily, Luna and meowmie:
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l=eng&cid=21493433

:love: :love: :love: :love:

[Karen]

Prayers for Lily, and for Luna and Kirsten, that everyone is having a peaceful night.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

I am so sorry for you all! Lots of prayers and lovies from me to you all!:love:

[phesina]

Prayers and good wishes and warm healing energies and hugs and purrs and lovies from us all,

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Kirsten]

Thank you for the candle, Elyse, and for your prayers everyone! :) She's doing a little better today, still peeing blood, but according to my vet, this is normal after such a surgery. She's sleeping a lot, but is slowly getting back to her old, affectionate self. :love:

Now I'm waiting for the biospy results ...

[Karen]

Thank you for the candle, Elyse, and for your prayers everyone! :) She's doing a little better today, still peeing blood, but according to my vet, this is normal after such a surgery. She's sleeping a lot, but is slowly getting back to her old, affectionate self. :love:

Now I'm waiting for the biospy results ...

Awww, sounds good! Glad she is getting back to her nice normal kitty self! Keep improving, Lily, we're pulling for you!

[Kirsten]

Awww, sounds good! Glad she is getting back to her nice normal kitty self! Keep improving, Lily, we're pulling for you!

Thank you. :)

She's still on pain meds, btw, and she loves them! :eek:

[Karen]

Thank you. :)

She's still on pain meds, btw, and she loves them! :eek: What a relief! So much better that way!

[phesina]

More prayers coming... :love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Kirsten]

Thank you, Pat! :)


Well, I got the biopsy results today: no tumor cells, but a lot of inflammation in her bladder tissue. So, it's feline idiopathic cystitis, according to my vet.

[cassiesmom]

Well, I got the biopsy results today: no tumor cells, but a lot of inflammation in her bladder tissue. So, it's feline idiopathic cystitis, according to my vet.

YAY for no tumor cells! :D What is the treatment for feline idiopathic cystitis? Lily kitty, I hope the pain medication is helping you greatly! XO XO XO :love: :love:

[phesina]

That's wonderful, no tumor cells! And the feline idiopathic cystitis can be treated, I trust?

More prayers and good wishes and healing energies are coming for you all!

I am having back surgery on Monday. I'm not sure how soon after I'll be back on line. But I am keeping all the good energies going.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[mrspunkysmom]

Good news. :love:

[Kirsten]

Yes, I'm so relieved there were no tumor cells! For a couple of days, I was sure I was going to lose her!! :eek:

As for the treatment: From what I've read, it's difficult to treat because an idiopathic cystistis does not respond to antibiotics (which would explain why the treatment she got in August wasn't working). So far, the Melosus (pain med) seems to help, it has an anti-anti-inflammatory effect as well. As this kind of cystitis is often stress-related, I'm also using a Feliway plugin. I also got Bach flower remedies individually composed for her jealousy issues. She loves them, btw. Look how she's drinking them right from the dropper: :)

http://www.catmom.de/2014/lily_bachflower.mp4



Pat, sending you best wishes for your surgery!! Hope you'll have a speedy recovery!!

[Catty1]

Oscar had this same kind of UTI - the cause was stress (Cole had arrived in my household lately). There were hardly any crystals, but blood in his urine! We got him cleared up and he was on a Feliway collar for a long time. I made one from a regular stretchy collar and would gently squirt Feliway into it twice a day.

It's been a few years now and all three are well without the collars or Feliway.

I am glad Lily will be with you for a long time yet! :D:love::love:

[smokey the elder]

I've had cats with this. Cosequin (glucosamine, chondroitin and maybe CoQ10)? supplements seem to work well.

[jenluckenbach]

best of luck with Lily's treatment. Hopefully if she can be kept pain free she'll be her old self again.

[Asiel]

So happy7 at the way things turned out for both you and Lily. I hope the two of you will have many more yrs together. Hopefully no more ugly surprises will rear a head.
Loved your video by the way--