Constipated kitty? **UPDATE**

[Hellojosie]

The Albon was prescribed on Saturday, before our vet was able to take a urine sample. From what I've read on it it's supposed to help with bacterial infections in the genitourinal tract (I may have misspelled that), so I'm assuming the vet figured he has a bacterial infection. The urine tests were done yesterday and we're waiting for the results- I guess she will prescribe something different if the Albon won't be effective as she thought it would.

Stewie is doing better overall though- yesterday he went in the box, did his business, and was out in normal time. He seems to be having less difficulty peeing now. And he's been drinking like normal too- he loves to drink from the tap in my bathroom and he's done that every time I'm home & in the bathroom these past few days. I'll definitely try the catnip trick too- Stewie gets nice and mellowed out when he has catnip, so that's a really good idea.

[Catlady711]

The Albon was prescribed on Saturday, before our vet was able to take a urine sample. From what I've read on it it's supposed to help with bacterial infections in the genitourinal tract (I may have misspelled that), so I'm assuming the vet figured he has a bacterial infection. The urine tests were done yesterday and we're waiting for the results- I guess she will prescribe something different if the Albon won't be effective as she thought it would.

Stewie is doing better overall though- yesterday he went in the box, did his business, and was out in normal time. He seems to be having less difficulty peeing now. And he's been drinking like normal too- he loves to drink from the tap in my bathroom and he's done that every time I'm home & in the bathroom these past few days. I'll definitely try the catnip trick too- Stewie gets nice and mellowed out when he has catnip, so that's a really good idea.

Thanx for answering my question. I was just curious about it because Albon is not a drug our dr's grab for first with UTI's, I guess every vet is different. Glad Stewie is doing better anyways, it's no fun having a sick kitty.

[Hellojosie]

We got the test results from the urinalysis tonight...and as it turns out Stewie has crystals in his urine. So, I guess that would explain everything we've been going through the past week. I'm not really sure what this means other than we have to go to the vet & pick up special food for him that we'll be feeding him for a month.

Has anyone else had this problem? How serious is it? Also I'm conerned about the special diet since we also have Ollie...the vet said Stewie is not to eat anything but the special food, so that means we'll have to put Ollie's "normal" food away all day. Ollie weighs less than 7 lbs so I'm a little worried about him wasting away...does anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with feeding the cats 2 different foods??

[ratdogg]

I personally have never had first hand experience with this problem, but i'm glad your vet was able to get a clear diagnosis. I googled crystals in cat urine and this site http://www.holisticat.com/FusFaq.htm had a pretty decent explanation. Maybe there is something there that you can add to your new collection of urine crystal info

[mrspunkysmom]

A lady I know that raises Siamese feeds them all in their cages every day. That is the procedure. It's for the special meals some of them must eat.

what food did you vet recommend?

Anne

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad to hear that Stewie is drinking more and doing better. I'm sorry to hear that he has crystals though. My Storm also has this problem and he's now eating Royal Canin Urinary S/O dry and wet food. It's safe to feed all of your cats this food. This food also helps prevent both the struvite and calium oxalate crystals. What type of crystals does Stewie have?

Storm became blocked 2 times and the second time was due to having scar tissueso they couldn't even catheterize him. He had the PU surgery which makes him pee like a female cat. Unfortunately this may make him more likely to get UTI's. He has to remain on this prescritpion food for the rest of his life and I have to make sure that he continues to drink plenty of water. I've been adding extra water to his wet food and he loves it.

I would think that your vet would want Stewie to remain on this new food for more than a month unless it's the type that will help dissolve his crystals. If this is the case then he should be on a different type after this to help prevent his crystals. I hope that he'll like it. I've heard that most cats prefer the taste of Royal Canin over the Hills brand. Good luck.

[Hellojosie]

Stewie is eating Purina U/R (something like that), both wet & dry. Ollie seems to enjoy it too, so for now we'll just feed it to both of them. I really wanted to keep it separate just because it's so damn expensive- hopefully the 8 lb bag we got will last through the month. Do you have to get this kind of food at the vet's office or do they sell anything similar in stores? Maybe Petsmart??

I'm not sure what kind of crystals Stewie has...and so far, so good. He's been in & out of the box like normal for the most part- he still isn't peeing a whole bunch at once but at least he's going. We'll continue to keep a close eye on him. Here's a pic of him "relaxing"...

[Medusa]

I'm lovin' it! Stewie sure doesn't appear to be in any pain in this pic! I'm so glad things are going better for him. Great news!

[Catlady711]

Stewie is eating Purina U/R (something like that), both wet & dry. Ollie seems to enjoy it too, so for now we'll just feed it to both of them. I really wanted to keep it separate just because it's so damn expensive- hopefully the 8 lb bag we got will last through the month. Do you have to get this kind of food at the vet's office or do they sell anything similar in stores? Maybe Petsmart??

Prescription diets are generally only available by prescription from your vet.

As for feeding different foods.. I have 8 cats, I feed 3 different lifestages of foods, and the two oldest cats have to have different medicines in some wet food once a day, and I feed all my cats in the same area 4-5 times a day.

It can be a zoo for about 15 minutes but I don't find it all that difficult as long as I don't try to do anything else when it's feeding time. Of course explaining my feeding routine to the catsitter is quite a lengthy process. ROFL

[Hellojosie]

Well, as long as both cats like the dry stuff- and they both seem to enjoy it thoroughly- I'll feed it to both. The wet stuff I still do separately. They only get a teeny bit of wet food each night as a little bedtime snack anyway- about a quarter of a can or packet.

Nothing new to report otherwise- things are seemingly going back to normal, thank goodness!!

[columbine]

Well, as long as both cats like the dry stuff- and they both seem to enjoy it thoroughly- I'll feed it to both. The wet stuff I still do separately. They only get a teeny bit of wet food each night as a little bedtime snack anyway- about a quarter of a can or packet.

Nothing new to report otherwise- things are seemingly going back to normal, thank goodness!!

My vet recommended wet food for my Smudge when he had crystals, just because it's got lots of water in it. She also said he might drink more if I put water bowls in more places around the house - it's true, he likes his little "hidden springs" tucked away in his favorite corners! You might also consider getting him a drinking fountain. A cat who drinks lots of water washes out the minerals before they get to form crystals, no matter what kind of crystals they were!

He still likes his kibble (Hill's C/D) best, but he gets a little bit of "treat food" twice a day so I can put his medicine in it. (His crystals were struvite, so I use a low-magnesium food to mix his allergy stuff and vitamins into.) Southern Agriculture and Pet Food Direct carry a lot of specialty foods - they're worth checking.

[Hellojosie]

My vet recommended wet food for my Smudge when he had crystals, just because it's got lots of water in it. She also said he might drink more if I put water bowls in more places around the house - it's true, he likes his little "hidden springs" tucked away in his favorite corners! You might also consider getting him a drinking fountain. A cat who drinks lots of water washes out the minerals before they get to form crystals, no matter what kind of crystals they were!

He still likes his kibble (Hill's C/D) best, but he gets a little bit of "treat food" twice a day so I can put his medicine in it. (His crystals were struvite, so I use a low-magnesium food to mix his allergy stuff and vitamins into.) Southern Agriculture and Pet Food Direct carry a lot of specialty foods - they're worth checking.

We actually do have a "drinking fountain" for the cats- one of those self-filtering water bowls. They love it! And their other drinking fountain is the bathroom sink.

I'll have to check into the food when our supply starts getting low, although the vet said we'd only have to have Stewie on the special diet for a month. I'm hoping the bag and cans we bought will last that long!