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Oscar is 8 year old Ragdoll who has been in excellent heath all his life except for a phase of puking pretty regularly. We fixed that with Wellness but then it has been recalled so we have been feeding fancy feast with a bit of blue buffalo dry mixed in. he hasn't puked in some time.
Early this morning I heard a plastic bag rustle but didn't think anything of it. then about 7 he tried to pee on the bag right in front of me. Nothing came out. I put him in the litter tray and again he tried but nothing came out. Then he was licking himself and he froze with his legs up in the air and his hind legs were twitching a bit. Next he tried to pee on my daughters back pack. Nothing came out.
I put him in the bathroom with the trays and ran the girls to school and then rushed him to the vet. I did not check to see if he used the tray while I was gone.
Vet says his bladder is empty, nothing wrong but she is gonna keep him today to try to get a urine sample.
Of course I'm worried about the wellness and if it caused him some troubles. Does anybody have any ideas?
All paws crossed for Oscar. If he has a UTI, it could be the pain and irritation making him feel like he has to pee all the time, so he will squat and strain even when his bladder is empty.
Especially when they do it right in front of you like that, they are saying "help me!"
Good job getting him right to the vet. I hope they give him some pain meds to keep him comfortable and to stop him from straining it all out before they can get a sample.
Aww poor Oscar, that sounds uncomfortable. I don't have experience with this, but I hope he is ok. At least you know he's not blocked since his bladder was empty, that seems like a good sign.
Friends,
Vet just called. She used a needle to get some urine and said it had blood. She is going to get some fluid under his skin and give him antibiotic shot. She was going to do a culture ($150) but i talked her into giving him a shot without it since this is his first time ever in his life being sick. She said if it happens again she will have to do culture. I will pick him up in a bit.
So now where do things like this come from? Of course I'm sure it is diet since I've had to switch around with different foods since the Wellness recall. I'll make sure there are gallons of water available all over the house.
He is the sneaky thief who eats dog food a lot. Could that be doing it? Lucy the dog is a eat- anytime you- want- to dog (what is that called?) so I leave her kibble out but lately the cats keep getting into it. Now I guess I'll have to feed her couple times a days but she is used to nibbles all thru the day.
So glad I was here to see how Oscar was acting and that I took him only minutes after seeing this behavior. Vet said that is critical. But we have plans to go to the beach for 4 days on the 29th during spring break. I was gonna leave the cats here and have my son look in on them. I'll be a nervous wreck the whole time if I go.
Hope this fixes the problem. Male cats can die very quickly from blocked urethers so it's good his wasn't blocked! Your dog will get used to being fed on a schedule although she may be hungry for a few days until she catches on - "if I don't eat this now, it's going away!"
The thing is, a culture can tell you what's going on. If he has crystals. What kind of crystals. What kind of bacteria. If there are other things in there.
Antibiotics will not help if it is crystals.
I know you will keep a close eye on him now, but...well if it were me I don't think I'd want to go away. If a male blocks he will die within 24 hours without emergency vet treatment. And it's a horrible terrible painful death. The bladder bursts.
Will your brother be observant enough to know if Oscar has a problem?
Dog food could be part of the problem. Diet can play a role in urinary tract problems. Canned food, no fish flavors are best.
Stress can cause a pH imbalance that allows crystals or bacteria to grow where they normally wouldn't be an issue.
Too much washing 'down there' , obesity, dirty litter boxes are also possible culprits. I am not saying Oscar is obese or your litter boxes are dirty, in fact I doubt your litter boxes are dirty (don't know about his weight) but these are common causes of UTIs.
Or he could be harboring crystals that have just finally grown to the point they are large enough to cause trouble. Or grown to stones.
I'd get the culture.
Anyway the fluids should help him flush his bladder a bit, and hopefully he just picked up a bacteria and will be fine.
Let us know how Oscar does! I hope he will be better in no time. It is so scary when they are sick, if only they could talk to us and tell us what is going on with their bodies....
Get better soon Oscar!
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