George is at the vet!

[pookyandjo]

Hey all,
George is at the vet... this morning at about 11am i put fresh litter in the upstairs tray... George hopped in almost as soon as i put it down...i heard him scratch a little and then hop out... old habits die hard so i went to check it and there was just one little circle of about 2 cm in diam. and it was bright red:( He didn't cry as he urinated... and the amount was very small as it didn't colour much of the litter
i rang the vet right away and they said bring him down right away so i bundled him up and tokk him down..
he doesn't have a tempature... there is no blockage and his bladder was empty... although he did have a full bowel....there was no evidence of blood in the downstairs tray
soooo... they are keeping him at the vet until they geta urine specimen so they can test that and see if he is cooking any bugs in that...

he has been a liitle cranky over the last week or so but i put that down to the fact that he is on a diet... even though he hasn't lost any weight
I rang the vet at 2 pm to see how he was going and they said he hadn't produced a wee as yet...it's now after 3 pm and i haven't head anything more... the vet is open until 8 pm so hopefully he will do one before closing time!:shock:

[yola]

Sounds like poor George might have cystitis - is he prone to this? My Balie gets it periodically and usually antibiotics see the infection off. Not nice, but thankfully easily treatable.

I hope George manages a pee soon . . .

[Leesy]

Poor George, I too hope that he produces a sample soon, like Yola has said it does sound very much like cystitus so should be very easy to sort out with a course of antibiotics.
Keep us imformed as to how he gets on Pauline,Maxi & Maisy x.

[angieh]

My Merlin also used to get bouts of cystitis which always cleared up with antib's. Best wishes for George - hope he's much better soon.

[pookyandjo]

thanks all,
well i got phone call from the vt around 5 pm... thy obtained a sample and there was quite a bit of blood in it still..(which i was pleased about from the point of view that they were able to see it as well and not just me!).. they said there was no infection present so they have sent him home with metacam drops which he has to have once a day.. he has had a lot of stress in the last few months with Tinky passing (it was 3 months last week) harri's arrival and his new diet...
although stress has to start somewhere if it was just stress i would have thought that the manefestation f it may have appeared earlier than this... but who am i to say what goes on in the minds of cats! He has never had a problem wiht cystitis before... so who knows...hopefully the metacam will sort him out and it will pass..

[Leesy]

Fingers crossed for George that the metacam drops sort it all out.

[angieh]

Merlin had Metacam - anti-inflammatory and he was always better on it than not.

[Mags]

I hope George improves with the metacam, poor boy.....

[angieh]

How is George today, Jo?

[dandysmom]

Poor George, and poor you! I hope the AIs knock it out quickly; Leia's one bout was inflammation not infection, and they soon did the trick. Do keep us posted on the dear fellow.

[calismum]

Poor George. Hope he is better today and the matacalm is doing the trick. Chin rub to him from me.

[pookyandjo]

Well George seems a little better today....no evidence of blood in any of the trays... but i hadn't actually witnessed him having a pee until about 5 pm this afternoon which was quite yellow... certainly no visible blood in it... and that was about 10 mins after i gave him todays dose of the metacam... so it seems the first dose yesterday has made a huge difference already... he's still a little cranky.. but all in all he does seem a bit better than yesterday on the "mood" front...
thanks for all your concern

[angieh]

Glad George has done a wee! Hope his "crankiness" will improve as he starts to feel better. Please give him a gentle cuddle from me.

[pookyandjo]

well after a couple of days of improvment George had some blood in his urine again this morning .. it wasn't as much as the previous time though...i rang the vet and they have said just to keep an eye on him and continue with the metacam as he seems better overall.. funny how sometimes their mood can go off ever so slightly for a few days and then when they come good again it's only then that you realise just how off colour they were...
George is better since he's been taking the Metacam.. is still eating... and not as grumpy.. not crying re toileting or anything.. but there wasn't any of that to begin with so not sure how reliable that is as an indicator of trouble... so i will be on tray duties for a few extra days yet

[dinahsmum]

Jo, Have you looked at Cystease. It's basically glucosamine for cats but if I read the blurb properly, glucosamine is not only a painkiller it is an important component of the lining of the bladder.
Cystease (http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1146)
It was great for Chester when he had stressy cystitis - you give relatively high dose during an attack and then a low maintenance dose when the cat is asymptomatic.
Get it through your vet or on-line without prescription.

[pookyandjo]

Jo, Have you looked at Cystease. It's basically glucosamine for cats but if I read the blurb properly, glucosamine is not only a painkiller it is an important component of the lining of the bladder.
Cystease (http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1146)
It was great for Chester when he had stressy cystitis - you give relatively high dose during an attack and then a low maintenance dose when the cat is asymptomatic.
Get it through your vet or on-line without prescription.

Thanks DM... i will speak to the vet about it.... i have just had a look at the link and then tried to search it via online Australian websites... and drawn a blank... so i will keep searching

[Leesy]

I hope that there is big improvements soon for George, they are a worry aren`t they when they are not well, fingers crossed that it clears soon X.

[dandysmom]

well after a couple of days of improvment George had some blood in his urine again this morning .. it wasn't as much as the previous time though...i rang the vet and they have said just to keep an eye on him and continue with the metacam as he seems better overall.. funny how sometimes their mood can go off ever so slightly for a few days and then when they come good again it's only then that you realise just how off colour they were...
George is better since he's been taking the Metacam.. is still eating... and not as grumpy.. not crying re toileting or anything.. but there wasn't any of that to begin with so not sure how reliable that is as an indicator of trouble... so i will be on tray duties for a few extra days yet

Oh very well put! That is so true!

That was very interesting about the glucosamine; had no idea about the effects on the bladder. I've taken a maintenance dose of it for my osteoarthritis for years and it really works.

Hope George continues to improve.

[pookyandjo]

Well we are back from another visit to the vet ....George was really grumpy this morning (even growling at me!)... pacing in and out of our ensuite where the upstairs tray is... wouldn't use it just staring at it and sniffing... hadn't finished last nights food (and still hasn't)
no blockage ... the bladder is so small it can't be felt on palpation... so we have been given some anti depressants to try and make him feel less stressed... going to use the metacam once a day..
I spoke to our vet about the glucosamine and he said its worth a try... he said for some cats it works and not for others... but i suppose that could be said of many medications... he said no need to purchase any as i can use the ones that i have at home...
i think what im going to do at this stage is go with the anti depressants for the 6 days is the course...and see hoe that goes... and then try the glucosamine after that... if something works I want to be able to pin point exactly what has done the trick

[Leesy]

Oh dear poor George he is obviously in some discomfort, I really do hope that he starts to feel alot better soon, it is very frustrating:evil: not knowing what it is exactly that they need to help make things better for them straight away to cause them less discomfort and stess. You always feel that everything is always trail and error with them before you find the solution.

[yola]

If he has a bladder infection did the vet consider giving antibiotics? When Balie has his cystitis bouts it was always synolux which was prescribed.

[pookyandjo]

I wish it was an infection actually it would be easier to treat i think...but when they got the urine spec on Friday there was no infection present...it will be interesting to see how these anti depressants go...although its going to so much fun to try and pill him twice a day.. NOT:shock:
in any case he will have finished those by the time he goes back to the vet next Thursday (2/7) as he is booked in for a dental which i had organised prior to this bloody urine episode last week
Poor Georgie uesd to be such a laid back cat... but since Tinky's death he is a changed pussy cat...I just hope this issue sorts itself out soon... because as selfish as it sounds...i find it very difficult emotionally to keep on going to the vet all the time.. :(

[yola]

Sorry Jo - I must have missed the fact that it wasn't an infection. Do you think he has bladder stones . . . it's an awfully strong reaction if stress-related (I mean the blood and all that).

I can fully imagine that it must be stressful for you too - but do leave the metacam alone, please ;)

[pookyandjo]

lol Yola...Shane (joint owner of the vet practise i go to) said to me today.... "ok 1 pill twice a day for George...and how many would you like?"'... cheeky boÿ!
He also said that if there was stones/crystals then there would be some evidence of an enlarged bladder... and he said that his bladder was so small that he couldn't feel it when he palpated... indicating that it wasn't full... he also said that when they had him in last week to get the urine spec he did an ultrasound of the bladder to get the urine spec via a needle directly into the bladder because George wouldn't oblige them with a sample and there wasn't anything that showed up from that...
I know that Tinky could go from normal urination to blood stained in about 20 mins due to stessy cystitis.. because i saw it during the last couple of months of his life...on one occassion i took him to the vet after he decided it would be fun to remove some of his own stitches...they decided to bandage up his lower half( he looked like an organ grinders moneky!!) he was fine when i took him to the vet and within 5 minutes of us getting home he was peeing drops of bloodied urine on the bathroom floor... i rang the vet and had to take him back down to make sure there was no blockage...
if i han't have seen it happen i wouldn't have believed it would have happend so quickly... but apparently idiopathic cystitis is by far the most common type in cats...
As for the metacam... it is honey flavoured...but its only a 15 ml bottle... the syringe on it is marked in kg increments as the dosage is based on the subject weight.....and the increment doesn't go to 69 kgs ... only 10 :( lol

[random]

Hope he feels better soon poor wee man!

[dandysmom]

Sending calming and healing vibes to George, bless him .......

[angieh]

Jo - how is George coming on? I do hope he's OK......

[MadCatLady]

Hello! Sorry to hear about George....

If you want to try herbal remedy rather than stronger meds (might be cheaper/more effective too not sure?!) or alternatively I have Feliway infusers plugged in all the time in my house.... (both are available from our Vet UK affiliate sight!)...

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=275

Hope things settle down and give him a chin scrubble for me & the Tribe!! :-D

[pookyandjo]

ok... where to start...George had his "course" (albeit only a 5 day one!) of his antidepressant...1 tablet twice a day made him a very spaced out boy... and to be honest i wan't entertaining any hopes of it doing any good.. but since he has finished the course he is quite a bit happier... certainly not back to his oldself... but not as grumpy and is enjoying things like his tummy rubs and brushing etc..
As mentioned previously i had booked him in for a dental which was today... and there were a couple of things that came from that... some good... some not so good...
The good first...
3 days after Tinky died...i took George to get his vac's as he was overdue... they did a wellness blood screen which showed some changes in his liver enzymes... the vet said that as George was well there was no need to be too concerned... but we would repeat the test in 12 months time at the next vac's or before if his situation changed..
Well whilst he was under today having his teeth cleaned they did an ultrasound of his liver and there is no evidence of any problems with his liver.... which is good ..:D

They also ultrasounded his bladder again and there was a small collection of ??? which showed up on the screen...Shane (our vet) printed off the picture so he could show me.. he said that sometimes with cystitus there can be a collection of tiny grains... that mix with the lining of the bladder and create a sludge like material that attaches itself to the wall of the bladder... there was no dead space behind the sludge area which implies that the waves were able to pass through he said that sometime if they tap the area with the ultrasound probe it will break up and losen... he did this and it didn't change... so he did a quick xray and what ever it was didn't show on the xray... so.... what is it? He believes it is this sludgy substance and he wants me to keep an eye on Georges litter habbits to make sure there is no evidence of blood in his urine... another ultrasound in a months time to see if it is still there... if it is... we will just monitor him... if not then it will have been the sludgy material and it will have dissapated of its own accord.. I asked him about the ultraound he did when I first presented George with blood urine... and he said it wasn't there then... so who knows..... of course if it is still there and he has some further problem with blood in his urine then they may have to open him up and scrape it all out... but at the moment he doesn't that that is a likely scenario... I asked about lithotripsy and it's not done on cats in Australia..:shock:
The other thing they found is that when they cleaned his teeth... they were very good with the exception of one of his back teeth...no cavities or anything just a bit of gingivitis around the tooth and it had gone under the gum line and caused some errosion in his jaw bone...:? just in one spot... the particular tooth is not loose but we did catch it in time...:)

So.. we have to keep an eye on his toilet habits... (nothing new there) :roll: and also he hasn't lost one single ounce on his diet.... despite being incredibly strict with it... so they have changed to another prescription diet that is metabolised in a different manner... so we will see how we go on that one...:roll:

When i went to pick him up and they took me in to the room to fill me in on what had been done... i was expecting a big bill... but they didn't charge me for the 2 ultrsounds or the bladder xray...:D :D as they had just got a new ultrasound machine and shane wanted to test it out... and with the bladder xray Shane wanted to compare results with the ultrasound to see if he could see stones on it... ( lot of stones will show up on xray)

fingers crossed we get no more blood/urine episodes:roll:

[Leesy]

WOW, I echo your remark "where to start":lol: :lol: , there has certainly been alot going on with George hasn`t there.
Glad to hear that everything is OK with George`s liver:D ,and that there is nothing wrong with his little peggys:D .
Strange about the sludgy stuff in his bladder:? , I do hope that it is nothing serious and clears up by itself.
Big chin tickle to George for being a big boyXxx:D

[angieh]

Weren't your vets kind not to charge for the 2 ultrasounds nd the x-ray? You've got a good practice there, Jo.

I remember going through all that with Merlin when he had his struvite problems. It was ages ago and the vet also found "gravelly" substances in his bladder by ultrasound. I think that's what can cause the irritations/inflammations etc. Merlin was put on a high pH diet at that point - the high acidity in the urine can get rid of the crystals over time. He was on that diet for years and years before finally refusing to eat it any more. At that point I went and bought him a new litter tray because his acidic urine had eaten into the plastic. He was however better on the diet and the instances of blockage/infection became the occasional bout of cystitis which responded well and every time to ab's.

Glad his teeth are not bad - hopefully his one duff one won't cause him pain. I think toothache pulls you down, and must do the same for cats.

Good luck George, you lovely old guy. Take care and be good for your mum. Hope your mood continues to pick up. Don't forget to drink loads of water.

I wonder what we'd do if we didn't have our furry friends to worry about!

[pookyandjo]

WOW, I echo your remark "where to start":lol: :lol: , there has certainly been alot going on with George hasn`t there.
Glad to hear that everything is OK with George`s liver:D ,and that there is nothing wrong with his little peggys:D .
Strange about the sludgy stuff in his bladder:? , I do hope that it is nothing serious and clears up by itself.
Big chin tickle to George for being a big boyXxx:D

Thanks Pauline... Shane doesn't seem too worried about as it wasn't there a couple of weeks ago when he did the initial ultrasound...so fingers crossed it wont be there in a months time when he has his next one AND he doesn't have any more flare ups

[pookyandjo]

Weren't your vets kind not to charge for the 2 ultrasounds nd the x-ray? You've got a good practice there, Jo.

I remember going through all that with Merlin when he had his struvite problems. It was ages ago and the vet also found "gravelly" substances in his bladder by ultrasound. I think that's what can cause the irritations/inflammations etc. Merlin was put on a high pH diet at that point - the high acidity in the urine can get rid of the crystals over time. He was on that diet for years and years before finally refusing to eat it any more. At that point I went and bought him a new litter tray because his acidic urine had eaten into the plastic. He was however better on the diet and the instances of blockage/infection became the occasional bout of cystitis which responded well and every time to ab's.

Glad his teeth are not bad - hopefully his one duff one won't cause him pain. I think toothache pulls you down, and must do the same for cats.

Good luck George, you lovely old guy. Take care and be good for your mum. Hope your mood continues to pick up. Don't forget to drink loads of water.

I wonder what we'd do if we didn't have our furry friends to worry about!

Angie..very interesting about dear old Merlin having a similar complaint to George especially as he had such a wonderful long life...
I am very lucky with our vetinary surgery...Shane the vet that we see is a part owner in the practise andi know that he was very frustrated with Tinky passing so suddenly..he also told me that if one of my cats has a problem that he knows he has to have ALL the information at hand... because i ALWAYS ask very thorough questions... and wont settle for half answers!...He told me when he referred me to the Surgical oncologist that did Tinky's surgery...that he told him ... "Dont try and give her some half baked answer... cause she will have done her research and see right through it" ... that said i suppose we have a good doctor/patient/guardian relationship built on mutual respect and honor