rusty the cat

[joclyn]

has another blockage

2 years ago i almost lost him it was that bad. he had infection then - no crystals and no stones, though.

this time there is no infection, no stones and no crystals. lots of blood in his urine and some white cells although the vet's not concerned about them at the moment. so, it's your basic cystitis which the vet said would be stress related and with losing taco, duncan, taking in the two girls and now losing chauncey - who he was particular buds with as he is the only fert rusty actually played with - yeah, it's all added up for rusty, stress-wise; with chauncey's death pushing him over.

so, what to do? i'm to get more fluids in him...dunno how since he doesn't like canned food - will only eat a tablespoonful or two at a time and won't take it at all if i offer it every day. he won't eat kibble soaked in water, either...his water intake is pretty decent and he's actually been taking in more these past few days (so that's good although, who knows how long that will last).

he is interested in raw when i'm preparing stuff for the ferrets - doesn't eat more than an ounce of anything and only will eat gizzards or heart. very rarely will eat chunks of any meat - i've had luck with rabbit a couple times and no luck with chicken or turkey or lamb. he will not touch mice at all and i haven't bothered offering whole quail or gp's.

i was researching and found that glucosamine is now being recommended for cystitis in cats. i'm waiting on the vet for feedback about that as well as dosage.

are there any other things i can give him to help this heal up?? thanks!!

[Heather]

I will see what I can find out on this end. I honestly don't know I'm gathering they've ruled out any type of infection??
ciao

[joclyn]

the urine sample had blood in it (a lot) and no bacteria. some white blood cells also yet, he's not concerned with that at the moment. he said this should clear up in a week/10 days (hopefully).

he really wants more liquids given - sigh - rusty just hasn't liked anything canned i've given so far (7 years now) and i've tried a dozen brands. grain-free and not grain-free as well as various flavors and various textures.

i just went to buzzy's and got some types of canned stuff i've not tried yet - nature's logic brand and lotus brand (that's for dogs - figured it wouldn't hurt to try it and maybe it'll be something he'll like - had coupon, too, so it was free, so, no loss if he doesn't like it). i also got stella & chewey's chicken - i figure if he won't eat it maybe grizel will - i really need to get her switched as i don't want her in the cage by herself for too long.

i also got his usual lotus kibble and also got the dog kibble - grain-free duck cuz i had a coupon and it was free. i figure that will be nice for a flavor change for him, won't mix in too too much though since it doesn't have added taurine.

royal canin urinary was recommended by a friend - they didn't have that particular one in stock, so, i opted for wellness complete health - that seems to have a lot for urinary health.

how much of the rescue remedy can i give him? and how often???

[Sherry]

Our Herne is the same way for canned food. The only kind I can get him to eat any of daily is Fancy Feast pates:
We had to start with putting a small amount on a saucer, and mixing in enough water to make a soup. He FINALLY started lapping it up on a regular basis about 3 months after starting this, and will now eat almost a small can a day.
I know this doesn't help for the short term, but maybe over the longer term?
Good luck with getting more moisture into Rusty. I know how hard that can be.

[Heather]

What do they put in that fancy feast garbage...that's what I switched Samurai with. I had tried everything, just like you guys. All the good stuff, then the hint was go to the grocery store or the pet store and get their samples (I was going broke with all these different cat foods). As they said to me, use any garbage, the cheapest crap in a can, just get him eating it. Sure enough, fancy feast. So, we worked getting him to eat that. I had to be careful because if he hit something he couldn't eat, it would all come up, he never even had time to turn away from the bowl. Instantaneous projectile vomiting Once he was eating that, then I started working on switching to the raw, if I put too much in....it was instantaneously rejected. I swear that the first couple of weeks I did nothing but pass the spoon over the top about 6 months later...one 12 yr old on raw ;D ;D
ciao