Asking for help with blockage in kitten's bladder

[herondancer]

We just got a new kitten about two weeks ago (roughly six weeks of age) which we started on a raw diet per Dr. Pierson's website _http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood Up to today he was a playful, energetic little bundle of fun.

Today we had to take him to the vet because his belly was very swollen and there was hard area we could feel. He had gotten lethargic over the day and had vomited a few times. The vet said he had a urinary blockage from struvite (?) crystals. She managed to catheter him which was difficult due to his size. He got some relief from this and we brought him home and have kept him hydrated. However, his belly seems to be getting hard again and he hasn't seem to urinate very much. We may have to take him in again in the morning for another procedure, which he will not be happy about.

The the lab tests came back that the ph of the urine was around 7, and it should be about 6. I will get copies in the morning. The vet was very critical of raw feeding, and sent us home with some cans of special food that she said was designed to lower the ph in his system. It's not bad, but it does have corn flour and carrageneen in it, so it's not great either. When we got back home we gave him a very little bit, mixed with lots of water, because he hadn't eaten since the morning.

I was hoping Herr Eisenheim might have some suggestions about homeopathics we can give him to help his kidneys and bladder stabilize, and if there are any changes that should be made to the cat food recipe, because he is so young. Our other, much older cat seems to be doing fine on it. If anyone has experience or advice regarding this problem, I'd be really grateful for it.

 

[Voyageur]

[quote author=herondancer ]
The vet said he had a urinary blockage from struvite (?) crystals.
[/quote]

Just looking at the website mentioned and there is a section on urinary issues and crystals were mentioned; not sure if you read that 'Urethral Obstruction - Opie's Story' http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth#Cystitis in the link you provided?

This seems pretty serious, hope you can get some help here for the kitten herondancer.

 

[Laura]

Maybe epigenetic changes act on cats too and the kitty is just not adapted to raw food all the time after having nothing but mother's milk from a mother who did not eat raw?

ADDED: We feed our kitty the dry kibbles and she gets plenty of mice and such that she eats raw, obviously.

 

[Z...]

ADDED: We feed our kitty the dry kibbles

Why, oh why ?! This is like you going in and out of ketosis.
Don't forget cats are even less equipped then us to process large quantities of carbs, feeding them kibbles is like giving them poison.

 

[Z...]

Herondancer, crystaluria in male cats younger then 3-4 years of age and also intact is extremely rare. Therefore I suspect there is some more serious underlying issue here. But without blood panel it is hard to say. If he is blocked again go straight to the vet. This is a serious emergency.
Unfortunately every-time he gets catheterized there is a chance his delicate urethra will bruise and as it heals it may produce a stricture which will cause obstruction problems later on. But if he doesn't get unblocked he will die.

Did your vet actually identify struvite crystals under the microscope or she just guessed?
Did she measure specific gravity of the urine?

The pH should be between 6 to 6.5 anything higher then this will lead to growth of struvites. I wouldn't touch medicated food with six foot pole, rather add 500 mg of vit c to his meals and the pH will go down very fast.

Does his head feel warm to touch, much warmer then other parts of the body?

You can give him only one dry dose of Belladona 30c (on top of the tongue, as close to the throat as you can, close his mouth swiftly and keep it closed until he licks his lips, that means he swallowed it) , in my experience this brings instant relief, and prevents further blockage. But as I said if he is severely blocked he might need to be urgently catheterized.


I think this might be effect from his previous diet ( where does he come from, can we find out what sort of food he was fed before?) as it takes some time for food to have this sort of effect. He was with you for only 2 weeks and I am certain raw food is not the culprit.
Were you careful to add all the supplements as recommended, especially Taurine?

I will alert Dr. Pierson about this thread, perhaps she will have some more ideas to add, that is if she will bother to sign up and become member of the forum.

 

[herondancer]

Thank you Herr Eisenheim. There is one possibility I was turning over in my mind last night. The last batch of raw food was made with chicken that the butcher didn't include the bones in as there was a mix-up in the instructions to the person who actually did the grinding. So to make up for it, I included some ground up calcium/magnesium tablets. It may be that I put too much into the mix? I thought it would tide them over till the next batch. I'm throwing out the rest of the batch today, even thought the other cat seems fine. We will have to take him in this morning, though he's not as badly off as yesterday, he still can't pass urine. We'll give him some rescue remedy before we leave, and get the belladona as soon as the bio store opens. Thanks so much.

 

[Z...]

Hmmm I am not sure if this could be the culprit but there is a strong possibility if you overdosed magnesium too much, Struvite is magnesium ammonium phosphate and over-excretion of magnesium will precipitate formation of struvite crystals.

 

[Laura]

ADDED: We feed our kitty the dry kibbles

Why, oh why ?! This is like you going in and out of ketosis.
Don't forget cats are even less equipped then us to process large quantities of carbs, feeding them kibbles is like giving them poison.

They are dried fish and chicken kibbles.

 

[Z...]

It is my understanding that in the process of making dry biscuit kind of food through extrusion some sort of grain flower has to be included regardless of meat content, therefore carb content will always be too high for cats to handle. Not to mention gluten, preservatives and other evil stuff.

 

[Alana]

I just got a phone call from Herondancer at the vet. They can't do the catheter thing to the kitty they did last night, and the doctor told me that she could give him a sedative to help relax his bladder or make a hole in his bladder to empty it, which might cause his little bladder to explode She went on and on telling me that this all is happening because of the raw food diet, and once we change it he will be fine. Well, I told Herondancer to get the little kitten out of there, go by the health food store and get some Belladonna to put in his mouth, and called and made appointment with another vet, where they are headed right now.

HE, what would you do if a little kitten had urethra obstruction and you couldn't catheter him because of his size?

 

[Laura]

It is my understanding that in the process of making dry biscuit kind of food through extrusion some sort of grain flower has to be included regardless of meat content, therefore carb content will always be too high for cats to handle. Not to mention gluten, preservatives and other evil stuff.

Even if it is unhealthy in long term and for certain systems/organs, it may still be what the cat is semi-adapted to due to epigenetic factors. We have certainly noted this to be the case with many people who have way more trouble adapting to their "natural, evolutionary" diet.

 

[herondancer]

We ended up taking him to another vet in town this morning. She was much warmer, and though pretty much said the same things as the first women, she seemed more positive about it all. The kitten will stay the weekend with a catheter to make sure he's fully flushed out. When I mentioned how small he was, she smiled and said she has intubated ferrets, so a kitten shouldn't be a problem. I mentioned we'd given him the belladonna homeopathic, and she just nodded, plus she kept the bottle of rescue remedy. Sure wish we'd gone there first. She mentioned the potential for ongoing problems, but I feel that if he can get through this, Herr Eisenhimeim's advice will mitigate this possibility. He's a real fighter.

Thanks everyone for your advice and support.

 

[Z...]

I just got a phone call from Herondancer at the vet. They can't do the catheter thing to the kitty they did last night, and the doctor told me that she could give him a sedative to help relax his bladder or make a hole in his bladder to empty it, which might cause his little bladder to explode She went on and on telling me that this all is happening because of the raw food diet, and once we change it he will be fine. Well, I told Herondancer to get the little kitten out of there, go by the health food store and get some Belladonna to put in his mouth, and called and made appointment with another vet, where they are headed right now.

HE, what would you do if a little kitten had urethra obstruction and you couldn't catheter him because of his size?

Well I am afraid there aren't many options . I am afraid they will have to take chance and do whatever necessary to empty the bladder as little fellow will die if this is not done.

I am really sorry you have to go through this ordeal, I know very well how traumatic both for the animal and the owner this is.

This scenario is my worst nightmare. I usually deal with this in fully grown cats and never had kitten with this problem. Thankfully I was always lucky but I still remember one emergency night when I had very difficult tomcat, no matter what I tried I just couldn't get pass the blockage.
After 1 h of trying everything including micro I/V catheter I decided to take a chance and went in with the syringe and needle and emptied the bladder. The problem is that plugs made of crystals and cell debris get lodged in the urethra and you cannot push too hard because you don't want to puncture the urethra. You have to be very patient, deliberate and slow. Urethra of fully grown cat is tiny to begin with - I cannot imagine how difficult it is with the little kitten like that.
They do need to empty the bladder ASAP - hopefully the next vet will be more lucky. Once the bladder is emptied and urine sucked out the negative pressure can move the plug backwards into the bladder. Do keep me informed.

I am surprised they attempted this without sedating the cat first. The cat needs to be sedated in order to release urethral spasm.

I am not sure if belladonna only will do anything in this stage. Lets hope next vet is more lucky. Do keep me posted, will be thinking of him.

 

[Z...]

We ended up taking him to another vet in town this morning. She was much warmer, and though pretty much said the same things as the first women, she seemed more positive about it all. The kitten will stay the weekend with a catheter to make sure he's fully flushed out. When I mentioned how small he was, she smiled and said she has intubated ferrets, so a kitten shouldn't be a problem. I mentioned we'd given him the belladonna homeopathic, and she just nodded, plus she kept the bottle of rescue remedy. Sure wish we'd gone there first. She mentioned the potential for ongoing problems, but I feel that if he can get through this, Herr Eisenhimeim's advice will mitigate this possibility. He's a real fighter.

Thanks everyone for your advice and support.

So he is relieved now? Good!
They should have left the catheter in the first time round. But the most important thing is that he is good now. Glad you found this lady, I would be sweating at the possibility of catheterizing the kitten.
ADDED
Do put him on vit.C as soon as you can.

 

[mcb]

...It's not bad, but it does have corn flour and carrageneen in it, so it's not great either...

Bad. You have seen the other comments, but I just want to emphasize that carrageenan is an additive that is receiving more of the (negative) attention that it deserves (via the paleo community), after many years of quieter warnings. I consider it an adulterant, and don't eat anything to which it has been added, and I don't have any reason to think that cats would tolerate it better than humans.

Of course as with anything, some individuals are much more sensitive to it than others, but if you (or your cat) are experiencing anything that might be caused by inflammation then you probably should strictly avoid carrageenan. Here's yet another article I came across a few days ago: _http://www.rodale.com/carrageenan