This morning, I was woken up by Jacoby…digging in our comforter. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I grabbed him and put him in the litter box…and nothing happened. He assumed the stance for several minutes, and nothing came out. Then he tried the other box, and a couple of other non-box places (which he never does), so I knew something was up. It was too much like the last time he went from box to box but didn’t pee.
We may have had other plans this morning, but I don’t remember what they were anymore; we bundled him up and took him to Angell Memorial, which is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
I often say we’re lucky to live in Boston and have such a world-class pet medical facility right nearby. Not that anyone wants to have to go to the vet on a Sunday morning, but it’s nice to know that the option is available.
The good news was, he wasn’t blocked. He probably had a crystal flare-up in his urine, possibly because we tried to stop giving him his daily UT treats. He’s already on Clavamox, for his sniffles, which he started yesterday; to that, Dr. Baker added Buprenex, a pain reliever, and Prazosin, which reduces spasms in his urethra.
He also got a flat of Hill’s c/d seafood canned food, and the instruction for us to feed him more canned food and less dry food. I’m sure he’s really going to love that last prescription! He gets to eat it in his cat show cage, which I think he really enjoys, too.
Which just goes to show you, you never know what the day will bring when you have cats. Poor Jakey! He’s currently snoozing on the bed next to me…between not feeling well and all his medications, he’s been very cuddly this weekend.
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 
I had never heard of those UT treats. Very cool. I’ll have to tell clients at the clinic about them. While C/D is a good food, I personally prefer the Royal Canin SO. Hill’s *might* have updated their formula, but I know at least at one point, it didn’t do everything that SO does (which is to prevent and dissolve struvite crystals, and prevent both calcium phosphate and calcium oxalate crystals). That, and SO worked wonders for my cat that is prone to idiopathic cystitis, which is something the reps have always claimed it does, but I’m not entirely sure why.
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There are a couple of different kinds. The Pet Naturals from Vermont come 45 to a packet and cost, average, $7.99. Petco also makes one, which cost $5.99 and has more in a package…but Jake at least won’t eat those. He loves the Pet Naturals ones; the biggest problem we have with those is, he’s only supposed to get two a day, one in the morning and one at night. He’d eat a bag in one go if we let him! But it’s good that he likes them so much. He spits out the Petco ones.
I have heard good things about the Royal Canin, but I haven’t seen it for sale anywhere yet. However, we’re supposed to get a prescription so I can order his food online, so maybe I can try it then – do you know a place to order it? The Hill’s now has a seafood flavour (apparently this is a new thing) and it LOOKS very palatable. He liked it quite a bit…of course, that’s not saying much, considering this is the cat who eats Cheetos…
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I’ll look into places to order it online and let you know what I find out. I’m actually really surprised that your vet doesn’t carry it since RC is one of the three big prescription diet manufacturers. Most clinics like to keep different brands around for animals that are picky. But you may also be able to find another vet that carries it. In a big place like Boston, surely someone must sell it. If you can’t find anything and want to just try a small amount to see how he likes it, I could mail you a couple of cans and a baggie of the dry food like we give out to clients for samples.
I used to have a cat (Freddy, passed away last year from cancer) who would eat stuff my other cats would never consider touching. He always loved tortilla chips. I’m pretty sure he would have eaten Cheetos too if given a chance. Heck, maybe he did sometime and I just don’t remember. He was a funny cat.
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I spoke with our regular vet (South Boston Animal Hospital) and they said they carry Hill’s, Royal Canin and Purina’s prescription food. I only saw Hill’s at Angell. Didn’t know about Wysong having prescription food, though. Interesting!
I am actually suspicious of the dry food we feed the cats. We blend Blue Wilderness and Pro Plan. I have heard stories of Blue Wilderness causing crystals and blockages in male cats, but it’s all anecdotal…I can’t find any hard data, but I wonder. I love the fact that Blue Wilderness is grain free and all meat, and the cats love it, so I hate to switch entirely.
Kylie is actually our real problem child. She is the pickiest eater I’ve ever met – Morris is a glutton compared to Kylie. While most cats need to watch their weight, Kylie actually needs to gain a little. And she is really picky. She really won’t eat any canned food that isn’t fish flavoured, she prefers Friskies to Natural Balance or Merrick (her favourite: Friskies Tuna with Egg), and if we’d let her, she’d just eat a bowl full of treats every day. We really have a hard time keeping weight on her, it’s crazy!
It’s almost like, she’s our little random-bred street cat, and she’d rather just eat 9 Lives and Meow Mix from the grocery store than all the fancy foods in Petco!
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Oh, also, there is a natural food brand named Wysong that makes veterinary diets now. I think it is only available online, but it’s super-high quality ingredients ala Wellness and the like. I’ve never known anyone who used it, so I can’t really give a proper review.
http://www.wysong.net/prescription-cat-dog-foods.php
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PS- Super glad to hear that Jacoby wasn’t blocked! When I first started reading this post, I was worried that was where this was going.
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He still isn’t peeing a lot…but apparently, he’s not blocked, his urethra is just spasming and he feels like he has to go all the time. His bladder isn’t full, so I think he’s just panicking a little because the thinks he has to pee but then nothing happens.
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While I would never suggest that you in any way rely on this, I will say that it is relatively easy to feel a blocked cat’s bladder, at least on a trim cat (just if you’re ever feeling really paranoid– though again, in that case you should probably be calling a vet). A blocked cat (unless it *just* blocked and the bladder isn’t full yet) will feel like it has an orange in it’s belly (towards the rear, almost right under the pelvis) when you palpate.
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Thanks! The vet did show us how to feel his bladder, but I’m not sure I’d trust myself to really know what I was feeling…
He’s peeing now (poor guy, I feel like a voyeur, watching him go!), but he still is going from box to box and trying to pee even though I just saw him go. I guess he’s still having the spasms that make him think he has a full bladder even though it’s empty.
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How scary! I’m glad Jake wasn’t blocked, and that he got prompt treatment. You ARE lucky. We are minutes away from an emergency vet, but it’s not exactly what I – or my human – would call “world class.”
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Twice in one year (so far)…I guess I was due, since I’ve never had a boycat have this problem before!
Angell is amazing. When you walk in, you would think that you were in a human hospital, except the floors aren’t carpeted and the seating is built into the walls…
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Aw poor Jake! Maybe with all the excitement he didn’t drink enough water. I think wet food is always best. I’m personally not a fan of Hill’s, but vets usually prescribe it. And yes you are lucky your vet is so close and is good. Our “good” vet is in the city about 40 min away. The “so-so” vet is 2min away, but I really don’t like to go there.
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I’m not a huge fan, either, although their a/d (Anorexia diet) cans are awesome if you have a cat that won’t eat. I don’t know what they put into it, but cats scarf it up. This c/d is a new seafood flavour, and it LOOKED really good, compared to your average can of cat food.
I love our regular vet (they prescribed him his Clavamox without my having to bring him in, because they know him and they trusted my description of his symptoms), and they are awesome about handling emergencies…when they’re open. Sadly, they aren’t open all the time…
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