Bladder stone in cat

[ErinB]

On July 11 we noticed my cat, Teapawt, (age 4) urinating blood, we took her in and they gave us 5 days antibiotics (no testing done). It helped right away and was gone until one month later. My cat is a DMH, tortoishell and she is spayed. Her behaviour is normal except for peeing outside the litter box and it has blood in it - she is trying to go often. She is 4 years old. She has primarily had kibble, with sporadic wet food but when this started we began giving her wet food daily. She hasn't been vaccinated since a kitten in 2021 when we adopted her
It started to happen again a few days ago, so I took her in. During the urinalysis ultrasound, the vet said he thought he saw a bladder stone. The urinalysis results showed some bacteria, tons of blood. I have these results - see attached. I did not xray at that point as I was at a loss. The vet gave her an antibiotic shot that lasts two weeks. Surgery will be close to $3000 CAD which is heartbreaking because my family and I Cannot make that happen. Please help me help my kitty, there has to be another way

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Sorry to hear about Teapawt (best name ever!)...

This entirely is a dry food issue, so if she is still getting ANY kibble, stop immediately! Also no fish flavors, even canned foods, as they can contribute.

If it is a struvite stone, these can be dissolved within a couple of weeks with a highly acidified prescription diet like hill's s/d (canned). The ingredients are awful but it is *the* alternative to surgery and I will use this food in an emergency like this. A small stone may be dissolvable with a normal wet food diet but it will take a long time and she will be in pain throughout the process.

If it is a calcium oxalate stone, the only choice is surgery as it cannot be dissolved. But I would give it a few weeks on a stone-dissolution diet and see if that can do the trick.

The fact that the stone was only sort of visible on ultrasound (which was the right decision btw, x-rays are useless) argues for struvite--calcium oxalate shows up very well. Fingers crossed!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Yes! Try to wean and stop the dry food.

Add structured water to her food (start with just 1 tsp. and work up to the amount so she still eats her food happily):

Structured water synopsis

Some of us have been engaging in a discussion about structured water and products to produce it. It has been suggested that we share that discussion and welcome you all to ask or provide more info. These are excerpted from our posts: Francine: After listening to Dr. Seigel's presentation, I...

www.holisticactions.com

Also vitamin C, cranberry extract and d-mannose are very supportive of the healing her body is capable of.

Also, urinating outside the box with blood does not mean that there is a stone. The cystocentesis ultrasound isn't definitive (which is why the vet said they " thought" they saw a stone).

How about reducing/eliminating the symptoms (through wet or fresh food with extra water, supplements) and starting with a vet homeopath to treat the energetic root of the stone.

And environmental enrichment and stress reduction are always an important part of feline UTI management:

Your Cat's Urinary Problems Are NOT Inevitable

Urinary problems in cats are a huge problem. Here, we’re going to show how a vitality, balance, and homeopathic approach allowed Simba’s guardian to help him.

www.holisticactions.com

 

[ErinB]

Sorry to hear about Teapawt (best name ever!)...

This entirely is a dry food issue, so if she is still getting ANY kibble, stop immediately! Also no fish flavors, even canned foods, as they can contribute.

If it is a struvite stone, these can be dissolved within a couple of weeks with a highly acidified prescription diet like hill's s/d (canned). The ingredients are awful but it is *the* alternative to surgery and I will use this food in an emergency like this. A small stone may be dissolvable with a normal wet food diet but it will take a long time and she will be in pain throughout the process.

If it is a calcium oxalate stone, the only choice is surgery as it cannot be dissolved. But I would give it a few weeks on a stone-dissolution diet and see if that can do the trick.

The fact that the stone was only sort of visible on ultrasound (which was the right decision btw, x-rays are useless) argues for struvite--calcium oxalate shows up very well. Fingers crossed!

Thank you so so much. Kibble is gone and I am going to try and find that food. I am here in Canada so not sure if it's here. The vet recommended the Purina vet stuff- for UTI

 

[ErinB]

Yes! Try to wean and stop the dry food.

Add structured water to her food (start with just 1 tsp. and work up to the amount so she still eats her food happily):

Structured water synopsis

Some of us have been engaging in a discussion about structured water and products to produce it. It has been suggested that we share that discussion and welcome you all to ask or provide more info. These are excerpted from our posts: Francine: After listening to Dr. Seigel's presentation, I...

www.holisticactions.com

Also vitamin C, cranberry extract and d-mannose are very supportive of the healing her body is capable of.

Also, urinating outside the box with blood does not mean that there is a stone. The cystocentesis ultrasound isn't definitive (which is why the vet said they " thought" they saw a stone).

How about reducing/eliminating the symptoms (through wet or fresh food with extra water, supplements) and starting with a vet homeopath to treat the energetic root of the stone.

And environmental enrichment and stress reduction are always an important part of feline UTI management:

Your Cat's Urinary Problems Are NOT Inevitable

Urinary problems in cats are a huge problem. Here, we’re going to show how a vitality, balance, and homeopathic approach allowed Simba’s guardian to help him.

www.holisticactions.com

Thank you Dr Jeff. I appreciate your time and consideration and your kindness has really got me!
I am feeling so much more hope now after reading this and the other comment
We stopped the kibble
I always add spring water to her wet food to make it more soupy. But what is structured water?
The vet recommended the Purina vet or pro UTI food, not sure if that's acceptable?
May I ask how much of those supplements to give? I already have d mannose, and Vimergy C powder. Also have been giving her celery juice each morning. She doesn't mind it
One more question- what vet homeopathic should I get? Thank you so much again

 

[ErinB]

Thank you so so much. Kibble is gone and I am going to try and find that food. I am here in Canada so not sure if it's here. The vet recommended the Purina vet stuff- for UTI

Thanks again- I am really grateful for your support here!

 

[ErinB]

Thank you so so much. Kibble is gone and I am going to try and find that food. I am here in Canada so not sure if it's here. The vet recommended the Purina vet stuff- for UTI

Is this the one Dr Jean Hofve??

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

No, this isn't really targeted; you would need a prescription for the dissolution diet to get it from Chewy. Hills's sells worldwide. The Purina veterinary foods are about the same as Hill's in quality (which isn't terrific but the canned works in a pinch), though not as strong for actually dissolving a stone.

Cranberry is specific for E coli infection, which is commonly present in dogs with UTIs. Bacterial infections are rare in cats, though I have seen cranberry work for them. (Of course, every time I thought I had figured out the perfect combination of supplements, it would not work on the next cat!)

In addition to the other suggestions, I would think about slippery elm, marshmallow, or glucosamine to sooth, rebuild, and protect the mucous layer of the bladder.

There are Chinese herbal formulas for dissolving stones, if you want to avoid the commercial diets (which I usually would, except in a case like this when it would be a trial for just a couple of weeks). (I don't use Chinese herbs but I know Dr. Steve Marsden has one.)

 

[ErinB]

Thank you! I will call the vet tomorrow and order Hills- can you please clarify which one? I see there are many, is it the kidney one? Thanks and blessings to you Dr!

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

The s/d canned is the one I would use for right now. It's specific for struvite stones and will dissolve them very fast.

Remember that this may be a different type of stone and that won't work, but I personally think it's worth a try to get her some comfort asap!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

I am feeling so much more hope now

Yay!

We stopped the kibble

Perfect!

what is structured water?

Structured water synopsis

Some of us have been engaging in a discussion about structured water and products to produce it. It has been suggested that we share that discussion and welcome you all to ask or provide more info. These are excerpted from our posts: Francine: After listening to Dr. Seigel's presentation, I...

www.holisticactions.com

The vet recommended the Purina vet or pro UTI food, not sure if that's acceptable?

It would be for my pets. I'd stick with fresh and/or raw food.

May I ask how much of those supplements to give? I already have d mannose, and Vimergy C powder.

Keep dosing as you have been. Gradually increase the Micro-C to as high as she'll eat her food with it, and not get loose stools from it (higher doses can trigger diarrhea).

Also have been giving her celery juice each morning. She doesn't mind it

Excellent! Most cats are not fans of celery juice. It's also a great way to get naturally structure water into her.

One more question- what vet homeopathic should I get?

Grreat question! The answer depends on the full context of her individuality. A trained vet homeopath can help determine this and prescribe the proper homeopathic medicines.

Perhaps take the HA! Vitality and Balance Using Homeopathy course. And learn about the 4 Awe-some A's.

Aconite, Apis, Arnica and Arensicum are all acute remedies that you can learn to use for *true* acute problems.