Three of my boys have suffered complete blockages in the past, though each one has only had one blockage with no repeats. In only one of these instances did I feed prescription S/D for a week or two immediately following the blockage. Other than that, I have fed no prescription foods or meds other than antibiotics to any of the "blockage boys". I have, however, made a point of promoting fluid intake for all of the cats in my household. I have done this is the following ways:

Add more water bowls around the house and keep the water in them fresh.

Mix hot water into canned cat food to make "canned food soup" for them to lap up daily (for my cats who don't eat a raw diet).

Allow a faucet to drip for the cats who prefer running water.

Administer subQ fluids to cats with illness-related dehydration, when necessary.

I have, in the past, also kept a fish in a large-mouth fish bowl on a cat-accessible table for the cats to drink out of, which they love.

I have not used a pet fountain, but I understand they can promote increased drinking in cats who like them.

In my experience, increasing daily water intake is the most important management strategy for avoiding repeat episodes of urinary blockage. More water in = more urine out, and frequent urination flushes crystals out of the urinary tract before they have a chance to clump together and cause blockages.

Laurie

First things first, dont be so hard on yourself. It is very hard to read cats since they are so quirky to begin with. Next, go get some insurance to cover the other kitties, male cats are prone to this problem because of the way their anatomy is, which is why making certain they have water at all times is a great idea.
Changing diet is good to keep crystals from forming, but the best thing to do is to encourage water drinking since that will dilute urine.
You mentioned the cats seem to always be getting sick, is anything else going on??
As someone who lives on a limited income I understand the stressors that vet care can pose. Saving is good, but even if I had been able to save $100 a month, my dog went through $8K in three years!!!
So getting insurance is a good idea, there is also a credit card compnay who works specifically with vets (I forget who) but I needed to use them to pay off one of my dogs vet bills.
So, get the special diet, add lots of fresh water, changed frequently and add water to the males food to help increase their water consumption. I hesitate to encourage leaving a tap on for them since some cats suffering from failing kidneys will want to drink all the time, and you really need to be able to monito how much they are consuming, a huge increase in water consumption means a trip to the vet.
Sorry you had to deal with so much, I hope your boy recovers quickly and does not have to deal with this again.
Good luck

Sorry you kitty hasn't been well, and I hope he is back home soon. My 5 yr old male cat had 1 bad bought with crystal when he was 2, so I know how horrible and expensive it can be :^(

Here is what we have been doing since he had that 1 instance- thank goodness he has been fine since switching his food.

1.switched him to wet food- Hills Prescription C/D food. Nothing else -no table scraps, no regular cat treats. I keep a bag of the c/d food in the dry formula to use as treats for him when I give my dog milkbones.
2. increased water- easier said than done!!! I tried the fountain, but he didnt really use it, and my lab puppy thought is was a great toy...... adding extra water bowls around the house helped though. I did try adding water to the wet food, but getting it not to be too runny was not easy.
3. Switched to clumping litter. I found it is the only way to moniter urine output for me. However with a multi cat house, not sure if it would help or not.

I hope he is better soon, and you get this controlled quickly. Hang in there.

Yeah it was an 24/7 Emergency vet so they charge about double. It was 8 pm so my vet was closed and I didn't want to wait till morning with him blocked.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I guess I'll look into insurance.

By sick I just meant that last year I had to pay $1200 for one of the cats to have almost all his teeth extracted for gingivitis. My other cat likes to drink from the sink so he gets a lot of ear infections from getting water in his ear. He also just had a bladder issue a few months ago but luckily it cleared up with antibiotics and wasn't a block.

I'm just worried that if I do get insurance, they won't cover any urinary things on the one who is blocked or the one who had the UTI, they won't cover future dental work for the one who had teeth pulled, etc. But I suppose there are many other things that can happen so I should get some.

Yes........I have been down your road and will be the second one to tell you not to kick yourself. You can do absolutely everything right and still face urinary blockage in male cats. I believe it's essential to consider what type of calculii or crystal they are forming before slapping them on the typical food for urinary health. What works for one type of blockage can actually contribute to a different kind. Some animals, just like some humans, are prone to stones or crystals or blockage just by the way their body chemistry works.

I also had to have my cat surgically altered by creating a stoma through which he could pass urine. Like petra said, that surgery cost less than what you have already paid. I never did put him on any special diet afterward and he never had a repeat of his problems. I have gotten ribbed about living in Podunk, but I'll tell you, we still have vets who will come in anytime after hours for an emergency and not refer you to some pet emergency room or hospital miles away in the big city. They have started charging a hundred dollars to do it, but I am very OK with that because after you pay the fee for them to come in, the charges are at their routine office charges. I only had to do this once, and it was yep....a cat who couldn't pee. That is an emergency.

I understand your frustration.....but I have yet to find a pet health insurance here in the U.S. where you'd be money ahead to buy it instead of socking some away in a slush fund. The premiums are bizarre compared to the same type of coverage in Europe.

The vet just called and said based on his crystals, she doesn't think a special diet is necessary and she's more concerned with more fluid. So wet food exclusively. I'll add more water to it.

She mentioned the surgery if he blocks 1 or 2 more times but she said it runs $2,500 - $3,000 for the surgery. I don't know if vet care is just more expensive here (Boston) or what but that seems really high.

I'm so frustrated and stressed out right now. She said some cats block again immediately after surgery and about 50% will have another recurrence. I'm still so mad that I didn't get the insurance. I specifically remember saying I should get it for him since he hadn't had any health problems so far...ugh.

Chi, sorry to hear about your cat and the financial hit.

I am one who uses a fountain bowl and loves it (or rather my kitties do). I've owned this one for over 2 years and it very much encourages my two to drink extra water- one of mine has kidney disease, so she needs to be encouraged to drink as much as is reasonable.

I have learned to break the bowl down once a week or so and run it through the dishwasher- not the pump, I scrub that by hand with a toothbrush, small bottle brush, and let it air dry thoroughly, often outside in the sun to discourage mold growth. The dishwasher has clouded up the reservoir and slightly tweaked the threads where the cap screws on, but I figure by putting it through the dishwasher it gets adequately sterilized regularly. I occasionally soak it in a sinkful of bleachy water too. At any rate, the point I am trying to make is that I have found it to be very easy to maintain and keep clean- which is often the big complaint with the fountain bowls. This one is by Petmate. My CRF girl was never one to drink out of a faucet, but she loves the bowl, FWIW.

Someone who posts at this forum shared their set up which was a fish tank airstone (attached to a pump) placed in a big bowl. Some cats really like that bubbling movement of the water- but some also like to chew the tubing.

I've also found that my kitties like to "find" bowls and cups of water around the house. It's almost like they can't help but stop and drink from a bowl or cup that is newly discovered.

Best of luck getting your guy to drink more water.

I'm so sorry for the health woes with your cats. That is an enormous amount of money and I truly sympathize.

I, too, hate insurance cos and don't trust them. I have the same kind of insurance you are thinking about, ie a bank acct with about $1000 to which I keep adding $. So far I've been able to avoid using it so it keeps growing.

Good that your kitty doesn't need the special diet. Perhaps as others have suggested, you could give sub-Q fluids at home to keep him flushed out. I've given lactated ringer fluids at home to 3 cats and two dogs over the past 5 years and it's easy to do. However I gave the fluids because my pets' kidneys were not working optimally. I've never had a pet with a urinary blockage. You could ask your vet about this.

I hope your kitty does not have a recurrance and that his housemates also saty well. I feel your financial pain and worry for your pets.

I'm sure the cost of vet care is all over the board depending on location. That's why I am glad I live in a rural area but still have access to excellent vets (who also do farm animals). You may want to check some fees for the procedure to be done in a university setting or see if you can get some referrals to a vet in a fairly close but more rural setting. I know I dropped a thousand on my cat boy for his unrinary problems....but at least four hundred of that was monkeying around with the care he needed for vet visits and staying at the vets for observation before he ultimately had the procedure done.

I have yet to have a single cat block that has been eating exclusively canned food. Might consider that if you have cats with tendency to form urinary crystals or have had a history of straining to urinate, or blood in the urine. I must have unblocked about 500 cats by now- not one that ate only canned food. High carb content of food NOT a good thing if you are a cat and tend to form crystals or stones (some cats are lucky and won't no matter what diet they are on.. .only you don't know who those cats are until it's too late). Very common condition though... you are not alone. Anyway, simplest recommendation is canned food (good quality.. some canned foods have high carb contents- don't want those)... or get a female cat (they almost never block... almost).

I'm switching all 3 to a canned-only diet. I have them on Wellness right now but they don't seem to like it very much. Any other good quality ones that you can recommend?

They used to get canned supplemented with dry. It was always good quality but I'll try wet food only and they'll learn to eat it!. Right now, they're still begging for the dry food.

Thanks for all of the advice! The nurse called and said he's peeing on his own this morning so I can go get him. I'm working from home today so I can keep an eye on him and make sure he keeps going.

If your cats don't have a problem with high protein foods (ask your vet), you can try EVO wet food. Our cats did NOT like regular EVO wet (they do like the dry), but love the 95% EVO (we give them the chicken and turkey version, there are a few other flavors as well).

We mix in ~ 1/4 can of hot (tap) water to one 5.5oz can of food, and divide that between the two cats. They lap the mixture right up.

Well, he's been home for about 24 hours now. I've been watching him carefully. He peed about 5 times between 8 am yesterday and 11 pm so that's good. He also peed once or twice overnight. I'm going to keep him in a separate room today with a litter box to make sure he pees while I'm at work.

He's on exclusively wet food now. He's on the Hills s/d for a month then the c/d on-going per my vet's recommendation. I've been mixing in a little water to it. I haven't been able to get him to drink water on his own yet but he's eating all the food/water.

I don't think he's had a bowel movement yet so I'm keeping an eye on that. He's on a few medications so I don't know if that's why...

One of my cats is being very aggressive towards him. He hisses if he's anywhere in the same room and growls and attacks if he's close by. I imagine it's cause he smells weird and I'm hoping that'll fade soon.

I'm crossing my fingers that he'll stay unblocked!

With my first two cats, my older (by a year) cat would hiss, growl, smack, at our other cat whenever either one would go/come back from the vet. They usually get over that quickly though.

We went through this exact same thing earlier this year with our 4 year old cat. I noticed nothing unusual until one morning he wouldn't walk. I rushed him to the vet and they immediately found a blockage. He had to be on fluids with a catheter all day and then spend the night at a 24/hr emergency facility to continue the fluids because no one is there to monitor him overnight at the regular vet. After about 36 hours of fluids to bring down his crazy potassium levels, he was okay. I think we spent $1,500 as well; no vacation for us that summer....:) One of the most stressful weeks EVER. Since then, he has had no problems....I just make sure he stays hydrated and watch him even more closely than I did before. You're NOT crazy to pay to save your cat. Hang in there - he might never have another incident after this.

He seems to be doing okay. Still peeing well. I had him on the special food for a week but I really don't want to keep him on it. It's full of corn, grain and by-products that I don't want him eating. My vet wants him on the Hills s/d for a month to help dissolve then the c/d for life. I'm not comfortable with that so I've been looking for alternatives.

I bought some Cranberry Wellness that I should be getting today. It has some good reviews about balancing the urine and dissolving crystals so I'm hoping using that with regular food will help.

He doesn't eat dry food at all anymore.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cranberry Wellness

my parents' both cats are on special prescription diet due to urinary blockage, their vet told them that they must stay on that diet forever, no switching to regular food, it is expensive but cats stay healthy.

The pxn diet is indeed full of crap. You stated earlier that your vet didn't think the cat needed a special diet, yet you're feeding one? I'm not sure why, when you can feed excellent food for the same price as the prescription food.

My own cats would NOT eat the veterinary urinary diet. They barely consumed enough to keep functioning. I stopped it and used the combination that I have fed in the three years since-occasional raw diet, more often home-prepared meats with supplements and good quality tinned foods. Some tinned foods are now being linked with urinary issues-Felidae is one, can't remember the other. Also, you might want to avoid any fish based foods. A food listing "ocean whitefish", "whitefish", or simply "fish" contains ocean whitefish, a name covering a number of fishes. There is a strong link suspected with urinary issues. Salmon doesn't fall under that listing, but most cat foods containing one type of fish tends to have the whitefish as well, as the whitefish is a cheap protein.
Another trick I use is to mix warm DISTILLED water into their food. Distilled contains practically no minerals. No minerals may give less chance of re-blocking.

AAannnnd another thing is to add glucosamine to your cat's food. You can buy it fromt he vet in cat-sized doses, or you can buy capsules at Walmart, break them open and sprinkle some over his food. Evidence suggests that an element in the cat's bladder lining is missing, resulting in urinary problems. Seems the glucosamine is very helpful for this.

The last is to try to create the most peaceful possible home environment for your cat. Cystitis with crystals is exacerbated by stress and can even be caused by it. Some vets will prescribe amitryptilline to help calm your cat. Ami is a great medication but be aware that it can cause some cats to stop peeing altogether. This happened in both of my cystitis cats! If your cat is prescribed this just keep an eye out for peeing. Clomipramine is a good alternative that hasn't caused that bizarre side effect.

Whew. I know this is a LOT of stuff but it's all been helpful in treating my own clowder. Good luck!

Ah, I should have clarified. The ER vet didn't think he needed to stay on the special diet. However, when my primary vet called to follow up, she was adamant that he should be on the special diet for life. Once I was calmed down and thinking again, I can't help but think it's partly because they sell it in the office at $1.50+ a can.

In any case, he ate it for a week and now he just picks at it. It's become a big pain to separate him from the other two cats for mealtime. I feed him in my bedroom and the other cats wait outside my door then beeline for the crap food when he's done with it. And he heads for their Wellness food. :)

Of course I still have 20 cans of the stuff. I'm also treating with the cranberry powder I bought and hopefully it's helping. He's still peeing really well.

My home is pretty stress-free, but I'm worried about a move in the fall. I'm planning on moving from Boston to California in October, and I'll be driving there with the cats. They did fine on a Florida-to-Boston move a few years ago but this is a longer trip. It's basically me driving for about 12 hours a day, they stay in their carriers with a pee pad and I offer them a little water when I stop but they usually don't drink it. At night, they get free roam of the hotels with a litter box and fresh water and food and all. I realize it's not the nicest thing as they normally don't drink or pee during the day but I don't want to risk them getting out of their carriers or anything while I'm on the road. Any advice given the urinary problems? I can't really do anything to help the stress and I don't know how to force water but I'm wondering if there are any medications or anything that might help to keep him unblocked.

Some veterinarians are convinced that the "prescription" diets are the be-all, end-all in urinary issues. They do tend to work but at what cost to the cat's health? The doctors don't really make much from selling the pxn diets. I don't know why they'd continue to do so. If you want to make yourself sick, read the label-then compare it to the Wellness. Just remember that YOU own the cat, and that YOU provide for that cat, and if YOU decide against the pxn stuff then the vet will either have to work with you or you find a vet willing to work through dietary management of chronic issues. I had to keep myself from screaming at my own vets for a few years but they have now seen that careful management has paid off. They're still in favour of the pxn diets but won't put me out on the street for refusing to force my cats to eat it. I understand their point of view-too many cat owners just want the easiest remedy and pxn food is certainly that.

I have two cats who were diagnosed with crystals (three, but one developed other issues and passed away). Each had a different type of crystal, too, yet the doctor prescribed the same food for both. The food includes an additive (DL-Methionine) that acidifies the urine. It also contains a lot of junk! However, acidification only works with one sort of crystals, so over-management of acidification can result in another form of crystal blockage. Since I put the cats on all-wet food, partially home prepared with appropriate supplementation, partly good quality fish-free and low carbohydrate tinned foods, they have had NO episodes of acute cystitis and their quarterly urine samples, both home collected and through cystocentesis, have shown no more than the normal concentration of crystals. I do not add DL-methionine, the supplement ensures adequate taurine and other nutrients but does not acidify urine. I have managed their diets for three years. I put ALL of the cats on the same diet and all thrive. Even the little kitty with IBD who now has CRF. She'll probably end up on pxn food when it reaches a critical point, but for now I altered her diet to help keep some levels in check. This won't work forever but for now she can continue to eat what she likes. Maybe your vet will agree to urine tests to ensure that your cat is in good health with your chosen diet. It worked for mine, but might not with others. I hope that meghane steps in here, she's a practicing veterinarian who firmly believes in appropriate feeding wherever possible. Her information would certainly carry more weight than my suggestions.

Your upcoming move is going to be stressful for the cats and that's unavoidable. You might wish to discuss anti-anxiety medication therapy for the cats. You'd start the therapy a few weeks before leaving to give it full effect and wean them off of it later. It will help to quiet their fear and insecurity during the move and help them to adjust once in their new home.

Cats require a ton of special care but it's special people who take on the job. Good luck with yours and please update from time to time.

I've been through this with 2 cats. My first was back in the early 80's and after several blockages he had to have the "sex change" operation. Basically changing his anatomy to that of a female cat so he wouldn't block again. Expensive and in the end, worthless since he continued to have chronic urinary tract infections. The surgery was done by a very well respected specialist so it wasn't a matter of the surgery not being done well. I tried homeopathics, accupuncture and finally had to put him to sleep due to lack of money. I was working a minimum wage job at the time and couldn't afford to pay my rent. Left with incredible credit card bills, apartment cleaning bills, etc.

Second cat blocked after using a high Vit. C product by Orthomolecular specialties, recommended as a preventative from urinary blockage, formulated by Wendell O Belfield, DVM who believes all animals are not getting enough (or creating enough) vit. c. After a month on this product my 18mo cat blocked (never blocked before). I called the company and they said to up the dose. He blocked again. Both times the vet was able to manually manipulate the area and unblock him. I researched herbs online and ordered a Shephard's purse tincture, herbal name thlaspi bursa. I think I read about this in the first version of Dr. Pitcairn's book although it wasn't in the later editions. The next time he blocked I gave him the tincture and within 15 minutes he was peeing a heavy stream for about 30 seconds straight. I removed the vit. c supplement from his diet and he never blocked again.

I would definitely keep the shephard's purse tincture on hand if I had a male cat! It's very important to note that if the tincture doesn't work within an hour (and 2-3 doses) you must RUSH to a veterinary clinic. Blockage is extremely painful and life threatening!

By the way, Nature's miracle used to work best to clean the odor left behind but is no longer the same formula. It changed years ago and doesn't work as well. The original nature's miracle formula is now sold as Petastic. I have no interest in the company, just in removing cat pee odors, LOL!

Michele

Thanks for the advice.

I still have him on the cranberry powder. He's peeing well still so I'm hoping that's a positive sign towards him staying unblocked long-term!

I'm glad to hear that your cat is responding so well after the surgery. My male cat blocked a few years ago and almost died. So scary. Since then I took away all dry food and feed canned only. Holistic vet said that it is the dry food that causes them to block because cats are desert animals and do not naturally drink much water. They got all of their water from the animals that they consumed. The cranberry powder is good. A pet fountain is the way to go. You can find some very nice ones on Amazon. Also to get him to drink more water, add salt to his food. Do it gradually so that he doesn't turn his nose up at the food. Good luck to you. I know how scary it is, as well as expensive. My cat has not blocked since. In addition to canned, you could feed him homemade or raw.

Do NOT add salt to his food to make him drink more. This is dangerous and misguided. There is plenty of salt in commercial foods. Adding salt can make a cat retain water, which won't help the cystitis at all. It can damage the cat's kidneys too.

Feeding wet foods only is the best measure for prevention, and is the safest maintenance. The pet fountain is great but not all cats will use one-most love it. And use distilled water, which has practically no minerals. Filtered water isn't the same. Distilled is a great trick-and since it tastes better than tap or filtered, the cat should be very happy to drink it.

I spent $30 on a pet fountain and all 3 cats completely ignore it. :(

None of the cats have had any dry food since he blocked. It's costing me a lot more money as they're going through a few cans a day and each can is about $2 but I figure it's worth it!

So my cat is still peeing well. On the times I do stand there and watch him, he squats then seems to hesitate about 5 seconds before he starts peeing. Once he starts peeing, it's a strong flow and he urinates a good quantity and there isn't any straining or sign of discomfort. He also doesn't linger in the squat after the last of the urine is out so I think that's a good sign. He immediately gets out and then tries to cover it.

I know that sometimes hesitation can be a sign of a urinary problem but do you think a few seconds is an issue when he sees to be peeing fine otherwise? I figure maybe he's just getting comfortable and relaxing but I don't want to explain away legitimate problems. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I have 4 cats and have always had multiple cats. I took on an extra 2 last year as someone was moving home and could not take them or find anyone else to take them, I was told these cats were both male, 6 yrs old, British Shorthairs, and healthy. One of them on arrival was acting really odd and over a few weeks was still trying to keep out of the way and not eating. We filled in GCCF registration forms for them for ownership, to find out they were both over 8 yrs old. We had to take Max the quiet one to the vet cos he had started growling to himself in a corner and my Bengal awas attacking him. He had the op for a blockage and went on an SD diet. :We rehomed him as our Bengal would not leave him alone. Then Sam the other addopted cat started with same symptoms so we took him to vet to find out he was really badly blocked and because of his age we had him put to sleep.
A few months later my 2.5 yr old moggie started. He also had the op, then SD food and he is now on CD food, he had antibiotics, cystaid and Metacam. Then was ok for quite a while. 3 weeks ago we noticed his fur was greasy and he was sleeping a lot, then trying to pee but not going, vet put him back on antibiotics and cystaid. This helped and he seemed better for a bit then he started crouching in every corner to pee with no sucsess, the vet said there was no blockage and said to up the dose of cystaid and give metacam. Fri night he was at it again so sat morning we had to spend£90 to get a vet out of bed. They said he was badly blocked and was getting infected in the pipes to his kidneys. They did the op, put him on a drip ond kept him overnight.They say he had a minor blockage of sludge and debries ant the end of his penis which could be caused by dead cystitus cells. Afte cats have been emptied like this their Penis is scared and narrower so they are more likly to be blocked again.
Whilst my little boy has been going through all this my Bengal who is female, 10 yrs old and has always been highly strung and stressed out, is starting to show signs of cystitus..
I now have 2 cats permantly on CD food. And the vet bills...WOW.... They say this is not catching but I had never had this before we took the other 2 cots on, and have had multiple cats since 1994.
Sometimes I think I am going insane as I spend my time at home following the cats to the toilet and worrying like crazy if I don't hear them pee.
Please someone find a way of stoping this......

Polomint, are your cats eating dry food? If so, switch them to wet and don't use prescription foods. You can feed wet and add 1-2 tablespoons of water stirred into it per serving.

Most vets receive very little nutritional education and do not realize that dry food is killing our cats. I am so glad that I found info online after one of my cats had a blockage. He is doing fantastic on wet food and so is his sister. They are eating Wellness and while it is a more expensive, they don't need much because it is not full of fillers. They are urinating much more and there is a lot less solid waste.

Read these web sites for more info:
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/why-cats-need-canned-food-2/
There are lots of other pertinent articles on the littlebigcat web site as well.

Keep them off the dry food. Fish is also a culprit for developing crystals. Mixing a little more water into their food is probably a good thing but not sure with an existing condition -- always ask any changes you make. You just never know.

Do not use any clorox products in the litter box or where they would come in contact. Keep the litter box in close proximity. Out of the way boxes cause them to hold it which can lead to bacterial cystitis.

Sex change operations did work on two kitties with crystal problems in our household. I would not discount this procedure. I'm surprised the vets do not recommend it anymore. I believe they develop scar tissue with ongoing problems.

Airdale4moms I was wondering how much of the Shepard's purse you used for your cat? I am out of options as we have spent hundreds and hundreds on our cat and have nothing left. I hope you read this!!

My kitty has had obstruction problems as well. First doctor recommended the prescriptions diet as well as the be-all, end-all, as in "noting else will work." Cat didn't like the (crappy) food; he was back to the practice within 2 mos. Happily, there was a "relief" vet there covering for the bully who owned the place. He recommended extra fluids with his regular food (raw), SPRING water (distilled pulls needed minerals from the body; the minerals in spring water are NOT what cause the blockage) AND, prophylactic use of sub-q fluids, tapering down to prn. It had been more than 18 mos now and all has been well until my prescription for sub-q fluids rand out. Can't seem to find another vet who uses that philosophy and can't find the "relief" vet. I am getting worried. We're going to 6+ weeks since his last sub-q fluid administration (125ml/day for 8 days at beg of each month). Anybody know how to track down a "relief" vet in the central Florida area? Thx.

What is the relief vet's name, and what was his location when you saw him? Oh, and how old is your cat? If your cat is middle-aged or older, you might luck out and have a cat with kidney disease. If so, it'll be a lot easier to talk a vet into prescribing subQ fluids on an ongoing basis.

Laurie

Vet is Scott Wells, DVM and he was working at Florida Veterinary Hospital in the Villages, FL. Dewey is 5 and his kidneys were noted as fine. The sub q's were just to help flush his ureter.

You can contact Dr. Wells directly through his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=49822777&authType=name&authToken=AbQD

If that link doesn't work, try this one: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottfwellsdvm

If you're not a LinkedIn member, you'll need to sign up first (membership is free).

I tried to get to him through Linkedin since that is the only contact I found for him online. I even joined Linkedin just for this. But without supplying the doctor's email address, I can't get to him. If I had his email address, I would just use it! Linkedin said there was just no way around this. I wonder exactly what they are for.

Well, you could sign up for a free month trial of LinkedIn's Business Plus Plan, which would allow you to contact Dr. Wells directly through LinkedIn's inmail program. As soon as you heard back from him, you could cancel the free trial before the 30 days was up and not be charged anything for it.

Or you could call the Florida Veterinary Hospital and ask them for a number for the Small Animal Relief Services through which Dr. Wells works. Tell them that Dr. Wells saw your cat at their clinic, and you need to get in touch with him regarding a course of treatment he recommended for your cat.

Laurie

I tried asking at Fla Vet Hosp. They were not very friendly about it. I'll re-contact Linkedin about your suggestion. Thanks.

Special trial with linkedin (that allowed me to contact Dr. Wells through inmail without knowing his info) came and went with no contact from Dr Wells. Now I'm stuck.

I have been doubling up on the water I give Dewey with each meal (1/4 c bid with each meal added to raw diet which already has much higher water content than dry food) to see if that is enough. Will watch him carefully. He also gets Carpon every night so I'm not sure which may or may not be doing the trick. Another vet blog online commented that high water intake is the most important factor in handling this syndrome so maybe we're ok. This all started when he had refused his regular raw diet for several days and I gave him some dry food he seemed to like just to get him to eat.

Just fearing his first signs will be on the weekend or in the middle of the night. You know how fast they can turn around. Jane

Yes l just paid $2300 to have ny 3 yo male unblocked. Like you l just kept saying l must get pet insurance and forgot. He is an inside cat only and was well untiil he screamed in pain. i cannot think of losing him so praying he stays well. Good luck to others with the same issue. 🙏🙏❤️❤️🐾🐾