Blocked Bladder: Case History #2

Blocked Bladder: Case History #2
by MADELEINE SAUNDERS, Stepping Stone Persians

Photos copyrighted by the individual photographers
Article copyright © ShowCatsOnline.com. All Rights Reserved.
Copying or redistribution of this article is strictly prohibited
without the express written permission of ShowCatsOnline.com

I had a male Persian, who began to have repeated urinary tract blockages starting at about three years old.

He would be hospitalized, and come home, and be fine for a few weeks, sometimes a couple of months. Then it would happen again. His bladder would become blocked again.

A few times it was touch and go whether he would make it. He had been on all the special medical dry diets and was drinking only distilled water but nothing seemed to help.

I tried switching him to a raw food diet, and the canned special medical foods for cats with urinary problems, but he wouldn’t touch them.

It got to the point where he was blocking so often I was sure one day soon I would lose him altogether.

A breeder friend suggested I try giving him DL-Methione (an amino acid) to help dissolve the crystals and acidify the urine.

Another breeder suggested he be given a course of Baytril for a few weeks to see if that would help.

I have a wonderful vet who was agreeable to trying a new approach and gave me what I needed to treat him.

I started the Baytril and began to feed him what I call AD soup—just lots of distilled water mixed in with the AD (which he loves) so that he was getting lots and lots of water.

I watched his urine output closely and at the first sign of any straining I gave him one tablet of Ketoprofen for pain and to help him urinate. Then I dissolved a DL-Methione tablet in water and syringed it into him. The pain medication allowed him to urinate while giving time for the DL-Methione and increased water to begin dissolving the crystals.

The owner of a cat with a bladder that is blocking must evaluate the severity of the blockage. It is a judgment call when deciding whether to try treating it at home or if the vet should see him. If a cat is completely blocked, you need to have him examined by your veterinarian quickly.

He receives a ½ can AD morning and night sometimes with water added and sometimes not.
He always has access to Science Diet ID dry food but seldom touches it. It often seems to upset his tummy when he does eat it.
About two or three times a week I add some water to the AD to make it soupy to increase his fluid intake -- just as a precaution.
I also watch his water intake and give him fresh every day to encourage him to drink as much water as possible.
I haven't had to use the DL-Methione for many months and he receives no medication at all.

While AD is not recommended as a full-time diet for cats, in this case, I felt the benefits greatly outweighed the drawbacks. I would rather my cat be alive and healthy then gamble I might lose him by putting him back on a medicated dry food diet again.

I plan to try him on another brand of high quality dry food in the future but will do so cautiously. I will not take him off the AD completely. He carries good weight, good skin condition, is loving and affectionate and would not be happy if I took away completely the AD he loves so much.

Whether this approach would help another cat I cannot say. It did correct the issues my male was having, so it may be worth considering if you have a cat with repeated episodes of blocking and more conventional treatments fail.

NOTE: This protocol to manage my cats blocking issues was followed under the complete supervision of my veterinarian. Please, if you have a cat with a blocking problem, and want to try this diet for management of the condition, discuss it fully with your veterinarian first.