My Cat's Urinary And Liver Problem Advice Needed Please

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Can't offer any advice really but with regards to foods have you had a look on Zooplus for special foods.  I did a seach for "uriniary cat" and there are lots of different options.  If you click on each picture it will bring up the list of ingrediants so you can decide which one would be best for Tom:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/ask?query=urinary+cat&num=20

[Gillian Harvey]

Sorry to hear about poor Tom's problems 

I agree with MM, that he should eat food he likes (preferably a wet food though if he's prone to urinary probs) and bland to start with, plain cooked chicken, then gradually re-introduce normal cat food.

If he has/had struvite type stones then simply feeding a wet food without fillers like cereals, soya etc and a good meat percentage should be fine, water throughput is important. Oxalate stones require different management, but I imagine its not that type as they normally need removal by surgery and you havent mentioned that he's had surgery for this condition. I would not put him back on the prescription urinary diet.

[Millys Mum]

 

I think your right, your cat needs to eat what he likes and put some condition back on. If he has a runny tummy i would use a bland and digestible diet, rc make a sensitivity pouch which is quite palatable, you can get supplements to add to normal food to control his urine ph, i assume he had struvite crystals.
Do they think his liver is raised from not eating or from a different problem? I wouldnt agree to a biopsy until he is much stronger and had an ultrasound first as that may be able to pick something up without the need to open him up.

[clarenmax]

Hi  Rob, and  to Purrs 

It sounds like you're having a worrying time with Tom (would love to see some piccies by the way  ).

Hopefully there will be others along shortly who can give you some helpful ideas and advice.

My boy Max had kidney issues and was told to eat a fully renal diet (probably similar to the diet Tom is on, bland food with very few flavours to choose from) and when he started losing weight, we just gave him normal food a few times a week, particularly if he turned his nose up at the renal stuff, we figured it was more important he eat something, so I do understand where you're coming from on this 

[robuk]

Hello,

I'm Rob from the UK. My cat Tom one of 10  who is now 13 had to go to the vets Monday and was hospitalized until today.

I will give a little background in the hope any other people on here who may of had a similar health problems with their cat can advise on different foods ect.

He also suffers from full epileptic fits which he has had now for a good 7 to 8 years. He used to only get 1 to 3 big ones in a year, but at the vets he had two in one day which they did get under control. That is not the big problem though and I know how to deal with that at home if it happens by just letting it go it's course and make sure no objects are in near him and try to cushion him while the fit is happening.

He suffers with urinary stones for over 10 years and the only food he could have we were told by my old vet was he needed to be on royal canin veterinary diet feline urinary so for life. There is only two flavors chicken and beef and he hates the beef and the chicken he eats but gets so he is hating that.

Now getting back to this week and what happened. He started with a bout of not eating and this went on for 2 days. I usually give it a day or so because this is usually how long it takes before he comes out of it and starts to eat again. His stools were jellified so it was infections like he had a bad one years ago.

I decided he needed to go the vets as he was still not eating, but I made sure he had water as best I could syringe it for him.

The vet said he was dehydrated even though I had been giving him water, it was him being sick made him that way he said. Now because we were told by my old vet (we go to a new one now) that we can't give Tom any other foods but the urinary so he has lost a lot of weight because he just hates the food and so unlike our other cats we can't give him any treats etc which is just heart breaking.

Anyway he took him and hospitalized and said he would be in touch once he had him on a drip and done bloods etc.

He phoned and said that he had a seizure one of two he ended up having that day but was okay after them.

The bloods must of been okay except the liver which he said showed very high levels , not sure if what but I take it he meant everything was elevated in the liver.

He said to rule out anything like a tumor he would do a biopsy but only when he stabilized him. The next day he took more bloods and thankfully he said the levels had dropped a little but he said he now thought the biopsy would be risky with him being so underweight and how he was. He mentioned that because he was so thin that he wanted to consider taking him off the urinary so food and start him on normal food for his weight because he said at that moment it was the lesser of two evils. Anyway they started him later that day on a liver food which I belive was from Hills.

He phoned again said he was eating that fine and would contact me today Wednesday to see how things stand.

Today I get a call that he can come home which he has been home now a little over 8 hours.

He talked with other vets he said and they decided that they would put him back on the urinary so  and treat the liver with tablets.

I was worried because he is so thin and was hoping from what he first said that Tom could go on normal food with tablets for the urinary problem, but I suppose the vets were weighing what was needed most him getting stones and blocked or his weight and liver.

Anyway the tablets I have come home with are:

Amfipen 50mg Twice a Day

Destolit 150mg Quarter Tablet Daily

Doxion 1 Daily

I had a talk with the vet when I went to pick Tom up and talked about how worried I was about his weight and how I had thought he was going to change him to normal food to gain some weight I hoped. He said that they may change it but wants me to watch Tom over the next few days to see how he does on the medications he is on now and how he is with his eating the urinary so food.

I gave him some of his urinary so food this evening and he did eat it all up but also has had Diarrhea 3 times which after looking at the tablets came to the conclusion it might be the Amfipen which is just an antibiotic.

So my question is to anyone here who may of had a similar problem with their cat and could advise on any appropriate foods if there are any for him that would not hurt him other than the urinary so which he hates after eating it for a while and is the reason I think he is so thin.

So if you could name any foods like urinary so in different flavors and maybe some food for his liver problem if that will not give him urinary stones.

It's just heartbreaking seeing him wanting normal foods at times and he can't have them. I will make sure I let the vet know of any foods you think he might be okay with and the vet did mention a Hills I might be okay.

Thanks Everyone

Rob