My cat is lucky he is so cute

Jack is still having some health issues and as a result, he is peeing inappropriately again. It is so frustrating because I know he doesn't mean to drive me up the wall, he just is really good at it.

Jack and the great big case of what the carp?!?!

Last week I noticed something was wrong with Jack. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew something was off. Since he has a history of bladder issues, I gave him some of the supplement I have for him for such things and waited to see what happened. The next day I was more concerned. I thought he might be limping, but I couldn't really tell. He seemed very taught in his mid section, so I gave him some more supplement and hoped that what ever was going on would present itself a bit more clearly then the major case of ADR (ain't doin right) he had going on or, preferably, would resolve.  Thursday night his midsection was very taught, and while he didn't seem lethargic he wouldn't get up to get treats.  He ate them happily when I offered them.  I was majorly confused. I was about to lock him away in my bedroom with a litter box to see what was going on but when I offered it to him he went right in and went pee.

Okay, so he wasn't blocked. He was attention seeking and eating. I couldn't be sure he was or wasn't limping. It was nothing really conclusive, and by the time I had convinced myself I saw it, I had also convinced myself he hadn't.

Friday morning I got up and Jack was in his favorite spot, next to Mirror World looking out the window on to the front porch. This is his morning routine.  He laid there while I talked to him.  He laid there while I offered treats to his sisters, and he laid there while I gave him treats... now he usually stands to eat his treats.. however when he is blocked he lays quite differently and he won't eat.

I had a major case of 'what the carp'  His belly was quite taught, but he had no symptoms of pain, he didn't whimper or snap at me while I was manipulating him. He did get up, and he did that 'is he limping??' walk, but then he laid right back down.

That was it, he was going to the vet. His strong reluctance to stand up got me an emergency appointment as long as I didn't mind waiting (I never do), so I packed him up and off we went.

I had actually planned to call the vet next week to get him and Fleurp in for blood work rechecks. He was due for this thyroid panel, she is due for checking her anemia and make sure it is gone. Fleurp is in the week post pred, so I wanted to wait another week and make sure she was holding her RBC... you know how it goes, you plan cats laugh.

So we get to the vet, we happily wait because we know we'll be seen long before the first available appointment they had. He gets examined and his bladder feels very large. He is walking just fine at the vet, not a hint of a limp. Vet jumps to the idea he might be blocked. Don't think I didn't get there on my own. She takes him out back to draw the blood for the bloodwork and to do an xray of his bladder to make sure there isn't a stone. After they take him I think that if he is limping he isn't going to want to walk down the stairs to use the box, so I ask the staff to give him a litter box and they said they would.  Well low and behold he used it and left them a nice deposit to clean up. Phew, not blocked.

But what is going on?? The vet wondered if he didn't get into a fight or an accident, and since we haven't had any discord in the house in months I can't imagine it is a fight issue. One suspect clue is that his weight is now nearly 15lbs.  He has put on a LOT of weight since his I131. He should be around 12. His bloodwork came back on Saturday and his thyroid level is 1.2 (0.8-4.7) which the vet treating him thinks is ideal, but I wonder if it isn't too low for him. Weight gain is a sign of low thyroid..

So, what we are speculating happened is because of his weight he jumped down from somewhere and gave himself an injury of one type or other. The vet gave him an injection of pain meds there and gave me three days of meds to go home (although it is an eight hour medication and she only gave me two doses, so... not quite three days, but I'm guessing they just wanted to help take the edge off)

We brought him home from the vet and he went right back to his corner and laid down. He was there two hours later when I got home from work. He was still there a couple of hours after that, but that evening he was running around after us looking for attention.

The next morning Miz Robyn was stopping by, so I got up nice and early to give him the pain meds, and by the time she got there he was himself - which was so nice for me and Robyn :)

I noticed he hadn't been getting up on the bed, so we went and got the cat stairs we made years ago for Em, and that we broke out again for Ollie. I am happy to say I have gotten my morning licks, but he has been spending way more time than what is normal for him on it.

I put a litter box in the bathroom for him so that he doesn't need to go downstairs, but EVERYONE is using it.. (my cats are so lazy) but at least he has somewhere to go, and his bladder is happy for that. If he isn't better soon I will be bringing him back for more xrays of his joints.

I've also emailed the clinic that gave him the I131 with the issue of the weight gain and how it is bothering him. They questioned if it might not be the food, although none of the other cats have put on two pounds and they all eat the same,  and also suggested a test that might see if we need to do something else for him. I'm currently looking into that option and hope we have answers soon

Life with Jack

As most of you know, for the past couple of years we have had to deal with inappropriate elimination with Jack. I still firmly believe that some treats that were made in China had something to do with it, as the correlation was way too strong.

Last summer we took yet another trip to yet another vet for inappropriate elimination (peeing on the heater in the bathroom and on the front of the washing machine) in hopes to ward off his blocking again.  This time the vet recommended a full blood panel. Jack was 12 at the time so it was well worth doing a senior panel and it had been a while since he had a regular vet, so I agreed.

That blood work came back that Jack had a higher than normal thyroid level. It was not obnoxiously high, 5.2 or 5.4 when the high reference was 4.7 (0.8-4.7 being the normal range). It was recommended we put him on thyroid medication and see what happened.

Well except for a few more incidents right at the beginning he has been pretty much (but not completely) inappropriate pee free since.

Pilling him was easy, but I could tell that he was bothered by it.  I tried offering it to him in treats but the pills were bitter and it was hard to hide it in food. I decided to crunch the numbers and see if I could afford I131 - the radioactive iodine treatment which is the 'gold standard' for treating hyperthyroid issues. The radioactive iodine when done right kills off the high functioning cells of the tumor that is pumping out excessive thyroid hormones while leaving the healthy tissue alone. I realized that buying pills from my vet I would be ahead of the financial game if Jack lived three to four years longer. I could find cheaper sources of the pills which would bring that number out longer, but I would still have to force pills down Jack's throat twice a day. To me, there was a price I was willing to pay to not have to do that to him.

Deciding to inject your cat with radioactive substances is not an easy one. This is one of those things that you are told to avoid at all costs. Then you are bombarded with how you need to keep your cat isolated and his waste is so radioactive that you need to keep it isolated for 90 days. I'll admit, I was more than a little freaked out; but then I pilled Jack and he looked at me like I had just betrayed him and I started looking for a place to perform the procedure.

I had three semi local options.  One about half an hour away one about an hour and a half away, and one in town Boston. I researched what would be the best option for Jack. Getting the thyroid scanned would give the most accurate dosing level. Some clinics dose on the weight of the cat, some dose on the level of thyroid dysfunction, and some do the scan and know exactly how much should be given. Only one clinic scanned and was willing to take a higher risk cat - which Jack is with his history of blocking; we went to Angell in Boston.

We did the treatment while I was out of town at Barkworld. We picked him up as I was coming home. I had done some research on the levels of radiation that Jack would be emitting post treatment and I realized that it was pretty minimal. They want you to be extra cautious because it is hard to know what a person's radiation exposure will be in a lifetime and it is better to keep it as low as possible. I decided I have very little exposure in my life. I don't travel by plane all that much, I broke my leg in the 8th grade and that was the last time I had an xray save for some dental xrays. So other than discouraging Jack from licking me (which was oh so hard since he just recently started licking my nose to tell me he loves me) I decided I was not going to exclude him from my life. He slept on my bed, we snuggled, I kissed him regularly.

It was recommended that I test him one month post treatment and three months post treatment. One month post his thyroid level was 1.9 (ref 0.8-4.7).  I was a little concerned this was a little low but I knew we had just really started on this journey.  For the most part Jack has been acting like a 12/13 yr old cat. Sometimes he seems 'poopy' to me, but all I need to do is talk to him and he perks right up and chats with me and he is interactive (aka asking for cookies).  His fur has also been less than perfect with a smattering of small matts showing up where they never did before. About a month ago I was afraid that he might have something else wrong because he seemed to be in pain due to the way he was standing with his feet slightly closer together and his back slightly arched (no, my husband didn't see it). A trip to the vet didn't show anything and over the next few weeks he seems to be getting over it. I still constantly worry about his urinary PH. I do not know why but a lot of my cats have urinary PH of 7.0. Considering how much raw meat they are eating and how few plants, their urine should be closer to 6.0. To help him deal with this I still occasionally give him a pill created for optimal urinary health that helps acidify his urine.

I just took him to the vet for his post three months (yes, a bit late) and this time his thyroid level was 1.4 (ref: 0.8-4.7) which concerns me a bit. Because of his age, I would feel more comfortable if his level was closer to if not slightly above 2.0.  I would also be more comfortable if his level wasn't going down.  I emailed Angell last night to see what they make of his levels and see if they make any recommendations.  I am not unhappy with these numbers, just slightly concerned so I thought I would ask.

Jack is still "frickin amazing" and he makes me smile every single day. Yesterday he stole one of the hairball relief tablets I bought for Fleurp (in case her anemia has ANYTHING to do with the major shed she goes through each spring) when it fell out of the container when I took the cotton out of the jar. He liked it so much that a few minutes later he nosed the container right off the counter hoping it would pop open when it fell and he could steal some more. When it didn't work, he threw a few other things off the counter hoping to hit the bottle and have it pop open.. since this method has worked for him in the past.

I seriously love that boy of mine.

What I know - what you might want to know after a diagnosis of struvite crystals.

I have two cats that blocked with urinary crystals, and one of those two (points at Jack) is so sensitive that we have had recurring issues.. it has been a nightmare. Because of this I have done a lot of reading and research on the matter, looking at not only conventional treatments but alternatives.

What I have learned..

Science has never explained why some cats get struvite crystals and others do not, but they do know that once you have them and there is a problem, there are a few things that are really important to treat them. A cat who has problems with struvite crystals are at risk of being blocked, which is a very deadly issue. If you find your cat going in and out of the litter box you need to get your cat to the vet. If the cat is peeing, you might have a day; if your cat is not peeing, it is an emergency. A cat generally has 36-48 hours after being blocked before long term damage occurs including death.

Both male and female cats suffer from crystals in their urine, but you see it more often in males because of their longer urethra which are more easily irritated. I have heard some people say they do not need to worry about females, that is not true. Vets often prescribe a perineal urethrostomy, a surgery that removes the cat's penis and reconstructs the 'plumbing'. I have been told we should do this to Jack, but this does nothing to remove the crystals from his bladder which would still be very irritated if we weren't able to understand when he was having an issue and if left too long it is still possible for him to block, just as it is possible for female cats to block.

Please note that not all cats that have urinary crystals have a problem with them. If your cat is discovered to have urinary crystals but has no clinical symptoms with it, do not feel the need to treat them, but it is not a bad idea to keep these kitty well hydrated and their urinary PH in the proper range for a cat.

Keeping the cat well hydrated will keep the urine from becoming concentrated allowing the crystals to bunch up and keeping the cat's urinary PH in the 'ideal' acidic range of 6.0-6.5 (with neutral being 7) will also keep things flowing properly. When my cat is showing he is having issues, his urinary PH is usually 8.0

Long term treatments:

Wet foods will keep your kitty better hydrated than dry. Cats have a very low thirst drive since they were originally desert creatures. That is why water fountains work to help keep cats better hydrated, as desert creatures they recognize running water as fresh faster than stagnant water sitting in a bowl. When you think about it, it makes sense; if you come upon two sources of water, one a running brook, the other a stagnant pool, which one are you going to drink out of first? One maker of Rx urinary food thinks hydration is the most important issue and addresses it by adding all kinds of extra salt into their food to encourage the cats to drink more. I haven't come across a study yet that says extra salt is bad for a cat, but I have a feeling it just hasn't been studied yet.

The other issue is keeping the PH in the right range. Science shows us that plants are *generally* alkalizing.. (driving urinary ph up to the 8 range) and meat is *generally* acidifying (bringing it back down to the 6.5 range) So you want to find a canned food that has as few plants as possible. Low glycemic greens are better than other fruits and veg and grain. I'm not opposed to some parsley and what not, but apples and squash.. I tend to forgo those. Spinach is right out for me because it's high oxalate content - which can risk oxalate stones which are harder to get rid of. It is very hard to find a food that says it uses good quality meat that isn't full of fruits and vegetables. The foods that don't tout their high quality meats - like your supermarket brands - tend not to use as many plants in their foods. Be wary of health claims Big Pet Food makes regarding fruit and veg. Cats are obligate carnivores and their systems are completely different from omnivores that are able to properly digest plants and extract the nutrients out of them. Plant based proteins are sources of protein which makes protein counts look good on labels, but since cats lack the digestive enzymes to break them down, they can not extract out of them and utilize what they need... not to mention they generally are alkalizing..

While on the whole any canned food is far superior to dry food, be aware that certain types of canned food NEED plant based binders in order to form the chunks or shreds, etc. There are very few brands that don't use them. There are some manufactures that are working on high animal protein kibble with very little carbs, but these foods still have the problem of being dehydrating.

All this being said, the best food for your kitty is the one it will eat. Do not stress over switching your cat's food... because if you bring that stress to the cat it will sense it and be less hesitant to try to eat it. Remember, the resistance to trying new foods is biological, so your cat isn't being stubborn or pig headed in not eating the good food you just got them. Cats learn from their mom which foods are foods, if mom didn't bring it home it obviously wasn't edible because she needed to hunt a lot of food to provide for a family. You can overcome this instinct, but it takes a lot of patience, it is in your cat's best interest to not be willing to just eat any ol thing in front of it, so be glad for it (says the woman who has cats who grew up in the foster system eating anything and everything and are now so food motivated it can be a problem)

But my cat was just diagnosed, what do I need to know?

Please note that most times when a cat is suffering from urinary crystals, there is no infection. Too many people continue to call any and all urinary issues with a cat a UTI, which is misleading and can be harmful to cats. A lot of vets default to prescribing antibiotics to a cat with urinary crystals despite not finding any bacteria upon examination. This is as bad for our cats as it is for us. Overuse of antibiotics is rampant in our society and should be avoided *if you can*. If there is a known infection, or they had to do any sort of invasive procedures to get your cat unblocked, by all means get antibiotics. If you can, try not to get a broad spectrum one, but do a culture and sensitivity to find which antibiotic is necessary to kill the particular infection. When giving antibiotics, you should also be giving probiotics to keep the gut flora happy. Many cats have diarrhea while on antibiotics and it is because the antibiotics are broad spectrum and kill any bacteria they come in contact with, good or bad. Yes, this is more expensive, but it will be less stress on you and your cat in the long run because you won't need to do trial and error with expensive drugs.

If your cat has blocked, please talk to your vet about bringing home pain management medication as well as an antispasmodic to keep the bladder from spasming and causing more problems for your kitty. This is usually a pill and will make a huge difference in your cat's recovery. I would also recommend talking to your vet about doing at home subq fluids which will help your kitty stay well hydrated especially if it is not feeling well enough to eat properly or it is addicted to dry food.

There are herbs and supplements you can use to help keep your kitty's bladder happy. L-methionine is an amino acid that helps acidify the urine. You can buy it at most health food stores and supplement stores. Most pet food companies use a lower quality DL-methionine in their pet foods to help keep urinary PH lowered because they use a lot of plant matter. You need to be cautious when supplementing with L-methionine because if you make the cat's urine too acidic you can cause additional problems. I use it with my cats short term when I see they are uncomfortable. Slippery Elm Bark, Marshmallow Root and Corn Silk are three herbs that help soothe the mucous membranes of the irritated bladder and help the kitty recover from a bout of inflammation. Cosequin will also help keep the bladder in good health. For long term use with Jack I used UT support from Pet Naturals of Vermont, the tablets not the chews.

Keep in mind, I am not a vet, and this is for informational purposes only. There is lots of information out there on the web regarding dosing a kitty.. If you want to know what I do with my cat, I'll tell you but I won't tell you what to do with your cat.

Jack has seen a multitude of vets for his inappropriate elimination. Each and every one of them stressed how incredibly important it was to start their Rx foods. Since Jack is incredibly sensitive to plant based ingredients, I will not feed them. You can do better. As I touched on above, one Rx is to acidify which you can do better at home with high animal based protein diets.. the other on hydration. Know you do not need to buy or feed these diets. You can if you choose. They are easy and a lot of cats do okay on them, but to me they are a lot like giving a diabetic pile of cookies and then more insulin to cover the additional sugar.

Sometimes when Jack had issues he had crystals, sometimes he did not. Stress was a major factor for him when he started peeing in his designated 'I feel bad so I'm going to pee here' places. Stress can take many different forms, the addition or subtraction of a household pet or household members, a change in routine, a change in food, a change in your pet's food's normal formula, even your own state of mind.. i.e. if you are stressed. Jack's latest issues were because he was stressed because he was hyperthyroid.

Know you are not alone in this diagnosis. Because of the lack of a nutritional foundation in the veterinary education, vets have been recommending dry food for decades. I have been told many times that there is no difference between wet and dry food but the water - and who wants to pay for water (this was also the attitude of one president of a Big Pet Food Company I went to visit a few years ago). The list of ingredients will tell you that is completely not true. Even in Rx diets that come in wet and dry varieties, you can see the ingredient list is vastly different.

I know that a diagnosis of urinary issues is overwhelming, especially if your kitty was blocked. Following the vet's recommendations, including the Rx food, until the cat is back on their feet can make things less stressful for you and there is nothing wrong with that. If you want alternatives, know they are out there. Talk to the vet about antispasmodics for the short term while your cat's bladder recovers, and if you are up for it subq fluids that can help too. A lot of cats are transitioned off of the Rx food and onto a high protein diet food and never have issue with crystals again.

Additional reading on the subject:

Catinfo.org
feline-nutrition.org

Jack and I131

So I have been blogging about Jack and his issues but I thought I should make a full post about what went on so there would be a good reference point if ever I feel the need to share my story with someone.

Jack, born in 2002, has had a nearly lifelong dance with urinary issues. He blocked for the first time when he was three or four years old. We had a hard time with it, and he reblocked pretty quickly. At the time Eli had already blocked and was on 'prescription' urinary food and we had successfully transitioned him to canned food without issues. Em was still alive and she was diabetic, so she was on diabetic food. Trying to feed my household of cats three different types of food was not easy. I read a lot and learned more about feline nutrition and realized the best food for my urinary boys was the best food for my diabetic cat and it was also the ideal diet for any cat, which led me down the road to feeding raw.

For years Jack did very well on this diet unless he got into things he shouldn't. I would bring home dry food for the foster kittens and he would find it and chew through bags. I brought home wheat based cat litter and he did the same, and again with the corn based litter.  I was able to control his urinary issues knowing what happened to him and giving him acidifying supplements and limiting the amount of plants he ate.

A couple of years ago I bought some treats that were made in China. The print on the bag was so small and barely legible and the buzz words on the front of the package were so akin to what I was looking for that I didn't bother to search for those three words. Shortly after he ate them he started having problems and started urinating around the house. I could not figure out why, no one could. I blame the treats, and to this day I still do. Might it have been a major coincidence, sure. Might it be the treats, why not.  They will never take responsibility for it though. Heck to this day they still don't know why jerky treats made in China are killing pets, but anyway..

Jack's tolerance for plant based ingredients went to about 5% to less than 1% of his diet.  Whenever he got too much, he would start peeing, and on a few instances would block. It got so very expensive for us. Vets recommended the Perineal Urethrostomy (PU) surgery for him which would remove his penis so he would have a much harder time becoming blocked. I didn't much like this idea because how would I know when he was uncomfortable?

I was without a vet at this time since my last vet gave my cat medication without my permission and did not care that I was upset. I had taken Jack to several different vets to examine him when he would start urinating. I was running out of vets in the area that I could go see because each one invariably would do something that gave me some serious concerns about allowing them to continue to treat my cats. I ended up taking him to one of the newer clinics in the area owned by a vet that used to work with a woman I used to work with. I am not completely satisfied there, but at least they accept what I want and what I don't want. The vet that saw him there the first time suggested running a full blood panel on him since nothing showed up upon initial exam and she found he was hyperthyroid.

Later I joined a hyperthyroid board and apparently inappropriate elimination can be a sign of hyperthyroid. He had none of the other symptoms: eating too much, drinking a lot, weight loss.

The vet gave me the option of medication. They put Jack on 2.5mg of methimazole twice a day, and we retested his blood three weeks later. His thyroid level was on the very bottom rung of normal which scared me because we were supposed to test him at four weeks. The vet was pleased with where he was and suggested I keep up that dose. I went to support boards online and learned that he should be in the middle of normal and the track he was on would lead him to be hypothyroid.  I immediately cut his dose in half - a fairly standard dosing for a cat - and we retested him in four weeks and his thyroid level was right in the middle of where it was supposed to be.

We were very lucky that he did not have kidney issues being hidden by his high thyroid levels. If we had, we would have dealt with that too.

There are four ways to treat hyperthyroidism in cats. The first is medication. The medication suppresses the thyroid production, but does nothing to treat the actual condition that is causing the problem. Leaving the tumors will allow them to continue to grow and risk them turning malignant. There are also some significant side effects that some cats have to deal with.

The newest way is to remove all iodine from the cat's diet by feeding them the new thyroid diet. This can help cats that can't be medicated, and people who can not afford additional treatments, but the food is very low quality and provides very poor nutrition for cats. If you are looking at long term solutions, this is not one of them. My biggest problem with this food is there no animal based proteins in the dry food.  For an obligate carnivore this should not be an option. There is a nice write up on why the iodine deficient food is not a good choice here, so I will just leave it at that.

They used to perform surgery to remove the nodules on the thyroid, but this is very invasive, and the success rate isn't what it is with I131. Also the cost is often comparable to I131.

The 'gold standard' of hyperthyroid treatment is now I131. Since the thyroid is the only known organ in the body to use iodine, they believe that making it radioactive will kill the highly producing tumor nodule, leaving the less active normal thyroid gland alone. They inject it into the muscle and let it do its thing. The only down side of this treatment is sometimes they give too much and it does kill off some normal thyroid gland and the cat becomes hypo. Faced with having to pill Jack for the rest of his life, hopefully six to eight years, I was willing to risk that. Jack is easy to pill, but no matter what I do and how I go about it, it was obvious that he would prefer I not do that. There were times that I missed his pill and he started showing signs of being uncomfortable, so I was faced with his urinary issues becoming more of an issue, and when I added up the cost of the pills (not to mention the regular blood work) it would have only taken a few years before the cost of I131 would have been less.

I then had three options for treatment centers. There is a place with in my own state, but it is owned by the same clinic that sent Jack home covered in blood when he blocked while I was in Kansas. There is the popular nationwide chain that is located in Massachusetts, and there is Angell in Boston MA. They are one of the few places that are willing to take on a cat with multiple health issues. Because Jack has a recent history of urinary problems, I decided to go with Angell. One thing that I really liked about their program is that they do a thyroid scan prior to dosing to be sure of the size, shape and location of the tumor.  Some places dose on weight and some dose on the thyroid level in the blood. I feared that both were more likely to lead to hypo, so this added to my choice of Angell. The cost was several hundred dollars more than my local place, and the two hour road trip to get there was not an easy decision to make, but when I weighed the benefits it was really the only option I could live with.

Jack blocked the last time I went on a trip, so we had plans to have him go in hospital while I was at BarkWorld. Due to their schedule, he had to go in on Monday and they generally release on Saturday. They scan on Monday after drop off and give the treatment on Wednesday. We had made arrangements to pick him up on Sunday when I arrived home so I could pick up my boy, but they only did pick ups until four, so we had plans to pick him up first and then me, but he was hiding while at the vet - very unlike my outgoing boy - so my husband went and picked him up on Saturday.

We had plans to isolate him, but he did not want that at all, and when he got free the other cats were not bothered by his presence other than to sniff him wondering where he was, so we just let him have free run. He is spending more time with me and my husband than is recommended, but he is needy and confused when we push him away, so I am putting up with the radiation. I don't engage in many activities that would put me in contact with a lot of radiation, and I asked for pat downs at the airport instead of the x ray machine, so I'm hoping I'll be okay.  Jack generally wants 10-20 minutes of lovin in the morning and the evening, and I am putting an end to it a bit earlier than he would like.

Fortunately the side effects from the treatment will only show up in the blood work, so there really isn't anything to watch for now and my only job is to make him happy.  He is himself in every way, aside from his being slightly more needy since the trip. I was told he would be radiation free and all restrictions should end on the 15th and at that point I'll let him lick my nose (and eyelids) all he wants. Sometime after that I will take him in for a follow up blood test to see how he is doing.  So far we haven't had any known instances of inappropriate elimination, so I think things are going well.

I ended up coming down with my annual cold a few weeks early so I've been in bed for the past two days and all of my cats have been VERY happy about that. I currently have all seven of them in the bed with me.

Jack's trip to Angell for his I131

Yesterday my husband and I took Jack down to Boston to be checked into Angell Animal Medical Center for his I131 treatment for his hyperthyroid. I had options that were closer but I chose Angel because they dosed cats based on a scan and not by weight. I didn't like the idea that a cat who has a high thyroid reading got the same dose as a cat with a very high reading. I also chose Angel because they can treat cats with multiple health issues and I was freaking out at the idea of him being overly stressed and it causing him urinary issues.

We had a 10 am appointment and it is two hours away so we got a very early start.  Someone was not impressed.

He mewed quite pathetically once he was in the vehicle, and I was afraid the guilt of his unhappiness was going to kill me, but once we got under way he quieted down and we didn't hear from  him again.

The drive was pretty uneventful thankfully but even with leaving extra time we got there at 10:02.. they got us into a room pretty quickly and the doctor was very personable and Dr Duddy was very nice.  Jack was a bit freaked out by the drive, but I got him purring and making biscuits and eating treats, which helped my mental state a lot. He adapts very well to new situations since he was introduced to a lot when he was a kitten, so I'm sure he is adapting very well. However they then said to take my carrier with me. Leaving a veterinarian office with an empty carrier has only happened when end of life has occurred, so I was very close to tears, and I made my husband run the carrier out to the car while I waited to pay. The bill was the high side of the estimate I had gotten and was nearly $2000.. *sigh* but he is worth it, and believing this was his best option out of the three I had (and it was only a couple of hundred dollars more than the local place - which I REALLY did not want to give my money to considering how they treated him last time)

Post by Tails from the Foster Kittens.

After we dropped him off my husband suggested we go for lunch at Panera. When we were there I had strong memories of being at Panera in Kansas with Amy and Lisa when Jack blocked, but I kept reminding myself this would not be a real issue at all.  They don't sedate him, the only real risk I could tease out of all of my reading would be they overdosed him and it kills some of the regular thyroid and he turns out hypo instead of hyper. Since we had to pill him twice a day without this, I figured we'd be right back where we are now if that happened, and this gives him the best chance of 'fixing' him and I am hopeful that all of the peeing we have had as of late can be attributed to his being hyperthyroid (it is a symptom that often happens but isn't really recognized as one of the standard side effects).

So when I get sad about his not being safe at home, I remind myself this is in his best interest.

I just got my daily call about how he is doing. He ate dinner for them and the scan went well so they are all set for tomorrow to give him the treatment. I wish I had been more comfortable asking more questions like 'is he flirting with you' and 'did you call him a handsome boy today?"  and yes, I REALLY want to ask for the camera feed that is monitoring them, but darn it if I don't have a lot to finish up before I get on a plane tomorrow.  I'm probably not going to be online a lot between now and when we get home with Jack, who is coming home with me as my husband is picking him up before getting me from Logan Sunday night.

I can get through this.. really.. I just have to remember to not focus on he isn't home.. Interestingly enough this was his horoscope from Caren and Cody for this month:

Taurus cats typically like ritual, consistency, and a laid-back lifestyle. However, the planets may have something else in store this month. The positioning of Mars – as well as Jupiter and Uranus – will break down the routine and open up for something new.

Thankful Thursday - Brothers once more?

I took this photo this morning.. looks like Eli has accepted Jack back.. either that or he's just really intent on showing this new cat that he's not willing to compromise.. I'm going for the former..

Jack's penis sheath is still swollen.. looks more like a little gray cherry tomato.. poor thing.  It is not overly warm or pink or anything, just plump.  (and don't worry, Jack has no modesty.. he does not mind one bit you thinking about his penis - he is just happy you are thinking of him) He still has a few more days of pain meds and antispasmodics to get through... the next big hurdle would be me trusting that he is urinating just fine through out the day. I moved the drop cam so I could watch him today, and wouldn't you know it went down about an hour after I got into work.. *sigh*  It was enough time to see him use the box and not go in and out of it several times.  A jump in, a bit of getting down to business and a jump out and he left the bathroom.

I have been opening up the bedroom for him to go out and about and for the other cats to have their bed time. When I do that I cover up his litter box so the rest of the crew doesn't jump in and have a go. Last night he was out for several hours and when I went to close him in for the night and uncover the box I found he had peed on the floor near the box. Nice clear not bloody pee. I want to complain, but I can't.

We had quite a big of good snuggling last night and I got my nose lick this morning.. so he is still feeling good.

He is however making it a point that he wants Fancy Feast.  He didn't want raw. He didn't want the cans of S/O I had... so Fancy Feast it is.. and isn't Fleurp annoyed since it is 'hers'..

I have to tell you, I can not wait for things to get back to 'normal'..

and I also have to confess, I am really jonesin some kittens..

Update on Jack

Quick recap:  Jack had five teeth extracted a week ago, and he was off since then. In an attempt to help him I gave him something I shouldn't have and the stress of the dental and the carbs caused him to block and he ended up in the emergency clinic on Sunday. I was able to bring him home Monday night. There is yet another set of vets and staff who absolutely adore Jack, and they kept gushing over how wonderful he was and how well he was eating.  Yup, my boy is ridiculously awesome.

I brought him home Monday night and things seemed to be okay. He was obviously not 100% but he was already much better than he had been since the dental. I asked them to take a look in his mouth when he was sedated, and the e-vet thought the suture might have been too tight causing some discomfort for him. Because of everything he has gone through, he is on an antispasmodic for his bladder, clavamox (antibiotic) for his teeth, his thyroid pill and buprenex for pain. I'm also supplementing him with l-methionine to keep his urine acidic and corn silk to help soothe his bladder. I am so glad I saved some of the gel caps from some of his supplements that I had previously mixed in with food to stick them all in instead of having to give him three or four pills. He is thankful too.

I'm also giving him fluids once or twice a day depending on how he is doing.  His kitty bits are all shaved and you can see his penis sheath, and it is still pretty swollen.

Anyway, Monday night he hung out in the bedroom with me, but at some point he had to 'use the facilities' and left. Apparently Eli is completely confused by Jack - he did have a bath while he was at the eclinic - and there was a scuffle. I got up and it was over before I found them so I assumed it was nothing big. I went back to bed, but Jack didn't come back, so I got up and went into the living area where Jack had been hanging out prior to the trip to the eclinic, and Jack and I hung out together for a while and I got a little sleep.  There was another scuffle which again was over before I got up, but it bothered me enough to set Jack up in the bedroom.  Mostly because Jack peed on the couch because he didn't feel welcome enough to go into the basement. I also found out later he peed on a pair of my jeans, which I'm sure was the result of that first scuffle. The rest of The Crew is not happy about that as it is a favored place. He is still there. We have had a few field trips out into the house to reintroduce his scent to them and to cover him up with their scent. Hopefully Jack will be feeling well enough soon to stand up to Eli being a goober and peace will restored to our happy home.

This does not bode well for his I131 treatment at the end of the month. I am not sure exactly how long Jack will be gone for that, but it will be at least a week. But Jack shouldn't need a bath and he shouldn't be feeling carpy when he comes home, so hopefully this won't be an issue.. and HOPEFULLY *knocks wood* we won't ever have to deal with this again since I now accept fully that my boy is so sensitive that his kinda ridiculous..

Jack and Eli and the horrible no good day

Drunk Eli

 Last Wednesday my two eldest boys went to the vet to have their teeth cleaned.  Eli's mouth looked bad, but I had a feeling it was fairly structurally sound.  There was one spot where he cried out when I tried to clean it, but on the whole he looked good - well when I say looked good, I mean covered in tartar and really needing a dental, but I wasn't worried.

Jack on the other hand..

Jack.  What can I say about my sweet sweet, obnoxiously adorable loving boy who likes to lick my nose and rest his head on mine when I wake up in the morning... lets just put it this way, he is delicate.

When brushing their teeth I have noticed that one of his lower canines had a pretty big caries in it. I really really hated the idea of his losing a canine, but I figure it had to be bothering him.  So caught up in the mess that was his urinating in the house then the thyroid, I had been putting it off for a while. It didn't help that I had a very hard time finding a veterinarian I was willing to put my trust in enough to go back to more than once.

So off I went on Wednesday morning with my two boys.. Jack travels very well in the car.. Eli - not so much.

Post by Tails from the Foster Kittens.

The plan was to drop them off and then pick them up and take Fleurp in to make sure her seasonal late spring anemia has cleared up.  I got a call half way through the day. Eli had one tooth removed. Jack had five.

Eli

Jack

I really hate the idea that his teeth were that bad and I didn't know it. He lost all the remaining teeth on his lower right side as well as his canine and one from the left.  I asked about antibiotics and they said he didn't need any. They were given a extended release buprenex that lasted for three days.  Both came home drunk out of their minds. Poor Eli's eyes were so dilated all you could see were black.

Jack tends to get very restless on buprenex, and this was no exception.  He wandered around aimlessly never able to get comfortable. I was afraid to pill him, so I tried to hide his thyroid pill in some baby food. Eli, being a very affectionate drunk, came over to see what was going on. I offered him a little baby food too, and he took one lick and then headbutted the rest so the food was all over him. He then rubbed his head all over Jack and the two of them were covered.

So Thursday they were still loopy, not walking as straight as they normally would, but eating. Jack still hadn't groomed all of the food off himself, and when I got home at the end of the day his mouth seemed like he had been drooling. Eli was now back to his normal self, but my sensitive boy Jack was not. He still seemed restless and drunk. I just assumed he needed more time, so I gave him his thyroid pill in more baby food and went to bed.

Friday.. Jack still seemed off. He was happy to see us, purred affectionately when we patted him, but he was staying very close to the living room and had not yet come to sleep in the bed since the surgery. He also seemed to have had a little diarrhea, which I emailed the vet to report. I tried patting his chest and ended up touching his chin and he flinched pretty badly.

Saturday. Now it is obvious that Jack's mouth is bothering him. It looks like he might have been drooling, or something is going on because the fur around his face is off. He is very interested in the treats I gave him when I pilled him, and he is still interested in everything and affectionate, but still 'stuck' in the living room/kitchen (we have one great room with living room/dining room/kitchen) That afternoon I examine him a little closer and smell something foul in his mouth, and it looked like there was a line of white on top of where his teeth should have been. I saw it when he had the teeth removed, and that was not there. Since I have antibiotics, I decided to give them to him since he had just had five teeth removed, I figure it could not hurt. However, to make it easier on him since I also had a thyroid pill and some more buprenex to give him I grabbed a bag of pill pockets and put the thinnest amount possible around the pill to cover it to entice Jack to eat it. And eat it he did.. and he loved it and asked for more.

I am an idiot.

Because this morning Jack is doing the pee pee dance. Figuring the small amount of glucose/carbs/plants/magickillerjuju that set him off this time couldn't be that bad, I gave him some l-methionine to acidify his urine to break up and crystals that might be there and soothe his bladder and some corn silk to help soothe his bladder as well as his thyroid and his clavamox and some more buprenex.  He continued to dance about, unable to settle.  The question was was he not settling because he was having a urinary issue (not possible I tried to convince myself, there was not nearly enough there to set him off) or because he was uncomfortable about his teeth / the buprenex which tends to make him very restless.  About 15 minutes later he settled down and laid down and seemed to be trying to go to sleep, so I left him for a while.  I wanted to give him some time to let the supplements and medications do their job.  Since he was reluctant to eat his supplements as well as treats offered, I gave him some fluids.  He was not happy about getting them and I only got about half what I would have liked into him. (Interesting aside, he ran way when I said 'Okay, we are done' but I hadn't yet taken the needle out of him. It flung out of him and hit me in the thigh making me bleed quite profusely before I had even realized what had happened)

By 2 PM he wasn't getting better and was laying on his side with his leg up in the air - his sign for his belly hurts - so we packed him up and went to the only emergency clinic in the area that hasn't ticked me off..  (this one was quite lovely and at this point has a five star rating from me) and low and behold he is blocked.. and they want to give him a catheter to help him.  We waited around for the procedure and the vet came out and said he did very well and they flushed a lot of crystals out of him and his bladder was quite spasmodic. So we left, and now I'm home, Jackless..

I have work in the office on Monday, and he will still be at the eclinic until then anyway, but I have a feeling I am going to take a few days off from work. This past week was rough on me to begin with - not sleeping well at all for some reason (it started on Monday) and then knowing my boy was not feeling well didn't help, and now this.  It will be good, because I would like to work on my fundraiser. I want Jack to have I131 treatment for his thyroid condition, and we have had a number of expenses one after the other pile up, and now this.. I'm not broke and we can cover them all but my reserve is getting thin and I worry about what will happen if something else comes up.. I figure if I can provide something that you would like to pay for and it makes you happy, I'll feel good about asking for money from you.  I have a number of cat related items that are just taking up space in my house, and I was thinking of making some cat toys that you might be interested in. I know fundraising is difficult right now, especially going into the holiday season, but hopefully something good can come out of this for everyone :)

My plan (oh like those ever work out for me) is to have Jack have his treatment over Halloween while I am away at Barkworld in GA. I will feel MUCH better about leaving the house for an extended period of time if Jack is in a vet's care, but it is coming up fast and I still need to get my ducks in a row..   Well at this point I have two of my cats in a row...

Sponsored Post - Petnostics

A while back I ran across a company called Petnostics. I was floored by the idea and really wanted to a) try out the product and b) share it with all of you, so I contacted the company and asked if they would be interested in sending me a sample to test out.  They agreed.  The delay in my post is because I had a few complications while using the product which I will share with you below, but all in all I still love the idea of the product, and they seem to think my situation was a fluke.  Maybe it was, maybe it was my phone being older, I don't know, but I still support the company.

So Petnostics is a home diagnostic test kit. You collect a urine sample and use their test kit along with an app on your phone to take a photo of the results and do the diagnostics.

Can you understand why I love this? I am a HUGE fan of anything that puts more information in the hands of the pet owner to help them understand their pet and get a handle on what is going on with them. It started out for me when I learned years after the initial diagnosis that I could test my diabetic cat with a human glucometer to find out what her blood sugar levels were instead of having to trapse her down to the vet every time I wanted to know.

I originally contacted them back in May and Stephen was very receptive to my inquiry and sent three samples out to me via FedEx. In each box is a collection cup, a pair of plastic gloves and the diagnostic cover. The cover comes with a multi pad strip on it that once the urine touches it will give you a diagnostic result - much like a PH strip (and urine PH is one of the things measured on here). The app allows your phone to use a photo you take of the cover - you need to line up the squares on the cover with the squares in the app - and it interprets the findings.

The box with everything in side

the diagnostic cover, sealed tight to keep it from being contaminated.

My phone and the app

I was so lucky that Jack just gave me a sample.

waiting the 60 seconds after exposing the strip to the urine.
The app even does the counting for you

waiting.. 

I had a bit of an issue getting the squares on the cover (see the ones with the black outline and black square in the middle?) to align where they needed to go in the app, but it probably only took me 10 seconds. Once I got it right, it took the photo automatically for me, and then gave me the results.



Each results is three images long, so I'm keeping the images small so you can see them all together.

This initial result freaked me right out. I was testing Jack because he is my boy with the urinary issues and was peeing inappropriately. I had recently given him a supplement to lower his urine, so I was concerned but not overly so about the very low PH. Ideally it should be somewhere in the 6 range. When Jack starts peeing around the house his PH is usually up near 8. (7.0 is neutral)

What I didn't know was why his bilirubin was 'large'.. and not only large but with three +++'s.. arrgh! So I had to put on my big girl pants and find myself a vet. I know 'too much' and really have severe issues with several vets I have been to in the past, and trusting someone was hard, but I picked one finally and got Jack in. We did a urinalysis on him and his bilirubin was fine. I asked the vet if there was any way he got the above reading (after explaining to her what it was and what was going on) and she did not think it was likely.  Jack was still having issues though, he was still peeing on the bathroom floor so I had the vet do a full work up on him and it turned out my boy is hyperthyroid!

So who knew that being hyperthyroid could cause a cat to pee inappropriately? (doesn't raise hand) well I do now.. cause except for a few incidents that are all mostly or partially explainable, my boy has been pee free since I started him on medication.

But, this is about Petnostics.  So I wondered why the result was off. I wrote to Stephen and told him what was going on, and he asked me which version of the app I was using because they did have some issues with an earlier version of the app. I checked and I was using the current version. See one of the technical aspects of this product is that it can accurately read the results no matter what the lighting situation is. So wondering if that was a one time thing, I set about getting another sample from my boy who will not pee in a box if he is locked in a room with it, but who will apparently pee in a box he doesn't think he is allowed to use, so using the same trick the first time I got a second sample.

This time I got this first result, and I thought it odd. So to see if it was the test, the app, or the urine, I immediately set about getting another photo of the diagnostics on a different surface - the black of the stove - and then I went and took one in direct sunlight on a white painted windowsill.   As you can see I got three pretty different results.





I wrote to Stephen and explained what happened, and at first he thought I waited several minutes between diagnostics, but once I explained it was mere seconds, he was at a bit of a loss. Maybe it is that I have an iPhone 4s and the colors were a bit off because it is older, I do not know. There have been a lot of people who were very happy with the results and who then went to their vet and got similar results from the professional tests.

I still recommend this product. Anything that can get more information into the hand of the pet owner and help them make informed decisions about their pet is a good thing.  I do not know why my results were so far off from the norm, but I am glad they occurred because this test does not test for hyperthyroid and I might have gone on for who knows how long lamenting about what was going on with my boy and freaked that I could not fix it. I still have two more test kits, and I can't wait to try them out once I upgrade my phone.

Would you like to learn more about Petnostics?  Check out their website, their Facebook page, their twitter feed, or their blog. They even have an Instagram account! :)

The post about Jack

What can I say about my boy. Jack came to me in a litter of four kittens in 2002, and it was the third litter I fostered. One of the four got very ill and was put down rather soon after I brought them home. I think back then they had so many kittens coming at them all at once they just took four that were of the same general age and put them all together. I don't know that, but looking back it seems very possible.

Because of the early loss, I feel in love with them rather quickly and rather deeply, but wee baby boy Jack (known then as Houdini and for good reason) quickly stole my heart, right out through my ear lobe. That boy was OBSESSED over nursing on my ear lobe. I still ache to this day that he outgrew that. I know it isn't all that acceptable, but it was so endearing.

I had made my husband a promise when I started fostering that I wouldn't keep any of the kittens I fostered (feel free to laugh at both of us) but when Jack came along I was totally distraught at the prospect of sending him back. I had two cats at the time, Em and Ollie, and we really were foolish to bring another cat into the house full time, but the heart wants what the heart wants. I was home crying that night after returning them, and my husband pretty much said if you are going to cry over him, you might as well go get him. I FLEW down to the shelter the next morning and snatched him right up.

I was unemployed at the time, and as a result where ever I went that I could bring him, I brought Jack with me. He learned to love riding in the car, and he loved his harness, because it meant spending time with me. He would often go and sit by the door and ask that we go somewhere together, and I could never resist him. Sometimes we would go to the local ice cream shop and get him an ice cream. Weren't we a spectacle, how often do you see a cat getting an ice cream?!? Once I got a job, I wasn't able to take him out as much, and he lost some of the confidence he had in new places, but he still doesn't mind riding in the car and he still overflows with confidence in the house and constantly asks anyone who shows up if they might have a smackerel or two of honey treat for a roly poly kitteh.. (he is not fat, he's fluffy, and he has a big dulap)

A few years ago I was watching a TV show about different breeds of cats, and on that program the highlighted the Nebelung. I was looking at cats that looked exactly like Jack. Every Nebelung I have seen looks amazingly similar, and they all have that wonderful outgoing friendly personalities. I have since started calling Jack a Nebelung, and part of me wonders if I will avoid adopting any others once he passes, or if I am going to form a Nebelung rescue and have 100 of them.

Jack has had way too many health scares for my liking. First was he was exposed to FeLV and ended up testing positive back when I used to let my resident cats mingle with my fosters. He tested positive twice over six weeks apart and I then started supplementing him on Vitamin C.  A year or so later he ended up testing negative.  When he was a young cat, he ended up being blocked after developing urinary crystals. I had one cat who was diabetic, and Eli had also recently blocked, and I was determined to make sure everyone else was healthy, so I bought them 'premium' dry food. It had all the right key buzz words, and it felt like I was doing the right thing for him and my other cats (the word truthiness pops to mind at this point) Well he blocked, and then he blocked again and I was told he had a very narrow urethra. After his second blockage is when I started my crusade to figure out what I could do, and when I learned how snowed over the general population is when it comes to feline nutrition. Unfortunately Jack is a wee bit (OK fine, a lot) food obsessed, and he is willing to eat just about anything he can get his paws on... and sometimes he bypasses his paws and goes right for the gobble.

Since becoming blocked as a young mancat, he has blocked a few other times, mostly when I am not careful and he gets into too many treats with plant based ingredients (which are currently banned from the house) or I don't put the dry food I bring home for the kittens away fast enough and he chews through the bag and eats till he gets sick. The most recent time he blocked was when I was visiting Amy and Lisa, and I was absolutely beside myself.

And I think we have a reason for that.

Due to my not being comfortable going back to my original vet, I have been shopping Jack around for the past few months / years with his urinary issue. I now have a list a mile long of vets I will not go to *sigh* and I had been attempting to help him myself and doing a very poor job of it. I finally broke down and tried 'one more' vet. There were a few that I was considering, most were more than 30 minutes away from my home. While Jack doesn't mind the car, most of my other cats do. A new clinic opened recently just a few hundred feet away from where my original vet (who took care of the cat I grew up with) and by a vet who used to work with a woman I used to work with who said (back then anyway) that he was very nice. So when Jack peed on the floor one too many times that week, I called them and asked to be seen. They squeezed me in - since it was a urinary issue in a male cat.  He tested normal once again - no obvious reason why he was peeing, and I suggested we do blood work to look at liver and kidney values - because I still believe and I always will that those treats I gave him harmed him - and the vet suggested we run a comprehensive panel - aka old kitty blood work.  Since cats are considered old at 8, and he is 12, I thought it a good idea.

Well his thyroid level came back at 5.4 (out of a 0.8 - 4.9 range) so we started him on thyroid medication. Originally we started him out at 2.5mg BID and in two weeks he tested at 0.8.  The 'other' vet at the clinic that called with the results said he was 'right where we wanted him to be' and I asked three different ways if I shouldn't be worried about him going too low, because we were told to test in 2-3 weeks so I assumed it hadn't fully settled yet, and each way I formed the question her answer was 'he is right in that range' and I was none too happy, especially since she completely avoided my concerns, and about ready to find a new vet, but I had scheduled an appointment with Muffin (perfect), Eli (perfect) and Fleurp (still dealing with anemia), and I decided to keep it and ended up having a nice discussion with the vet I had intended to have treat my cats anyway.

So truth be told, he should be around '2.something' not 0.8  After consulting on the yahoo thyroid board and reading more on thyroid, I took a day off of giving him the pills and lowered his dose to 1.25 BID. Since he really wasn't showing signs of being hyperthyroid other than the peeing (which oddly enough is actually a symptom - hence my 'unnecessary vet visit' post from Monday) it is very hard to tell if he is doing better with this new dose or not. The vet I intend to have as my primary vet agrees with my decision.  I am not overly pleased with this vet, but he is someone I can work with, and that is very valuable to me.

I am currently in the process of working up the courage to contact yet another vet to discuss doing the I-131 radioactive iodine treatment.  I am way too introverted and way too phone phobic to enjoy doing this, but I will get it done for my boy. Part of me, a very large part, wants to put off treatment until the end of October when I am going to be out of town at BarkWorld so I don't have to stress over him being stressed over my being gone, but we will have the discussion sooner than that and see what they think is best.

#howIwakeup is a regular feature on my instagram account

I do not know what the future will bring for my boy, but I do know that he will lay on my pillow each morning he can and lick my nose, because that is now his thing.. (I still wish it was my earlobe)

Sponsored Product review - Ultra Monthly Monitor Litter additive

As some of you know, I have been dealing with Jack and his urinary issues for way too long now. He developed struvite crystals when he was about three due to the fact that I was feeding him dry food. He has been good except of one incident of him getting into some dry food, until the past year when he some Catswell Cat Treats that were made in China (and they will not acknowledge that their product was the problem) While experts have no idea why some cats develop crystals, they do know several factors that can help or hurt cats who do have this problem.  One is proper hydration (eating canned or raw and not dry) the other is maintaining proper urinary PH.

A cat's ideal urinary PH is on the acidic side of neutral.  Some will say 6.0 to 6.5 (with 7.0 being neutral) some others say that 6.0 is too low, and shouldn't go below 6.2.  A cat's PH balance varies a bit depending on what they eat, how much they eat, if they get enough sleep, if they are stressed, etc.  So being able to monitor your cat's urinary PH can be very helpful if you are dealing with a cat with urinary issues.

Years ago I heard of a product that you can put in your litter box that would help that, called Scientific Professional Cat litter.

Unfortunately this litter is discontinued. It also had the limitation that it only notified you if the cat went too alkaline.  Generally the issue with cats with struvite crystals, but some cats do have an issue becoming too acidic and thus at a risk at developing oxalate stones - which are much more difficult to get rid of. What I did like about this litter though was it was VERY obvious when there was an issue.  I still have about a quarter of a bag left, so I use some of it from time to time when I want to try to test Jack's urine.

But I recently heard of a new product called Ultra Monthly Monitor. It is a litter box additive instead of a litter (as in the case of the other product) that you put on top of your current litter. I wrote to the company and asked if they might mind sending me some in exchange for a review on my blog, and they thought that was a good thing and sent me two packages.

What I like about this litter product is that  it reads both too acidic and too alkaline issues. Unfortunately it showed up right after we removed the litter box from the bathroom after it had been in there for a while, and then nearly immediately after that I got a pretty horrific cold that brought me to my knees for a week and kept me exhausted for two weeks after that. The last thing I wanted to was deal with litter.

I think Jack REALLY wanted me to give this product a fair review though, because all last week he was peeing all over the floor.  I tried putting a little of the litter on the puddle in the floor and didn't notice a change at all, so I gave up, and was about to lock Jack up for a day with a box and the litter, but then I was able to get a syringe full of urine..

Let the testing begin!  As you can see I got a PH strip to test the urine prior to the photo shoot so I could see where he was. Sadly the PH test strip only goes down to 6.2, and the strip seemed to be even lighter than that, so I'm guessing he was somewhere around 6.0 - not too bad considering I had given him some PH altering supplements the night before to help acidify his urine.

PH test strip, urine in syringe, a bowl for testing

the fresh litter additive and the PH indicator on the bottom of the bag

Urine added to the litter additive

Well that was anticlimactic.  I'm not sure I would notice a difference if this were in a litter box over the litter.  For fun, I thought I'd show you the other litter - and no change on this one since it only changes when the urine is alkaline.

So I dug out the vinegar (PH of 5) and mixed some baking soda in water (PH of ~8.0 which Jack has been tested at a few years ago when he got into a bag of dry food and ate his fill and then started peeing in the tub)   I put some on the Ultra Monthly Monitor, as well as the other stuff..

Light yellow blotch is urine
Bright yellow blotch is vinegar
Green blotch is baking soda water

This litter turns pink when alkaline liquid hits it

In conclusion, I am sorry that the old litter has been discontinued, since it is so obvious when there is an issue.  As you can see in the Ultra Monthly Monitor, the change isn't as obvious in the acidic range. Since this is designed to be put on regular litter, if your litter has pink or green bits, you might also have an issue deciding the PH - especially if you have a strong digger.  I do like that this is something that you can add on top of the litter you already use which would most likely help with compliance.  It is also something that might be difficult for a multi cat household since you need to have one box per one cat per one test.  If your cats don't mind being isolated for a day while you test it, then that isn't an issue at all.

So I totally applaud them for this product.  I would recommend you try it if you feel the need to monitor your cat's urine - especially since the alkaline shows up so clearly and that is generally where the problem is.  You can get it rather inexpensively if you search around the internet, I saw it under $6 at one shop.

Disclaimer: This post was brought to you by Ultra Monthly Monitor.  They sent me the product for free, but the review is 100% my own opinions.. 

Handsome Jack

I have to tell you, this is my all time favorite sleeping pose of Jacks.  He starts sleeping like this and I start Squeeing very annoyingly..

Shhhh Momma, I'm trying to sleep.. 

Sorry sweetie.

You have been asking after Jack and his poor little bladder.  Things seem to be going in the right direction to return him to the place he was before he blocked this time. We aren't quite there yet I don't think, but we seem to be nearing that point. A friend told me about a new product for the litter box that has PH indicators in it called Ultra Cat Health Monthly Monitor Crystal.  I wrote to the company to see if they would send me a bag, and they sent me two!  I intend to write up a full review most likely next week.  I'm very excited to try it since it changes color for both too high and too low PH..

Jack wanted you to know that you are to feel free to leave him complements in the comments... since he can't have his beloved cookies any more, he says he will have to live off those..

Wait.. what?? Jack!  Don't make me look bad.. I'm doing this for your own good you know..

*lick lick lick*  Oh Jack, you have me wrapped around your little paw don't you..

Thankful Thursday - Sweet hubby edition

An email I got yesterday:

Jack just peed a goodly amount in the big kitty box! There was much praise and encouragement given to him. 

I mean really.. isn't that just sweet??

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

He is home.  I let him out, he walked around for a while, making sure everything is as he left it. He was a little surprised that "MirrorJack" also went to the vet and had a wrap on his paw as well.  He then left his mark on the scratcher and we are now laying in bed.. I wish he would have picked a better place because he reeks of urine. He came and sat on me for a while, and I now have that special "Eau de Jack" aroma surrounding me.. (I REALLY need to change my shirt now)   They gave him a bath before they sent him home (unlike the last place who sent him home urine soaked and bloody) but apparently they didn't get it all.

During the check out the doctor actually said to me.. "He was even eating kibble"

Yes, that mental image you have of me hitting her, I had that too..

I responded of course he would, he loves it..but it cause him inflammation and exacerbates this problem. I looked at the blood work they gave me (after I asked) and his urinary PH rose from 7.37 to 7.51 while he was there.. SURPRISE SURPRISE!! ugh!  (and oddly they have the PH range being normal at 7.24-7.40 which is alkaline, not acidic.. so I have a feeling that range is not for cats.. because a cat's normal range is acidic and should be 6.5 ish so I've already started him on supplements to bring that down.

and now he has just peed on the tub.. *rolls eyes* hey, I'm just thrilled it is coming out.. as Shrek says, better out than in..

So, we are 'out of the woods' but we are far from home.. *knock wood* hopefully we can get him settled again and now that I know how friggen sensitive he is, it will help me tailor a better treatment for him so this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN!

This time we have pain meds and antispasmotics to help him feeling good, but oddly they didn't prescribe antibiotics.. *shrug*  we still have a culture that went to the lab to come back and he was apparently a little anemic on some of his blood work, and it looks like his potassium is a little low (but then again if this was set for dog, maybe he isn't.. I'll have to do a little research on this.. ) I'm going to be sending everything to my holistic vet and see what she has to say about things.

Jack, his bladder, and my sanity

So... Once again.. as you may have gathered from the title of this post, we are once again dealing with Jack's rebel bladder. As much as I want to beat myself up for 'causing' this (and this one I really do believe I caused as I gave him a treat that I suspected before of causing an issue since it has more than one ingredient) I know - and I mean really know - that this is not on me. Jack is a very very sensitive boy and I have to accept that. Could I be doing more, maybe, but not with Jack. He is his own kitty and I have to work with in the limitations that he presents me.. (which I'm going to touch on in a minute)

So Monday night the entire Crew were clamoring for treats. I really hate denying them when they look so cute and they look cute a LOT.. there are times I succumb. I was running low on "Jack approved treats" meaning treats that had just one or two ingredients and have no plant based ingredients. I was digging around in my treat cupboard and stumbled upon a package of UTI support treats. I had gotten them a while back and had given Jack a couple in the past, and each time shortly there afterwards he would either start peeing inappropriately or acting uncomfortable. It is one of those things where you couldn't really be sure.. so I suspected they were an issue, but I did not know. The ingredients have several things that are helpful to kitties with bladder issues like d-mannose, cranberry extract and N-Acetyl Glucosamine but it also has brewers yeast, corn oil, glycerin, maltodextrin, rosemary extract, soy lecithin, and vegetable oil.

Since I only suspected.. I gave him one. ONE. I gave him a few freeze dried treats to go along with it.. he also got his daily herbal supplement (oddly enough from the same company) which has been keeping him on an even keel as of late. I missed one dose a couple of weeks ago and he peed on something the next morning.

In the morning he seemed to be uncomfortable. I immediately locked him away in the bedroom with food and litter. Every time I've done this in the past he has REFUSED to use the box for 12 -16 hours.. often not peeing until the middle of the night. I joke he has a 'shy bladder'. Because of this a) I wasn't panicked when I went home from work at lunch time and he still had not peed, and b) I can't ever test his urine for his PH levels (but more on that in a bit too)

At lunch time he was so happy to see me, he wanted attention. He purred. He ate. He still was obviously uncomfortable. I had given him some supplements to acidify his urine (L-methionine - which is better for a cat than the lower quality DL-methionine that they put in the 'prescription' (and some OTC) urinary foods) and gave him some fluids and went back to work.

Now.. you can give l-methionine on a regular basis to help force a cat's urine into the ideal range of 6.0 - 6.5 (acidic on the PH scale) but you need to be very careful when doing this. If a cat's urinary PH is too low for too long it can run the risk of developing oxolate stones in the bladder which are far more difficult to treat and often require surgery. If you have a cat that will let you know when it is about to pee, and doesn't wait for hours when you want a sample - unless you can wait for hours - you can get PH strips to test the cat's urine so you can monitor it. Oddly enough there is a LOT of information you can glean about your cat's health if you want to dabble in urine (yes, I know, that sounds gross). You can get a refractometer and learn oodles of very helpful information - but as in the case of the PH - you need fresh urine.

And since Jack will not allow me to gather that information, I'm flying blind a lot of the time so I have to be very conservative.

Well anyway.. I got home from work on Tuesday and he still had not peed for me. He did pass some stool which was another good sign, and he had finished off most of the food I had given him when I locked him away. He was still bright eyed, still attention seeking, but still looking uncomfortable. Now he was laying down and the rear leg that was on top would be lifted slightly. At this point all of the local vets were closed.

Now let me preface what I did next with: He has been in this position before and came out of it just fine with some fluids and some l-methionine. This time I also had some cornsilk which is also soothing to the bladder. I also had some buprenex for pain from the last time he was uncomfortable like this and we went to the vet and got a once over.

So I waited. I checked in with him every hour or so. His attitude did not change. He did not eat the food I gave him for dinner, which was concerning, and one thing that always makes me worry as Jack's nickname is the garbage disposal.. he is always up for food. So now I had two symptoms that concerned me.. but I have gotten him out of this spot before. I was going to take him to a vet in the AM and have a once over - but I fully expected him to urinate before the night was out.

I checked on him hourly. I tried to get some sleep at about midnight. Each time he went to the box I woke up and prayed for that special sound of free flowing urine.. heck even a drop would have let me get some sleep.. Around 2AM I got up for the fourth time. He was slightly less energetic, and bingo we had the third symptom. I've got a list of like 10, and when we hit three I get to the vet, period. So I woke my husband up and off we went.

And yes, he was blocked.. and he had a bladder the size of a tangerine.. and now he has been at the clinic for 24 hours. His BUN and creatinine were very high when they first tested his blood, as well as a very high glucose level. After 12 hours there his levels returned to mostly normal. They really really got stuck on the high glucose level and wanted to run additional tests on his blood sugar.. I had to roll my eyes, they were already charging me an arm and a leg for every single solitary thing they could think of (including a warming charge in case he got chilled after surgery). I am all for supporting my local emergency clinic, because with out the fees they charge they couldn't stay in business and then they wouldn't be there when I wake up at 2AM and decide I can't deal with it any more... but man I wish they would just charge one larger fee and do away with charging me to inject the medicine they want to give (along with the charge of the medicine they want to give)

I was going to try to get him to a local non evet, but no one local has the ability to watch him over night. At the point when I would have had to pick him up to get him to a local vet, he still had very bloody urine and they were afraid of it clotting over night and reblocking him, so he is still there.

They were feeding him C/D: Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Pork Fat, Chicken Liver Flavor, Fish Oil, DL-Methionine, vitamins, Taurine, minerals Rosemary Extract, Beta-Carotene. (I've already mentioned the methionine, there are more plant based ingredients in this food than animal products, synthetic vitamins, GMO corn meal, what is chicken liver flavor that is cheaper than chicken liver? what type of fish, CAFO chicken just a few reasons why I'm so against this food) so I had my husband bring him up some raw food. Hopefully they give it to him, if not at least I tried.. I'm sure Jack is loving the canned food, he really does adore junk food, it is near impossible to keep him off me when I eat pop tarts.

He gets glowing reviews for not only his progress but his personality when ever I call. Which is the second real issue I have with this clinic.. They keep telling me they will call me with results, but they never have and because of that I got about two hours of sleep that night. I hate calling anyone, but I suck it up to keep tabs on my boy. I'll get over all of my issues if they simply do not send him home with two fat lips.

So as for my sanity.. it irritates me I can not fix this.. or even really do anything but walk a very very fine tightrope of keeping him stable. I still blame Catswell Treats for putting him in this position. He was far more stable prior to getting those, not needing herbs daily to keep from becoming inflamed. I know this is biology, which is far more mysterious than you might realize, and much more of an art than a true cause/effect science. Biology is not algebra.. there is no one right answer every single time. I am coming to accept that and deal with that limitation, but darn it why does it have to keep smacking me around and making me it's whipping girl??