Question:
She's 13 years old and up until now has been very happy and healthy. On saturday she had the most horrible diarreah and and she vomited 3 times there was no blood present in either the stool or vomit. On sunday I was out and my Husband was working on the basement and Misti was sitting down there with him. he said that she was sitting in one spot starring at the wall and looking very spaced out. He decided finally to check on her after about 1/2 hr and realized she was sitting in a pool of urine, there was also no blood present in the urine. She has not urinated outside of her box since and the vet ruled out behavioural issues.

I took her to the vet last nite and she had blood and urine tests done and the vet said she was a little dehydrated. The vet also recommended x-rays and intravenous fluids. I opted not to leave her there for the x-rays and fluids because she is not up to date on her vaccines and the vet said the dehydration was not severe, however she will eventually need intravenous fluids.

Today the vet tells me everything with her urine and blood except that her white blood cell count is a little low and this could mean she is fighting an infection or virus. She suspects that Misti has bladder stones and reccomends x-rays to determine if it is. AND if she has stones that she will need an operation. Is there any other way to eliminate stones? I don't want to put her thru surgery then recovery...and then lose her.

Misti is eating however she has not pooped since sunday, and she's had a few small pee's. She will not drink her water so I have been adding water to her soft food and I've taken away her hard food. I've also been feeding her water thru a syringe. I have been told that I can give her pedialyte to help with the dehydration in the mean time, is this true? (I have left a message with my vet about this and I'm waiting to hear back).

If anyone has been in a similar situation I would really like to hear about your situation. I'm doing the best I can to make the most rational decisions here. Any advice and information would be much appreciated. I would also appreciate an outside point of veiw as to when you (personally) would consider euthanasia. My last kitty had feline leukiemia and I will never forgive myself for letting her live so long in pain, and I don't want to make the same mistake twice.

Answer:
What would I do personally? If this were my cat, I would get the x-rays to determine if her problem is indeed stones.

If she is otherwise healthy, I would have the surgery to remove the stones.

13 is not very old for a spayed, indoor female cat and she could very well go on to live another 6 or even 7 years.
Surgery is the only way I know of to eliminate stones.

I too had a cat with leukemia, but that is a disease with 100% fatality rate, and most treatment is futile and, IMO, inhumane. I"m sure you did what you thought was right for this cat, as I did for mine, but of course we always question if we waited too long, or not long enough. I know I did.:(

As to when I consider euthanasia - when the cat has no quality of life, won't play, won't eat or is in obvious pain and there is no way to alleviate the condition (terminal illness) or disabled from extreme old age.

I would get the x-rays ASAP, as your cat is in distress at the moment.

Answer:
Well so far those are the steps I will be taking, however as for surgery, I have been told by a friend whose kitty had stones that the vet used a cathater and some sort of medications to help dissolve the stones and her kitty is fine.

Answer:
I agree with Lucky,13 is not old for a cat...
I had a cat who was 17 with what the vet said was"huge"stones,the surgery and aftercare,including a permanent catheter and undoubtidly other problems made me sadly decide to have him put down.
I am probably wrong,but I think the surgery is easier on a female cat

Answer:
I was not implying that 13 is over the hill however is it (I believe) equal to a 70 yr old person?

I am interested in hearing any detailed experiences that others have had with their pets, or things you have heard that may be helpful. I'm doing my best here to make educated decisions, and to be informed so hat I can ask the vet as many questions as possible..

Has anyone used pedialyte to help rehydrate their pet or help keep them properly hydrated? any info anyone can provide will be much appreciated.

Answer:
Yes, Chico - male cats who are prone to crystals, stones and other urinary blockages and problems can be very difficult to treat.

Of course, the stones can return even if removed. Canned food is best for prevention - particularly those formulated of turkey and giblets - and IMO, neutered male cats should not be fed dry food.

peanut, here's an article on bladder stones:
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/heal...tructions.html

Answer:
Lucky,now you got me worried,because all my cats are male and neutered,they eat dry food,but not as much,there is always a bowl out fo them.They eat wet food morning and night and drink quiet a bit of water
I don't want my cats to go through what my Peppi went through,he was in an awful lot of pain...

Answer:
Peanut, I have used Pedialyte before. When I was having some work done on my house, my cats went and stayed with a friend for three days. One of them got so distressed at being away from me that she went off food and water and was shedding like crazy. As soon as I got her home, I gave her the unflavored Pedialyte instead of water. She drank about half a cup the first night and some more the second day. I then gave her some regular water and she was fine. I think she was actually fine the moment I arrived to pick her up, but I do think the Pedialyte helped her body return to normal. Just make sure that she has access to regular water as well because I'm not sure how Pedialyte as a long term substitute would affect her.

Answer:
Thank-you all for your responses, it helps so much to feel informed when I'm speaking to the vet about the situation.

Misti is now on anti-biotics (Baytrill) and will be going in for x-rays today. She still refuses to drink water on her own, however she is eating, and I actually managed to get her to play for a bit last nite.

I spoke with the vet again last nite and she said she suspects misti may have either kidney OR bladder stones, I guess I misunderstood her when we first spoke. However she will not get into details about the cost of the surgery, because she dosent want me to jump ahead of myself, fair enough.

However I am wondering if anyone can give me an idea of the cost of surgery, I'm thinking I may have to start pulling in some favours and looking for a part time job.

Again any comments on this or a similar situation are welcome.

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