Buffy has a Bladder Stone

She started acting a little "off" on Saturday. She didn't eat much. I
later noticed litter box problems, which is a new thing for as long as
I've had her. I thought she might be constipated as she appeared to be
straining and what little poop output there was was sometimes outside
the litter box. Urinary output was less than usual, too, even though
she usually drinks a plenty of of water. Then she started hiding. Uh
oh. Buffy rarely hides unless there is is a technician of some sort in
the house to fix something.

Long story short, I got an appointment at the vet this morning and
x-rays show she has a bladder stone. She's slightly dehydrated so they
gave her IV fluids. Also an antibiotic shot and an appetite stimulant.

The vet recommended we change her diet to a prescription one for a few
weeks. She said sometimes a small single bladder stone will dissolve by
itself with a change in diet. (Note: she asked me what I normally feed
Buffy and didn't have a problem with it.) We're hoping this stone will
go away without surgery.

Buffy came back acting like a new cat! It's almost like they gave her
happy pills or something. She's not hiding. She hopped out of the
carrier and drank some water. I poured some of the Rx kibble in her
dish and she went right for it. Could be the appetite stimulant shot
the vet gave her, could be she actually likes the food. (Here's hoping!
Persia always hated the Rx food she had to eat.) I was sent home with
some appetite stimulant capsules since Buffy hadn't really eaten much in
2 days. I'm to start sprinkling half a capsule on her food until she's
eating regularly again. And of course monitor her litterbox output.

She's been sitting in my lap several times since we got home. Not
hiding, not mad at me for taking her to get poked and prodded. She's
not exactly in the mood to bap a golf ball around the living room but
she's obviously feeling a heck of a lot better.

Jill

The author has marked this message not to be archived. This post will be deleted on January 28, 2021.

---

In article ,
jmcquown wrote:
She started acting a little "off" on Saturday. She didn't eat much. I
later noticed litter box problems, which is a new thing for as long as
I've had her. I thought she might be constipated as she appeared to be
straining and what little poop output there was was sometimes outside
the litter box. Urinary output was less than usual, too, even though
she usually drinks a plenty of of water. Then she started hiding. Uh
oh. Buffy rarely hides unless there is is a technician of some sort in
the house to fix something.

Long story short, I got an appointment at the vet this morning and
x-rays show she has a bladder stone. She's slightly dehydrated so they
gave her IV fluids. Also an antibiotic shot and an appetite stimulant.

The vet recommended we change her diet to a prescription one for a few
weeks. She said sometimes a small single bladder stone will dissolve by
itself with a change in diet. (Note: she asked me what I normally feed
Buffy and didn't have a problem with it.) We're hoping this stone will
go away without surgery.

Buffy came back acting like a new cat! It's almost like they gave her
happy pills or something. She's not hiding. She hopped out of the
carrier and drank some water. I poured some of the Rx kibble in her
dish and she went right for it. Could be the appetite stimulant shot
the vet gave her, could be she actually likes the food. (Here's hoping!
Persia always hated the Rx food she had to eat.) I was sent home with
some appetite stimulant capsules since Buffy hadn't really eaten much in
2 days. I'm to start sprinkling half a capsule on her food until she's
eating regularly again. And of course monitor her litterbox output.

She's been sitting in my lap several times since we got home. Not
hiding, not mad at me for taking her to get poked and prodded. She's
not exactly in the mood to bap a golf ball around the living room but
she's obviously feeling a heck of a lot better.

Jill


I'm so sorry I didn't pick this up earlier. Poor Buffy. How is she now?
I'm making a not to self to log in here daily, first thing. It's a poor
friend who doesn't check you're ok.

Judith

--
Judith Latham
Stourbridge, West Midlands. UK.

On 1/14/2021 8:21 AM, Judith Latham wrote:
In article ,
jmcquown wrote:
She started acting a little "off" on Saturday. She didn't eat much. I
later noticed litter box problems, which is a new thing for as long as
I've had her. I thought she might be constipated as she appeared to be
straining and what little poop output there was was sometimes outside
the litter box. Urinary output was less than usual, too, even though
she usually drinks a plenty of of water. Then she started hiding. Uh
oh. Buffy rarely hides unless there is is a technician of some sort in
the house to fix something.

Long story short, I got an appointment at the vet this morning and
x-rays show she has a bladder stone. She's slightly dehydrated so they
gave her IV fluids. Also an antibiotic shot and an appetite stimulant.

The vet recommended we change her diet to a prescription one for a few
weeks. She said sometimes a small single bladder stone will dissolve by
itself with a change in diet. (Note: she asked me what I normally feed
Buffy and didn't have a problem with it.) We're hoping this stone will
go away without surgery.

Buffy came back acting like a new cat! It's almost like they gave her
happy pills or something. She's not hiding. She hopped out of the
carrier and drank some water. I poured some of the Rx kibble in her
dish and she went right for it. Could be the appetite stimulant shot
the vet gave her, could be she actually likes the food. (Here's hoping!
Persia always hated the Rx food she had to eat.)
(snippage)
Jill


I'm so sorry I didn't pick this up earlier. Poor Buffy. How is she now?
I'm making a not to self to log in here daily, first thing. It's a poor
friend who doesn't check you're ok.

Judith

Don't worry about it, Judith! Buffy is so much better. No appetite
stimulant required to get her to eat. She has quite taken to the dry
kibble. The wet prescription food is the 'in gravy' type. She does
what she always did with that type of regular 'in gravy" food and lick
the gravy and leave the meat of the meal. That's not a success. But
she's feeling great, she's producing normal litter box output and she's
extremely playful.

She goes back for a follow-up x-ray to check on the bladder stone at the
end of the month. I am hoping the change in diet will have allowed the
stone to dissolve naturally. She sure acts like she feels good. All of
her bloodwork came back with great numbers. Slightly elevated levels of
something I can't pronounce which indicate UTI/Bladder stones. The food
seems to be helping immensely, for which I'm grateful. And she's eating
it, which is really important.

One interesting thing about this vet visit during Covid. No one was
allowed inside the lobby. Appointment made, wait in your car. They'll
pick up your pet in the parking lot. Like a 1950's car-hop. It seems
to be working.

I never in my life thought I'd see the day you had to sit in your car or
on a bench outside a veterinary clinic and have them come outside
wearing masks and gloves. I asked one of the vet techs as she was
walking by, did you ever imagine it would come to working like this?
She said "No," then looked at the little tent with the benches by the
front door where I was sitting and said, "I'm just glad we have nice
weather!"

Stupid virus has changed so many ways of dealing with things. But Buffy
is doing just fine. I'm sure she'll be given a clean bill of health at
her next appointment. Thanks for your good wishes, Judith.


Jill