My Cat's Struvite Crystal Urinary Obstruction
j...@nospamlocalnet.com
My cat, Ziggy, a 4 year old neutered male Siamese, was recently
diagnosed with a urinary obstruction. I brought him home from the
hospital today, after a $450 hospital bill (yikes!). The veterinarian
on staff told me that Ziggy had developed struvite crystals in his
urine which caused the urinary obstruction. The veterinarian also told
me that Ziggy had a bladder infection, however, she did not culture the
bacteria. She prescribed Amoxi-tabs for the bacterial infection that I
am to give Ziggy once a day for 14 days. She saved a sample of Ziggy's
urine for me to see before they flushed the bladder several times, and
you can see the tiny white sediment floating in the urine. She
prescribed the following medications as well: Dibenzylene (2.5 mg)
twice a day for 5 days; and Prednisone (5 mg) twice a day for 3 days,
once a day for 3 days, and one every other day for three days. She also
told me that I am to feed Ziggy a special diet for 3 months of Hill's
Science Diet s/d in order to treat the struvite build-up.
I've been doing some research and some veterinarians believe that each
case must be handled individually with a minimum case work-up to
include urinalysis and examination of centrifuged urine sediment. Ziggy
did have a urinalysis, but the veterinarian did not examine a
centrifugation of the urine sediment. I know this because the animal
hospital I was taking my cats to (I am currently seeking a more
empathetic veterinarian who takes the time to explain things properly)
charges me for everything....even a $25 fee to "dispense medications".
So, if the veterinarian took the time examine a centrifuged sample of
Ziggy's urine, I'm sure I would have been billed for it. If she did
centrifuge the urine, would that show Ziggy's crystals are struvite? I
also read in my research that the major myth associated with this
disorder is that all cases of FLUTD are caused by struvite and thus all
cases needed to be treated for struvite crystalluria.
The veterinarian told me that she knew for a fact that the reason why
Ziggy was having this urinary obstruction problem was because of his
diet. I originally was feeding my cats Science Diet Feline Maintenance,
then I switched to Science Diet Sensitive Stomach; but this brand makes
Ziggy extremely flatulent and I thought he was not comfortable being so
gassy and bloated all the time. Now, I feed my cats (I have 4--two
girls, two boys) one feeding of wet food in which they all share one
can in the morning (usually fancy feast or some other store bought
brand) and one cup of dry food which they all share throughout the day
(Sosphiticat brand). Would this diet cause a cat to have a build-up of
struvite crystals?
Basically, what I want to know is if I should be feeding Ziggy a s/d
diet (even for 3 months), because I read this can be harmful in that it
can predispose him to calcium oxalate crystals. Is this true?
I want to do what's best for my cat. I felt that Ziggy did not receive
the best medical care available and I felt that the animal hospital was
concerned with racking up a large bill with only 3 lab test results
(BUN, complete blood count, and urinalysis) and left me with $450 bill
to show for it.
The veterinarian did not take the time to go over all of Ziggy's
treatments, I had to pry in order to have a simple understanding of
Ziggy's situation. Additionally, when another veterinarian who was
on-call over the weekend telephoned me to give me an update about
Ziggyąs status, he told me that Ziggy should be on a completely
different diet, such as Hill's Science Diet c/d. When I inquired about
this with the original veterinarian who was treating Ziggy, she said
that was incorrect and had no idea why he would tell me such a thing.
I feel as though I've been taken advantage of by a money-making machine
with no sympathy at all to my cat's medical needs. I am a full-time
graduate student and I only work part-time. When I was faced with this
$450 bill, I pleaded with the animal hospital to let me make payments.
At first, the receptionist was very cold and abrasive telling me "the
animal hospital has no direct billing with it's clients". I asked her
what that meant, and she told me that I had to pay the bill in full.
She also told me that if I did not pay in full they would hold Ziggy
until I gave them the full amount. I told her that I was unable to do
that and I would be willing to pay the rest 2 weeks from Ziggy's
scheduled release as I would have received another paycheck. We finally
agreed that the animal hospital would hold a check for two weeks. At
least I was able to bring my cat home and not expose him to any more
unneeded stress.
I feel really bad about this entire situation. I make very little money
because most of my free time is devoted to my studies. I love my cats
dearly and would do anything for them, that includes starving because
my next paycheck is already pre-destined for the animal hospital
because they will not take payments. I wonder how one is supposed to be
able to offer their pets quality medical care when the animal hospital
is abrasive, unsympathetic, and merciless to your financial situation.
--
Mary Alice Allen angr...@adelphia.net
Mary
>diagnosed with a urinary obstruction.
> I brought him home from the
>hospital today, after a $450 hospital bill (yikes!).
I had to pay about $2,000 for a urinary blockage in my cat. He eventually had
to have PU surgery as there was no other alternative after I'd exhausted all
treatment.
Sherry
When I was faced with this
>$450 bill, I pleaded with the animal hospital to let me make payments.
>At first, the receptionist was very cold and abrasive telling me "the
>animal hospital has no direct billing with it's clients". I asked her
>what that meant, and she told me that I had to pay the bill in full.
>She also told me that if I did not pay in full they would hold Ziggy
>until I gave them the full amount. I told her that I was unable to do
>that and I would be willing to pay the rest 2 weeks from Ziggy's
>scheduled release as I would have received another paycheck. We finally
>agreed that the animal hospital would hold a check for two weeks. At
>least I was able to bring my cat home and not expose him to any more
>unneeded stress.
>
>I feel really bad about this entire situation. I make very little money
>because most of my free time is devoted to my studies. I love my cats
>dearly and would do anything for them, that includes starving because
>my next paycheck is already pre-destined for the animal hospital
>because they will not take payments. I wonder how one is supposed to be
>able to offer their pets quality medical care when the animal hospital
>is abrasive, unsympathetic, and merciless to your financial situation.
>
>--
>Mary Alice Allen angr...@adelphia.net
Mary Alice, I'm sorry you had such an experience. I can't help you with your
health questions, but I got socked with a $500 vet bill recently and, until I
can find the right "health insurance" plan for the cats, I've been putting $20
per week in a savings account earmarked for "astronomical vet bills." This
doesn't apply to shots or routine care. Maybe, if we're lucky we won't need to
dip into it this year, then it will be there to help with the next crisis. (I'm
sure there'll be one). Best of luck with Ziggy. I hope he makes a full
recovery.
Sherry
>
>
>
ID927
the time. After they had cleared up, my vet recommended that my cat stay on the
Hills prescription food. She also said that some cats are on the food as a
preventative measure for quite some time. After about two years on the
prescription food with no urinary problems, I thought I would save some money
and re-introduce store bought food. Wouldnt you know.... within six months, he
again developed problems. Needless to say, I went back to the prescription diet
food. My cat is now ten years of age and has been on the prescription food
throughout.
Good luck with your cat and keep us posted~!
Irene
J Greaves
>health questions, but I got socked with a $500 vet bill recently and, until I
>can find the right "health insurance" plan for the cats, I've been putting
>$20
>per week in a savings account earmarked for "astronomical vet bills."
Sherry is right on this, all that any pet owner knows for sure is that there is
a good chance of a big vet bill coming out of the blue, and it's best to be
prepared for it.
Jeanette
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Lyle Gardiner
cats.>,
they now get a mixture of canned and dry food, mostly lamb and rice. Good
luck with Ziggy.
<j...@NOSPAMlocalnet.com> wrote in message
news:300420011524097825%j...@NOSPAMlocalnet.com...
Linda Edwards
I'm sorry that I can't offer you any advice. I have been treating a sick
cat for the past year and have spent a lot of $$. I would be very concerned
about the vet hospital that threatened to "keep Ziggy" until payment could
be made. I find that VERY disturbing. My cat spent a little over one week
at Cornell Animal Hospital and was I very impressed with the care that Betsy
got there. We got daily update calls and went in to visit her. Although it
was obvious how extremely busy they were, they took the time to explain what
Betsy was going through and how she was doing.
Good luck and prayers to Ziggy. Linda