urinary blockage

[chinglnc]

Hello

Our 5 year old male cat had an urinary blockage for the first time a few days ago, the vet had difficulty to put in the catheter the first time, they did a scan, and found that he had spasm. So they kind of 'forced-it' through the 2nd time and it went in.

Our cat was very nervous in the hospital after the procedure, refused to eat or move, so the vet suggested we took our cat home.

Our cat was very happy when we picked him up, and he was so hungry when we fed him. He was purring when we stroke him and he's happy for us to cuddle him. But his genital part was very swollen (like a little ball), and that's rather odd as we couldn't even see his penis/genital normally (he is neutered). He kept going back and forth to the toilet but couldn't pass any urine all night. We thought he's probably had a 'false sensation' of peeing as his genital was very swollen, and his bladder should be quite empty when we got him home as he just got his catheter taken off.

Long story short, we took him back in to the vet the next morning because he was crying in pain (similar to the same cry when he had the urinary blockage the first time).

The vet said they are going to put the catheter on for 48 hours this time and monitor his progress.

My question is,

(1) Is it normal for his genital part to look very swollen after the catheter procedure ? (I am worried the vet might have been too forceful when they put the catheter in the first time)

(2) Our cat is very nervous around strangers, is it better to keep him at home to monitor his progress rather than keeping him at the vet?

(3) For anyone who has similar experience, how long did your keep your cat with catheter put in? How does the vet know when they are ready to be discharged?

(4) What should I be expecting when we take him home the next time? Should we be expecting him to be able to urinate normally straightaway or that it will take a few days to go back to normal?

Sorry for the many questons, we are very anxious about it, couldn't sleep or eat properly, that's all we can think about all day

[Hestonmum]

Hello, i have just posted something similar about my cat who had a similar problem. I'm afraid I don't have any answers for you but would be interested to hear what more experienced people say. My cat also came back the first time (after a difficult catheterisation) with problems weeing, and his genitals were sore (the penis tip was very red). My vet advised me to put some lubricant on the tip of his penis to stop it getting sore- embarrassing for both of us, but it may help your kitty! Oh and my cat gets really stressed at the vets so they have tried not to get him in too often, the 2 times he's been back they've sedated him straight away.
I hope your cat gets better soon, and I hope you get some helpful responses! x

[chinglnc]

Hestonmum, thanks for sharing your experience. It's good to know that we are not alone. We asked the vet why his genital area is very sore, they said that's due to stiches for the catheter

Our vet said the same thing too about this "Oh and my cat gets really stressed at the vets so they have tried not to get him in too often, the 2 times he's been back they've sedated him straight away."

Our vet tried to express his bladder manually when he was sedated, but it wasn't successful, which is making us very worrying!

Can I ask did your vet mention what kind of lubricant to use to help with the swelling, is it like vaseline-like or sex lubricant thing?

Hope your kitty get better soon!

[Hestonmum]

The vet gave me a little trial packet of lubricant, I don't know the name (will message if I find it) but I think it is just standard stuff like the sex-lubes- you might be able to google it, or ask your vet what is safe to use. It's a little tricky to get it on though!
My cat's problems have been going on for over a month now, but since his catheter it has been 9 days and his willy is still sore- I'm hoping it is getting a bit better though! That's a very good point about the catheter stitches- I hadn't thought about that. I think a lot of the problem is that he is overgrooming it now....hopefully this will stop as the irritation settles.
Sounds like you are taking very good care of your cat and keeping a close eye on them, well done

[chinglnc]

Thank you for this- we will check with the vet. We have just been told his genital area is even more swollen now (he has 3 catheter so far , so really worrying)

He has been non-stopping grooming himself (particularly genital area) when we had him home for a few hours, so we put the cone around his head but he's certainly not happy about it.

The vet couldn't express him manually (twice), which makes us really worried. It feels like it's a waiting game, feeling rather helpless