[violet0019]

I rescued an adorable six year old orange indoor tabby named Ginger. Here is a bit of his history, including his: "Eating Idiosyncrasies"! He has always been healthy, never any illnesses, shiny coat, happy and mischievous! I have been feeding him "Holistic-type" of foods all of his life. He prefers dry food, but before I "serve it" to him, I must soak it in very hot water to make it soft - the reason being that he throws up easily. For some strange reason, he never chews food, and so, I have come to this realization, (thank goodness! And after many numerous times on my hands and knees cleaning up vomit stains :( in the rugs). Also, I must mention that he is a very picky eater=he has tried nearly every holistic food on the market. Usually if he is interested, he will eat the food, some of them agree with him and many of them do not, and he vomits them up... I have always thought that it may be an ingredient that just does not work with his system, or sometimes it may be that he is gobbling the food up too quickly?Usually after eating the same food for about a month, he then refuses to eat and attempts to bury his plate! At the moment I feed him 1/2 Fromm Salmon a La Veg, and 1/2 EVO by Innova. He has been on this mixture for about 2 weeks. I have never had a cat with these "eating idiosyncrasies" - it is very difficult and frustrating for me to be constantly changing foods and praying that the next one will be The One that he will eat happily ever after!! But, I have heard that I am not alone with this "eating disorder" and many other cat owners I know are going through the same thing... hmmm... So this is his eating history. Now about his medical condition: Last week, (for the first time in his life), I discovered "pink snow", and I was very concerned. When I noticed Ginger urinating in the snow, on my balcony,(p.s. he cannot jump off as it is enclosed by 5 feet high, recycled glass windows!), I thought that it was funny and unusual, and perhaps he was imitating his best friend, and fellow housemate-Baby (Pomeranian/Yorkshire Terrier). Then I noticed that he was again trying to urinate, and was squatting in the snow,for 90 seconds, and again it was pink. Although there were no other symptoms - no crying in pain, and throughout this, he has been playful and mischievous as usual, I brought him to the Vet, where he stayed overnight so that the Vet could test his urine. The next day I picked him up and the Vet said that there was a lot of blood in the urine, and that he had a Urinary Tract Infection, and advised me to give him these antibiotics: Clavamox 62.5mg(20 tablets) plus to change his food to: Royal Canin”Urinary SO. I have been giving him the antibiotics all week, he has 3 tablets left, but I am very concerned as although there is no blood in the urine, and he is not crying in pain, and is still in good spirits and playful, he has been squatting and urinating, only a few drops coming out, in the litter box: 40-50 times each day! for the first 4 days, and in the box for a long time (3-4 minutes.)! Now it is one week later, Ginger is urinating approx.30-40 times per day, and taking approx. 1-2 minutes, and STILL only a few drops each time. He urinates sort of standing up with his paws holding on, to the top of the box, but in a squatting position. I am very concerned as he is still urinating only a few drops each time he goes into the litter, and is still squatting etc. I feel very confused and worried, and would be very grateful and would appreciate any opinions, advice, suggestions regarding Ginger, i.e. could he have been misdiagnosed? What should I expect now that he is nearly finished the medication? What could be wrong with him…might it be that he was given the wrong type of medication? Why is he not urinating normally? The Vet charged me a total of $150.(include.taxes) [Exam$46, Urine Collection$18,Urinalysis$37, Overnight Boarding $13.50, Clavamox 62.5mg (20 tabs)$12, Royal Canin 5 cans food $6.50]. Regarding the Urinalysis: Last week, when I asked the Vet what was his PH number he sort of hesitated and said that it was difficult to say as there was a lot of blood, I was charged $37….. does this sound right? Has anyone had anything similar happen with their cat? If he is still squatting and urinating so many times per day even after the antibiotics are finished, what could be the next step? Could he be ill with something else causing this? Should I call the Vet now, or after all the meds are finished, and if he asks me to bring Ginger in again... What can I expect could be the next step in knowing what is wrong with him... tests, etc... and also, what to expect in additional Vet charges? THANK YOU ALL VERY VERY MUCH! ^, ^ :confused:

[RubyPitbull]

I am not a "cat expert" but I can tell you that I am positive that the vet diagnosed and treated Ginger correctly. Blood in the urine is usually a sign of a urinary tract infection and that is why the urine test was ordered. Obviously, it came back positive and Clavamox is one of the best meds around to treat infections, especially stubborn ones.

Regarding the fees, as for me, I believe it has become an absolute nightmare what they charge. But, over the past 10 years, vets have recognized that a lot of people feel for their pets the way they do for their children and are willing to pay for treatment. Their prices have really skyrocketed. There is not much we can do about it but shop around and find someone cheaper who we are still comfortable with. I went through three different vets to find someone who I was comfortable with and who would not do unnecessary testing and charge me unreasonable rates. With that in mind, I would have to agree that I feel your vets prices are high but I live in the boonies where the cost of living is relatively lower than the rest of the country. I don't know where you live but I suspect it is in a major metropolitan area and, if that is the case, the bill could have been a lot higher.

Right now, I wouldn't switch vets unless you absolutely have to. He has seen Ginger and knows what has been happening. You need to take your kitty back immediately. What is happening with his urination concerns me greatly. It may possibly be a kidney stone.? I don't know but you need to take him back. And, depending on what the vet says, I would ask up front about the costs and ask him to waive the office visit fee this time around because this is related to your last visit and the problem has escalated. Tell him you are on a tight budget and you want to do what is right for your cat but the bills are very expensive and is there any way he can give you a break. What do you have to lose? If you don't ask, you don't get, that's my motto! :) Worse case scenario is that he may be willing to set up a payment schedule for you. If he suggests surgery for Ginger, ask the price, then find another vet and get a second opinion. If that vet agrees, ask what he charges and make your decision based on that. But don't wait too long!

Later on, you may want to make some calls and find out what all the vets fee structures are. Ask them what they charge for the items you were charged for and then make a decision from there. As I said earlier, you might find that your vet is charging the norm for your area. But, find out what is going on with Ginger first.

Hope this helps. Give Ginger a big sloppy doggy drool kiss from Ruby.

[RubyPitbull]

Violet, thanks for the thumbs up. I hope you see this now. Your situation was bothering me and I called my friend known locally as The Cat Lady, who is an expert.

She agreed that you should take him back to the vet immediately and that there is a likelihood of a kidney stone or grains.

But, there is a lot more info that she had that I don't. First, under no circumstances should you feed him anything with fish in it. It causes kidney stones in cats. Tomcats normally have a tendency to get them and your feeding him the fish increased his chances. The drippy urine problem is definitely a sign there is a blockage of some sort.

She thinks the clavamox was okay to give him but the dosage was not strong enough. So, first thing is, the vet needs to take an x-ray and see if a stone exists and how large it is. If it doesn't exist, then it is granules and they are blocking the pathway to urinate.

Next, is that he should be given KD first, to dissolve the blockage. (The vet will know what this is, insist on it if he doesn't prescribe it). Then, he should be put on Baytril 20 (antibiotic) for 2 weeks. Although Clavamox is good, baytril is better for this situation.

Regarding food, since he is showing signs of stones or granules, he needs to be put on a special diet. Stop with the stuff you are giving him. The vet sells Science Diet CD. It is designed to help keep kidney stones at bay. She said she has found this works very well. Give him dry if you can. Not a problem mixing water in. Few times a week if you want to give him some of the canned CD, that is okay too. If he gets finicky, she said to tell Ginger "TOO BAD". He needs this diet for his health. If he doesn't eat for a day or two it is okay. He will eventually eat when he is hungry enough. She said the changing of the food all the time is a problem for him physically and mentally. He is used to your caving in. Please stop.

She also said, for the vomiting, it is probably from hair blockage and the reaction to the high fish diet (kidney stone). You can go to any petstore and pick up Laxatone. Give it to him 2 times a week to avoid hairblockage problems. The other thing is, since he is an indoor cat, you need to pick up some 100% dust free litter. The dust in litter can cause problems with the urinary tract. I think she said there is a brand named Feline Pine or whatever you can find like that. The pet store will know what you are talking about when you say 100% dust free.

By the way, she agrees wholeheartedly about unnecessary vet expenses. I usually hear her ranting every week to me about it. But, she said you do need to bring him back to the vet you used and do what I suggested. You are not going to get out of this cheap for now. But, in the long run, if you do as she suggests, he should be okay. No more holistic food or fish, girl! :) Good luck!