Put down a 4yo cat today from kidney stones

[john70t]

RIP Templeton the rat.
He loved being hung upside down getting his belly scratched, getting all gay boy with his brother, had a high-pitched mew that sounded like a leaking balloon, and would sit and chatter at birds to draw them in. He and his brother would go walking with the dogs and I'd feel like the pied piper.

Apparently kidney stones are very common in neutered male cats.
Especially when the procedure is performed too early.

There was no change in behavior, except the last day where he sat in the basement and wailed extremely ticked off. He was moving around which was a good sign but no limping or blood or other external evidence. I thought he had fallen off the lattice or had gotten bit by the dog (which would be a first) from a earlier chase incident.
He got a catheter and flush, but the kidneys were too far gone.

Here is what was missed:
1). Occasional puking. I thought hairballs/cat/normal. But in retrospect it was watery. We found roundworms in his puke on the last day and assumed it was the cause of his discomfort. Easy fix. No big deal.

2). Hanging around the litter box in the basement. I thought he was claiming his own space. The other cat previously claimed the bed down there.

3). Cat litter was flung outside the box. The dog was eating the kitty poop and probably digging, and a gate was put up and the messes were minimal. But it was probably the cat upset that he couldn't piss.

4). Coming to me. In retrospect it wasn't always for food or attention, although he got both.

[john70t]

[t-tom]

They become such a large part of our lives it makes these type things so hard. I'm sure you gave him a great life and spared him from much pain and suffering. I'm sorry for loss.

[billybek]

Sorry to hear of your loss.
I had a couple of cats and the male went through the kidney stones thing too.

[Baz]

So sorry for your loss, John.

Thanks for the head's up though on this health issue for myself and others who have neutered male cats (I have 2).

I had mine neutered at about 1 y/o. I wonder if that was too early? They are about 8 y/o now and have always been outside cats with no health issues that I know of.

Anyway....our thoughts are with you and yours at this difficult time. Hang in there....

[creaturecat]

my condolences. sounds like he was a nice cat.

[Skytrooper]

I am sorry for your loss. It is very tough to lose a pet when they are so young.

I, too, have a cat that has had frequent episodes with kidney stones. We almost lost Chance 2 years ago. He spent a week at the vets, it was touch & go. One day he was at deaths door and the next he was good. As I mentioned this went on for a week. He finally pulled through. Since then I have fed him nothing but ALDI's chunk light tuna in water. He gets 1/3 of a can, twice a day and he has not had any recurrence.

Our vet also made mention of the neutered male frequency of kidney stones.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Baz

So sorry for your loss, John.

Thank you for the kind words.

Lost my father in December.
His wife lost both her parents within the next freakin' week or so.
Close friend lost his father a few weeks before.

Just icing on the poopcake.
It rains it pours.
Add a dash of snow and season to taste.

(btw, I'm not very superstitious but please don't read this if over the age of 55, 'kay)

[Buckterrier]

RIP Templeton the rat.

Yes... Sorry for your loss John.

[Halm]

Hate to hear that John.

RIP Templeton.

[azasadny]

So sorry, John!

[fxeditor]

John I am so sorry for you loss. We had to put our cat down for the same reason last Thanksgiving. I still miss that little guy. My deepest condolences to you and your family.

Michael

[crustychief]

I am sorry to hear of your kitty.
Regards,
Sandy

[E38Driver]

So sorry for your loss. I just loss my female Jack Russell Terrier on Friday and having this group here at Pelican Parts has helped a lot.

It does get better with time but it still hurts.

Dave

[fanaudical]

I'm sorry to hear about Templeton. Thanks for the warning about kidney stone formation; our new kittens are due for neutering, and we'll be talking to the vet in depth about that issue.

[saxen]

I couldn't imagine. sorry for your loss- they become family fast-

[masraum]

That sucks, I am sorry for your loss.
When I was a teen we had a kitty that had stones. We were able to get an operation done to fix the issue. The kitty mostly ate dry food. The doctor told us that dry food can be problematic for male cats. We were advised to sprinkle a few drops of vinegar on each bowl of dry food, and that would mitigate any future stones. Or switching to wet food was supposed be good too.

[john70t]

Missed signs (cont):
5). When he'd do the sassy "Hey, you're not paying attention" cat lick, it was on the front.
Not on the side of the hip.

This was not continuous nor extreme.
There were never any mewing, flinching, or signs of pain.

Vet said his gentiles were bruised.