Saturday, January 19, 2013

Purrs for Snowball

UPDATE The emergency vet was able to get a catheter in and he is unblocked but will have to stay there to be monitored for the next 48 hours.  Our bill is a mere $1200 **gasp*** rather than the initial $3000 they quoted us for the full surgery!!!  Snowball is resting and seems OK for now.  What a scare this was to think we had to do such drastic surgery or lose him!  Anybody have suggestions for food and treatment to keep this from happening?

Snowball has been getting UTIs lately and we thought this was just another one.  I thought he was acting funny and seemed to be in more pain so off to the vet we went today. He was blocked and they were not able to get the catheter in without damaging his urethra.

Phone calls and another trip to the vet.  We took the still sedated Snowball in our car to the emergency vet where he will have 24 hour monitoring.  They will try to do the catheter again but it looks like kidney stones lodged in his urethra.  The vets suggest doing the perineal urethrostomy - they shorten and widen the urethra so that this won't happen again.  Obviously they will be able to remove the obstruction while doing this.  Usually this is only done if they have reoccurring UTIs but in his case, he will not live if they cannot get the catheter in.

Being a weekend we don't have a choice of vets here - we have to go to who is available and open.  Please keep Snowblall in your prayers  that he comes thru this.  He is only 9 and certainly deserves many more years of love.

Thanks to Ann of Zoolatry for his graphic and for emailing everyone!  You guys are so supportive!  We will keep ya'll posted as we get more info.  What a long day.

68 comments:

Katnip Lounge said...

We are sending big big purrs for your White Guy...Snowball, please get well soon.

Boo-Bah AKA Iris said...

We send prayers and lots of purrs for Snowball. Hope he comes through all of this.

Purrs
Peanut& Marshmallow

Just Mags said...

Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know what is going on with Snowball. We are keeping our paws crossed and prayers going up for him and for you. Hugs and nose kisses






















Katie Isabella said...

I am SO SO SORRY! Blessings Snowball, God bless you. XXXOOO

Brian's Home Blog said...

We have been purring and praying for Snowball ever since we heard, and we will not stop. My sisters and I are taking shifts so we can purr around the clock.

CATachresis said...

So much love, purrs and prayers coming your way Snowball xox

Big Piney Woods Cats said...

All us cats in the Big Piney Woods are purring and purring!

Mittens, Mistrie, Precious, Miracle and Mom Toni

Cat said...

Oh Snowball!! We are just meeting you today, but are so sad that it is under these circumstances!! We are praying, purring, and everything we can think of for you that the emergency vet is good, kind and very capable of helping you exactly as you need so that you can be home soon and be with your furfamily. You are a gorgeous, gorgeous boy (Tiny and Chouchou are fainting just looking at your beautiful eyes and your fabulous white coat). Us 5 are thinking about you - yes, that includes Ellwood and Ginger the dawgs because they love cats, too. Purrs and purrs and tailwags and prayers from all of us and Mom, too. Tiny, Ellwood, Ginger, Elioth and Chouchou - WeezDaBadCats & DaMeenDawgs and Mom Cat, too.

Cat said...

We hope you got our message..we hope Google didn't eat it. Purrs, purrs, purrs....Weezdabadcats & Dameendawgs

Forty Paws said...

Oh yes! We had that done on Obi years ago. We had it done at a veterinary referral center, so we can imagine how much it will cost at the emergency vet! We hope Snowball gets to feeling better very soon!

Luf, Us and Maw

My Mind's Eye said...

Oh we are so very very sorry...and we have been on the end of an ER Vet service when we were sitting for our daughter's first cat. so very scary you don't know them BUT you have to trust them.
Hugs and purrs all around
Madi and Mom

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

We are sending lots of purrs for Snowball. We hope the next attempt at getting the catheter in is successful.

Oskar said...

Snowball is in our hearts & prayers.

Nubbin wiggles & hugs,
Oskar & Pam

The Florida Furkids said...

We're purring and praying for Snowball. We hope the VET can get the catheter in and the stones out.

The Florida Furkids

Julia Williams said...

I am purring so hard for Snowball!! (and sending you some purrs as well, because I know how stressful this is for you).

Pip said...

Wevhave our purrs on high. Get better soon Snowball.
Love, TK and Pip

Mickey's Musings said...

We are sending BIG PURRS to Snowball.
We understand just how serious this is and wish him all the best!
Purrs for you too as you must be so worried.
Purrs Tillie and Georgia,
Tiger,Treasure,JJ and Julie
and mom Nancy

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

WE will keep purrin for dear Snowball and will also keep all of you in our prayers.

Cherry City Kitties said...

Sending Reiki love to Snowball and all of you. Harry, Dexter and Tipp are purring furiously.

The Lee County Clowder said...

Purrrrrrss for Snowball. We had a kittie with persistent UTI's, so we know how painful and frustrating they can be.

Kea said...

Oh, Cheri, I was hoping it wasn't this dire.

Prayers from me and purrs from the boys; I'll light a candle for him on Gratefulness.org.

Peace.

Unknown said...

Holding Snowball close to my ♥ with tender thoughts. Many PURRayers coming her way.

Robyn and The (Mostly) Badass Cat said...

The Hotties Kitties are sending lots and lots of purrs for Snowball.

Kiril Kundurazieff said...

Yo, Dude!

Hang in there!

Nikita and Elvira

Mr Puddy said...

Snowball, I'm sending many many purrs to you plus paws crossed.
And Many hugs to your family.
xoxo

Lynx217 said...

they do make special foods for kitties with issues like that. i suggest the purina... however beware it is very expensive. you also need to get him on strong antibiotics and probably some life-long meds. glad he is unblocked. its manageable sweetie. also have his blood checked to make sure hes not got other things going on. infections etc can trigger other things like diabetes. have ur hoomins email ours if she needs to talk or ask questions.

Quill and Greyson said...

Poor Snowball! Glad they got the catheter in!

Cats Herd You said...

We're purring loudly for Snowball. What a scary, stressful day for him, you, and the family.

Maggie May said...

So glad to see that they were able to do the catheter and he is unblocked! I remember when Cal had to do the same thing about 10 years ago and it was $1800. Cal had to be put on Science Diet - the one for struvite crystals. Maybe it was CD? We will continue to purr and purray for Snowball until he is completely well and back to normal!! (((HUGS)))

Fenris and Family said...

Snowball we are sending healing purrs for you. We are so relieved you are unblocked. We has our paws crossed you stay that way.

Ellen Whyte said...

We're purring for you and Snowball, Cheryl! Meow from Au, Target and Guido

Angels Amber and Max DaWeenie and Mom said...

Just stopping by to let you know we're thinking about Snowball and sending extra prayers and "woofs". Sorry, no "purrs" here.

But we have all 44 paws at our house crossed for a quick recovery for Snowball.

Gemini and Ichiro said...

We are glad you are doing okay for now. We have been purring hard since we saw this on Facebook

Random Felines said...

we are so very sorry and hope they can get him cleared up (and glad it didn't result in emergency surgery). sending lots of purrs.... maybe a change of diet (if you haven't already tried that)

The Island Cats said...

We are purring for Snowball and hope he will be okay. There is special food to prevent the formation of crystals...also water can help flush him out. The mom has been adding water to our foods to make sure we keep peeing good.

Unknown said...

We are purraying for snowball1 This is a awful thing to happen and more so on a weekend. We also sends yous comforting purrs and headbutts!
Nellie, Kozmo, the hairy slobbery sisters Bob and Cinnamon and Mommy

Cathy Keisha said...

Poor Snowball. Our Chizzy kept getting blocked. We had him on special food and everything. Hope Snowball is good to go and doesn't have to go through what Chizzy went through.

Lisa Kolosey said...

Our Yukon just had the PU surgery in August and it has saved his life!! We had already switched all 8 cats over to all wet food all the time, due to his blocking two times before (at $400 and a lot of fear per block episode), but by that time he'd build up too much scar tissue in his ureter that it took less and less for him to block. Very scary, so when he blocked a 3rd time, we had the surgery done. Very well worth it! Email me if you want to know more or have more questions. Purrs to Snowball... ~LisaCo9T

Summer at sparklecat.com said...

Poor Snowball! I am purring lots for him - I am glad he got unblocked, but I hope there are ways to keep him from getting these UTIs. :-(

Oui Oui said...

That was very scary and a very close call! Thank goodness it worked out ok. We had a kitty who had rounds of UTI & blockages. His was caused by his food (Purina from the grocery store) when we changed to Science Diet, he didn't have any more problems. But SD has by products. There are premium foods these days that would be ok, taste good and without the by products. We'll be purring for poor Snowball!

Texas, a Cat in... Austin said...

Sending lots and lots of purrs for Snowball!

Ikaika said...

Poor Snowball! We send lots of healing energy to him. One of our kitties is eating prescription food and is taking traditional Chinese herbal formula to dissolve her bladder stones. So far, so good. Our acupuncturist, who works with our vet to treat pets, gets the formula for us. It is made by evergreen Herbs and is called Dissolve KS. It might be good to include this treatment as part of his daily routine. Hope all works out for Snowball.

'Kaika's mom

Terri said...

Lots of purrs going your way, Snowball. We hope you are feeling much better soon.

The Chair Speaks said...

Snowball, we're purring lots for you!

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

We're sending MASSIVE purrs for sweet Snowball!!

Anonymous said...

Poor little guy. So glad the vet was able to unblock him. Sendin him lots of pawsitive thoughts and wellness wishes!

The Roo Family

Fur Everywhere said...

We are praying for sweet Snowball, and will put the badge on our purrs and prayers page.

(This is the human mom talking now) - When my baby Carmine had urinary issues, it scared me so badly. He was merely 4 years old when he developed a very bad UTI. We had to rush him to the emergency vet on Easter as I knew it was a life-or-death situation. They discovered he had developed crystals in his urine, which could have blocked/obstructed him completely, but thankfully had not.

He was sent home with medications. Our regular vet put him on a prescription (Hill's Prescription c/d) diet for life to prevent that from happening again. He hasn't had any problems since *knocks on wood*

Your vet may put Snowball on the c/d, too. Carmine likes his kibbles a lot, but I feed him Urinary Tract Friskies wet food as he won't eat c/d wet. The vet has approved this, of course.

Please know that you are not alone. Though ours wasn't the same situation exactly, I know how terrifying it is! You and your baby are in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us posted.

Hannah and Lucy said...

We are sending purrs and prayers for Snowball and hope everything goes well without him needing the surgery.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

Everycat said...

Poor Snowball, we are sending you lots of love and rumbly purrs and hope that the treatment works quickly and you soon recover

Gerry & Mungo

bichonpawz said...

We are sending lots and lots of healing energy and prayers that your Snowball is feeling better very, very soon!! xoxo Chloe and LadyBug

Fuzzy Tales said...

Do you already have him on a grain-free canned food, Cheri? If not, I do suggest if, if he'll eat something affordable. Stay away from veggies and fruits in the food too. But you know this already.

Here's the vet-written site on UTIs, crystals, etc. Based on her own experience with one of her cats. She had held the typical vet opinion before, re: food, until this cat blocked.

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

What about something from PetAlive, to help?

Marg said...

Oh I am so glad he avoided the surgery. There is special food and it is called UR. I think you have to get it at the vets. I had to use it on Mister. Sending tons of purrs and some prayers too. Will be thinking about you today and tomorrow.

Cezar and Léia said...

Poor Snowball!I'm sending lots of purrs and prayers for his faster recover!
Love to you all
Luna - We love Luna

Angel Gracie=^o.o^= said...

So sorry to hear that snowball isn't feeling well. I will send good throughts and purrs and soon be back to his self.

Seville at Nerissa's Life said...

Oh my gosh!

My brother Seville is recovering from the very same thing. He was in hospital a couple of weeks ago.

A friend of mine from FB suggested somethin' called Cystaid or cystease. I found sources for it in the UK but can't find it here in Canada. Maybe together, we can find someone willing to ship outside of Britain. My friend spoke very highly of it.

Purrs,
Nissy

Mishkat said...

Cheri - we're sending many many purrs and good thoughts for Snowball, and for you too. We are glad to read that he's OK for now.

love and hugs -
Katie, Franklin, Tasha, and Dobby

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

We are sending TONS of purrs and prayers for Snowball.
My Angel Bobo once had SIX kidney stones. They did surgery and he was fine (he was already well into his senior years when he had them)
Do you feed Snowball turkey? I have heard that turkey is a HUGE no-no for male cats. It causes all sorts of problems
((((hugs))))

Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal said...

Sending lot of (((purrs))) to Snowball !
Glad to read that they have been able to get a catheter in.
XOXO

Ruby said...

Oh Sorry Snowball! I'll keep my paws crossed real tight for you!
Get well Soon!
Kisses,
Ruby

Cat said...

We purred and purred and purred and the dawgs were waggin their tails like crazy! So glad to hear that the emergency vet got the catheter in and that the bill was half the (huge, ginormous) estimate. We will continue purring and waggin' here. Be strong, Snowball, we (especially Tiny and Chouchou) love you!

Karen Jo said...

You have my prayers and all four kitties are purring hard for Snowball. I don't know if this will be of any use to you, but my vet says that she recommends Fancy Feast for cats who have kidney problems.

Old Kitty said...

Oh Snowball!! We are soooooo sorry to hear about this latest turn of events!! We purr and pray for sweet Snowball!! We hope hope hope he;ll be ok soon! take care
x

Gigi said...

Sending you love and purrs!

meowmeowmans said...

We're purring and praying for Snowball. And for you and Don, too, Cheri!

catsynth said...

Glad that Snowball is doing better. Sending good healthy thoughts and purrs for him! We will also "chip in" :)

Kari said...

What a way to meet you, dearest Snowball. You are in our prayers, love, and we will keep you in our prayers until you are all better. Such a beautiful boy!
We had a kitty that had the surgery you may be facing.
It would have been less costly and far better for Perry to have have had the surgery rather than the multiple visits to various vets and, in the end, surgery anyway. Can you apply for a Care Credit card at your vets?

Clooney said...

Very relieved to hear that they unblocked Snowball. We are sending our biggest purrs and prayers Snowball's way for his complete recovery quickly with ease.

Kea said...

How's he doing now, Cheri?

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