Meowllo everypawdy hope yous havin’ a gweat Monday. We held meez posty today till we kulld talk to da VET ‘bout sis Lexi. Well it appears dat based on hers symptoms hims finkin’ it might be sumfin’ like hers thyroid or diabetes. Now of course weez purrayin’ dat it just be da picky temperamental actions of an old gal wantin’ hers way. Mommy sez she wuld be much happier wiff dat diagnosis than anyfin’ els. Anyways, she be goin’ in to see da doctor tomowwo at 2:30 CST. We sure wuld purreciate all yous purrayers fur a clean bill of healff, and a weasonable chawge. We ain’t made of gween papers and don’t hav any to spare so weez hopin’ all’s good and we can get outta there fur less than ow allowable $100.00 chawge.
In udder news, ifin yous weplied to a comment me made on yous bloggy and me hasn’t wesponded to yous then purrlease furgiv me. WordPress has been makin’ more changes to meez bloggy wiffout askin’ first and everyfin’ be a little wonky. Miss Bev wrote all ‘bout it da udder day, and we agwee wiff hers, ifin it ain’t bwoke…don’t fix it. Yous know all these updates don’t make fings better or easier, just hawder and more confusin’. But blogger dusn’t seem to be any better. Meez been purrovin’ meez not a wobot fur so long now dt meez actually stawtin’ to feel like one. Yes we know lots of you can just ignore it and it’ll post yous comment. But weez usin’ ow wordpress ID and not google, twitter or facebook, so it won’t let us ignore it. Da more we twy, da hawder da captchas get.
Weez just happened to be visitin’ CK when we made this video, but it’s not just hers, it’s most of da blogger bloggys. We just fawt we wuld show ya’ dat weez can’t ignore it. So dat’s why when we do get behind altho’ weez wead all you back postys we only comment on da one. Hopefully this captcha fingy will be over soon.
Fur sum weason there awe a foo blogger bloggys out there dat don’t hav da captcha at all. Weez not sure why, but weez sure do like it. And weez also not getting’ ow Cat Blogospere emails, so ifin weez missed one of yous purrtant days, weez very sorry, weez twyin’ to get all caught up. But tween mommys head and sis Lexi’s tummy, weez fallen a bit short and behind. Purrlease bear wiff us cuz a Vet visit means weez’ll be behind again tomowwo. MOL Weez beginnin’ to fink this be like sleep, once yous miss it, yous can’t ever ketch up. Anyways here’s to a gweat week and blessings to all.
Meowllo and Happy Furiday to you. Dezi’s still with the Cat Scouts on their Jamboree havin’ a good time, and so I’m still managing her blog. We started telling you all about UTI’s yesterday, and will continue today. If you missed yesterdays post please check it out here.
Lucky Lucciano
So if UTI’s can go unnoticed how then is it detected and diagnosed? As we talked about yesterday your cat may be showing symptoms. Frequent urination, blood in the urine, straining to go, crying out and eliminating outside the box, to name a few. Or your cat may show no signs at all until it’s too late. A vet will perform a visual and physical examination. Most Vets can tell if the bladder is full by palpations. the next step in diagnosing a UTI is a urine test. The best way to collect feline urine is by “cystocetesis”. That means your Vet will insert a needle through the cat’s abdominal wall, puncturing the bladder and aspirating it. Your Vet is looking for the formation of crystals, bacteria, and other sediments that could be causing the infection. It is essential for proper handling of the sample during this time so as not to contaminate it. It is best if the tests occur within the first hour after urine retrieval. It can be refrigerated and brought back to room temperature if the tests can’t be done until later, but if you suspect a UTI your Vet will want to test the sample as soon as possible. The gold standard for diagnosing UTI’s in any species is urine culture and sensitivity testing. This is the type of tests our current Vet uses. Some Vets still send home a special litter for you to put in the litter-box for urine collection. Please if your vet wants to do this test, refuse and request the sample be taken by cystocentesis. Any other sample may be contaminated, and it is extremely important to know exactly what is causing the infection. A urine culture is often not performed until a round of antibiotics has failed.
Blood will almost always be taken and tested as well. And while bloodwork is not informative in diagnosing a UTI it may reveal underlying abnormalities that can lead to an infection of the urinary tract. Such as kidney disease, cancer or cushings disease, just to name a few. X-rays and ultrasounds can also be useful in diagnosing and treating UTI’s by allowing the Vet to see the presence and size of any stones and the size of the bladder, kidneys, ureters, urethra and prostate glands (applies to males only). And to identify Kidney or bladder stones or masses that are obstructing the output of urine.
Once the problem is found and the diagnosis made your Vet will prescribe a course of treatments to assist the animal in getting well. As long as there’s no blockage, your cat will be treated on an outpatient basis. It’s important to take all meds prescribed by your Vet for the amount of time ordered. If there is a blockage the cat may require hospitalization and a catheter. If a catheter is used or surgery is required you will need to watch the animal because infection may set in or scar tissue may result in narrowing the urethra. Thus making the reoccurrence of UTI’s highly probable. The signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection should subside within 4-7 days following treatment. If your cat is still having difficulties you will need to return to the VET immediately. If there are recurrences your VET may decide to treat it with a prescription diet as well as antibiotics and/or surgery.
So how can you prevent a UTI in the first place? That’s the million dollar question. Especially since nobody truly knows why living in the same situation, eating the same food and being exposed to the same things, some cats get them and some don’t. But here are a few things you can do. Make sure your cat drinks plenty of water. A water fountain can be a big help as cats do love fresh running water. It has long been accepted that distilled water is best when dealing with cats prone to UTI’s. Scheduled feeding is also recommended. Leaving food available all day means the cats body is constantly working because of the smell. Cats in the wild don’t nibble or eat off and on all day, they hunt, kill, eat and move on. Scheduled feedings are the recommended course of action. As well as a well balanced diet low in ash content. Human tuna fish is one of the worst offenders. You should look for a diet that has an ash content of 5% or less as this has been known to cause UTI’s. Wet foods are also recommended as opposed to dry kibble due to the fact that cats don’t drink a lot. If you’re feeding a raw diet, remember the supplements are very important. Be sure you are providing all the necessary vitamins and minerals so that you don’t cause another medical issue. And before you supplement with vitamins, etc. when feeding a commercial diet, please check with your VET. You can have too much of a good thing. Although cats require certain minerals to digest foods and certain vitamins there are also risks to absorbing too much. And try to avoid stress. We can’t repeat enough, If your cat is crying out, running to the litter box constantly, urinating outside the box or worst yet, going to the litter box and not leaving a deposit, GO TO THE VET IMMEDIATELY!!!
Well again we have covered a lot of material at once, so we’re going to stop for today and finish up tomorrow. We really appreciate all your support in this effort, and we hope we have been able to bring some things to light that you weren’t aware of. But most of all we hope we can help even one of you to avoid this terrible Silent Killer or at least know what to look for and be able to get help before it’s too late.
As yous know sis Lexi and meez went tu da VET. And what a twip it was. Now mind yous sis Lexi was a furrocious Tigwess in hers day, and shes sumtimes still is. Ifin yous wead how shes ended up wiff mommy den yous know shes put fear in da heawts of hers 2 big bwofuws (not littermates). And woe be untu anypawdy dat innew-wupts hers nap. And shes twied tu splat me when meez came hewe tu liv. So natuwally yous know hers gunna giv Dr. C what fuw. Wight?? Well…..NO!!! Hewe shes was all cooin’ and purrin’ and yes, Dr. C. Yous want me tu tuwn how Dr. C?? Yous want meez tu stand on meez head Dr. C?? Okay Dr. C, whatevew yous say Dr. C. Hmmph. Meez kuldn’t believ it. Okay so hims a gweat Dr. and wees luv hims. But come on at least make hims eawn hims munny. Aftew all shes had just gav meez a face full of hiss and spit wight afuw hers got on da table. Well luv fest ovew, Lexi got a clean bill of healff and a pat on da head fuw duin’ so well and still bein’ in such good shape fuw a 15 yeaw old.
I’z lubz Dr. Cade.
So den it was meez tuwn. 😀 Well me decided ifin Lexi wusn’t gunna make hims eawn hims munny den meez wuld. MOL So when hims stuck hims face in meez eaw, meez purromptly hissed at hims hoo was boss of dis exam. So hims handed meez back tu mommy as ifin dat was gunna save hims fwum meez wraff. Hims had anuddew fink comin’. Meez was hot and tiwed and hims was pokin’ and pwoddin’ and hims spected meez tu just woll ovew and take it?? Hmmph Not gunna happen. MOL Meez gwowled and hissed and even swatted a foo times lettin’ hims know meez was not at all purrleased. Den came da magic hour, Soft Paws time. Mommy and Dr. C talked a minute and hims got weady and sed, “I’ll start on the back paws.”
So mommy picks meez up and holds meez tight and stawts tu sing softly and sweetly. Well as yous know meez luvs it when meez mommy sings tu me. But not when sumpawdy be messin’ wiff meez feetsies. Meez continued tu pwotest wiff da low gwowl. And den finally meez wiggled out of mommys gwasp and swatted at Dr. C and den at mommy. Mommy gathewed me up again, and hewe wees go again. Dis time when meez got loose meez bit mommy. Mind yous Dr. C jumped back like a jack wabbit when meez wuld wiggle loose, but du yous know what mommy did when meez bit hers?? Hers calmly sed, “Sweet angel, that’s me you’re biting and it hurts. It’s gunna be okay Dezi. Mommy luvs you very much.” Well Of Couwse meez let hers go. Wuldn’t yous?? Meez kuldn’t huwt me mommy. Me luvs hers tu much. And at dis point meez had pwoved tu Dr. C hoo was boss cuz hims sed, “okay I think that’s all we’re gunna do today. Bring her back during the week when I have plenty of staff on hand.” Meez won!!! 🙂 Meez only has da soft paws on meez back paws. MOL Mommys not weal happy ’bout dat, and meez not weally eevew. cuz now meez gettin’ meez claws hung up on evewfin’. Maybe nex time meez will be a little calmew when meez sees Dr. C.
Meez luvs Dr. Cade but hims wusn’t takin’ any chances. MOL
Meez wanted tu giv yous a little update ’bout mommy. Hers seein’ hers doctow tuday. Hims finks it might be hers pancweas and hims has tu wun tests afuw hers can see da specialist/suwgeon. Hers is gettin hers stwengff back little by little so yous purrs and purrayers awe helpin’. Fank yous so much fuw all of dem and all yous well wishes. Wees know dat lots of yous awe not well eevew and yous shuld know dat wees puray fuw all ow furiends evewday. Wees believ in da powew of purrayer. 🙂 And wees gunna stawt visitin’ a little at a time til wees get all caught up. 🙂 Now fuw a little hint ’bout meez nex posty. Is gunna be a yeowww nana time. (yous can paw on da hilighted powtions tu wead ow eawliew posts ifin yous haven’t or wuld like tu)
OMC Meez wus so supwised by how many of yous hav VETs dat yous like. Meez wus so glad tu heaw dat. But meez wusn’t supwised at all by how many of yous not so cwazy ’bout da twip der and back home. A lot of yous sed dat yous spend da whole twip singin’ da song of ow ancestows. MOL One of da fiwst questions wees get asked, even afuw ‘what’s a Service Cat?’ is….. How du yous get da cats tu wide so well in da caw?? And den wees get wesponses like: meez cats wuld teaw us all up, or meez cats meow at da top of der lungs da whole time, and so many mowe. Mommy tells dem dat yous can’t keep a cat locked away in da house all yeaw long and den pull out da cawwiew 1 time a yeaw and ‘spect evewfin’ tu go smoovly. Cuz at dat point deys associate da cawwiew wiff bad fings, and also da VET. Weally, ifin da only time yous evew get out is when sum stwangew pokes sumfin up yous neddew wegions and sticks yous a foo times and pwys yous mouff open and digs wound in yous eaws and den pushes yous back intu a little box wiff baws dat yous can barely stand up in wuld yous be ‘cited tu go?? Or wuld yous maybe be hidin’ and singin’ da song of yous people tu??
So da fiwst step in makin’ da twip tu da VET mowe pawsitive and less stwessful fuw evewpawdy is tu make it fun and pawt of da woutine. Now as any of yous dat wead meez blog knows wees don’t hav much in da munny depawtment so meez not tellin’ yous tu go tu da VET all da time and spend munny. But let meez say dis, deys don’t chawge yous nuffin’ tu go inside and sit down in da waitin’ woom fuw a bit. Now sum of yous gunna say, “but meez VET is tu faw away.” And meez unnewstands dat, ows is 45 minutes away so is not always pwactical. But ders lots of places yous can go. One of da fiwst fings mommy dus tu twain any animal is tu get dem used tu da caw and twavelin’. Dat means dat da cawwiew or stwollew (whatevew yous use fuw twanspowt stays out and cozy like so dat yous little fuwball can get used tu it and leawn dat it’s a good fing. When fluffy goes in and welaxes fuw a nap or a play, giv dem a tweat and pwaise dem. See whewe meez goin’?? Good fings hapun in da bawwed box besides bein’ manhandled and shuvved inside.
Luvvin’ meez stwollew. Makes fuw a comfy nappin’ spot. ♥
Once fluffy is likin’ da cawwiew close dem in fuw vewy showt pewiods of time and take dem out da doow tu da caw. Don’t go anywhewe yet and be suwe tu giv dem tweats and welease dem when yous come back in da house. Now dat fluffy’s good wiff da cawwiew and goin’ tu da caw, stawt da caw and pull out and den back in and intu da house and welease fluffy. Don’t fuwget da tweats and pwaise. 🙂 Now yous weady fuw a twip wound da block. Not tu faw, just nuff so dat fluffy knows yous ain’t in kansas da dwiveway and home anymowe. MOL Ifin fluffy stawts singin’, yous stawt singin’. Mommys favowit songs tu sing tu us awe, ‘You are so Beautiful’ and ‘You are my Sunshine’. And den ders da made up ones. Mommy can be vewy clevew, and of couwse wees luv hers fuw it.
Now dat yous goin’ wound da block and fings awe good, go fawddew and pick dat place whewe yous gunna stop and go in. Membew du dis mowe den once!!! And go tu lots of diffewent places. Da pet stowe, a dwive fwu, anywhewe will wowk. Yous want tu get fluffy used tu goin’ in da caw and havvin’ good fings hapun. Ifin yous VET is faiwly close purrlease go der a foo times. (Da smells and sounds awe impurrtant, so even ifin yous VET isn’t close at sum point yous need tu go der. Also any VETs office will wowk. Membew, ders no chawge fuw sittin’). At sum point yous wanna make an appointment wiff yous VET and take sum of fluffys favowit tweats fuw da VET and techs tu giv tu hims. (or just call and talk tu yous VET most awe happy tu help out at no chawge) No pokin’, no pwoddin’, no exam. Just pettin’ and tweats. it usually only takes a foo minutes fuw dis pawt and dat’s why lots of VETs will du it fuw a small fee or fuw no chawge. Aftew all, yous supplyin’ evewfin’ and all yous need is a foo minutes of der time. Dr. C did it fuw us afuw hims left fuw da day.
Most VETs don’t take appointments wight up tu closin’ so deys hav a foo minutes fuw dis kind of fing. And sum make meet and gweet appointments fuw new clients and yous can ‘splain what yous duin’ and deys will schedule yous intu one of those slots. In da end, yous shuld hav much mowe peaceful and less stwessful dwives tu da VET. And maybe yous will wanna take kitty mowe places. And den nex yeaw fluffy will be askin’ yous, “Is it time tu go tu da VET?? ” Fluffy is nevew tu old or tu yumg tu leawn tu enjoy widin’ in da caw.
Service Cats U.S. 