Ashley Campbell

As a cat "owner", your pet's health is always your main concern. You make sure your feline friend has enough clean water, food and plenty of attention. You know to look out for obvious behaviors such as vomiting or problems getting around. However, you're probably not following your cats into their litter boxes, are you?

One special Christmas, my new 10-week-old kitten became the newest addition to the family. He was a spunky little kitten that instantly made himself at home. He quickly grew to become a strong and healthy cat. Because he was so fit, we were taken by surprise when, just a few months ago, we learned he had a serious health problem to face.

I woke up for work one morning and started the shower. I knew by the time I was ready to jump in, Marley would be lying on the floor, enjoying every minute of the room getting nice and toasty from the hot water. However, this morning I opened the door and didn't find him there. Instead, I found him in the sink. Not playing with the faucet or rubbing against the cabinets…but squatting in the sink. "Stop that!" I ordered and placed him onto the bathroom floor. I jumped out of the shower and noticed him squatting there in the middle of the sink again. I began to raise my hands to move him once again until I met his big green eyes. I expected a mischievous look from him but instead I found one of concern. I thought to myself how strange this behavior was and knew there must be something wrong.

I raced him to the Beach Park Animal Hospital. Thankfully, Marley's veterinarian, Dr. Abraham, was in and available. As she looked Marley over, she asked a series of questions:
"Vomiting?"
"Decrease in appetite?"
"Showing signs of being less active or increase napping?"

No, no, no, and no. She continued, asking if he was making frequent trips to his litter box. I was confused. Watching my cat use his litter box seemed like a strange thing to do. Everybody knows cats are very independent pets. They know when and where to go and how to take care of it. She could tell I was stumped and asked about trying to urinate outside of his box. Suddenly, the light bulb went off.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. I told her about Marley's little trick in the sink. It hit that that's what he was trying to do, trying to tell me! He was trying to show me that he wasn't able to go when he…had to go! I was right, there was something wrong and I was about to find out just how serious it was.

I soon learned that Marley was very dehydrated. This was due to his bladder being the size of and as hard as a tennis ball. Although urinary tract problems are common with cats, especially males, many owners are often unaware of them. My family and I had never heard of anything like this happening so suddenly! He was just fine the day before.

Marley needed some blood work and tests done. Soon, Marley was diagnosed with Acute Cystitis as a result of Struvite Crystalluria. His bladder was packed with crystals and mineral salts that were putting pressure on his bladder, causing it to swell up and throb with pain. This created major blockage for his urinary tract which caused him to feel like it was time to visit the litter box, but, only found that nothing would happen.

When crystals are formed in the bladder it usually has something to do with cat's diet. I informed Dr. Abraham that Marley has been on "Natural Balance" for most of his adult life and we have never experienced any issues with it. She explained that there are different brands of food containing different levels of mineral content. Marley's food had a very high content consisting of ammonia, magnesium and phosphate which made up these crystals. It is more common in males because of their longer urethras carrying their urine from the bladder and out through the penis. If it takes longer for urine to leave the body, these minerals can build up, forming crystals and causing the bladder to become hard and inflamed.

Once my family had arrived, Dr. Abraham then brought us some good news. Luckily, Marley had been brought in early enough so that they could perform a procedure to try to flush the crystals out. By inserting a catheter through his penis, saline solution was flushed through his tract in hopes of getting rid of the blockage. twenty-four hours later, we were able to take Marley back home. For a day or two, things seemed to be going well. That is, until Marley began popping up in the bathroom sink again. Our family went from a sudden high, thinking our buddy was going to be alright, to an instant low, worrying what we would do if he couldn't be helped. Although it isn't uncommon for cat's suffering from Struvite Crystalluria to have to visit their vet again, its pretty bad news. Marley's bladder was still enlarged and if it didn't get resolved quickly, his condition could become fetal. Not being able to get rid of the urine trapped in his bladder would quickly result in his body shutting down.

Two options were then presented to our family: a surgery we couldn't afford or a second go at the catheter. Given our current financial situation at the time, the only thing we could do was keep our fingers crossed that round #2 would work.

Marley's second trip to the vet was thankfully his last. However, it was much longer than an over night stay. The family just didn't feel the same without him. Nevertheless, Dr. Abraham didn't want Marley leaving until she saw with her own eyes that he was able to urinate not just once, but over and over again.

A few days later, I came home to find a much happier Marley waiting for me at the door. The second catheter worked. He was finally healthy and crystal free again.

Although the worst was mended, Marley's healing process didn't stop there. He was prescribed antibiotics to prevent infection and Bethameal to give back his bladder's contractibility after being so stretched out. We also needed to change his food in order to lower the chances of this happening again. Although Marley has since then been a happy healthy cat, my family and I will never forget the immense amount of worry and pain we all went through watching our buddy suffer through such an experience.

Fortunately for us, the reason Marley's condition didn't turn as severe as it possibly could have is because we caught it early. Dr. Abraham was able to estimate from test results and blood work that Marley had only been experiencing the blockage for ten hours. If Marley's behavior would have went unnoticed, it only would have taken twenty-four hours for his blood to become contaminated by the over abundance of urine in his system. It would have taken a day or two for us to notice the obvious red flags of vomiting, not eating or wanting to sleep more than usual. Perhaps all of these had gone unnoticed? It only would have taken a total of five days until this serious illness killed him.

I know there are many others like me who love and care for their cats as much as my family and I do. I believe it's very important that I continue to share our experience with such a common health scare, in hopes of informing you and many others how to keep their cats and kittens healthy. So please, continue to watch your feline friends with extra care and spread the word to other owners so that we can all become more aware.