Re: o/t blockage question

[Brenda K. Smith]

Kerry.....     Removing a cat's penis is called an Urethrostomy and in my experience is only done as a last resort when a cat keeps blocking several times no matter what the treatment.  In other words, as a last resort.  I was a veterinary technician for many years and only assisted in one Urethrostomy on a cat who continually blocked with crystals.  I could see one reason why a vet would do this procedure on a first time blocked cat and that would be if the vet had tried to force a catheter into the penis carelessly causing rupturing of the penile tissue thus destroying the penile urethra.  The procedure is painstaking and doesn't always turn out well.  There is sometimes bladder incontinence in the cat and UTI's.     My positive cat, Peri, blocked a couple of years ago for the first time and my vet sedated him and started trying to rinse out the penis with saline solution until she could carefully insert a catheter.  She then proceeded to rinse out the crystals thoroughly and then sutured the catheter into place.  I  was able to take him home because of my vet tech experience and give him 100 ml Lactated Ringers 3 times daily to keep flushing out the crystals.  He was put on Zenequin and a short dose of Prednisone.  I forget how many days he had the catheter, but I removed it when it was time.  I gave him a little Ace in the muscle to relax him beforehand.  I put him on Wysong Uretic, Vitamin C and he was already on Interferon daily.  I read that Cosequin helps some cats from blocking.  They didn't know why, but it worked for some cats so I put him on that also.     I knew the signs of blocking to look for before Peri would block again.  I think it was two or three more times that he was close to blocking that I caught in time and immediately started him on Prednisone and Zenequin.  I continued the Lactated Ringers during this time.  Finally, after stopping him from blocking for the third time I called my vet.  She then put him on Amitriptyline which is a despressant.  Again, it isn't known why this helps a cat to keep from blocking, but it does.  I also monitor his ph levels frequently.  He has had no blocking problems since the Amitriptyline.  I continued the Lactated Ringers for quite some time at the recommendation of my vet.  I no longer need to do this.     There may be other reasons why this clinic vet did this procedure on a first time blocked cat, but I don't know what it would have been.  I know I wouldn't take my cat to that clinic if I had this info and the other info you provided. -- Brenda..... http://www.whiskersandwicks.com http://www.cheqnet.net/~bksmith "The only risk you ever run in befriending a cat is enriching yourself." - Colette Don't Take Your Organs To Heaven. Heaven Knows We Need Them Here. Kerry MacKenzie wrote: Hi all You may remember I sent out an email last week about a bad vet clinic in Chicago, McKillips. I sent the same email to a PAWS counsellor in Chicago, and she left me a message saying she'd never had  a"good feeling" about that clinic, and went on to say that people who had adopted a PAWS cat in the past recently took the cat to McKillips. The problem was "blockage"--and McKillips recommended, and then carried out, removal of the cat's penis. Has anyone heard of such a "remedy" for "blockage"? It seems extraordinary, to put it mildly. I'd welcome any/all feedback. Thanks, Kerry

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