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Expert: - 2/19/2011


Question
Thank you in advance.  I will try to give you the background on my cat as briefly as possible.

My cat broke his jaw on February 1st.  We took him to the vet.  She wired his jaw but it wasn't working so he had to go to a specialty vet on February 4th.  His jaw was fixed and they released him on February 8th.

We got him home and he ate a bit but then wouldn't eat.  About the third morning, I was syringe feeding him and he let it dribble out of his mouth.  Back to the hospital he went.

This time they kept him for five days. He had a UTI.

He is home again with antibiotics for the UTI.  The house litter box is shared with other cats.  I suspect he isn't peeing again so I gave him his own box today and shut him in the room with it.

He still hasn't peed.  If I syringe feed him, he will eat so he is better than last time but obviously he needs to urinate, or at least I'm pretty sure he has to.

We are considering having him put down tomorrow if he doesn't pee tonight.  We have spent over 2000.00 at this point and we are broke.

Any tips would be welcome.  Thank you.

Answer
I'm not sure how the jaw is related to the UTI but if he isn't urinating at all he might not even make it until tomorrow. The toxins build up very rapidly when they cannot urinate. UTIs are not caused by broken jaws, but by sludge building up from bacterial build-up, food that doesn't keep the urine free of crystals until there is a toothpaste like sludge that blocks the narrow opening to of the urethra.

There are no tips that I can give you except to get a lot of water into him to encourage urination. If he isn't blocked then he isn't drinking enough water to build up urine. He would also be dehydrated if that was the case. If he is eating syringe food how much is he eating?

I realize that this is a really tough decision for you Carolyn. You have to do what is best for your cat. If he is suffering then you are giving him a gift of ending this suffering. If he doesn't seem to be any better ad isn't urinating then it might be the best decision for him.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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