Reply to Dr. Vamvakias's Post: Yes, I would like to know your opinion on the matter. My 8 1/2 yr. old male cat had a history of blockage, the last time I brought him in was 3/14/05 - vet unblocked him (he said it was a bad block - high up and he used 5 catheters to get him unblocked) - my cat spent 2 nights in the hospital and I picked him late afternoon on 3/16/05. He did not urinate at all that evening or the next morning, so I took him back in again on 3/17/05. He spent that night in the hospital and on 3/18/05 the vet recommended surgery that involved going into the bladder and "cleaning out" all the "grit" and "sediment". He also mentioned 2 other options, one being the surgery that turns him from male to female, but didn't think that would work in this case due to blockage being so high up and the other just inserting a catheter and giving him fluids, but also didn't think that was the best route to go. I agreed to the surgery to "clean out" the bladder, it was done on 3/18/05 and I brought him home on 3/19/05. I watched him very closely and noticed his urine output wasn't great and also blood tinged. I called the vet on 3/21/05 and he (not my regular vet, he was on vacation) said not to worry, it sounded normal being surgery was done and the inside of the bladder was raw. By 3/23/05 I noticed (on kitchen tile floor) 3 larger puddles, bright red with blood and my cat not eating well. On 3/24/05 he did drink quite a bit, but still not eating well and output poor, so I called the vet again and brought him in. I questioned to the vet (again, not my regular vet) if there was a possibility that he could be blocked or if the internal stitches could have come open. On initial examination, he did not have a temp and his bladder felt large. The vet took him and expressed his bladder by pushing on it. She came back and told me he wasn't blocked but had bladder atony and was going to give him fluids and send him home with meds for the atony. Immediatly following the physical expression of the bladder, my cat took a turn for the worse. The did an ultrasound that did not show a fluid build up (according to them - I did not see it). I had brought him in at 3:00 and by about 5:00 he was gone. An autopsy showed a small hole in the bladder, close to the surgery site, that they said just wore out due to his bladder being stretched. I am questioning if pushing on the bladder of a cat less that a week after surgery was the first thing that should of been done, not knowing if stitches were still in tact? I am questiong if the hole wasn't all the way through, or if possibly pushing on the bladder "popped" it all the way through? And even it was leaking a tiny bit, did pushing on the bladder just "flood" his body with toxins being that he turned worse immediatly and died so fast? I am also wondering if the surgery to "clean out" the bladder is common?
I would appreciate any answers you might have, thank-you.