perineal urethrostomy

[jay_anne]

My 3 year old cat Loki just had a perineal urethrostomy becasue of urniary blockage and I was wondering if anyone else has a cat who went though this operation. What was the recovery like? I would appreciate any advice about what to look for or what to expect.

['too crazy]

Hi Jay-anne! I have no advice to give you but I wanted to welcome you and wish you and your kitty the best of luck.
Sherry

[CrazyCat]

Sorry, No experience but I hope someone does. I hope it works out!

[RWDVM]

Hello Jay_anne and welcome:

I regularly perform perineal urethrostomys in cats, with favorable results in the vast majority of cases. I assume that, since the procedure was performed, your cat was chronically blocking. This procedure effectively shortens and widens the urethra to enable the crystalline/protien plugs that form in cats with lower urinary tract disease to pass unimpeded. The cats are usually not significantly painful beyond 2 days post-op. I find that their biggest annoyance is the elizabethan collar that has to be placed on them to keep tham from licking the delicate incision (but we never take these off under any circumstances until sutures are removed).

The most common reason for poor recovery or non-optimal results is owner non-compliance with post-op instructions. Cats are amazing healers. Just follow your vet's recommendations and everything should be just fine. Best of luck to you. If you are interested, please visit my veterinary advice and health management website at the web address below.

Sincerely,

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Veterinarian, Webmaster http://www.askdvm.com

[Lisa]

Hello Jay Anne,

I see your cat had p.u. surgery the first part of this year. I hope he has recovered and is doing well.
I was writing because my cat just had this surgery a week ago. He got through the surgery o. k. but has been having problems controlling his bladder. The vet tells me he should gain control when he heals completely. I was wondering what kind of recovery your cat may have had. As you know, this problem can be quite upsetting to the indoor cat as well as for us.
Any incite you can give is very much appreicated.

[Fosterllama]

Good for you for taking such good care of your kitty. Try to urge others to do the same. Good luck with your kitty

[special]

My 3 year old cat Loki just had a perineal urethrostomy becasue of urniary blockage and I was wondering if anyone else has a cat who went though this operation. What was the recovery like? I would appreciate any advice about what to look for or what to expect.

Hi jay_anne and Lisa

If you are still around would you be willing to come back and let us know how your cat is doing four years after his PU?

there is another member looking for answers:

http://forums.petlovers.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33583

thank you for your help.

[tonyc]

My Cat just had this surgery too.

After 2 weeks...he is having trouble controling his bladder. He is 10 years old though...and the vet said to give him another week or so.

I hope that your Cat recovers ok..

[tonyc]

How old is your cat?

When did s/he have the surgery done?


Hello Jay Anne,

I see your cat had p.u. surgery the first part of this year. I hope he has recovered and is doing well.
I was writing because my cat just had this surgery a week ago. He got through the surgery o. k. but has been having problems controlling his bladder. The vet tells me he should gain control when he heals completely. I was wondering what kind of recovery your cat may have had. As you know, this problem can be quite upsetting to the indoor cat as well as for us.
Any incite you can give is very much appreicated.

[bugsmom]

Gee all these postings are old. I'm hoping that we dont hear the "end of the tale " because it turned out ok. Our cat just got a P.U. WE got him back the day after the surgery. We were glad to have him back but it's alot of work to look after him- 8 pills a day plus cleaning the wound and cleaning up after him since he doesn't seem to have control over anything back there! If we did'nt have a room with no furniture and hardwood floors that could be cleaned and a thousand paper towels I don't know what we would do-it's very messy buisness. The incontinence thing is worrying...

[bugsmom]

Update...JUst in case others are checking out the P.U. thing...

Our cat is finally on the mend after some complications: antibiotics gave him stomach problems so we had to force feed him wet food- which gave him diarreaha - which caused an infection in his stitches.
After 2 weeks he had to be cleaned up and restitched a little and given an injectable antibiotic(thank god!). The vet has had to do checking and scraping of necrotic tissue (scary) every 2 days and we have had to run his stitches under water for 5mins, 3 times a day.
However, It's all looking good now. He should get his stitches out soon and get rid of his hated e-collar and be reintegrated into the household. He's peeing normally and in his box -Hurray!
For anyone who needs to go through this i would recommend the following:
-THe cat stay at the vets for the first few days after surgery to give YOU a chance to get used to the care giving.
_ 4 pills twice a day is too much for a cat whose already feeling crappy. I HIGHLY recommend you ask your vat about liquid painkiller (in easy to use pre-loaded syringe that you just have to get inside his cheek -easy) and if possible an antibiotic shot that lasts 2 weeks- especially for kitties with sensitive stomachs.
_ Finally, if you can start rinsing the area (hydro therapy) as soon as possible it is the best healer especially when combined with alternating applications of honey and antibiotic ointment.
Finally, I hope no one ever has to read this but if you do, good luck -its alot of work but you can have your kitty back!

[special]

Thank you so much, Bugsmom for coming back to update us on your cat's PU surgery.

I have read before that there are often a lot of post surgical complications and the details you have shared with us are very helpful.

I am also so happy to hear that your beloved kitty is on the mend now and will no longer have the danger of blocking.

Hurray for you for putting in the work, love and money for your dear one.

[ali_e]

Hi, I'm so glad I found this forum. Our almost 2 year old orange tabby, Baxter has had a rough month. First with UTI, then blocking, two catheterizations, many nights in the hospital and finally a PU surgery.

He had the surgery eight days ago, and we brought him home three days after his surgery. Since then, we've kept him isolated in a spare bedroom. His care has included:

1. washing the incision site twice daily and applying an ointment
2. an oral dose of antibiotic both in a liquid form and a pill form once a day
3. an oral dose of pain medicine 3 x a day (prescribed on day 7)

We are so glad we were able to get the surgery for him. The vet bills were staggering, but it seemed our only options were pay for it or euthanasia. We were lucky that through the process we found a talented and affordable vet (our 4th in a month) to do the surgery. If you are struggling with the financial strain of things definitely look around and ask everyone for advice on where to go. We actually found this vet through the recommendation of a vet tech at a different facility.

Here's what we've noticed since he's been home:

1. He's pretty low-energy. He spends most of the day laying on or under the bed.

2. He is eating and drinking water well.

3. He is experiencing urinary incontinence. This is messy and worrying, but the vet suggests that his stitches could be causing discomfort and stimulation. Hopefully when he has them removed (in 4 days) this will improve.

4. Yesterday (Day 7) I rushed him back to the vet after I noticed him straining in the litter box and not producing urine. The vet checked his bladder and it was small and released urine easily. He prescribed Baxter a liquid pain med that we are to give him three times a day.

5. The Elizabethan collar has been terrible for him. He's already a pretty clumsy cat, so he's been losing balance and falling over a lot.

I'm ready to see my little kitty back at 100%. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for the great tips and support on this topic. I'm definitely going to try some of the human incontinence sheets on my bed after reading that tip.

Good luck to all the owners out there. This has been really hard on my husband and me, but we know it's going to be worth it.

Ali

[special]

Thank you! so much for posting. Your detailed information will be very helpful to others facing this surgery.

I am so glad you were able to do this for your beloved Baxter. Do please keep us updated on his progress!

[ali_e]

I'm devastated. After all we went through with Baxter, things took a bad turn. He was due to get his stitches out... just two more days to make it and then we were sure his recovery was going to ramp up. I had taken him in to the vet a couple times because I'd find evidence of vomiting in his E. collar. And they thought he must still be in discomfort because of the surgery and stitches. Then, one time when I went in to clean is incision site and give him his meds, I found him having a massive seizure. We rushed him to the emergency vet, and they guessed it was something unrelated to his PU surgery. They offered to refer him to a neurologist, but this was going to be thousands more dollars. So we had to make the decision to euthanize him.

I can't tell you how sad we are. Baxter was the sweetest little orange cat. And I hate that the last month of his life was hell for him.

I hope all of you who are reading these posts about PU have a much better experience. I do think the surgery was a good move. Unfortunately it seems it was just time for our Baxy.

Best,
Ali

[special]

Oh no. My gosh, my heart is breaking for you. I'm so sorry for the loss of your beloved Baxter. It's clear you made the best choice for him, a very unselfish act on your part. Small consolation, I know.

[bugsmom]

Poor Ali, What a lot of heartache. Poor Baxter.
Here's the latest on the bug...
Finally,after the stitches came out and the HATED collar came off. Bug seemed back to normal; high spirits, etc... EXCEPT he started peeing outside the box again!
We took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with a low level infection so it was back on the antibiotics. He seemed to be doing better on them (not peeing quite so much outside the box) but then we had to go on vacation. He had good caretakers come and check every day and give us a log of his urinating activities. It's not good. He is peeing everywhere...a lot. He seems pretty happy and comfortable but this is not a good situation. We are going to take him back to the vet and also try a homeopathic remedy called UTI Free starting tomorrow. We are crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.
I will repost with updates.

[ChefAli]

Ali_E, I found this site tonight because our beautiful orange tabby just had the PU surgery two nights ago, and I wanted to learn what to expect in his recovery. As soon as I read your threads, I had to sign up for this site. I wanted to tell you, I was so sorry to hear of the loss of your very young orange kitty! My husband Eddie & I lost two boy kitties to different kinds of cancer a few years back, 5 months apart. We understand just how much this can break a kitty mama's and daddy's heart! My thoughts are with you, as well as my prayers. I am so sorry for your loss!