Simon

You never realize how important peeing is until you cannot do it.. My poor boy still is not really peeing. He stopped peeing after the lasix wore off last Sunday.
We have been through several different meds and have changed the plan a couple of times. My Vet did some research and he is now on Alprazolam and Prazin and we are keeping his bladder empty. The Alprazolam had the opposite effect last night and I woke up to him sitting on my head licking my face.. Then he attacked the dogs tail and would not stop. I tried to get hold of him and he face planted on the floor.. It took more than 2 hrs for him to settle down and then Caley had me up with diarrhea starting at 4am.. We reduced the alprazolam to half to see if that helps..

So now we are expressing him morning and evening. He is very difficult to express. We are giving fluids as well when needed and I am am getting a decent amount of fluids in him by adding water to canned salmon and letting it soak up the flavor.  He seems to do better the more fluids we can get in him.
Dr. Paula is on all weekend so we will keep pushing the fluids, keep his bladder from filling up and see how the weekend goes. The next step is another catheterization and keeping his bladder completely empty. There is also some concern that since we do not know what caused the blockage ( no crystals ) that maybe he has some neurological issue. Paws crossed for my boy.

Simon Update

What a week.. I lost count of the number of times I have been back to the Veterinary Clinic with Simon. He has not be able to pee on his own. He has an Atonic bladder which basically means it does not want to work. There is no obstruction and his bladder can be expressed. Once he gets really full he can pee a small marble sized amount but when you feel the size of his bladder that little marble sized amount doesn't add up to much. 

I spent most of the day at the Clinic yesterday with him. Dr. Paula Cunningham gave him meds to try and relax the smooth muscles in the body which hopefully would let him pee.

Note the litter box.. It had lots of traffic but no pee. 

Simon resting on my seat while we waited for him to pee..

Dr. Paula Cunningham stayed several hours after her shift ended to try and get a plan together for Simon. Can't tell you how much I appreciated that!  She did an ultrasound to make absolutely sure there were no stones causing a blockage, that was cool to watch.. So the plan last night was, learn to express him, pain meds, amitriptyline, continue antibiotics, then tomorrow start kitty metacam and try to express him if needed. If I could not express him then I would take him to the clinic again.

The plan all went well until I tried to express him.. I could find the bladder but nothing would come out.. Bill suggested I might not be doing it right, EXCUSE ME... 

So plan B take him to the clinic where the Vet on could not express him either.. Plan C now was admit him and give him a diuretic and go to the drug store and pick up the bethanochol that was finally in. There is a cat in the cage beside him with exactly the same thing..

Simon started peeing after the diuretic was given so he was given fluids to prevent dehydration. Now we just have to hope he does not stop peeing after the diuretic wears off. Keep peeing my boy.. 

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD)

If you have a male cat you may already be familiar with FLUTD. Thankfully I was well aware of it after having researched some of the serious medical issues that can happen to a male cat when we adopted Simon a couple of years ago. Sat night he was "off", just not himself but I put it down to him being annoyed with us for having "abandoned" (his word not mine)  him for a week while we were on vacation in Mexico.. Sun morning I let him out as per usual but kind of kicked myself for doing it without giving him the once over, but knew he would be back in a an hour so let it go.. Well he wasn't back in an hour, so I kept looking for him. Simon has better recall that my dogs, I swear he comes immediately when I call. By noon I began to look seriously and it took another 3.5 hrs to find him or until he found us.. It was the longest 3.5hrs in a long time. I knew as I carried him in the house he was very sick. He went to the litter box and did nothing then laid down on the dog bed. I checked him and he had blood on his penis. I knew he was blocked so I called the Vet and met Dr. Ted at the clinic.
Dr. Ted confirmed the blockage and showed me how to check the bladder, it was the size of and orange (damn that had to hurt). Dr Ted cleared the blockage and placed a catheter, gave him fluids and meds.  He was able to come home today a little earlier than expected because he refused to eat at the clinic.. He was quite stressed there and would not even eat for me.
He had xrays today that did not show any bladder stones so that's good. The likely cause of the FLUTD is cystitis. The basic treatment is lots of fluids and feeding wet food.. Simon however HATES wet food so that is going to be a challenge. He has eaten a small amount since he came home this morning and had several drinks so I am feeling a little better about it but he has not peed.. The catheter came out this am and then Dr. Paula expressed him before he came home so we know he was not blocked... so now all we need is some PEE...

I took this just after he came home and he assumed his place! He has barely moved from there since he got home.

Here is a link to some good info from Cornell on FLUTD

If you have a cat, especially a male cat you should be very aware of FLUTD. It is a true emergency for a cat if they become blocked. Do NOT wait if you see these symptoms, take your cat to a Vet immediately.

The symptoms you need to look for:

1. Straining to urinate.
2. Frequent and/or prolonged attempts to urinate.
3. Crying out while urinating.
4. Excessive licking of the genital area.
5. Urinating outside the litter box.
6. Blood in the urine.
7. Lethargic
8. Refusing food or water
9.  Vomiting

MACh Aidan Video's

Ok now you all get to see the the video's of Aidan's runs!! Just click on the links below.

 

28 Jan JWW Aidan QQ MACH

 

28 Jan Std Aidan Q

 

28 Jan Std Aidan Q

 

 

 

 

MACh Aidan

MACh Aidan

by Karen Selbert

It’s with great pleasure that I am proud to introduce MACh Aidan!  At the incredibly pleasant and wonderfully run Nashville Dog Agility Club trial, in front of friends old and new, Aidan not only performed flawlessly, but placed well in the smoking fast 20” division.  Judges Diane and Robert Fyfe provided the enjoyable and challenging courses for the day.  Diane was most understanding when I stooped in tears to hug Aidan at the end of our run.

The teamwork behind our success belongs to more than just my tiny tribe.  I owe a huge debt to an immense group of people, and it is impossible to measure everyone’s contribution.  But it won’t stop me from trying:

Thanks first to Pam, an incredible breeder of westies and one awesome litter of whippets, for gifting me with this wonderful dog.  You were able to see with clarity that Aidan was the right dog for me.  And thanks to Piper and Katie for insisting I not pass up this auspicious opportunity!   

To Elizabeth, from the Addison’s group, for getting me through the first sleepless nights of Aidan’s diagnosis.  Your absolute wisdom, patience, and encouragement were priceless. (For the group: diagnosed 3-20-2010, Percorten 0.5cc q 24 days, pred 1.25mg am :)

To Leo, breeder and trainer of Borzoi Oxota, for leading me to Dr Tomasic.  This apparent happenstance probably did more for Aidan’s soft tissue recovery than anything else.  Sometimes we are introduced to the right people at the right times in our lives, but for reasons we don’t always realize at the moment.

To my parents, who have now turned into our raving fans.  It’s amazing how our dogs have shaped our relationships over the years, and have given us the opportunity to share so much more of our lives together.

And of course, my husband, who understands without knowing, who sees without the vision, and who loves me in spite of the challenges.  Can’t thank you enough.

And thanks to everyone else out there who had a hand in our development and success over the years; there isn’t enough time, words or space to appropriately honor you all, but we appreciate you nonetheless. 

*********

Video coming as soon as I can get it...

I met Karen in March 2010 when she turned up on the Addison Dogs Yahoo Group I am on and she was looking for the latest and most up to date info on Addison's. She was devastated that she had diagnosed Aidan with canine Addison's. She was feeling exactly like any other pet parent of a newly diagnosed ADog. It is overwhelming. Her precious Aidan was sick.

Aidan sure doesn't look sick now..

Here is another post I did on Aidan when he was at the Nationals.

Thank you Karen for sharing Aidan with me!