I’m glad he seems to be on the mend. My FELV cat seems to be doing okay for right now. He looks great and eats every meal. I don’t know how long he will stay as stable as he is, but for now he seems okay.
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Oh he’s handsome! Glad to hear he is getting better.
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I just wanted to update in case anyone down the line is looking for stories about PU/FIC/etc.
I said goodbye to Sylvester on Friday, June 14th, a year and ten days or so from his PU.
After my last update to this thread, we battled a few more flares including a UTI from corynebacterium (!) and lots of back and forth on that; several cultures that came back clean so presumed FIC flares. He would start urinating primarily blood, in and out of the box, etc. We’d manage it with a few days of Buprenex on top of his daily gabapentin and supplements. In December we started Reconcile (fluoxetine/Prozac) for anxiety to see if that would help. In late January/early February he had another flare, which seemed to resolve with Buprenex, but every time I tried to wean him off the Buprenex, the straining and blood would return. The vet wrote a Wedgewood prescription in early February for Buprenex and we kept him on .3mL/BID until the end. It bought us another happy four months.
They suggested the next step would be an internist to do a cystoscopy/biopsy/maybe bladder surgery but the funds just weren’t there. And even if they were I wouldn’t have subjected him to bladder surgery after everything.
If this information is helpful to anyone at all, for the last four months he was on:
- Tiki Cat canned food with added water
- Water fountain (filled with bottled spring water since there was maybe some concern that our hard water or water with added minerals could contribute to crystals/stones/sludge)
- Gabapentin 200mg every 8 hours
- Buprenorphine .3mL every 12 hours
- Reconcile 8mg 1x/day
- 7 drops corn silk extract - 3x/day
- 1tsp D -Mannose powder - 1x/day
- Anxitane, L-theanine supplement for anxiety - 1x/day
- Dasuquin, joint supplement to help bladder lining and inflammation - 2 capsules sprinkled over food 1x a day for 40 days, then 1 capsule a day
- Many, many Churu treats
I made the mistake of trying to wean down the gabapentin slightly in May, which may have been what caused the final flare. I really don’t know; I hope not but it’s hard not to second guess. I was worried about his kidneys with everything he was on. I brought him from 200mg every 8 hours to 200mg AM, 100mg 4pm, 200mg evening then eventually 200mg AM/PM. He seemed okay to me during this time.
On June 11th, he was normal for his afternoon meds and treats and for dinner, but when I went to bed he was in the box straining and passing small bloody clumps. Gave him additional gabapentin and his evening buprenex and got him in first thing Wednesday AM. He had lost a pound since February (from 18.1lbs to 17lbs). Pulled blood and urinalysis and did a cold laser treatment on his bladder bc it was cheap and might help. Prescribed 150mL fluids to flush bladder and keep meds at Gaba every 8hrs/Buprenex every 12/maintain supplements. Wednesday night/Thursday AM he seemed improved.
U/A came back clean except for huge amounts of blood; nothing to culture so no indication of infection. His kidney values did come back elevated; only slightly but a significant jump from his previously very steady low values. Suggested maybe early stage kidney disease. The vet called around 4PM on Thursday while I was still at work and I was still somewhat optimistic based on how he had been that morning. Unfortunately when I got home at 5pm, there were many small bloody clumps again. He was interested in his treats; I gave him an additional .3mL of buprenex with his afternoon meds and some more fluids.
Thursday evening (~11pm) no improvement but no worse; gave an additional dose of Buprenex and gabapentin. He slept with me throughout the night with multiple trips to the box to strain and pass bloody clumps. I suspected I would be making a decision soon. Gave an additional .3mL Buprenex at 6AM. Still no improvement. He was not interested in his breakfast–Sylvester was an incredibly food motivated cat. One of the wonderful vets I’d been working with got us in, I warned her it may be a euthanasia appointment. Ultimately it was–he was still painful on almost 1mL of Buprenex in 12 hours; it wasn’t clear if he was blocked (bladder wasn’t large) but I had already decided I would not subject him to another hospitalization for blockage even if I could afford it. We were out of options that I could afford and even if I had the money to get him to an internist I don’t know that I could have stabilized him enough at that point anyway.
I was and am devastated and wish I could have done more, but also try to remind myself that I did absolutely everything within my financial power and more. I adored him and had promised Sylvester and myself that I wouldn’t torture him because I wasn’t ready to let go and that I didn’t want his last day to be his worst. He went to sleep with his head in my hand like he had most nights for the last 7 years.
I try to remind myself when I start the what-ifs that we had an incredible 7 years together and he knew more love than most feral tomcats who show up in a random person’s driveway ever will.
I’m not sure why I wrote all of this out but it was a bit helpful for me personally. I just wanted to thank you all again for the support when I needed it. It did come back to help me in the end, and I hope our journey may be of help to someone else on the forum somewhere down the line.
Rest easy, my sweet Syl Syl.
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I’m so sorry for your loss. You did do everything you could reasonably do, and you did right by him in the end.
He was lucky to have had you as his person.
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I’m so sorry. He was lucky to have you in his corner.
Never blame yourself for not being able to do more. You did everything you could do for him. I know it’s easy for us to say, and having been on the other side of this, impossible to do, at least initially, but I hope you do know you did everything possible.
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A beautiful, wonderful cat friend. You did everything possible for him. I know it’s hard…thinking of you.
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I’m so sorry you had to lose him this way. You did everything for him. He knew he was loved.
(((Hugs)))
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{{{Barnesthenoble}}}
Godspeed Sylvester
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I’m so sorry 
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What a lucky guy to have found you. I’m so sorry for your loss. Godspeed, Sylvester -
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