Recently my cat was rushed into the vet to get a blockage removed. It cost a wonderful $1200. Has anyone else's cat had this issue?
Do you have any tips on preventing such issues in the future?
How do I live with the condition? What are the long term risk?
Right now the cat seems to be happy and healthy and doing fine, but I worry that we might end up back at the vet in a few months.
Usually cats with a tendency for this need a special diet, but that depends on the kind of blockage he had. Sometimes they get them due to an acidic diet and others due to a basic diet, and the changes you have to make depend on that. Sometimes you have to cut on their protein intake. But really, your vet should have informed you about all this and suggested a special diet from now on, or else it just looks like he's waiting for it to happen again.
According to my vet your cat may need dietary changes so as to prevent crystals and stones that cause obstruction from forming. Making sure your cat gets enough water in his or her diet is vital. Accordingly canned cat food is preferred since it has around 78% water as opposed to dry cat food. Also ensuring your cat has a clean litter pan can also help.
My adopted cat, Chi, almost died of the same problem. Uroliths already blocked his urinary tract, so he couldn't urinate anymore. I had no idea that he was no longer visiting his litter box because I leave home very early in the morning, and my mom is the one cleaning the box. One day, Chi just suddenly became lethargic. I thought he ate some of the rat poison that my grandfather was leaving all over the compound. I rushed him to the vet. His gums were pale, and he was already very pale. These two signs are very grave.
When we got to the vet, he palpated the bladder and said that the bladder was very distended. What he did was he used a catheter, and helped Chi pee manually. We thought that it was already too late because his urine was so bloody. Good thing our vet was really good. He prescribed a lot of medicines. Sure, the operation and one-month's worth of meds were very expensive but everything turned well in the end.
To not experience this again, make sure that your cat will no longer eat dry kibbles. Give him canned food that is low in protein but high in moisture content. Check how many times he/she pees every day, too.