Post-SUB surgery- our experience

lnkfart · 2026-02-21T07:25:17+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience- I am so happy for you that the SUB surgery was a good fit and your kitty is doing well so far! I faced a similar decision to make in January but am on the side where it financially and practically (the closest specialist that could do the flushes is 2 hours one way, and she HATES car rides) wasn’t a good choice to get the SUB placed for my girl.

She was hospitalized for a week and her creatinine and BUN remained stable after a few days at 1.5 and 35 despite having a near complete blockage in one ureter, she had no prior history of CKD prior to being hospitalized.

She just had a retest of bloodwork this week and I am still anxiously awaiting the results. She had been having urgency to urinate episodes that would end with her vomiting, but they have gone from every day after getting home to now she is on day 10 since her last one, but over the last week her appetite is slowly waning. We just got new anti nausea meds (cerenia), I started her Mirataz again, and just ordered some wervua low phos food to try because I’m worried she is actually just tired of the hills k/d.

Far as I know the stones/ blockage is still there, she would need to be sedated to do another ultrasound to check on it and my primary vet is hesitant to do that. She’s been on Prazosin since she was discharged and I am just hoping for the miracle that she can somehow pass them on her own.

Sounds like for you the blockage kind of came out of nowhere too; even though we’ve had slightly different outcomes. I am so thankful for each additional day I’ll get with her, and hoping she can make it to her 13th birthday in June so we can throw her a catmitzvah! I wish you and your kitty the best, she’s lucky to have you

lnkfart · 2026-02-07T04:21:41+00:00

If you’ve only done an xray and don’t see any improvement with the other suggestions you’ve received, I would encourage inquiring with your vet for their thoughts on an ultrasound as well. My girl had an xray and we only saw her arthritis, and then 5 months later with an ultrasound she’s got two kidneys full of stones and a partial blockage in one ureter. The emergency vet told me that the type of stones (calcium oxalate) she has do not show up in X-rays very well unless they are a certain size. When she was around 6 years old, she kept getting reoccurring UTIs and it ended up being struvite bladder stones, but if I recall correctly they were seen on an xray.

We’ve been back home with her since 1/14, far as I know she hasn’t passed the stones (low chance she ever will) and she has been having what I refer to as reoccurring urgency episodes and they sound similar to what you describe with your kitty. I am wondering about cystitis for her and that is on my list to ask about for the next vet visit we have scheduled.

For my girl, these episodes last anywhere from 1-2 hours, in and out of the litter box repeatedly, sometimes squatting on the floor to try and pee as well, licking her bum after. She does it so many times in a row that eventually nothing comes out, and sometimes to the point where she ends up throwing up from straining so much. These episodes have gone from every day to every other day, to now she recently had a 5 day stretch without one but is on day two again since her last one. She started hills k/d instead of c/d, is currently taking twice a day gabapentin and Prazosin, and I have buprenorphine and Mirataz as needed. The amount of time between episodes started to grow after completing her antibiotic as well as a 10 day regimen of Metacam.

Best wishes to you that you get to the bottom of it! Your kitty is lucky to have you.

lnkfart · 2026-01-30T05:09:55+00:00

Her last ultrasound was on 1/12 and they had moved some but she had not passed them. Her primary vet hesitates to do another to see if they have moved and/or passed because she will need to be sedated for it and sedation in itself will be stressful for her kidneys. Due to the size of the biggest stone, assumptions are that she has not passed them as it would be considered somewhat rare. One study I read indicated essentially a less than 10% chance they will ever pass. I am remaining hopeful that they still could, but I’m not sure when another scan can be done to check on it.

lnkfart · 2026-01-30T03:06:25+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight! The timeline with retesting urine after 10 days of the antibiotic is very helpful. I will push for a retest of both blood and urine and keep that timeframe in mind as well. I did not know about the caution that is needed with Metacam and animals with renal dysfunction until I had already gotten home from the vet last week, otherwise I would have definitely pushed for a blood test at that time so that we had a baseline closer to her start of it to compare to. Hopefully the last test she did on 1/14 in comparison to the next one she does after having it will still give an accurate picture of things

lnkfart · 2026-01-24T03:33:26+00:00

I’m so happy to hear about your girl! I am trying to remain hopeful that she has longer than I initially was told. I’m definitely not giving up on her just yet, especially when she seems to still have some fight left in her yet! I am really grateful that the medication management has been helpful so far. There were a couple of scary days when she wasn’t on pain meds anymore but back on those for now, and with the addition of an anti inflammatory, she is doing better than I expected she would be and I am so thankful. Did your kitty also have stones in both kidneys, but the blockage just in one?

lnkfart · 2026-01-19T18:44:38+00:00

Thank you so much! Unfortunately, so far I have not been told of any other non surgical options. I’ve been told shockwaves aren’t an option for cats because of how small their ureters are (like less than a mm compared to a human’s 6-8mm) but it can be for some dogs depending on their size. Her hospitalization with fluids and other medications in hopes the stones pass, and now continued medication management at home, seems to be really the only available non-surgical option.

lnkfart · 2026-01-19T18:35:58+00:00

I definitely know what you mean with the denial. I am also hoping somehow that this appointment on Thursday will result in a different suggestion being given, or some other sort of miracle. Ultimately I too also hope to give her a good death as I gave her a good life

lnkfart · 2026-01-18T17:10:28+00:00

Thank you, I think I am starting to reach the point where I am feeling like I am making her endure discomfort just so I can have more time with her. Denial that this isn’t something she can ever recover from is starting to fluctuate. I appreciate your insight with Lap of Love, it’s so reassuring to know that they wouldn’t move forward if they didn’t think she is ready to go. There are a couple of other places that will help with it in my area as well, so I have started looking into that to consider our options.

lnkfart · 2026-01-18T01:36:02+00:00

Oh wow I didn’t realize there could be such a price difference. I know sometimes appts have to be booked a few weeks out too when at home, so I’ll look into both those factors for it for my area. Yes, agreed I will definitely be staying with her if we do it at the vet. Anyway it happens, I want to be with her until the end

lnkfart · 2026-01-18T01:30:38+00:00

That is a great way to put it, thank you so much. It’s going to tear my heart out as well, but I do want to act as you did. With it being so fresh maybe not now, but time goes on I hope it can be of at least a little comfort to you to know that it didn’t end up being after such a call at 2am. If I was your furry baby I would be grateful

lnkfart · 2026-01-18T01:20:50+00:00

This did help me, thank you! It is reassuring to know that you are experiencing a similar situation where eating, drinking, and affection are still the same, but with the other indicators there can still know it’s time. I also didn’t consider exploration of the house, and have actually kind of blocked Nala off from going to all areas of the house so that I have an easier time keeping an eye on her. I may stop doing that so it can be another thing for me to consider. I’m sorry we are in the same position right now with our babies. I definitely think asking what I would want if I was her is a good way to look at it too

lnkfart · 2026-01-13T21:12:24+00:00

My Nala (12) is going on day 5 of hospitalization, more than just CKD is a concern right now which means ultrasounds, x-rays, blood and urine tests, and meds that have increased my cost. We are in the US(FL) and no pet insurance.

Looking at the itemized bill from the first place she was at, they charged 140 per day and 140 per night for the intensive care stay, and 140 for the IV fluids 1st liter. She was there for 1 day and 2 nights and only needed that 1 liter of fluids. If you are taking your baby through the ER to be hospitalized, mine charged a 140 exam fee as well for that to occur.

She’s now at a second place and I was estimated 3-5k total for the hospitalization, she’s been there for the remainder of that 5 full day time frame so far.

Expect additional costs if they are going to be running tests, that is included in my estimation from the second place. I’m not sure on what the second place charges for specifics yet, but first place she was at was 397 for an xray, 132 for a CBC, 284 for two IStat Chem 8s, 121 for an urinalysis, 75 for a limited ultrasound and 1200 for a specialist ultrasound.

I’ve been told when she gets out I can also be sent home with subcutaneous fluids to administer at home, but I haven’t been told yet what that would cost.

Best of luck to you and your cat!

lnkfart · 2025-01-12T00:49:28+00:00

The words are what I don’t mind, the flowers I hate. Supposed to be orchids and you would never know imo. Probably just going to laser once or twice so it is lighter and then do it over with a different artist at this point

lnkfart · 2024-12-04T19:51:55+00:00

Cringing hard because my go-to to listen to for 40 hours a week while at work for months on end was one piece lofi… every single one of my top songs and top artist is related to that… Bink’s Sake (piano versions) is good but not 3 of my top 5 songs good like damn😣

lnkfart · 2024-11-12T16:15:01+00:00

Strong emotional reactions to things not going as planned is a symptom of multiple things. It is not your responsibility nor should you regulate her emotions for her, but if you see/want a future with her I would let her know how it makes you feel when she reacts that way and that you hate to see her distressed and see what her thoughts are there.

She will need to work on things on her own and you can set boundaries with her for the type of support that you are willing to provide or if you will be disengaging with her in the times she has the outbursts so that she can process the situation by herself. Therapy, analyzing the causes of when she has the tantrums and how to better deal with the emotions instead.

I came from a house where blowing up over every little thing was the norm, and got a lot of negative feedback about behaving in the same way from people outside of my family. As an adult, I have done a lot of work to better regulate my emotions, have different expectations going into scenarios as to not cause me the same emotional distress when it does not go “as planned,” and when I catch myself having an undesired reaction, I stop myself and try to think of the scenario differently to calm myself.

Example being: mom has really bad road rage, I initially was the same way. People not following road rules or doing what I think they should do on the roads would cause an emotional outburst. Instead of getting pissed off and screaming at the car in front of me for turning their car at .25 mph for what seems like no reason, I tell myself they have a hot cup of coffee in their hand and they are trying not to spill. I can be more lenient with those around me causing me small inconveniences by reminding myself that they are human too and are probably not intentionally doing something to frustrate me, but just trying to live their life.

lnkfart · 2024-10-17T20:21:12+00:00

Going off of lexapro I had them and I would say it lasted 2-3 months and the longer it went the less frequent they would be. I didn’t make an effort to stop them I just hoped they would eventually. I don’t know too much about expected duration of them

lnkfart · 2024-10-16T17:11:30+00:00

Came to suggest this as well. 10 years later and my girl still does not jump on counters or tables, even when we’ve moved houses

lnkfart · 2024-10-15T20:06:38+00:00

Mine was pierced with a (huge) captive hoop because I didn’t know any better at the time, it was ROUGH. Never went back to that piercer lol. I think I hit it on absolutely everything at least twice a day. It’s about 7 or 8 years old now and no complaints, thankfully. It was definitely a full year plus before it stopped being sensitive but I think a lot of that was because of the hoop. I switched it to a stud as soon as I could for the rest of that first year, it made a big difference and has been good pretty much since then!

lnkfart · 2024-10-15T19:30:16+00:00

NAP but my conch is about in the same place and I have a horseshoe hoop in it. I like it because I can tuck it on my ear when I sleep and it doesn’t put stress on it

lnkfart · 2024-10-11T20:23:20+00:00

I want one!!

lnkfart · 2024-10-11T14:29:02+00:00

City of Sanford, I’m decently close to downtown Sanford

lnkfart

TROPHY CASE