Sunday, June 4, 2023

Our Cat, Roary's Bladder Stone Journey (So Far...) #HugYourCatDay

Today is National Hug Your Cat Day (which obviously in your home and mine it's celebrated  EVERY DAY)

Today we are hugging our Roary much, much closer than we ever have!

A HUGE thank you to Ann
at Zoolatry for this beautiful graphic!!!


Some of you know that Roary had emergency bladder stone surgery almost two weeks ago...more about that later, let's flashback to around March of 2023.

The only GOOD thing
about Roary's condition
is he is now cuddling with me
on the couch. He previously only cuddled with Lenny


I had noticed that Roary didn't seem to be passing enough urine and contacted the Vet. Roary is only two years old so our Vet rightfully assumed that he wasn't getting enough fluids and advised that I increase his fluid intake. One way to do that was to offer him chicken broth.

I remembered having featured broth for pets that was made by Caru quite some time ago. I reached out to them and told them about Roary's situation and they kindly offered to send me quite a few boxes of their wonderful broth!



****Rest assured while Roary is now on a special diet and can't have the broth, thankfully Levi loves it too and he is enjoying it in HIS food! Thank you Caru! We love you!

For a while that worked, Roary seemed as if he was back to himself. He absolutely LOVED the broth!!! Then, things got worse near the end of April. Roary's urine output had greatly decreased. We knew he HAD to be seen at the Vet!

Dr.Lewis's assistant, Dominique
was BEYOND GENTLE, LOVING AND KID
with our sweet boy.
You can tell she has cats of her own!
She brought Roary so much comfort!



We took him to the Vet and were shocked to discover that Roary had bladder stones. The Vet said he was FULL OF GRAVEL. Frankly, we were only shocked due to Roary's young age, he had most of the classic symptoms of bladder stones in cats:

Straining to Urinate 

Frequent Urination

Roary had MANY, MANY trips to the litter box with little output

Genital Licking

Passing Urine in Unusual Places

Roary NEVER urinated outside of the litter box until these occurred.

Blood In The Urine

One of Roary's favorite places to urinate was the bathtub where I discovered blood in his urine.

"It is believed that neutered male Burmese, Persian and Himalayan cats may be genetically predisposed to developing calcium oxalate stones."

Our Vet advised that we switch  Roary's food to Royal Canin Urinary S/O, all of us were hoping that the food would dissolve the stones which commonly happens. So Far Not in Roary's case.

His urine output became worse and worse and I became increasingly more worried during the month of May.

Right before Memorial Day our Vet decided it would be too much of a risk NOT to remove the stones surgically.  Memorial Day was right around the corner and no one wanted a Vet emergency during a holiday. We were blessed that our beloved and fabulous "Dr. Smiley" also known as Dr.Lewis consulted with the amazing and incredible surgeon, Dr.Corey and she agreed to do the surgery the next day.

From Left: Dr.Lewis, fat me, Lenny and Dr.Corey
This photo was NOT taken that day!
It was taken May 13th, 2023 at DePorre Veterinary Hospital's 65th anniversary
a post about that will come later!

Our fabulous Vet, Dr. Lewis and Roary's incredible surgeon, Dr.Corey make the BEST TEAM!

Dr.Corey said Roary was a "rock star" with his surgery, as well as his general demeanor whenever he is at the Vet. She was able to remove all the stones and sent them out to be cultured. Dr. Corey has been beyond gracious and sooo patient when I contacted her after the surgery with TONS of questions!



Recovery at home has NOT been easy. As most of you know it is incredibly difficult to keep a young cat inactive. He can't jump, run, etc. We boarded Levi for 3 days and 3 nights to give Roary peace and quiet. One of the girls at Levi's daycare suggested I get puppy pads. THAT was a brilliant suggestion, I went through about 30 in the first day Roary was home. (That was due to blood/leaking urine for the first few days.)



Roary has been a champ through ALL OF THIS!

I had two feeding areas set up for him and two litter boxes, (one in each room he would be in). He had two bowls of water and his water fountain in the kitchen.  He has been  cooperating and hasn't had much activity. Wish I could say I was doing as well.

I have stayed home (whenever Lenny can't be with Roary), virtually every day but twice to go to WW. Keeping he and Levi separate and trying to keep them both happy has been quite challenging!

Roary and Lenny ("Daddy")

Roary's sutures will come out this Thursday but we aren't out of the woods yet. The stone analysis came back and we were told that Roary has calcium oxalate stones (NOT good). The chance of the stones returning are roughly between 20 and 50%. Had they been struvite stones the food would more than likely dissolve them, with calcium oxalate stones there is a chance he will be like me and have stones all of the time which will more than likely involve another surgery to increase the size of his urethra so he can pass the stones on his own. That is an extremely intricate surgery and we are praying that doesn't happen!

Purrs and Prayers are most welcome to help prevent those nasty stones returning!

Roary is a champ and the best natured kitty!

We couldn't be more proud of him!

We fully intend to hug him not just today, but EVERY DAY that we are blessed to share our lives with him! Love our brave boy soooo much! He is gentle, kind and such a TROOPER!! Like Dr.Corey said, "He's a ROCK STAR!!" (I guess in more ways than one lol)






48 comments:

  1. Roary, we are sorry that you had to go through that! One of our Grand Pups has bladder stones but they were fairly big! The vet let her daddy take a few home so er could see! The second time, it was like her bladder was full of sand!

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  2. Poor Roary, he is such a good boy. I am sending good thoughts for those stones to be gone for good. At least he has a mom who understands all about stones!

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  3. Sending lots and lots of healing purrs and hugs to Roary and mom!

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  4. We are so sorry to hear that sweet Roary has had this horrible condition. It is nothing I had ever heard of and to think he had the worst kind of stones. He looks to be strong and ready to fight for recovery back to himself. Levi must be bewildered not to have a play mate for now. I hope you do not mind, I snagged the last photo of your post and want to put it on mine for others to pray for Roary. Lynn and Precious

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    1. Thank you so much Lynn and that is BEYOND sweet of you! I don't mind one bit and it was extremely thoughtful of you to do that! Levi hasn't been that great with this. He barks at Roary in a rude way whenever he sees him, we are keeping them completely separate until the sutures come out this Thursday. (((hugs))) and thank you!

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  5. Oh Goodness, Caren- Your poor Roary. Those stones must've been painful, too. Me and dad are rushing purrs, prayers and big hugs your way in hopes they help with Roary's recovery and also with keeping the darn things from returning. It looks like your poor boy is indeed one trooper. Hug away!

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  6. I've been following this on Instagram, Caren. All my prayers and Light to Roary and you all that he never has a recurrence. ❤️

    P. S. Are there other food options for him? Catinfo.org is a vet-written site with excellent info. The vet had a cat that had bladder stones and nearly died, causing her to reexamine cat nutrition. I found it very helpful.

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    1. thank you so much Kim! Well, he is on Royal Canin's Urinary S/O but unfortunately since his stones are calcium oxalate stones and not struvite stones. If they were struvite stones the food would more than likely dissolve them. To compare, my kidney stones are oxalate stones (but not calcium oxalate) and nothing will dissolve mine either so they are similar.

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  7. Poor kitty. I hope he feels better soon and never gets them again.

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  8. Poor Roary, and poor you! We are glad your vet and vet staff are so amazing and caring to help you get through this ordeal and find some answers for moving forward. We'll keep purring and praying for healing and all good things for you. XO

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  9. We're so sorry to hear all that Roary has gone through recently. Our paws are crossed that he continues to heal and is one of the lucky ones to not have any more stones.

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  10. Sending healing purrz to your little rockstar. Love you Roary and hope you don't need that girly surgery. TW's Chizzy had that and he was never the same. Of course that was years ago and vet surgeries have improved sooo much. Chizzy did sing soprano after the surgery.

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    1. just what I needed to hear.....hoping he doesn't have to have surgery.

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  11. Poor Roary. I will be praying he doesn't get stones again. XO

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  12. Sending purrs to your Roary (and to both of you) What an ordeal. It sounds like he is in good hands and has the best possible care. Emily and Willow send their best healing cuddles for his continued recovery.

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  13. I'm so sorry Roary has had to go through all this! I know it's awfully hard on you, also! We so hope these stones do not return, and Roary doesn't have to go through surgery. We send lots of purrs for Roary, and everyone!

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  14. Poor Roary! What an ordeal! But I'm purring for him and hoping the worst is behind him. Literally. MOL! ~Ernie

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  15. We send Roary purrayers and POTP that things work out to make him better and stay healthy.

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  16. OH goodness...such a big deal for the little man. I am so sorry that he (and you all) are going through this difficult time. And to think it may come back...sending prayers for a full recovery and no more stones!

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  17. Gentle purrs for Roary ... (some pawsome praise for Levi, as he's been a good and patient boy through all this) ... and love, hugs and much more to you and Lenny. Your wonderful
    "Cat Chat" family has been through so very much, but we pray that all will work out well in all the days to come. Ann and June

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    1. Wait a sec, don't give Levi too much credit! He goes nuts whenever he sees him lol He can't figure out what the hell is on his head! lol. Thanks so much for the graphic! I will be posting it soon! xoxo

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  18. Roary dear boy, hang it there sweetie. We're sure glad that your Mom was on top of things and it sounds like a plan it in place. We love you dude and we're sending tons of purrs and prayers your way and lots of hugs for your Mom too.

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  19. We are sorry you are feeling poorly and sending you lots of love, hugs and prayers

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  20. You poor baby! This must've been so incredibly stressful for all of you. Sending tons of purrs and prayers that it's over and done with, never to happen again!

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    1. Thank you so much Melissa and Mudpie! Yes the past few months have been rather intense to say the least! Thank you!!

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  21. Wow! What an ordeal you all went through...of course Roary the most. We sure will be pawraying for a good and complete recovery and that he will not need more surgery anytime soon, or ever. Glad that you knew things were not right and that your vet(s) were able to help him so quickly.
    We send a ton of hugs...to all of you!

    And we think its nice that now Roary want to cuddle with you, too, Caren:)
    You can make Roary your 'stone mascot', Caren...yup, I am nuts, LOL!

    We had a lady in our facility recently who said she was not feeling well...and she went from bad to worse...turns our she had a huge kidney stone...OUCH!

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    1. Yep like Mother like son lol! Except mine are kidney stones and his are bladder stones but painful just the same! Oh that poor woman at your facility! Hoping she is ok now! Yes, Roary is MUCH more affectionate with me now than he was before. Maybe because I have been spending so much time with him catering to his every need lol. He still loves his Daddy though!

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  22. Oh I’m so sorry to hear Roary has bladder stones! I never heard of this specific condition in cats so young. He’s such a trooper and sounds like you have an awesome veterinarian team. Sending purrs and prayers for a speedy recovery and pray they won’t return.

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  23. Prayers and more prayers for sweet Roary. Prayers all around too. Love you and your boys. ♥

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  24. da tabbies o trout towneJune 5, 2023 at 10:04 AM

    dood….we R troo lee soree two heer bout thiz and will most definitely ask R pal st francis
    two help ewe out. we purray de bass terd stonez iz outta ewe for EVER…pleez tell mom two ask de vet if ewe can take D-Mannose for cats. trooth buddy itz all natural and helps kidneez. eye get it onze a day~~~~~ mackerull
    ❤️❤️❤️ da tabbies o trout towne

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    1. thanks so much dear furiends! Well, they aren't kidney stones, they are bladder stones so I am not sure. I may mention it to the Vet though but you know they don't usually recommend natural products (unless it's a holistic Vet).....I may mention it, thank you! xoxo

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  25. Roary bay, we r so sorry to hear that you are going thru all this bad stuff. we are purring fur yoo

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  26. thank you! We are trying to stay positive and pray that no further surgery will be required! xoxo

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  27. Hi, I hope you are feeling better. I had not noticed my follow me link was missing so I did another layout. Hopefully you can now.

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  28. Poor Roary what bad news. He seems like a real trooper. Hope things go better for him real soon!

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  29. We're thinking of all of you and sending hugs.

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  30. Oh, poor Roary! And poor you, Lenny, and Levi! You have prayers from us all - Zen, Zoey, and me!

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  31. Continued purrs to dear Roary and sometimes an illness helps with bonding. He has the best mom, dad and vet team possible xoxo

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  32. Oh Roary you are so brave! We're sending healing purrs and prayers your way sweetie.

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