I have an 8 year old neutered male cat who has struggled with urinary issues/bladder stones for about 4 years.
He’s been on Hill’s C/D dry food for the past 4 years, and in August we added the wet version after more stones were found. Despite this, he started straining again yesterday. Our regular vet couldn’t get him in, so we went to an emergency vet.
Here’s where I’m confused. The ER vet verbally told me they saw stones and were going to compare with his previous records, but the discharge paperwork says “no stones noted”.
They also said his bladder was so empty it was “collapsing” on itself, so they gave fluids. After a couple hours he was finally able to pass urine, and they found blood and bacteria.
They sent us home with gabapentin for pain and recommended increasing water intake.
A few other details:
*He’s only 8 lbs and doesn’t have a big appetite
*He barely drinks water unless it’s mixed into his wet food
*We recently switched from clumping litter to pine pellets due to frequent UTIs
Questions:
*Has anyone used Purina Hydra Care? Did it help?
*Should I switch him to a fully wet diet at this point?
*Is it reasonable to call the ER vet for clarification about the “no stones noted” vs what I was told?
*At what point do you push for more aggressive options (like stone removal or other procedures)? This has been ongoing for years and I hate seeing him in pain despite diet changes.
Any advice or similar experiences would be really appreciated.