My male cat has kidney stones. Is it serious? What's the best treatment?

I would not advise to wait and monitor. Male cats like Lio can develop urethral obstruction which requires sedation, urinary catheter placement and 1-5 days of hospitalization. It would be best to get him checked out ASAP. If you can catch it early, there is a better chance he will not obstruct. He will need a urinalysis and possibly culture and ultrasound/radiographs (depending on doctor preference). The doctor will prescribe medications for pain, inflammation and possibly a diet to break down urine crystals. I hope this helps.

Sounds like you all are doing quite a bit already. If you feel that pain is not well controlled the addition of something like buprenorphine may be beneficial. Also, there is a surgical procedure that is commonly performed on cats that get urinary blockages. Essentially the urinary tract is changed from a male to a female shape, thereby widening the urethra and making it much less likely to allow for obstruction in the future. Whether or not your vet is comfortable performing this procedure is another thing altogether. I know many vets that can perform it perfectly well while I know others that have never had to perform it a single time. It is a delicate procedure because the urethra of the cat is so small so finding a doctor that is comfortable with it is of utmost importance. If your cat is not a repeat offender or has not yet blocked completely, surgical change may not be the best option at this time. Continue following the directions of the doctor and be patient with waiting for dissolution. You can also consider lithotripsy to break apart stones if there are any instead of bladder surgery. Hope this helps.

Thanks for posting this question. I am really worried about Kent too. Urinary obstruction can be very serious and even fatal. If he was obstructed fir a long enough time it may have damaged his kidneys which may be why he isn't eating. It also looks by the picture that maybe he is leaking urine? That is very concerning too. I worry his urethra may be damaged. I would encourage you to reach out to your veterinarian and take him back in for a recheck and possible blood work. His condition is very serious and could potentially be fatal. I'm so sorry Kent is so sick. I wish him the best.

Poor Kitty Kins. It sounds like he has either lower urinary tract disease, stones or has a partial urinary blockage. None of these conditions improve on their own, but instead require some level of treatment or management. So the treatment they gave him so far is basically they drained his bladder and treated him for an underlying urinary tract infection. However if he is developing a blockage he will need to be catheterized and treated with medications to help keep his urinary sphincter relaxed. You are doing the right thing by feeding him canned food, as this will increase his water intake and help promote a healthy bladder. However if he does become completely blocked (blocked Tom), he will need emergency procedures to free up the blockage and empty his bladder, as they mentioned already. I totally understand not being able to do the procedure the first time around due to cost. Unfortunately this cost is pretty standard for these types of things. Here is more information on urinary blockages in neutered male cats so that you can know what to look out for. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1111 And here are some financial resources that may be able to assist you in the near future: carecredit.com redrover.org If he stops peeing at any moment, then he needs to go back to the vet for emergency procedures to unblock him and provide him immediate relieve. Being blocked for a period of just 6-12 hrs can prove detrimental to your pet. I hope you get things sorted out soon. Take care.

Surgery may be the next option if he won't eat the prescription diet. Discuss other diets, both canned and dry, with your veterinarian first. It may take several weeks to months to fully dissolve any stones or crystals. Try to get him to drink as much water as possible to dilute his urine.

This is only done in very severe cases that do not resolve or in cases that tend to reoccur too often, is this the first time it happened? if so you should first explore traditional treatment, and by the way in cats UTI is actually not very common, urinary blockage is usually caused by a condition called FLUTD which is related to stress and causes bladder inflammation.

I'm sorry to see that Beau has this large bladder stone! The most common types of bladder stones in cats are struvite and calcium oxalate, but the only surefire way to differentiate between the two is with a stone analysis after the stone has been surgically removed. The Hill's C/D multicare can dissolve some struvite stones, but will not dissolve calcium oxalate stones. For the long term, however, this diet is fantastic at preventing a recurrence of such bladder stones and crystals. It's a bit of a gamble using a diet to dissolve stones, particularly in male cats, because of the potential of part of the stone breaking off and causing a urinary obstruction, or blockage, as this is a life-threatening emergency. I generally find it to be safest and most effective to remove bladder stones surgically since you know that it's going to work right away without the same obstruction risks. I hope that everything goes well for Beau!