I’ve
told you in a previous blog about my Magic Cat.
His name was Merlin. He was a Lynx Point Siamese. I called him my Magic Cat because he was so
special. He knew me so well and could
read my moods and was always there when I needed him. I am an avid reader and read a lot. When he thought I wasn’t paying enough
attention to him, he would climb up and lay on my chest right in the way of my
book. I knew it was time to give him
some loving and attention. Unfortunately I had Merlin before the advent of digital cameras. The photos show what a Lynx Point Siamese look like, but are not photo's of my Merlin.
Photo from www.life-with-siamese-cats.com
One
of our favorite games to play was me spinning him around on the carpet. I would be down on my hands and knees and he
would lay in front of me. I would put my
hand on his chest, just behind his front legs and spin him around on the
carpet. He LOVED it. He also loved to pounce my husband. Where we used to live there was a hallway
between the living room and kitchen. I
had a book case against the living room wall near the entry to the
hallway. Merlin would wait in front of
that book case for my husband to walk into the living room. He would then jump out and wrap his front
legs around my husband’s ankle and my husband would drag him through the living
room.
My
Magic Cat knew me so well…but I didn’t know him so well and I failed him. Merlin was my very first pet when I moved out
of my Grandmother’s house and into my own apartment. The very first thing I did after I moved in
was adopt Merlin and his sister Morgana.
Morgana was a Burmese. I adopted them in 1989 and Merlin died in
1994. I first noticed something was
wrong when he started meowing loudly when he was using his litter box. I thought that was strange, but really didn’t
think much about it until it persisted for several days. Then I noticed blood in his urine. I took him to the vet and was informed that
he had crystals in his bladder.
Our
vet told us that the cause was a combination of our well water and the cat food
we were feeding him. Merlin loved Deli
Cat. Well water is high in mineral
content. His bladder was full of
crystals. The vet flushed his bladder
gave us some medication and sent us home.
It wasn’t very long before Merlin was back at the vet. The crystals had caused an infection and the
infection had gone to his brain. Merlin
was having seizures. Our vet tried
everything he could to save him. He even
took Merlin home with him that night and slept on the floor next to him so that
he could monitor him. He locked his own
cats out of the room so that he could concentrate on Merlin.
Photo from roxicons.livejournal.com
Unfortunately, unless I wanted to pay for a very expensive brain surgery, with no guarantee of success, there was nothing that could be done for Merlin. We made the decision to end his suffering. I brought him home for one last night and then took him in the next day to let him go. Merlin was the first cat I ever had to let go. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I was an emotional wreck for days after that.
My
purpose for writing this blog is not to reminisce about Merlin, but to send a
warning to my readers about the danger of crystals in the bladder. The crystals are formed from the minerals
found in poor quality cat food and well water. They can vary in size getting as large as a
quarter. The problem with these are that
they could cause damage to the lining of the bladder (crystals can be sharp and
cut the bladder. This is what happened
with Merlin), or get caught in the ureter blocking the cats ability to
urinate. If the blockage goes unnoticed
it can be fatal.
-
Blood in the urine (hematuria)
- Painful urination
- Straining to urinate
- Frequent urination
- Genital licking
- Chronic urinary tract infections
- Urinary tract obstruction (especially in males)
- Urine spraying
- Passing urine in unusual
places
Our problem was a combination of the cat food we were feeding Merlin and the Well Water where we lived at the time. Here is a link with information on the most common mineral contents of well water.
Sometimes a cat will not show any clinical signs, which is what happened with Merlin. What alerted me was his crying while trying to urinate and then the blood in his urine. It is important to know your cat and know his/her behavior. If your cat is not acting normally and you suspect something is wrong, have it checked out. If I would have noticed sooner that Merlin was not his normal self, he might have been with me for many, many more years. Who would have thought that crystals in his bladder would have cause and infection in his brain? From that moment on, we have only given our pets bottled or filtered water and good quality food.
Be
Well & Be Happy,
Pet~Pourri
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