Carmine's Hospital Trip

If you get grossed out easily, I would read the short version of this story. If you'd like a more detailed account of what occurred, you can read the detailed version.

Short Version:
On Saturday night/Sunday morning, Carmine was having litterbox issues.  I was afraid he had a UTI or that his prescription diet c/d stopped working and his crystals were back, so we took him to the vet hospital.  It turned out not to be his Feline Lower  Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD), but something else, which could have also turned out badly if we didn't get it fixed.  Carmine is okay now, and we will be taking him to the vet in a few weeks to make sure the problem does not reoccur.



Detailed Version: 
On Saturday night/Sunday morning, I noticed Carmine running back and forth between the two litterboxes.  I went to watch and see what he was doing, and found him squatting in the box grunting.  He'd then get out and go to the other box and do the same thing.  My first thought was that he was having a urinary tract infection or that his prescription c/d diet had failed suddenly (he's been on it for three years) and that he had developed crystals in his urine again.  I was afraid he was obstructed, so I woke up one of my roommates and we went to the vet hospital.

At the hospital, I told them about his Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and they took him to examine him.  The vet came out and said he was not obstructed, so that was definitely a relief!  But she said he could have a urinary tract infection or he could be constipated.  So, they took an x-ray of him to see what they could find.

The vet came out to get us a little while later (and she was carrying my baby boy around!) and brought us back to show us the x-ray.  She said she did not see any crystals in his bladder and it did not look like he was constipated, either.

Then she asked me if I had ever had a pet with anal sac problems and I told her I hadn't.  She took us over to show us what she had gotten out of Carmine's.  She said that they were nearly full and about to rupture, which would have caused an abscess and an icky infection.  She was a little puzzled as to why his were full, though, because he isn't on a low-fiber diet.

She informed us that it will take about a month for the sacs to fill up again (if they fill up again), so we are going to take Carmine to his regular vet shortly and see if he is having any problems with them.  Some people have to regularly express their dog's anal sacs, so if this is not a one-time thing for Carmine, it looks like it will be safe to do at home.  I'm going to ask the vet what the best thing to do is, of course.  If she feels it would be better to bring him in every month to have her do it, then I will do that.  It doesn't seem too complicated though, so maybe she can teach us how to do it so Carmine won't have to endure a vet trip every month.  I'm also going to ask her if more fiber in his diet would be beneficial.

I'm hoping this was just a one-time thing, but we will deal with what comes.  Carmine is totally worth it!!  He is feeling a lot better now :)