Success cath'ing Bully
Success cath'ing Bully
Well, everyone said to hang in there and they were right. After numerous efforts of mashing and probing on my poor boy's privates, I was able to catheterize him this afternoon. He was whining and crying because his bladder was full, and I couldn't get him to go, so I just HAD to do it right - and I did! I think I won't have trouble from now on, now that I know what I'm feeling for and where. Is four times a day enough? I'm going to have to get myself a Bully-care schedule for this week because I have to go to work. My mom lives with me and she can visit him, give him water, talk to him, etc. BUt that's about it. So I'll have to come home from my office probably a couple of times a day, but I can do that. I can't believe I did it! Karen
Re: Success cath'ing Bully
Success! Wowee, we're all so very proud of YOU! We wanted you to succeed.
I express urine in my dog about 4 times per day. Perhaps some of the "cath people" will have other ideas, but I would think that would be sufficient.
So very glad to hear the good news!!
Dianne
I express urine in my dog about 4 times per day. Perhaps some of the "cath people" will have other ideas, but I would think that would be sufficient.
So very glad to hear the good news!!
Dianne
Re: Success cath'ing Bully
Karen,
Congratulations I bet you are flying HIGH!!!!
When I finally located Jaime's bladder and was able to express her there wasn't a greater feeling.
Glad that you can arrange your work scedule and come home to care for Bully. Maybe at some point you can teach your mom to cathaterize him as well?
I have a paralyzed cat named Jaime. I live too far away to care for her on my lunch break. I finally was able to find someone who lived only a few blocks away from where I work. I pay this individual and Jaime stays in her home and I express her on my lunch hour. It is a wonderful arrangement./Jean
Congratulations I bet you are flying HIGH!!!!
When I finally located Jaime's bladder and was able to express her there wasn't a greater feeling.
Glad that you can arrange your work scedule and come home to care for Bully. Maybe at some point you can teach your mom to cathaterize him as well?
I have a paralyzed cat named Jaime. I live too far away to care for her on my lunch break. I finally was able to find someone who lived only a few blocks away from where I work. I pay this individual and Jaime stays in her home and I express her on my lunch hour. It is a wonderful arrangement./Jean
Re: Success cath'ing Bully
Hi Karen,
I am so glad you were able to catheter Bully! One suggestion I have (and you maybe doing this already) is measure and write down the amount of urine that you take out of bully everytime. I would collect the urine in a measuring cup so that I always knew how many ounces of urine I got out. Right after Waffles surgery he hardly drank any water so when I would report back to my vet the amount of urine I was getting out each time she had me cut back to cathetering Waffles 2 times a day instead of 3. Then once Waffles started to drink more then I would report what was coming out to my vet and we might adjust the amount of times that I would catheter. At a certain point I started to get the hang of expressing then I would just cath Waffles at the end of the night so that I knew I got everything. One really helpful thing about measuring the urine is that if you do need to transition to expressing you will know what is a normal amount of urine that Bully produces a day. I would catch Waffles urine in a bucket and then put it in a measuring cup and I would be able to see if the measurement matched up to what I was getting when I was cathetering him. Now of course his urine production could change based on how much liquid he had that day. So I would also measure his water intake. Waffles hardly ever drinks from his water bowl so I just started adding water to his wet food so I could measure it. I felt like a mad scientist but it was really helpful in getting me off of cathetering. Just an idea.
Also Karen, don't get freaked out if you ever see a little blood on the tip of the catheter. When you totally empty the bladder you might hit the wall of the bladder sometimes and then you will get a little blood. My vet would tell me to just try to stop before you totally,totally empty the bladder. You can kind of figure that out by how slowly the urine is coming into the syringe. But don't worry about that now, I might not happen, wanted to warn you just incase.
Good luck with everything and please don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. Beth
I am so glad you were able to catheter Bully! One suggestion I have (and you maybe doing this already) is measure and write down the amount of urine that you take out of bully everytime. I would collect the urine in a measuring cup so that I always knew how many ounces of urine I got out. Right after Waffles surgery he hardly drank any water so when I would report back to my vet the amount of urine I was getting out each time she had me cut back to cathetering Waffles 2 times a day instead of 3. Then once Waffles started to drink more then I would report what was coming out to my vet and we might adjust the amount of times that I would catheter. At a certain point I started to get the hang of expressing then I would just cath Waffles at the end of the night so that I knew I got everything. One really helpful thing about measuring the urine is that if you do need to transition to expressing you will know what is a normal amount of urine that Bully produces a day. I would catch Waffles urine in a bucket and then put it in a measuring cup and I would be able to see if the measurement matched up to what I was getting when I was cathetering him. Now of course his urine production could change based on how much liquid he had that day. So I would also measure his water intake. Waffles hardly ever drinks from his water bowl so I just started adding water to his wet food so I could measure it. I felt like a mad scientist but it was really helpful in getting me off of cathetering. Just an idea.
Also Karen, don't get freaked out if you ever see a little blood on the tip of the catheter. When you totally empty the bladder you might hit the wall of the bladder sometimes and then you will get a little blood. My vet would tell me to just try to stop before you totally,totally empty the bladder. You can kind of figure that out by how slowly the urine is coming into the syringe. But don't worry about that now, I might not happen, wanted to warn you just incase.
Good luck with everything and please don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. Beth
Re: Success cath'ing Bully
Hi Karen,
I work full time and have a paralyzed dog and I only come home once a day at lunch. I don't catheterize (my dog is a girl), but I express at about 7, 12, 7 and 12, the times vary, that is an estimate. I express before work, at lunch, after work, and at bedtime.
If your dog is on steroids like prednisone and is drinking a lot of water, you might need to do it more often if his bladder is filling up more quickly, but otherwise your 4x day schedule sounds good. If your dog cannot turn himself then that might be a reason to come home twice during the workday, so he isn't lying in one position for so long.
I work full time and have a paralyzed dog and I only come home once a day at lunch. I don't catheterize (my dog is a girl), but I express at about 7, 12, 7 and 12, the times vary, that is an estimate. I express before work, at lunch, after work, and at bedtime.
If your dog is on steroids like prednisone and is drinking a lot of water, you might need to do it more often if his bladder is filling up more quickly, but otherwise your 4x day schedule sounds good. If your dog cannot turn himself then that might be a reason to come home twice during the workday, so he isn't lying in one position for so long.
Re: Success cath'ing Bully
Oh, I know the feeling!!! I think Karen (Gabriel's mom) called it "liquid gold" the first time I got Buddy going, and that's exactly what it felt like!!! Congratulations!!