Topic: Cystitis advice (Read 4328 times)

lilylass · « **Reply #32 on:** July 01, 2011, 22:43:14 PM »

Awww, Tufty's gorgeous - and does remind me of someone! (I love how they can look so comfy). Sorry to hear he's got cystitis - unfortunately it appears to be happening to more and more cats (or maybe it's just better diagnosis).

Just wondering (with him being a stray before he found you) - is he neutered? (much more common in neutered males).

Smudge could go for long periods without any problems so fingers crossed this will be the case for Tufty - and that his condition can be stabilised quickly.

Trying to increase his water intake will help loads by keeping his system "flushed out".

I got a fresh-flow fountain for Smudge and he drank more as he liked to chase the water down the hill! It also made monitoring his intake easier as the container takes a certain amount (he was an indoor cat until he was 8.5) http://www.puddlepetcare.co.uk/acatalog/Cat_Pet_Water_Fountains.html

If anyone would like a "chat" about living with a cat with cystitis / stones / CRF, please PM me and I'd be happy "to listen".

I've attached a couple of links to websites I found useful and hoping others may too. Some are pretty "heavy" but provide a more detailed description of the condition than a lot of them:

http://ftp.amvq.qc.ca/Notes/S-Little-Idiopathic-Cystitis-in-Cats.pdf

http://www.cat-health-guide.org/feline-cystitis.html

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2134&aid=214

sheilarose · « **Reply #31 on:** June 30, 2011, 23:32:29 PM »

Now I know Tufty has Cystitis I've been thumbing through all the info I can find, and this thread has been most valuable. Thank you all for posting, for your losses I am so sorry, but for your encourgement I am so grateful.

Lilylass, here's a picture of Tufty who was diagnosed on Tuesday night with his first bout of cystitis, I think he'll remind you of someone. Tufty came to me as a stray three months ago and is now just two years old. Isn't life a strange old thing.
xx

lilylass · « **Reply #30 on:** June 23, 2011, 21:04:40 PM »

Hi everyone, my 1st post here - was recommended the site by one of your members so hoping to learn a lot! (and hopefully share a little).

I just wanted to say that my old boy started to have problems with cystititis and struvite stones from about 2 years of age (I rehomed him when he was about 18 months so have no idea if he had problems before that).

It eventually developed into CRF and, although life was difficult at times (daily medication, monthly visits to the vets for blood tests, injections and monitoring - more often when unwell) - thank goodness for insurance as the bills were many £000s per year.

Anyway, for anyone going through this with their cat, I thought it might help to know that they can lead a (mostly) comfortable and good quality life - Smudge lived until he was 11 which wasn't bad going with everything he'd been through (and he's still missed every day).

poppycat · « **Reply #29 on:** June 22, 2011, 23:26:10 PM »

Hi Jen

My cat also supposedly had no crystals - she was checked for everything - had cultures and an ultrasound. That was the most frustrating thing.

She had been diagnosed with CRF as well a few months ago, but it was only on stage 2 and that was 'under control'. From all the reading I did I never came across CRF as being a contributory cause to the cystititis. In my cats case the progressive bladder inflammation and thickening of the wall caused the bladder opening to become narrowed which meant that the urine produced by the kidneys couldn't get into her bladder easily. This forced the urine back up and started inflaming her kidneys. So it was actually the cystitis that affected her kidneys and not the other way round.

Anyway I hope you can get your cat under control somehow. Just be careful of what you give him as so many of the medications will excarbate the CRF. It's one of the reasons why I tried the alternative cider vinegar remedy. TBH I was a bit sceptical and didn't think she would even take it, but she didn't even notice it in her food. It's worth a shot and isn't harmful unless you exceed the stated dose.

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #28 on:** June 22, 2011, 21:51:48 PM »

Thank you for sharing your experiences.
unfortunatly Fred has no crystals in his urine, and his cystitis is linked with his kidney problem which has now been diagnosed as CRF and I am not sure they will help, but I will look into it, thanks. If not, it will be of great help for anyone who searches for cystitis advice and comes up with this thread.

so sorry for your loss

poppycat · « **Reply #27 on:** June 22, 2011, 17:37:20 PM »

Thank you for your welcome. I agree sharing information is absolutely invaluable. I'm learnt more from forums then from any of the vets. I'm particularly interested in helping owners to become more knowledgeable as in my experience vets (or at least my vet) aren't that proactive. My cat didn't have her work up till quite late on, despite me asking them to do so. If they had done it sooner, we would have found the cancer far earlier and may have been able to treat her.

For anyone whose cat has had IBD, please keep a lookout for signs and symptoms of lymphoma as there's a high risk of an IBD cat developing it. The vet put my cats weight loss down to her CRF, when in actual fact it was the cancer that started in her abdomen and then spread to her bladder.

I will write a tribute about my cat in time. It's still a bit raw at the moment.

Best wishes.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #26 on:** June 21, 2011, 18:15:05 PM »

to Purrs Poppy

I think that all the information we can share is great and I know after losing my boy last month after being blocked but for a completely different reason which was only seen on a scan or xray after about a week, there are so many things that can go wrong.

Maybe you would like to post your boy in Rainbow Bridge and I can add him to our roll of honour that will be posted in mid-nov

poppycat · « **Reply #25 on:** June 21, 2011, 14:16:24 PM »

Hi I'm new to the forum and joined really just to hang out with other cat lovers after having to have mine PTS last week. I thought it would be worth posting the experiences of my cat. She had been suffering from cystitis on and off for the last six months, and pretty much constantly in the last two months of her life. She used to get 'acute' flare ups where I would have to rush her in for Metacam and an Covenia (antibiotic) injections. These would calm it down for a few weeks, but she was still in and out of the litter box constantly and urinating blood. Her work up showed no bacterial infection or crystals but ultrasound showed the bladder lining to be severely thickened.

Because she also had CRF, I was worried about her having more Metacam and also because nothing seemed to be helping (including the daily Cystaid) I looked in desperation online for a solution. I came across this site http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/cystitis.html where loads of owners posted positive results with Cider Vinegar. As my cat was by this time in so much discomfort, and was only passing small drops of very bloody urine and the vets had no further solution I thought I'd give it a go. I put 1/4 teaspoon in to her wet food and by day 5 her urine was was virtually clear, she was able to urinate large volumes and the litter box trips were dramatically reduced.

My cat had other health issues and was subsequently diagnosed with a cancerous mass in the abdomen, which probably had spread to her bladder, so ultimately she lost her battle. However without a doubt, even with all the other things going on, the cider vinegar definitely helped her cystsitis and made her last few days a little more comfortable.

Another product which I ordered but didn't get a chance to try out was http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-Tract-Ease-Herbal-Formula/999017.aspx which also has a lot of good reviews. They have an EU site.

I would definitely say it's worth trying either or both remedies out. I think the vinegar has it's effect by acidifying the urine. This is supposed to help when the problem is crystals. My cat supposedly didn't have any crystals, however without a doubt it helped her nonetheless, so I suspect that in some cases of 'idiopathic (ie cause unknown)' there are perhaps very fine crystals that the vets tests aren't yet able to detect.

I just thought I'd post these remedies as I know what a distressing and frustrating condition this is for the cats and owners. My poor darling suffered so much from her bladder. I wish I had tried the remedies earlier. Hopefully however her experience might help others here.

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #24 on:** June 09, 2011, 13:19:53 PM »

Urine test has been done, as I was not happy with Fred's weeing so had them done this morning and he has no crystals whatsoever, but his urine is very dilute (which we knew).
She thinks he may have Polycystic Kidney Disease which is causing his problems so I need to get him in at some point to have a genetic blood test done and a scan.
Had a really bad night last night when I thought his cystitis was coming back (but he is weeing perfectly this morning

) Just feel like it is not fair. He is only 1 and has been through too much in his little life. Fiance raised the idea of returning him to the RSPCA as we are struggling so much financially but that is not an option, I could not live with myself if I did that. We have special cuddle time every single time I go to the toilet, he comes running up for cuddles and purrs his little head off like crazy. He goes mad playing with his feather toys and carries them round the house in his mouth, at night he gets so excited he growls and meows (well, squeeks, he still hasn't got the hang of meowing) with his feather toy...
anyway, have asked for advice about this kidney thing on another thread, thanks for all your help.

Lotzy · « **Reply #23 on:** June 08, 2011, 09:42:59 AM »

Glad to hear Fred's wees are improving. It can take a while to get back to normal if they are feeling sensitive inside. I'm sure you are keeping a close eye on the litter tray, but if you notice small wees again or he's struggling, don't wait for the two weeks. Get him to the vet immediately and get that test done. Keep us informed on how he's doing.

As the vet pointed out this sort of thing can be a reoccurring problems, but once you have a urine sample that will be a treat help in the correct course of treatment if it's crystals. If it's down to idiopathic cystitis, then I thoroughly recommend asking about Cystaid/Cystease which can be mixed into food and cats don't even notice - they have been a great help with my girl (along with a 100% wet diet).

Angeladeedah · « **Reply #22 on:** June 07, 2011, 18:47:43 PM »

My Harvey had this a few years ago and he suffered from it over a 3 month period - he blocked 3 times in that time, the rest of the time he struggled to pee and there was a lot of blood. They told me that it was stress, but Harvey is so laid back that I didn't believe them and there was nothing to stress him out about. To this day, we have never discovered what caused it.

The vet had him on antibiotics and metacalm. It eventually cleared up and now, I have Cystease which I give to him whenever I feel there might be a stressful time coming. "Touch wood" he has been fine since then, and he has been through a really stressful time as he he has a heart murmur and is now suffering from fluid around the heart (currently trying to find the cause/treatment for this).

I hope this is a sign that Fred is starting to get a little better and I hope he makes a full recovery soon. Having watched my wee Harvey with this, I understand the worry and hurt at watching them in pain.............and you get a little OCD at watching them wee!!

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #21 on:** June 07, 2011, 18:12:55 PM »

Freds wees are getting bigger and taking a bit less time, so maybe I am being just a bit impatient! or catching him having the odd slow wee as I haven't been home much.
The vet has phoned, and said not to give him any urinary food yet, until we know what his most recent kidney function is, as they are more important than his bladder. I am to take Fred back in 2 weeks time for a blood test and urine sample (if I haven't obtained it myself by then, he will express the bladder to get a sample). Then we will see where to go from the test results once we have more information. Hopefully it will be something that is easily solved. You never know, his kidney function may have improved as he has grown and developed? We will see.
I will post on here when I have any test results or any other developments. Obviously I am keeping an eye on him and will take him to the vets if I feel he needs to.
thanks for all your help!

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #20 on:** June 06, 2011, 13:49:51 PM »

I think you need to get him back to the vets cos this is a sign he is blocking again and once they start blocking they also cant drink so get dehydrated very quickly.

Definately get the vet to express his bladder and get the sample for you.

Afraid now I err on the side of extreme caution because I now know how quickly a little problem in this area becomes life or death so quickly and its so much better to find out the cause earlier than too late.

Lotzy · « **Reply #19 on:** June 06, 2011, 09:56:19 AM »

What are the size of his wees now? I know how stressful cystitis can be and on top of that you have kidney problems to think about. I think I'm right in saying that if you have any kind of scan Fred will need to be sedated and it will be very easy to get a fresh clean sample from him at that time. I've read others buy some sort of special cat litter for collecting a sample. It might be worth phoning the vet and explaining you are having problems getting a sample and ask if they have any special litter for this purpose. You may be taking him back to the vet now the 3 days are up in any event. Another option is if the vet palpates his bladder, he may wee on the table (my Lottie usually does that). Whether someone can have a pot ready to stick under him in the hope of collecting someone? Let us know how hes getting on.

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #18 on:** June 06, 2011, 08:59:52 AM »

well, I haven't heard from the vet yet about whether he can go on a urinary diet with his kidney problems, but have been at work since I phoned and am again today, so will be phoning again tomorrow.
Still not happy with his wees. He isn't in any discomfort but they are trickling out instead of streaming out and he seems to be getting bored halfway through weeing, standing up and edging closer and closer to the edge of the tray. Might have to invest in a covered tray and see if that would stop this but don't want to cause any litter tray upsets.
He is on a wet only diet and drinks vast amounts of water, also on cystease and now zylkene.
I will be getting his urine properly tested, but at the moment it is difficult to get a sample, I want him to have an ultrasound scan, so may ask if they can get a proper sterile sample while they are doing that?
Glad to hear your cat is doing well now it has been discovered what the cause is.
Don't worry, no matter how financially difficult things are for me at the moment, my cats come first and I will find the money or pay off by installments. We have always paid on time and I know they arrange that sort of payment plan for emergency cases, so don't see why they couldn't for me, but will be having a chat with them tomorrow when I am off.
He is his normal crazy self, playing with my fiance's shoes at the moment!
Thanks for all the advice, will post when I manage to get in touch with my vet (hopefully tomorrow)

Lotzy · « **Reply #17 on:** June 05, 2011, 11:10:41 AM »

Has Fred had a recent urine analysis and xray? I have a cat who gets cystitis and this helped my vet rule out things like infection, crystals, unexplained lumps etc and confirm the fact it was definitely cystitis. I think you do need to rule out these factors, or in the case of crystals confirm which type and then appropriate treatment can be started. The vet took the urine sample while my girl was sedated for the xray. Obviously a costly business, but it gave me piece of mind other than the fact I had to reduce the occurance of cystitis.

My girl had cystitis six times in a year, the last time lasting a month and stages of her trying to wee 20/30 times an hour with blood. I took her to the vet four times and realize how stressful it can be for you and the your cat. ABs will only help if the cystitis is caused by an infection, which is actually only present in a small amount of cases of cystitis. My cat has idiopathic cystitis (ie unexplained) and the thing which has really helped her is 100% wet diet (to which I had a little water when she has cystitis), occasional cat milk and cystease every other day and has now gone nine months without an occurance. Obviously having a correct diagnosis has enabled her to be given correct treatment which has greatly helped.

I hope you managed to get something sorted out for Fred. If you can find the money for tests, I really do think this will help confirm the next stage of his treatment. When you know the cause, your vet will have something better to work with and others on here can give you further advice. Let us know how he is doing.

Dawn F · « **Reply #16 on:** June 03, 2011, 11:26:43 AM »

I used to use the following around the garden with a cup method of collection!

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #15 on:** June 03, 2011, 11:20:39 AM »

One other thing is that the vet can get a sample very easily at the surgery by expressing his bladder............I dont know why they insist on putting cats and their owners to all this trouble!

Sending best wishes for Fred and hope he stops blocking up

I dont know the rough cost for feminizing only that the op is about 3 hours long but once done its usually very successful.

My vet offered me installment plan which I have gratefully accepted cos I cancelled the birmans insurance last Oct..........sigh, didnt think much else could go wrong at the time but even Ducha has cost me a fortune since then.

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #14 on:** June 03, 2011, 09:19:44 AM »

Thank you for that, I did think of Franta, as Fred is like a young version of him, with the same problems!
He is producing much larger quantities of wee now (almost back to normal) so I am pleased with that.
I have had a look for some urinary wet food, but they say not recommended for cats with CRF, and although I know he does not have CRF, but his kidneys are not that great, so what wet food would be good for both his bladder and his kidneys? I am going to phone the vets today to see what they say.
Now he is doing bigger wees I am going to try and get a sample, only problem is that he doesn't like the plastic cat litter (in fact plays with it) so it will have to be done on my day off when I can follow him round with the wee tube and pop it under him when he goes.
I didn't realise there are 2 types of crystals, it is very useful to know, thank you. So, once we know what crystals we are dealing with then we know what options to take.
I thought it would be expensive, I would imagine feminising will be about £1000? (at least) I do have Fred insured though, and I have always paid the vets bills in full and on time and as I have a good relationship with the vets and they kinda know me now, I am hoping they will allow me to pay off in instalments if the insurance won't pay out..
The vet said 'are you aware that this is likely to be a re-occuring problem?' I just nodded and gave my Fred a hug and that seemed to answer his question, lol. He always gives the cats a little hug and a carry round and a tummy tickle.

so sorry Franta stopped eating, but at least everything was done for him

He was a gorgeous boy and I am sure will be forever missed

Edited to add: phoned vets and they are going to get my vet (Amir) to phone me when he gets in, he starts at 11, but will leave a message on my phone either telling me what food to get, or asking me to phone back to talk to him about it, so will post on here when I know!

)

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #13 on:** June 02, 2011, 20:54:02 PM »

Ok I havent read this all the way through so apologize if I reapeat anything.

This is the problem that my beautiful Napoleon had and it eventually killed him and believe that its very important that all the right action is taken very quickly especially as youir cat is so young.

If he is blocking completely he needs to be unblocked immediately and put on a drip to flush out the kidneys and rehydrate him.

There are two types of crystals, struvite that can be treated by diet but the other type cannot and need to be removed urgently.

Napoleon was given abs oiginally cos showed an infection but also catheterized and put on a drip, it wasnt until he had blocked almost straight away twice more the vet took and Xray and saw the crystals and I think tests showed that they were not struvite.

At this point the only options were PTS, remove crystals by opening the bladder and if they were stuck then he would have needed to be feminized.

I opted to go for removal of crystals and he had an op to open his bladder and they were able to remove the crystals so the op to feminize did not have to happen. The op was a total success but Napoleon was nearly 18yrs and he totally refused to eat and I guess this was the fatal part which broke my heart, In the end the last option was to put him back on a drip and reflush his kidneys but I decided he had been through enough and could not see anything better happening but to be forcefed again and just couldnt let that happen

So you need to find out urgently why he is blocking and if he has crystals to know which type...........struvite is the more usual but then it will depend if the diet will be eaten.

The only other thing i can add is this is likely to be expensive if he has to go down an op route and Napoleon was hospitalized most of three weeks including the BHs and the bill was about £3000!

Please feel free to pm me with any questions cos your vet sounds good and I know my vet did absolutely everything to save Napoleon as I did.

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #12 on:** June 02, 2011, 12:41:20 PM »

I think most people (and their cats!) seem to prefer this one over the others.

Dawn F · « **Reply #11 on:** June 02, 2011, 11:56:57 AM »

Quote from: Amanda (mad4moggies) on June 02, 2011, 11:30:34 AM

Royal Canin (formerly Waltham)

thanks for clarifying that Amanda, I googled and was a bit confused! Anyway it worked well in our case although that was a while back

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #10 on:** June 02, 2011, 11:30:34 AM »

Well as he is on antibiotics it might not be worth sending urine off to test for bacteria. It would be worth taking a urine sample to the vets and asking them to do the basics (dipstick and specific gravity test) so that you have these results before starting the food. Personally i would get him onto that food as he does have some sort of lower urinary disorder. The food can make quite a bit of difference in my experience. Royal Canin (formerly Waltham) is quite a good one which comes in a couple of flavours - chicken and beef i think. There are other makes so it depends which one your vet stocks.

I do think it would be worth sending off a sterile urine sample direct from his bladder a couple of weeks after the antibiotics have finished. This is to rule out any other infection that may not respond to the medications he is currently on. For example an E Coli bladder infection which may mean changing his antibiotics or giving hima longer course. Checking for crystals is also quite beneficial.

I think your idea of getting the vet to show you how to check his bladder is a great idea so that you can monitor him at home.

Glad to hear he is feeling better already

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #9 on:** June 02, 2011, 11:08:42 AM »

He is not on urinary food currently as I was going to wait on what the vet says is the best course of action to take with him. Is it worth starting him on that food now?
I might ask at the vets next time I go to show me how to feel his bladder? as if it is going to be a common thing for him, it would probably be useful to know.
I will go to the vets and ask about an ultrasound then and if any more can be done to investigate his kidney problems. I will stick with the vets I am at now and not go back to the other ones, as I do feel confident about their care. (it sounds silly but the vet always picks Benji up and gives him a little cuddle as he is so terrified when at the vets).
Is it worth waiting to finish this course of antibiotics before any urine tests are done? He is still weeing and they seem to be getting bigger, so I suppose that is going in the right direction. He had a mad play session with his new toys last night, so he is still feeling himself.

Thank you very much from me and Fred for all your help!

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #8 on:** June 02, 2011, 10:46:44 AM »

Well if he isn`t blocked then he is probably just passing tiny drops as he will feel like he needs to urinate quite frequently due to the bladder lining being so irritated. A blocked bladder is an emergency so it`s something to keep an eye on. As he is so tiny you should be able to feel if he has a big bladder but sometimes this can take a bit of practice!! Raised kidney enzymes on a blood test do not always mean there is a problem with the kidneys themselves. It can be a knock on effect from something else.

It sounds like you need to go to a vets that you feel confident. I am not a vet but in my experience it would be worth doing a full urine analysis and an abdominal ultrasound. This way you will know if he has any crystals/stones. This is quite important as this will increase the chance of him becoming blocked.

Is he currently on urinary food? If not there are quite a range of foods out there now. They do come in wet and dry but i think it`s always best to go with wet where possible with a cat that has cystitis. Ultrasound may show that his kidneys are normal but then this is a good thing! It would also given them the chance to have a good look at the bladder and see how thickened the bladder wall is. I would make sure that you get it done by someone that is used to looking at these sorts of scans otherwise it becomes a bit pointless!

I think the vet needs to do a bit more of a work up to find out what is going on with his kidneys. A sterile sample taken directly from the bladder may be the best in his case. They could then do routine tests such as a dipstick to check the ph, blood etc and a specific gravity which will tell them how well his kidneys are concentrating the urine. Most vets should be able to run these 2 basic but useful tests on their premises. Then they could send urine away to check for crystals and any ongoing infections.

Like i say i`m not a vet but these points might be a few things to try

Dawn F · « **Reply #7 on:** June 02, 2011, 08:33:28 AM »

the waltham stuff came from the vet - we are going back a few years and a quick google shows that there are few more on the market - Amanda who posted below is a vet nurse so if she comes back she might have a better idea of what is good these days

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #6 on:** June 01, 2011, 19:32:21 PM »

his kidney problems are very odd, but been told that his levels are just off normal. He was very ill as a young kitten and it was touch and go whether he would survive (and his sister Ginger) they had panleukopenia (sp?) which killed their mother and siblings. He is very small, only 2.5kg, so weight is not an issue.
I asked for an ultrasound but at the crap vets who said it wouldn't show up any problems with the kidneys as they could look fine but be functioning abnormally.
He is a very laid back cat. It was originally thought they were brain damaged as they interacted so poorly with their environment and were very unresponsive (would sit where you put them and just stare into space). They are much more lively now but Fred isn't all there I would say....he reminds me of the surfer stoner types, if he could speak he would be saying 'duuuuuuuude.....look at that fly....' which is why I think stress is unlikely.
He is on cystease, and drinks like a horse! (I was told this is because of his kidneys...I have never known a cat to drink so much) and he is on a wet only diet anyway...
His bladder is not blocked, just a lot of effort for very small patches of wee, and he is straining to go to the toilet. Could it be partially blocked?

thanks for any help

oh, and what is a waltham diet?

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #5 on:** June 01, 2011, 15:50:45 PM »

With his cystitis is he actually getting a blocked bladder or just producing drops/small patches of urine?

He is quite young to have kidney issues although it`s not impossible so this should be investigated further. It would be worth a vet obtaining a urine sample direct from his bladder and sending this off to the laboratory for analysis. They will be able to check for any infections or crystals. If he is currently on antibiotics you may need to wait for a few days following these being finished before sending off a sample.

Another idea might be for him to have an ultrasound scan of his bladder and kidneys as this can also show any abnormalities. Is he quite a chunky cat as this can sometimes predispose them to urinary problems?

There can be various reasons why cats get lower urinary tract problems but sometimes a reason cannot be found. Stress can play a big factor. Is he quite a nervous cat?

There is a medication called Cystaid which can help the bladder lining. You can get it from your vet although a veterinary prescription is not needed if you would prefer getting it off of the internet.

There are various foods that have been specifically made for this condition. Until you have further information it might be best to feed him wet food to try and get fluid into him to help flush things through.

Hope he is feeling better soon.

Dawn F · « **Reply #4 on:** June 01, 2011, 14:07:25 PM »

sorry to hear this - we used a waltham diet for struvite stones in our old cat which managed it very well and he did eventually go back on to felix

there have been a couple of people around who have had to deal with the feminization procedure and certainly more than a few who have experience of these issues so I'm sure someone more helpful will be along soon

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #3 on:** June 01, 2011, 13:55:30 PM »

thank you,
I will pass on the head kiss later as he is snoozing...
fingers crossed he picks up, its so annoying as I am doing so much overtime at the moment that I can't really keep a proper eye on him...

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #2 on:** June 01, 2011, 13:36:00 PM »

Sorry I have no idea about cystitis but just wanted to send poor Fred a gentle head kiss from me and the boys

Hope you can get to the bottom of what might be causing it

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #1 on:** June 01, 2011, 13:21:29 PM »

Fred has another bout of cystitis and it is a bit of a bad one! so just after some general advice.
His history is that he had cystitis which is how it was discovered he had kidney problems (the urine was so dilute or something). I then had to switch vets for his treatment as the RSPCA were paying and asked me to go to a cheaper vets. He had repeated bouts of cystitis and a few more blood tests to check his kidneys. Cystitis was always just treated with metacam and ABs. Had a falling out with this veterinary surgery and will not go back there so went back to the original vets and screw the money as the care there is so much better. Went back yesterday with Fred's recent bout of cystitis and they said that it should never have been left as it is, that with him being only 1 year old and the re-occurence of it means there is some underlying cause that needs to be found out. The options are:
Stress (which to me is unlikely, he is the most laid back cat in the world! but I have some zylkene to try him on)
Crystals-the vets want a proper urine sample when he is over it this time in case it is that, then a urinary diet will help
Blockage-there may be a blockage somewhere along his urethra that is causing his flare-ups

if none of these work then I have been told to consider feminisation, but ONLY as a last resort!!!

He is really struggling to wee and it breaks my heart! The vet has given him ABs and said give him 3 days and if no improvement then he needs to go back to the vets to be catheterised and put on a drip.
The vet was very good and took the time to explain it all and even drew me a little picture! I just want Fred to be more comfortable and not to have to go through this, this is his fifth time in less than a year with it and it really breaks my heart. There has been a little improvement, the size of his wees have increased from nothing to a drip and now about the size of a 20p, but it takes him so long to go. He also seems a little brighter and has been playing a little and wrestling with his sister.

Does the vets advice sound right? Any other suggestions from experience?
What diet is best if it is the crystals in his urine? are those diets suitable for cats with slightly underfunctioning kidneys? (there is no known cause, well, they haven't really investigated, just said to monitor his kidney levels....actually they didn't even say that, I decided that....

)
anyway, any advice for my poorly little man?
thanks

Author Topic: Cystitis advice (Read 4328 times)