Advice on chronic urinary problems..

[JustineNYC]

Hello everyone. I have a 4 year old Mackeral tabby cat that has had urinary problems for about 2 years. After about 5 visits to the vet where they were just giving me antibiotics because they said it was a common UTI, a dr said Irwins diet had to be changed. The dr squeezed his bladder and bloody urine came out with sand looking granules in it.

They put him on Hills C/d and he did well for a few months. The flare ups of not be able to urinate stopped. Then out of nowhere Irwin who is neutered, starts spraying. He used to do that when he couldnt pass urine. I went back to the dr and explained that I didnt think his urinary problems were fixed because he sprays when he is ill and it hurts to urinate in the litter box. The dr took x rays and told me his bladder was fine and it was probably just a habit. That was in March.

Last night, Irwin jumps up on the bed and squats and wham, red urine everywhere. It was like him saying, IM SICK AGAIN.

I took him to an animal medical center, and after 568$ I am still discouraged. Their doing a urine analysis, and blood work, the cat still has crystals and hes on CD.

I have to call back on Thursday and the dr will most likely change Irwin to something called "S/O" Is that better for him? He said they dont use CD anymore.

His X rays showed no stones, but the lining of his bladder is thicker then it should be. The dr said this is probably something chronic with him, and we can treat with anti inflammotories and the right diet.

What is the right diet? Any advice?

Sorry that was long! I love this little guy.

[catmandu]

MY CATS DID WELL WITH THE MEDICAL FORMULA, I CANT REMEMBER THE LETTER AND THE EUKANUBA CANNED VET FOOD.
GOOD LUCK WITH IRWIN, AND OUR PRAYERS ARE COMING FOR YOU BOTH!!!

[carole]

My lexie the black kitty in my siggy had a UTI about two years ago, thankfully because of PT i knew straight away to get her to the vet, she was diagnosed with struvite stones and put on Royal Canin SO, it was a challenge at first to get her to eat them, originally she was put on HILLS, she hated them and became contispated, i dislike Hills myself, Royal canin is supposed to be much more palatable, so far she has been fine, fingers and paws crossed, Irwins problems seem a little different to my lexie, she had no blood at all to be seen,so i am not sure if this would work for Kitty or not, ask your vet,but just wanted you to know i have had success so far, hope kitty gets better soon and stops spraying, sometimes stress or change makes them do that as well. good luck

[catnapper]

Welcome to my world with Pouncer. Life was one long circle of rushes to the vet, medicine, special diet. He was diagnosed with chronic cystitis and I was told to watch that he drank enough water. He was put on special food, antibiotics, steroids to help inflamation, and even a few rounds of valium to help de-stress him.

Round and round we went until he nearly died a couple times. I had enough! I had surgery to turn him into a girl cat (the female opening is larger, therefore crystals don't block and he doesn't get sick as often)

The surgery was in October. It was nearly $1,000. I'd do it all over again because I got my boy back. He's playful and bratty again, opposed to moody and hiding all day long. I still have to take him to the vet for sickness.... only this time instead of blocking he's going for UTI's, which males with this surgery are more susceptible.

[Grace]

Grady had an episode with hematuria and frequency back in May. After 2 separate urinalysis, X-rays and an ultrasound, he was diagnosed with both kinds of crystals. Tried him on almost every prescription diet on the market - he wouldn't go near any of them.

The important thing is giving them lots of fluids. So he gets regular canned food, to which we add about 2 cc of water for every feeding. We even give him water with a syringe - just squirt it in his mouth throughout the day.

Catty1 also suggested cranberry powder. That's been a blessing. I give him approximately 50mg each day - mixed in with his food. I think he likes it. And it did clear up the hematuria.

I know he should be on a special diet - but he is supposed to avoid stressful situations, and that food was a big stress to him.

[JustineNYC]

This is my little patient Irwin....



Good news is he will eat anything, so whatever food they give me, he'll eat for sure and I can mix it with water no problem. Its just a matter of finding a food that wont make him sick.

Im curious, does anyone feed dry to their cats with urinary problems? I read to avoid dry food. Are the crystals ever really gone? Or when you have a cat like this, is it more about minimizing crystals and just trying to flush him out as much as possible.

I really hope the food switch will work. The vet said the S/O food neutralizing the urine. This has been a long battle. This all seems like a band aid over a gushing wound, and we havent gotten to the bottom of it yet.

I asked the vet what is the treatment if this is a chronic thickening of the bladder wall type thing he explained, and he said diet change and maybe low doses of anti inflammatories here and there. That doesnt sound like a 'cure'

The doctor also gave me supplements. He said some people believe the glucosamine helps with cases like this. Its called "Synovi feline" andits a joint care supplement powder.

Thanks for your posts and well wishes!!!

[catnapper]

Pouncer eats dry and wet. I give the wet because he simply won't drink enough throughout the day otherwise. I would prefer no wet food because it causes such a mess with the other cats in the house -- you can't give one cat wet food and not the others. You also can't give one cat different food than the others, so they all eat prescription food. And yes, the prescription food makes a HUGE difference. I noticed whenever I tried to save $20 a month by not giving prescription food, the following month I got a $250 vet bill because opuncer got sick.

You patient looks like mine

[Catlady711]

Most cats, particularly males tend to have crystals in their urine. Most of the time it doesn't cause any problems, but once in a while it can. Things like stress, Ph balance upset, food changes, infections etc. can cause things to go haywire.

Did the vet that did the urinalysis happen to mention anything about the leukosites (sp?) or Ph balance? Leukosites tend to show infection, and an off Ph balance can lead to infections or stones. Antibiotics would take care of infections and there are meds to help with the Ph balance. My Cami takes one called MethioForm tabs.

There are two types of crystals, one can be dissolved with a special diet and the other can't. The one that can't is the Oxilate crystals. Did your vet specify which crystals your kitty has? http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...er_stones.html

At our hospital we use both Hills C/D and Royal Canin S/O with similar success, it's just a matter of which food the cats prefer. You're fortunate that your cat isn't picky. The pet store urinary foods do seem to have some effect on minor urinary problems, but major problems like your cat has requires a special diet which while more expensive will do a better job.

Wet food and plenty of water do help to keep things flushed out. Adding a pet water fountain may help encourage your cat to drink more water as well as using more canned food to add water to the diet.

There has been research into using glucosamine supplements with urinary problems and research suggests it helps. We do use that at our hospital as well although ours is Cosaquin. While I can't say for certain exactly what percent it helps with the problem, it doesn't have bad side effects, and has the added benefit of helping joints stay healthy as the cat ages.

Anytime there is an infection or irritation in the bladder the lining of it will be thicker, and may always be even after the problem gets resolved because of scar tissue.

As a precaution you may want to take regular urine samples to your vet, say like once a month for a while then maybe twice a year once things settle down. That way you are more likely to catch a problem before it gets bad.

In some cases cats can have cronic problems to which no one knows exactly how to 'cure' it. Best thing in those situations is to manage the symptoms as they pop up. I'm sure your vets are just as frustrated as you are with the whole situation with your kitty. Their job is to help animals and they also get frustrated when they can't fix everything.

I hope your vets can find the right food/med combo that helps your kitty from having frequent flare ups. Good luck.