Idiopathic nonobstructive FLUTD

My Smudge has "idiopathic nonobstructive feline lower urinary tract disorder," which means that something gave him a scare and made him uncomfortable about peeing, and he clenched, making urination painful and difficult. He's had two three-day courses of meloxicam and prazosin, which worked like a charm but weren't long enough to bring the inflammation down, and now he's going into his third week of pain and fear. (I'm not doing so great either.) He can pee, but it hurts, and ends up all over the house, although he does use his box too. Has anyone here been in a similar situation? What did you and your vet do to get your kitty healthy again?

I should admit upfront that I'm not really interested in untested remedies that make somebody a lot of money but don't have anything but anecdotes to back them up.

Love, Columbine

Why is your vet allowing this to happen? What does he say when you tell him what Smudge is going through? I haven't had a cat with something exactly the same as Smudge, but similar conditions where they needed anti-spasm medication for a while and, while there were a few days when off the drug that the cat still have some problems, a few days was all. Smudge does not need to be in this much pain and distress, so if you vet won't do anything to help him, go to another.

I agree with Lizzie, I would get another opinion. That baby shouldn't have to suffer in that kind of pain..

Hmm - you may be right. I'm going to get on the phone tomorrow (Monday) and RIDE them (the one who totally blew me off last week, and her partner who was at least somewhat helpful) until I get some kind of help, and if I don't, it'll be the Yellow Pages.

Apparently it's a waiting game - the meloxicam (an NSAID) can eat up his insides if he's on it too long, and I don't know much about prazosin. But this is also an unusually stubborn case, and if it's left untreated, he CAN obstruct with all the inflammatory cells that his bladder's producing because of the pain.

This all started over a weekend, so I took him to the big 24/7 hospital, and they gave him the two too-short courses of medicine (the second when the first didn't clear it up), but then said they'd want to book him with a specialist - which, since he's not obstructed, would only mean more trauma for him.

Damn. He really likes Dr. O'Donnell and Dr. Gilbert, and I'd already chosen them over one in my own neighborhood who immediately decided I was a Crazy Cat Lady and needed to be communicated with in short, shouted words (I was wearing a hat at the time - I guess hat + cat = Crazy Cat Lady, and half deaf besides.) And he doesn't need to be stuffed into his carrier and terrified again - he just needs a little more medicine to give him time to heal. His bloods, urine, appetite, everything's fine except that he gets these clench/pain attacks, and in between he's his normal happy little self.

I did squirt a LOT of Feliway around the house yesterday, and we had our first uneventful day without meds, but it only bought us one day.

Love, Columbine

Chased Dr. Gilbert down (actually it wasn't that difficult) and she sent me to a compounding pharmaci$t for tramadol and dibenzyline. Quite the kick in the wallet, but once I get the little poofle to EAT the stuff (he's turning up his nose at the food I mashed it into at the moment - I'll try something smellier) I should have enough to get him well.

Meanwhile, all the horror stories I heard from the vets & other folks sent me scurrying for Photoshop and Cafepress, where you can now view (and even purchase) the bumper sticker I designed.

I am using Feliway 2 -3 times a day. My Oscar was feral, tamed at about 2 1/2 years of age, and became a total sucky boy!

however, he is a tad high-strung, and a few months after I got a second kitty, he developed a UTI. One month on antibiotics, and he was left with the Idiopathic Cystitis (my vet was nice enough to use just two words! LOL)

Since Oscar LOVES plain yogurt, I checked with the vet about cranberry powder. He said 50mg a day, twice a day, was good, but not for more than 5 - 6 weeks.

Check with yours - but I think this REALLY helped Oscar!

hugs and I hope your baby is well soon!

Well, I mashed his medicine into the smelliest Fancy Feast I could find, and he's still not touching it. :( He's never gone on hunger strike before. He's usually a good eater - that stuff must taste really foul. I'm hoping he'll eventually just get hungry and eat, but needless to say I'm terrified. I can't pill this cat - I managed ONCE, and now if I come near him with a towel he's under the bed and not coming out for love nor money (and I'm the only human living here, so there's nobody to help me). So here's hoping his tummy convinces him to eat before his urethra seizes up again.

I don't know where you live - but I have found Pill Pockets to be helpful. They are larger, hollow treats that hold a pill.

They fooled Oscar for almost two weeks! :)

Oooooh, Petco has 'em! We'll have a look at the dish in the morning, and if it's still untouched, I'll give them a go! Thanks muchly!

Love, Columbine

I'm sorry to hear that your cat has this.:( My Sunny also had this last year and I tried a few different meds before it went away. One was in a liquid form and I think it was some kind of a blood pressure medicine for people.

I kept trying to figure out what had changed to make him so stressed out. I finally figured out that he was so afraid of his new collar that this was stressing him out. He would run around because he thought that something was chasing him. He's a very high strung cat and stresses easily. He no longer wears a collar and hasn't had the problem since.

I hope that your cat will feel better soon and that you'll be able to give his meds to him. You may need to try a liquid form instead.

The internet can be full of misinformation :eek: , however at times it is rich with helpful information from certified sources. :D

About Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) there is a good article by the Cornell Feline Heath Center and about the meds Prazosin and Meloxicam can be found on the Merck Veterinary Manual online. ;)

Just always remember, that looking up further information about your pet online can sometimes shed a little more light on something your vet has told you about, it should NOT be a substitute for seeing your vet. Your pet's doctor went to school for YEARS to be proficient at diagnosing similar diseases, knows the latest information available, has equipment available to help in tricky diagnosis, and has YEARS of hands on experience that you can never get from a webpage. For all pet questions, your vet is only a simple phone call away.

Just because you read it online doesn't always mean it's the best choice of treatment for YOUR pet, nor does it mean that what you read about is exactly what YOUR pet has. (for example the lady who's 'breeder' gave her papers that said "all puppies must have an injection of Proheart6 for DISTEMPER!" Huh?? Proheart6 was for heartworm NOT distemper! :eek: )


Bringing concerns to your vet's attention for clarification or reassurance is fine, but either trust his/her medical judgement about your pet's situation, or seek another vet you DO trust.

The pill pockets worked! I had a scare when he managed to find the tiny crumb of tramadol and barf it up the first time... but boy, it sure agrees with him now! Every time I go in the kitchen, he sits patiently by his dish waiting for his "magic treat." I think that when he comes off this stuff, it's going to have to be slo-o-o-ow... But I've never seen him so perky and carefree. Ouchies all gone, spookies all gone - and now I know about Pill Pockets! To all appearances, the nightmare is over.

Catlady711, I'm not sure to whom you're replying, as I agree entirely.

Love, Columbine

After all that - including Smudge swearing off ALL medicine, including the tuna-flavored stuff from the $compounding pharmacy, and ALL wet food just in case it had medicine in it - it turned out he didn't have FLUTD at all. A urine sample turned up MAGNESIUM CRYSTALS, and all he needed was new food! And he LIKES THE FOOD! (Hill's C/D)

Unfortunately, it hasn't got much fiber in it. His intestines slowed and eventually stopped. Luckily, I've been cleaning his box daily just to monitor him, and I caught it right away. He likes Pounce anti-hairball treats, and he'll eat Petromalt if I mash it up with good ol' tuna fish. And lately he'll at least taste canned food (with Cosequin vitamins mashed in - shhhh, don't tell!) if I add a bit of cod liver oil.

He's also a very itchy little cat, who constantly has trouble with eczema (and the mats occasioned by skin flakes tangling in his long, fine fur) so I've ordered some Hugs and Kisses treats - if he likes them, I'll let you all know! Or if he doesn't, likewise. But anything that will stop his itching is good news, if he'll eat it.

Maybe a bit of Omega-3 oil? Vet's offices have it.

Oscar is on Feliway for life...and I FINALLY have a way to get him two good doses a day!

I bought a cheap ($1) totally stretchy cat collar. Then I took a bit of an old bra - just a tiny square with some of the fuzzy stuff on it - and cut a slit in it and slipped it over the collar.

Two little wet squirts of Feliway on the cloth bit - fuzzy edge soaks it up nicely - and put on the collar, and he is set!

REALLY funny in the morning....Collar, then brekkie. Then he goes to his cat bed with a gooofy happy face, with a front leg and paw hanging out.
He reaches up his paw to me, along with his little head tosses and chirps! :)

And NO more tufts of fur all over the rug!

SORRY to hijack this - but Oscar had the same darn thing. I am SOO glad the food cleared it up! Was it from the same vet?

If his skin is from some stress, maybe the Feliway collar would work.

Happy to hear Smudge is better!

The cod liver oil you are giving him should help with the skin issues. And Petromalt comes in a fish flavor as well as the traditional malt flavor. Two of my cats detest the malt, but willingly take the fish one right from the tube. It costs more than the malt flavor, but if it keeps him healthy and out of the vets, a small price.

Glad to hear things are getting better!