Advice on chronic urinary problems..

[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.

[Jessika]

I'm very surprised they did manual expression when your cat obviously has large crystals... that can easily cause blockage and rupture the bladder Males especially block VERY easily. Poor baby

Though I don't normally recommend it, Science Diet does have good veterinary formulas for urinary problems as well as Purina too. Sorry I can't be of much help other than that!

[JustineNYC]

I'm very surprised they did manual expression when your cat obviously has large crystals... that can easily cause blockage and rupture the bladder Males especially block VERY easily. Poor baby

Though I don't normally recommend it, Science Diet does have good veterinary formulas for urinary problems as well as Purina too. Sorry I can't be of much help other than that!

Im not sure if that was his intent. They all seem to feel the bladder during the exam, I guess for stones? The vet today laid him down and felt his bladder too. That day we got a little surprise.

Today the bladder was empty.

I saw what it looked like on the table, just like sand.....I cant imagine what that feels like to pass that. Ouch.

[JustineNYC]

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.

Thank you, your post was very informative!

I dont remember what kind of crystals they were unfortunately, with the urine analysis because the last one was Feb of 2007. I just remember the doctor telling me he had to be on the CD diet and I was happy that it seemed to work and a few months past where we actually did not need an emergency visit.

Irwin is already on a special diet and I can see the crystals in his urine (which is very dark btw) so that would sound like their Oxilate crystals then? The crystals not helped by diet? Unfortunately my boys arent water drinkers. My females fight over the water bowl and if its empty they will sit in the sink to give you a hint.

This is a new hospital we went to today that has treated some very ill cats Ive taken in off the street so I know their good. They did a urine analysis today and I get the results Thursday so Im sure Ill know more then. He said once we get a look at that, we can go forward with how to treat him. In the meantime he is on antibiotics, anti inflammatories and the supplements. Ill probably end up going back Thursday to pick up the S/O.

The doctor who used to treat Irwin retired so today I gave the new vet the whole story and told him to start from scratch and lets find out whats going on with this cat.

New doctor, new plan, so well see.

[Jessika]

There are actually a large number of different type of crystals, but the two most common being struvite and calcium oxalate. Most, if not all crystals, can be eliminated by specific dietary changes, so the best advice I can give is discuss with your vet about which specific crystals he has and then what diets work best to eliminate those types of crystals.

Calcium oxalate crystals are also common artifacts found from refrigerating urine samples (found some in my dogs in lab the other day from a sample a little over an hour old that I'd refrigerated for a little less than 30 mins), but can have diagnostic value as well. Since you say they obtained the sample from a manual expression and you can see them in his urine when he urinates it isn't likely they are artifact.

[Grace]

Irwin is already on a special diet and I can see the crystals in his urine (which is very dark btw so that would sound like their Oxilate crystals then? The crystals not helped by diet? Unfortunately my boys arent water drinkers. My females fight over the water bowl and if its empty they will sit in the sink to give you a hint.

His urine could be dark because it is concentrated, or that could be old blood. His urine should look like yours does - clear, pale yellow.

[columbine]

I'd suggest a second opinion, with urinalysis done by an in-house lab, which would probably mean bringing him to a major veterinary hospital that doesn't have to send the samples out for testing elsewhere.

Your vet needs to know what kind of crystals they are to know what to do.

In the meantime, there are a lot of different ways to encourage a cat to drink more water and help dissolve the crystals. A lot of cats really enjoy drinking from a water fountain that keeps the water moving. My little scaredycat was actually afraid of a fountain, but turned out to vastly prefer drinking from a glass bowl in the living room to drinking from a steel bowl in the kitchen! You just never know.

He now also gets a joint supplement called Cosequin, that turns out to also be good for urinary complaints - and HUMANS were the "guinea pigs!" Some smart doctor noticed that female humans who took glucosamine and chondroitin (the ingredients of Cosequin) for their joints stopped having such frequent urinary problems. It turns out that glucosamine/chondroitin strengthens the protective glycosaminoglycan (GAG) inner layer of the bladder and urethra, so cats who've had urinary problems in the past often get joint supplements because they help with that too.

Love, Columbine

[Anikaca77]

I don't know much about chronic urinary problems but I hope this new doctor will help your baby out. He reminds me of my Anika. Prays being sent that things will work out.

[Kirsten]

Hi Justine, and hi Irwin! Irwin is such a handsome guy!

What you describe sounds very much like my Luna's history, she started dealing with UTIs when she was 2, and was eventually diagnosed with struvite crystals.

You've already got a lot of information here, but what I'd like to add is that I think you should contact the vet who diagnosed the crystals and ask which kind of crystals Irwin had. That's important for the treatment. With struvite crystals (the ones Luna has), it's often that the pH-value of the bladder is too basic, so you can help the cat by adding an acidic supplement to the food (I have a paste for Luna called Uro-Cyt). With calcium oxylate crystals, it's the other way around, I think, but I'm not sure.

Additionally, Luna is getting homoeopathic remedies like Cantharis or Berberis when she has an episode, and it seems to help her to recover. Many others made some good experiences with Cranberry extract.

Judging from the fact that your vet recommended Hill's c/d, I think Irwin has most likely struvite crystals as c/d is low on magnesium. Low magnesium is always part of a struvite crystal diet.

Be prepared that Irwin might always have episodes where the UTI and the crystals return. These things can easily become chronic. It's the same with my Luna. It's important to watch these cats closely, as the crystals may cause a blockage, which especially may happen in male cats because of their longer urethra. That's why some males get their penis amputated, which really seems to help them.

Anyway, it's a long road to go, and many here are dealing with it. It's often frustrating, but you'll get a lot of advice and moral support here!

Kirsten

[carole]

Lexie's special food is dry only, she is not supposed to have anything else at all, she does drink plenty though,she does sneak the other cats food on occasion which worries me, they might leave a few biscuits and she is a real sneak , i cannot watch her 24/7, so far so good, been two years now, and her's are the struvite stones, yes you should find out from your vet which kind Irwin has, BTW what a beautiful boy he is indeed.