Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease - how to manage?

*confused*

Hi all,

Back in February of this year I lost my beautiful cat Booty to FLUTD tried everything (well, the vets did) but unfortunately he was completely unable to pee and he had to be put down.

A couple of months later I got a new cat, Sherlock from the Cats Protection League. And yesterday I got the shock that he has the same problem. Thankfully it's not as bad, at least not so far and the vet managed to catheterise him yesterday and drain him but found lots of bladder sand/crystals which were causing the blockage, so at the moment he is being closely monitored and on various meds as well as wet Royal Canin urinary pouches.

Has anyone else here had experience with FLUTD? Any tips on managing the condition as I know it's going to be something I will need to monitor for the rest of Sherlock's life - so any advice would be very much welcomed

TIA

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi, really sorry to hear about Booty and that your new cat is having trouble too.:(

My old cat had problems with cystitis/stones/crystals/CRF - but he lived a mainly comfortable life for 9 years once diagnosed (apart from the odd flare up).

There's load of info online - few links below:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/flutd/info.html
http://www.vetanimalhouse.co.uk/hottopic_Feline%20Idiopathic%20Cystitis.asp
http://ftp.amvq.qc.ca/Notes/S-Little-Idiopathic-Cystitis-in-Cats.pdf


I'd say the most important thing is to get to know his habits and then you're easily able to spot "abnormal" behaviour.

Does he go out?

I was lucky in that when Smudge was 1st diagnosed he was an indoor cat so it was easy to pick up "the signs" - trying to pee in odd places, blood in tray etc.

It also made monitoring his water intake much easier - I bought a water fountain which really worked and he drunk a lot more after that.

Wishing you all the best

*confused*

Thank you so much, I will have a read of the links.

He is a mainly indoor cat but he does usually go out side to do his business, unfortunately he managed to get shut in someone's shed overnight last week and when he came home he seemed very stressed and peed in the house - now I know that was a sign that something wasn't quite right but it seemed like a one off as he hasn't done that since I'm keeping him in for the time being as I want to monitor him as closely as I can.

I'll have to look into a water fountain, sounds like a good idea.

Fire_Fox

This site has information on a range of bladder/ kidney conditions http://www.felinecrf.org/
There is a lot that can be done with diet, and this does not have to mean prescription foods but it does mean plenty of research of your part, understanding the basics of the condition and the nutritional needs of the feline, which is an obligate carnivore. This gives the basics in a fairly scientific, unbiased manner http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

sophieschoice

We had the same problem with my boy who died on Monday. Last year the vet effectively de-sexed him which solved the problem.

*confused*

FireFox - thank you, those look like great links.

Sophieschoice - really sorry to hear of your loss - glad that the op did have some success though. My Booty had the same op but unfortunately it didn't work for him, his urinary tract was too badly damaged

kataklysm

One of my cats suffers from FLUTD on and off, although miraculously he's been fine since Xmas.. The last time he was at the vets, they gave me a post it with some information on:

Zylkene for Stress
Cystaid - GAG's
reduce bladder + some cats deficient
FLUTD Fab Cats

So hopefully that gives you something to Google for!!!! The causes of cystitis in male cats are varied, it affects cats of all ages and the condition is extremely common, but a lot of the time it's down to stress. We introduced a new cat to the household last year, which was no doubt stressful. This year, they've been much more settled together, regular routines, very vigilant with cleaning, increased wet food in their diets and HUZZAH no trips to the vet for Pumpkin so far. But we will always be managing the condition, not to mention his waistline...

Perhaps new kitty needs more time to settle, in which case Zylkene in particular was recommended by my vet to reduce stress, along with Cystaid (which is more of a urinary supplement than medication) maybe try those for a month or two and see if it helps. And a water fountain is a must, free flowing, filtered water will do wonders.

*confused*

Thanks Kataklysm, more interesting information there. I will definitely ask the vet about the stress side of things as he is quite a nervous cat so I suspect that is a definite factor... as well as his weight too, which I'm working on now along with a special Urinary diet which the vet has recommended for the time being.

I've ordered the waterfountain so hopefully that will be here soon

Fiver29

My cat has UTD, she is on a special diet from the vets, Royal Canin (although I'm looking to find it cheaper).

She sad it's probably stress. But to make sure she drank more. Which is a pain because she only drinks from the tap. We tried a fountain but she didn't use it. So we have to leave the bathroom tap dripping all day.