Cystitis/Crystals

Hello everyone...I'm new to the forum. I need some advice. I'm worried.

My cat presented with blood in his urine; i took him to the emergency vet last night and he was diagnosed with idiopathic cystitis. He's in the hospital right now for a more accurate diagnosis; as only a small urine sample was collected I'd like to be certain it's non-bacterial. I've been reading and reading, and was informed of link (although specific mechanisms can't be identified) between dry food and UT disorders. My cat eats dry cat food - Innova Evo - which has no grains, low carbs, high protein, as I'm sure you all know, but I'd like to switch him over to wet food. I might mention briefly that, like most cats, he will only drink water from a running faucet; i haven't yet tried a recirculating drinking bowl for him, so i'm worried his water intake may be low (part of the reason I'd like to switch to wet food)? I've always tended to avoid wet foods, especially with my dog, for dental health reasons, but understand it is not as much of a concern with cats. Despite my cat's young age (22 months), he has a bit more than average tartar buildup on his teeth (which I try to mitigate with frequent brushing).
Back to his diet: I want to avoid fish so as to limit the amount of ash, and would also like to keep calcium and magnesium levels down as well as acidify his Urine through lowering its pH...is this the right course of action only if he has uroliths, or would it potentially help prevent recurrence of idiopathic cystitis as well?
My vet of course recommended Hill's Science Diet Prescription c/d formula: I refuse to feed my pets Hills products (and would urge you too as well - their chicken and rice formula lists the first 2 ingredients as water and pork-by-product-not okay), so wanted to know if someone had suggestions for a premium or homemade diets that meet the aforementioned criteria or can be recommended for UT/kidney health. Similarly, anyone has had any experience with this or similar ailments, please chime in with suggestions, info, or advice. My cat's only 2; I'm very worried about both his short and long term health. Very worried.
As I said, his diagnosis is still a bit uncertain, but is either: Sterile idiopathic cystitis, bacterial cystitis, crystals - either calcium or struvite - (i.e. uroliths or kidney stones). Thanks for your help.

A quick search on here will yeild you lots of idea s...

I recommend using the RX ( yes I agree the ingrediants arent good ) while you do your homework and then take what you find to your vet..

IMHO Evo is one of the few foods that should not be used for this issue ... great food though

try this article
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=017

Welcome to TCS

I will try to find more links so you dont have to read a few novels worth of info

I'm a member on some other (aquatic) forums, so you must forgive me, as this format is different. I see no search option...How can i initiate a search?

I am thinking you are likely looking at a screen with blue borders...

at the top of this page is a menu bar

User CP is on the left side and on the right is log out... search is two away from the log out

click on it and a menu will drop down and allow you to imput a word or words

User CP \tYour Cats \tFAQ \tArcade \tShop Menu \tNew Posts \tSearch \tQuick Links \tLog Out

I don't have a search option....nor do i have a 'new posts' option...
and my "buttons" are red...

i can't even pm a mod to ask them what's going on...

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this is not the layout but shows what to look for ....

As far as diets go I cannot help you there, but Dusty is only 4 years old and in the last year I had him in the emergency room several times for blockages. After a final time back last december I decided to have a P/U surgery done, to reroute his urinary tract and basically eliminate the penis. Tragic for Dusty, but he seemed to recover fine until a a month or two later when he was having more blood in his urine. I took him to the cat veterinarian I work for now and sure as hell-he had a fairly sizable bladder stone. We did a cystotomy in February and he was doing ok again. Then about a month ago he was making frequent trips to the litterbox, we ran urine and more crystals! We started him on Methionine tabs once daily and all it does is change the PH of his urine, but since then he has not had any problems. In the last week he has had a slight bladder infection/cystitis but that can be a chronic thing.

I guess I would find out exactly what the problem is before switching foods or trying medications. I will certainly keep good thoughts coming your way for a speedy recovery for your kitty and a permanent solution to his problem.

Good luck!

I appreciate the advice...I am totally serious when I tell you that there is absolutely no search option for me, no todays posts either. I've signed in and out, refreshed pages...everything...

As for my original question, I totally agree that a proper diagnosis needs to be made, however I'm sure that a dietary change will be necessary (of course which one is dependent on his condition). I just want to become informed about my options, what other cat owners are doing, and what kind of treatments show efficacy. I found another thread addressing crystals/blockages, and will continue to search manually for more. Maybe someone could PM a moderator and tell him I'm having problems? I know I sure can't...

I did ...

I will pull a search and put it up for you

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...inary+crystals

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...inary+crystals

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...inary+crystals

thanks! and, believe it or not, the Search and New Posts options just now popped up on my screen, right where they should have been...

Coco is on the C/D because so far it is one of the only foods that helped. Sharky told me about another Can Food last night that I am going to ask the Vet about.

A wet food only diet is the best for cats with urinary issues. That and Cystaid, helped my foster the most, he was given Hills dry c/d, and he had another flare up while on it. His was stress related though.

for anyone looking for a legitimate and scholarly discussion of feline idiopathic cystitis, look here http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/assets...at/vcna041.pdf

Originally Posted by ColeManCat

for anyone looking for a legitimate and scholarly discussion of feline idiopathic cystitis, look here http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/assets...at/vcna041.pdf

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Thanks for sharing and welcome to TCS!

My Oliver just got the same diagnosis. I did switch to the Hill's prescription c/d, but I'll be on the lookout for other recommendations. I put out two extra water bowls and might get a fountain, feed them canned food almost every day, and worked on enriching their environment (more toys, better view, radio on during the day so they don't feel so isolated while I'm at work).

Here's a link to the thread I posted when Oliver had his most recent flare-up -- lots of good advice there!

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=163647

Sending prayers and your way!

I have been going thru the same problem with my cat Muddy. We've had 3 courses of antibiotics which provide temporary relief at best, as it really is serving as an inflamation reducer to his bladder. We've had x-rays to look for stones, a full urinalysis including lab tests to look for bacteria and crystals, blood work, etc. Everything has come out normal. Last night we found blood in his urine. When I called our vet this morning, our conclusion is idiopathic cystitus, because we've ruled out stones, crystals and bacteria. He's scheduled for an ultrasound this week, just in case the x-ray did not pick up on a stone.

We're about to head out to purchase Cosequin for cats, find a different dry food other than Innova (thanks Sharky for your opinion on it), and a more appropriate wet food. We'll try to give him nothing but wet, but I know that he will nibble on the dry food that we leave out (we have 10 cats feeding here). I can't put the entire house on a prescription diet because of the mixed health issues I have in my house.

What I've found is that you need to go thru a number of tests to obtain an accurate diagnosis. Stones, crystals and bacterial infections are treatable. Unfortunately if it is really ideopathic, they may not know the cause and you are treating the symptoms to keep them comfortable. You can address possible triggers, such as stress and poor food. In the case of Muddy, who has herpes, there is also an outside chance that a herpes cat can develop problems elsewhere from that disease. So we continue to treat that.

Good luck in finding an accurate diagnosis. It's been a frustrating couple of months here.

My cat was diagnosed with FLUTD a couple of weeks ago and after a round of tests, the vet confirmed that it is idiopathic, but most likely a result of trauma to the bladder during spay surgery. The urinalysis came back and there were a lot of blood, white blood cells, high level or protein and some crystals. No bacteria were present and the culture sensitivity test came back negative. X-Ray did not find any abnormally with her bladder either. We began treatment immediately with Clamavox and within a week, her symptom subsided and she is now back to normal.

Her vet would have also prescribed a diet change, Hill Prescription C/D but since her condition improved tremendously, he felt it is no longer necessary. Her diet is now 100% wet as I have completely eliminated her dry. Even then, she used to eat only 10% dry.

Originally Posted by tutti_bella

My cat was diagnosed with FLUTD a couple of weeks ago and after a round of tests, the vet confirmed that it is idiopathic, but most likely a result of trauma to the bladder during spay surgery. The urinalysis came back and there were a lot of blood, white blood cells, high level or protein and some crystals. No bacteria were present and the culture sensitivity test came back negative. X-Ray did not find any abnormally with her bladder either. We began treatment immediately with Clamavox and within a week, her symptom subsided and she is now back to normal.

Her vet would have also prescribed a diet change, Hill Prescription C/D but since her condition improved tremendously, he felt it is no longer necessary. Her diet is now 100% wet as I have completely eliminated her dry. Even then, she used to eat only 10% dry.

Click to expand...

Here's a caution to you. My Muddy has been on 3 rounds of antibiotics and each time he seemed to respond to them. They often will serve as an anti-inflamatory to the bladder and will look like they are good for a couple of weeks. If you have ruled out a bacterial infection, there is no good reason why she should have responded the way she did. Keep a very close eye on her and call your vet if it starts again. I also discovered this morning that x-rays don't always show up stones, and an ultrasound can detect things that wouldn't be on the x-ray. An ultrasound can also be used to look at the walls of the bladder, which are inflamed with idiopathic cystitus.

Thank you so much. I did ask if I should stop her medication as there were no bacterial infection but both vet advised me to continue. It has been a week now since she last has blood in her urine. The urine volume has revert back to normal, as opposed to a few drops at a time. The frequency has also subsided. I will most definitely keep a close watch.

What we found out during her physical examination, two rounds of cystocentesis and X Ray was she has a very tiny bladder. She is only 6 months old and FLUTD in such a young kitten is pretty rare. She developed this 2 days after her spay surgery which brought us to believe that her tiny bladder must have been traumatized and was inflammed.

It was a pretty scary development and I was worried sick for the past few weeks.