FLUTD/ non eating advice

Hi everyone,

Cedar was diagnosed with FLUTD at the beginning of the month (3rd time he has had it in a number of years) and the vet said that he has all signs of a cat that is likely to get this regularly so he is not to eat dry food ever again (both cats were on dry food diets only for the last few years as they both wouldn't eat the wet).

So I have changed both boys diets to wet food and am trying a range of varieties. Tipsy is fine eating it but Cedar has not eaten in 2 days. He walks up, doesn't even look at it and walks away. Tonight I coaxed him to the food bowl, he took 2 licks and walked away.

I am unsure of exactly how much water he is drinking but he is not showing any signs of FLUTD returning at this point (well I dont think so anyway)

I am not very knowledgeable of any of this so I would like some advise/opinions.

is it correct that Cedar should never eat dry food again?

is it possible that he doesnt like the wet food or more possible that he is showing signs of something? (the not eating)

what are those drinking fountain things you can get? I am not sure what they are exactly but have never seen anything here in Aus. Would like to purchase one as they are fussy with their water quality.

Should I take him for a 2nd opinion? He is otherwise fine although needs too loose quite a bit of weight.

I should add for those that dont know that Cedar is an extremely timid and fearful cat. Will jump at a leaf. We have recently (6 weeks a go) moved into a new home where he didnt eat or leave my bedroom for 6 days. He is STILL very fearful and I know that stress in cats can bring on FLUTD.

Let me know if you need any more information

Thanks in advance

FLUTID. He eventually out grew it. I just Googled "feline flutid diet" and came up with some information. Or just google "feline flutid". Water is very important in treating this. There are all sorts of electric cat water fountains. The pet stores here are loaded with them. Have you looked in the pet stores? On line? You should have no problem finding one. With the running water, a cat is drawn to drink, something like drinking from the kitchen faucet that they love. Try different brands and flavors of wet food. There are so many out there. Someone should come along with more info for you. Good luck to you and you buddy!

A diagnosis of FLUTD is a chronic condition. It's not something that comes and goes. If your cat has FLUTD he has it for life.

FLUTD can cover a fair range of problems. Usually the cat is forming crystals (or stones) in his urine. This in turn causes him to get UTIs. (urinary tract infections)

This is a very serious illness in males. Male cats have a very narrow urethra and can block without warning. Once blocked, a cat will die within 24 hours without emergency veterinary treatment.

I am surprised your vet did not prescribe a special prescription food for your cat. There are dry foods made specifically for cats with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease.

Hills Prescription c/d multicare and Royal Canin prescription s/o are the most commonly prescribed. Please ask your vet about these foods. You cat should be on this food for life. Another problem with crystals, UTIs or stones could kill him. Or you'll be faced with a very expensive surgery called Perineal Urethrostomy or “PU”.

You must help your cat lose some weight. Obesity is a common cause of flare ups of FLUTD problems. If you want tips on how to do that I can give you some.

As for now, it is very dangerous for any cat, but especially an overweight cat, to go without food for more than three days. An overweight cat can go into liver failure very quickly.

I recommend you call your vet today and get some kind of prescription food for him. And if your vet gives you a hard time, find another vet, get a second opinion.

I have dealt with FLUTD cats for many years. Special diet is the best, safest way to control it.

As for fountains, there are tons of choices available now. go to amazon.com and do a search for "pet fountains".

Please keep us updated on Cedar!

Dan, I would be a bit concerned about feline hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) if Cedar didn't eat for a period of six days, is overweight, and is again refusing to eat. Is this something your vet checked for?

While it's true that it's preferable that cats with a tendency to get urinary tract infections or uroliths (crystals) eat wet food, there are some cats who absolutely refuse to do so. (I've got one myself, and we compromise - 1/2 dry, 1/2 wet). There are dry prescription urinary diets available, such as Royal Canin Feline Veterinary Diet - Urinary S/O (for either struvite or calcium oxalate crystals) or Hill's Prescription Diet Feline c/d (for struvite crystals; Hill's also has a type for either kind of crystals called Feline c/d Multicare, but the question is whether it is available in Australia). In addition, there's Purina ProPlan Urinary Tract It's no good insisting that he eat wet if he refuses to.

The Drinkwell and Cat-It fountains are available online in Australia. These links may not be the cheapest prices.

I appreciate your prompt replies and I will just state that I am aware that it is serious (I should of mentioned that I was aware of that) and I am aware of what signs to look out for.

Thankfully Cedar was not blocked the last time I took him and they filled his bladder with fluid to help him clear things out (sorry for the non technical terms )

Another thing I should state is that I am in Australia which is why I mentioned the pet fountains. I have never seen them in the stores here (or any online Aus sites) but I will have a look at Amazon and see what I can learn from that. Thankyou.

He did not prescribe any food for Cedar. He told me that he must be on wet food only and unfortunatly here in Australia prescription wet food is very VERY limited (I think only 1 brand? but dont quote me on that) and HIGHLY expensive. (maybe eventually this will change? we can only hope). He did not recommend this prescription wet food at all. I will however call them and discuss the two that you have mentioned. thankyou.

He is now on a diet as I am aware I need he needs to loose weight and am aware that this is a cause of the problem. He also stated that another common factor is stress and since he is part Abyssinian (who are stressed by nature apparently?) this adds to the problem.

I will call my vet first thing in the morning and see what he/they say

Thankyou for all your advise. As I mentioned, I am not very knowledgeable about this stuff so I lean on you all.

Tricia - thankyou!

no, he did not mention feline hepatic lipidosis.

I have to admit that I wasnt very happy with the last visit with the vet at the beginning of the month. He was very obnoxious to me and so I was quite flustered. Maybe I didnt ask enough questions?

I will ask about those foods first thing in the morning. The reason he went off wet food many years a go is he just refuses to eat it and obviously the same thing is happening now.

Thankyou for the links. Thats great I know the names of the fountains and now I can do some research on where to find them. At the end of the day, price is irrelevant. Might just order from the links you have given me so I can get it ASAP.

Oh no Dan...
I am so sorry to learn that you and Cedar are going though this.

I am not experienced with FLUTD but I do know that a secondary issue can be fatty liver.
It can happen quickly when a cat does not eat and it can be a life threating emergency.
The link below has a brief overview of fatty liver...
http://www.peteducation.com/article....1+1327&aid=217
You might want to discuss this with your vet.

You are getting a good start by posting your questions here.
If you feel in your gut that your current vet is not giving you the info you need to deal with this, even though Cedar is a shy cat, it might be best to get a second opinion from a specialty hosp.

Sending love and hope....
Cedar

I just wanted to point out that Hills and Royal Canin are notorious for causing water weight gain, so if your cat IS over weight, it might be difficult to help him lose it while on a prescription diet. Scotty has FLUTD, and is also overweight (he wasn't overweight when his first UTI appeared, however). He's put on a few more ounces in the two months he's been on Hills, and the vet was not surprised or concerned about it at this time. In the 4 years that he's had these problems, he's only been blocked once.

It's great you're working with your vet, A fountain will certainly help the production of urine. But it was kind of irresponsible of your vet to not give you more options other than, "No more dry food, EVER." Maybe you should speak with your vet about this.

Originally Posted by emrldsky

I just wanted to point out that Hills and Royal Canin are notorious for causing water weight gain, so if your cat IS over weight, it might be difficult to help him lose it while on a prescription diet. Scotty has FLUTD, and is also overweight (he wasn't overweight when his first UTI appeared, however). He's put on a few more ounces in the two months he's been on Hills, and the vet was not surprised or concerned about it at this time. In the 4 years that he's had these problems, he's only been blocked once.

Click to expand...

I've had the same experience with the Hills and RC. Jamie has really ballooned in the 9 months he's been on them, even though I've cut down on the amount he gets.

Yes the prescription foods can cause weight gain.

Portion control and an exercise program for the cat are very important in maintaining a healthy weight.

(PS I'm not saying you don't, but for general information, keeping the litter boxes clean for an FLUTD cat is also very important)

Originally Posted by huggles

Hi everyone,

Cedar was diagnosed with FLUTD at the beginning of the month (3rd time he has had it in a number of years) and the vet said that he has all signs of a cat that is likely to get this regularly so he is not to eat dry food ever again (both cats were on dry food diets only for the last few years as they both wouldn't eat the wet).

is it correct that Cedar should never eat dry food again?

Should I take him for a 2nd opinion? He is otherwise fine although needs too loose quite a bit of weight.

He is STILL very fearful and I know that stress in cats can bring on FLUTD

Click to expand...

IMO you have a good vet. The recommendation of feeding just wet food, for a cat in this condition, is more than appropriate. Crystals form when three conditions exists: Ph is out of range, low amount of urine, high amount on minerals in the urine. An increase moisture diet, like a all wet diet, will usually take care of two conditions (amount of urine, and minerals). If you wanted to take it a step further you could try to find one that contains dl-methionine, which will acidify the urine (change ph). But only acidify if you were having problems with struvites, also consult a vet. Try to stay away from fish but I would try and add salmon oil to make it more enticing. IMO I would try to stay away from prescription food as much as you can. They have their place but most of the time its just a band aid on the real problem. Since yours seems like he is doing good then your really just in prevention mode.

FLUTD is the overall condition for some specific problems. The specific problems we usually see, in FLUTD cats, are crystals or infections. Both problems have different treatments. Stress can weaken the immune system and possibly let in bacteria. Then you have whats known as UTI. To help prevent UTI's strengthening the immune system is your best bet. Look into lysine. If a UTI takes hold then you usually have to get antibiotics from the vet. Some have had luck with cranberry.

Here is a link about how to reduce crystals. http://www.peteducation.com/article....+2142&aid=2729

Good luck

Originally Posted by huggles

what are those drinking fountain things you can get? I am not sure what they are exactly but have never seen anything here in Aus.

Click to expand...

I haven't seen fountains in the pet shops I frequent so got mine online. I got my Drinkwell from here and Cat-It from Ebay using this seller. We got a Petmate from Big W on clearance and they don't seem to be available anymore, but you could check there for other models.

If you purchase from Amazon you wouldn't be able to plug it in over here would you?

Thanks for the links... thats great!

Just a quick post. I have taken Cedar to the vet this morning. He has a temperature and his gum's are pale. No other symptoms. He isnt blocked or anything.
They are keeping him for a few hours to run a blood panel.

Will update when I know more.

oh and they do stock the dry food that has been mentioned. I did mention the weight gain v's that prescription food and of course him eating is the most important right now. We will discuss this further when we see the results of the blood's to see if we are dealing with anything else as he may just not be eating as he has another form of infection. Being a bit vague sorry but posting on the run...

I am holding Cedar in my thoughts Dan.
Cedar

Your not being vague at all. I'm glad you brought him in and it sounds like your vet is very thorough. That's a good thing!

Yes, eating is the most important thing. Since he wants dry food, it'll have to be prescription. What brand does your vet carry? There are ways to combat the weight gain these foods can cause. I can help with that!

Please keep us updated on Cedar!