FLUTD/FUS.....help!

I will take any and all advice concerning urinary issues in cats. Here's what's going on...

I have a neutered male Manx who is my special needs baby boy. He came to me as a flea-bitten, tape worm ridden 6wk old kitten, has a gimpy hind leg, suffered a severe infection post-neuter, and now is dealing with what my vet diagnosed as FUS. I noticed him going outside of his litterbox and the puddle he left was bright red. Called my vet immediately and brought him in for observation. They determined FUS, administered meds and fluids there, and sent him home with a round of buprenorphine to help him cope with pain. Not a week later, he began crying hysterically, hopping in and out of his litterbox, quickly moved to not wanting to come out from under the couch, shaking...it was terrifying. I called my vet's emergency number and she told me to meet her at the hospital with him. Yep, blockage. He had to be catheterized and hospitalized for 4 days. This was last week. He was sent home with Amoxi-drops and more buprenorphine. We're still doing the drops, but his last doseage of buprenorphine was Saturday.

Sunday, I noticed him going outside of his litterbox again. He's eating and otherwise acting normal, so I waited yesterday, then called my vet this morning since it hadn't changed. I also isolated him in my dog's crate (my dog is 50+lbs, so it's a large crate) with water and a litterbox to monitor him more closely (I have another cat as well) and to prevent him from going all over my apartment! Vet prescribed a round of Prednisone and said she didn't want me to bring him in because the stress of the trip my trigger another blockage episode. He's doing well tonight....no accidents so far....eating, purring, seems fairly content. But MAN is this a frustrating thing to deal with! Not only financially for me (I'm a college student and this bill was over $600...something I cannot afford, but the alternative was to let him suffer or euthanize him, which morally I could not do since there was a way to help him), but he's my baby and it's killing me to see him not feel well.

He was eating primarily dry food. I've been doing a ton of reading since all of this came about and have learned that dry food can contribute to these problems. I'm switching him over to a canned diet, but the premium canned diets are quite pricey. What I have him eating now is a small scoop of Wellness urinary tract formula in the morning, and about 1/4 can of Evo cat & kitten turkey & chicken formula mixed with half a can of the really small Friskies canned food, because he was crazy about that but didn't know what to do with the Evo at first. I'm switching both my cats for my convenience and I figure it won't hurt to but my female on a urinary tract-friendly diet to hopefully ward off any future problems with her.... They have water available to them at all times and I've been putting a little bit of apple cider vinegar in it recently as well. Am I doing alright?? My vet of course recommended I put him on the Royal Canin SO food, but while I've heard good things about it from some people, I also tend to prefer to feed premium brands to my pets for personal reasons (I feel the quality is better). Feeding a RAW diet is out of the question due to financial and time constraints....I've heard all the benefits from being in the dog world for so long, so please don't try to convince me I need to switch. I'd love to, but it's just not in the cards for me at this time.

Anyway, any and all advice would be great! And please take it easy on me - I'm learning about all of this and am trying my hardest to do what's going to be the best thing for my cat... I'm always hesitant about posting on internet forums because people can be so quick to judge and be quite harsh in their responses.....

Welcome and hello...

First ... Raw and Uti prone kitties actually is not the best normally ...You have to do some fairly intensive changes speaking from experience ...

Two .. You are trying to care for your kitty... I would suggest discussing the $$ issue with the vet/ vets ... Many times they will reduce the price or let you have payment plan... www.carecredit.com can also help IF your vet takes it

Three ... What kind of blockage.. this I know sounds Odd but was it crystals if so what type or did the vet think it was inflamation ?

Four ... Wellness DOES not make a UTI certified food... they make claims about urinary health that by the % can easily be seen thru( it is a good food just not for uti kitties...

Five ... wet is best even if it has to be all friskies... The Royal canin SO is definately a good one to use till you get him stable

We have extensive experience with crystals causing blockages. Was a urinalysis done? (Your boy's urine tested for crystals?).

Either way, the ingredients in Hill's c/d or Royal Canin SO may not be what you want to see, but they are designed to keep the pH of the bladder neutral - and THAT is the goal to help prevent formation of crystals or irritation of the bladder wall (as is the case with FLUTD).

With all of the bladder-related problems, a major goal is to keep as much water moving through as possible (keep urine as dilute as possible). We mix water into their wet food, and we have a water fountain, and small bowls of water around everywhere. Clean fresh water they don't have to go out of their way to drink seems to really have helped our crew. Since moving to an all wet diet and continuing to mix water into their wet food, I'm scooping a LOT more pee! But that's the goal.

Oh - and as Sharky points out - the non-prescription "urinary tract health" formulas aren't really what kitty needs, especially if the problem IS FLUTD - or is calcium oxalate crystals. "Urinary Tract Health" formulas are generally designed to lower the pH of the urine. This is helpful ONLY for struvite crystals.

My boy was diagnosed with struvite crystals about a year ago last September (e-vet visit on Labor Day, follow up urinalysis with regular vet gave us the disagnosis). Luckily my boy never blocked, but I've got a fair amount of experience with litter box issues.

Re food - IMO if the vet recommended prescription food, get the prescription food. To a layperson the ingredients may look iffy, but the stuff is clinically tested and, in my experience, works - and that's what counts. My guy is on Hills CD wet and dry (what can I say - I got him as an adult and he loves his kibble - and vet recommended not stressing him by insisting on all wet when CD comes in dry as well). Thank goodness, he's been good since then - we do semi-annual panels now to make sure.

Also, remember, your vet is a doctor - with years of experience and training - they're not recommending prescription food just for the fun of it. And raw is, as mentioned, awfully tricky for a cat who's had a blockage - I'd honestly go back to the vet in the morning and at least get a trial of the recommended food. I think you'll find that the prescription food really isn't more costly than premium food - I find the CD goes a long way. The hardest part may be working on portion size - some of the prescription foods are pretty nutrient dense.

If you can add a fountain to your home, I would - always a good holiday or birthday present!

And, I'd probably add a brand new box or two, and use Cat Attract litter - urinary issues are very painful for a cat, and they often associate the old box/litter with the pain.

Good luck - I still remember how scared I was driving to the e-vet - and my boy was not nearly in the stage your kitty was.

Thank you for your responses. She did say it was not crystals that caused the blockage, and that it was a plug right at the tip of his penis. I regret not fully absorbing what she told me to repeat it here. I was just relieved that he was doing better and could come home. She also felt stones were not an issue.

They sent home a sample bag of Royal Canin SO and he had no interest in it. Then my dog decided to counter surf and got ahold of it... But I suppose I will do what needs to be done and try to not be a brand snob like usual, lol.

I've added one litterbox that I already had, and that alone seemed to help with him not going outside his usual box. I'm scooping at least 2x a day as well. Oh, he actually just hopped out of "the big box"...good boy.

I'll increase the amount of water bowls throughout my apartment as well. What are these fountains?

Oh, and financially....thankfully I have a good relationship with my vet (she's also a friend and former coworker), so I am doing a payment plan. Doesn't make it any more fun to know I have all that debt over my head....but I suppose it could be much, much worse! *knock on wood*

OH YES - and glad to hear RAW is not recommended for his situation. I'm used to the dog world where RAW is the default diet for every single issue according to many people...it gets frustrating when it's not a possibility for you, yet you can't get good info on other diets because people are pushing that one!

If he's not crazy about the RC, ask the vet if you can try Hills or one of the other prescription lines - if she doesn't carry it herself, I think they can order it for you.

I admit - I looked at the CD ingredients and asked the vet about a couple of things - he went through the medical background for about 10 minutes!

Fountains are water fountains, like some of the Drinkwell models - there are a number of manufacturers. Sometime just google cat or pet water fountains and you'll get more hits than you want. The theory is that a lot of cats enjoy running or moving water more than still water in a bowl. I know mine like their Drinkwell 360 quite a bit. But, people also have a lot of luck putting bowls or glasses of water around the house - I do know my boy can't resist of glass of water wherever it is - even though it's usually my water!

It's hard to absorb everything at the vet's office - I can't tell you how many times I had to call or email them to get a 'refresher' - hey, we're worried while we're there, and most of us are not vets or techs so a lot of the terms go right by us at first.

Good luck - believe me, I know the feeling of stalking kitty around the condo checking on bathroom habits!

Urinary issues are no fun and definitely very scary. Tiger got blocked just months after he had surgery to remove a large struvite stone from his bladder. It was a scary experience. By some miracle he is doing OK today. I can't afford the prescription food all the time, but I do get it when I can and I always feed him strictly wet food. I also add lots of water to it which he laps right up. I have a water fountain which all my cats and even my two small dogs absolutely love. It has helped tremendously. Water is certainly key to keeping things flushed out. The prescription food is supposed to keep the urines PH at a certain level so that crystals do not form. Crystals are generally what cause the blockage.

Originally Posted by cmedeiros17

Crystals are generally what cause the blockage.

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Crystals do cause blockages, but are not at all the only thing that does. Sloughing cells from an inflamed bladder wall (and blood) can definitely cause a blockage.

While crystals are primarily a problem of diet, FLUTD is primarily a problem of unknown origin, though stress plays a major factor. But a properly balanced pH diet is important, and keeping urine as dilute as possible is important (meaning as much water as possible, thus the wet food, water fountains, etc.). During flare-ups, an antibiotic is often prescribed, but not because there's an infection (FLUTD is not usually caused by an infection - it's called FLUTD because they don't know what's causing it), but because some of them have anti-inflammatory properties, so helps soothe the inflamed bladder wall.

Our Spooky has "idiopathic cystitis," and while females don't generally block (different architecture), we've taken steps to help prevent flare-ups. These include primarily adding Bach's Rescue Remedy drops to all the water dishes (except the water fountain), and using Feliway spray regularly. These seem to help, as she hasn't had a flare-up in over a year. Because of the boys, all of our kitties are on the Hill's c/d diet, so I'm sure this helps too. And we stopped free feeding dry food as one of our kitties developed allergies (apparently to brewers rice), so they're all on a wet food only diet.

Originally Posted by LDG

Our Spooky has "idiopathic cystitis,"......

Because of the boys, all of our kitties are on the Hill's c/d diet, so I'm sure this helps too.

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My Muddy has the same disease, which btw, needs to be diagnosed through a surgical biopsy. In his case, his bladder becomes inflamed, which can cause crystals to form, which in turn can block him. But as Laurie pointed out earlier, crystals are not the only cause for blockages.

I prefer premium foods also, but I found out the hard way that they can actually hurt a cat with FLUTD/FUS issues. I've switched my household to Hill's c/d (dry) and Muddy specifically gets canned Purina UR (urinary formula). We tried all of the other prescription urinary formula's and he happens to like this one the best, and doesn't tire of eating it every day.

As much as you would like to give your babies the "healthiest" possible foods, in the case of FLUTD/FUS cats, "healthy" is a gray area. They need as much liquid in their systems as you can get in them, and if using lesser brands makes them eat more canned, that is actually a healthier choice for them. Find a urinary brand that your baby likes and stick with it.

Avoid foods with fish in them. Fish flavors will trigger imbalances in their bladder and cause them to block. Muddy's last can of fish flavor landed him in the ER and catheterized for 2 days.

It is frustrating! It took close to a year and 5 different vets to find the right mix of treatment & food for Muddy, but (knock on wood), he hasn't had a blockage in 2 years. And btw, Muddy is on 5mg of prednisone every other day for the rest of his life. He's been on it for about 2-1/2 years now and we've had no issues with it. And prednisone is about the cheapest drug you can use long term. Yes, he's gotten a bit pudgy on it, but the alternative (blockage and death) is a lot worse.

just went through all this with my big black bugsy. we went through it all about a year and a half ago, as well. no blockages, but the constant in and out of the box + small amounts of urine w/blood. first time we went to the vet and it came back the day after he got off antibiotics. as much as i love my vet, that's when i decided i had to take the bull by the horns and treat this holistically ... here is what worked for us:
• tinkle tonic by animal's apawthecary -- 3x a day (when he's not having an episode, i'll give it 1x every other day or so)
• as much as i hate to (i'm also a brand/ingredient snob), we switched to the purina pro plan urinary health wet food + tiny amounts of the purina one UTI dry food for the 2x a day that he gets 1/8 of a cup to snack on. (this is only while he's having an episode -- i'll slowly wean him off this stuff after he's been feeling better for a week or so)
• probiotics in each meal of wet food
• bugsy has an odd relationship with water and despite countless bowls, glasses, a fountain, bathtub faucet left on, i've yet to see him sit down and *drink* water. he prefers making a mess with it. i've started adding 10ccs or so of water to his wet food for each meal. when he's having an episode, i will actually syringe him water or watered down chicken broth a few times a day. he acts like i'm giving him battery acid, but i do believe flushing the bladder is one of the best things you can do to get things moving again.

i actually lost a cat to a blockage a few years ago and i hate it that he died of something so preventable.
fwiw, i do think dry food is the major cause of these issues. bugsy's bladder acted up both times when we were out of town for 4+ days, and he was mainly fed dry food by the pet sitter.

Thank you all for sharing your advice and experiences.

Just wanted to give you an update on my boy....unfortunately it's not a great one. After coming home from the hospital initially, he was great for a couple weeks. Then early this week I noticed him sitting in his litterbox straining for 10 minutes. Rather than mess around, I called my vet right away. He wasn't blocked yet, but when they expressed his bladder they found a lot of "crud" in his urine. They sent us home with more pain medication and anti-biotics and I was told to drop him off the following morning for observation. So I did that...and everything looked good for him until about 3pm when his bladder felt large and he was not urinating, nor could they express him by hand. They called me to let me know this and get my permission to catheterize him again. I said yes, of course...and also asked that they do x-rays to rule out stones. Thankfully as they were getting ready to do the rads he expressed himself. So no catheter was needed. But I asked that he be kept overnight for further observation. X-rays showed nothing and the vet (not my regular vet) said she felt the problem was functional and it's his bladder/urethra spasming.

Everything seemed ok yesterday....ok enough for him to come home, anyway. He's on 3 different types of medication and I'm now feeding canned Royal Canin S/O. Yesterday evening I noticed his urine has the appearance of diluted blood, but I am trying to stay calm and remember he's just started a round of medication that will help. He's still straining and hopping in and out of the litterbox. This morning I woke up to him straining on one of my pillows...thankfully not the one my head was on... Small amounts of urine are coming out...they're larger than what he was able to produce when I called my vet earlier this week, but still not normal.

I just don't know what to do here. I want to do everything that I can for him, but I'm very scared about these bills. I was looking at taking out a Petplan policy on him to help with future costs - do any of you have medical insurance on your cats?

I ;have just kind of skimmed this thread, but has a urinalisys been done? It sounds like he is blocked with crystals. This is a very serious deal if he is. A cat that cannot pee, is likely to die if not rectified.

I use Care Credit. If your vet participates, you can use it that day if approved. Very easy. Go to www.carecredit.com.

But do not wait, if he is straining, urine is backing up in his kidneys. Not a good thing. Instead of the vet "feeling" that something is not the issue, I think concrete evidence is needed...aka uranalysis for crystals.

Immediate attention is needed. Your poor boy is suffering needlessly. The vet needs to be more proactive.

My vet has been wonderful. Please read my posts rather than "skimming" them. We've done several urinalyses now as well as x-rays. He was already blocked once, resulting in catheterization and a hospital stay for several days. He came home yesterday after an overnight at the vet's where he was given lots of sub-q fluids to flush his system. Crystals are not the cause in my cat's case, nor are stones.

I am doing all that I can, as is my vet. I really take offense at your statement that my cat is suffering needlessly. Please, next time...read the posts.

I'm so sorry your cat isn't finding permanent relief, and glad that you're already got the vet sorted out - are you seeing the e-vet today or can your vet take him? I do think you need to see a vet today, though.

It may be too late to get insurance - any urinary issues might be considered pre-existing conditions, but it doesn't hurt to do some research. Push comes to shove, if your vet accepts CareCredit, that's a pretty simple process through the CareCredit website. I know it's never great to incur more debt, but....

Good luck - when my boy had problems peeing I had a holiday trip to the e-vet myself...I know that feeling of 'just take my credit card, don't even tell me what it costs' feeling.

Some good news to report. My little guy is feeling much better. Gave the meds a chance to kick in and do their job, and they did just that. He had a recheck yesterday and everything looked good according to the vet. Still no real clear ideas on what EXACTLY is the cause of his problems. No stones, no crystals...x-rays didn't show any drastic anatomical flaws...

Here's to hoping the Royal Canin SO will prevent this from happening in the future.... Thank you for all of your advice and well-wishes!

I thought I'd share my experience dealing with my cat's FLUTD.

A few months ago I came home from a weekend trip, and found pools of blood all over the apartment, and my cat walking in a funny, hunched-over manner. The following week was an absolute nightmare as my cat continually peed blood on my bed, the floor, and carpets--anywhere but the litter box. When he did attempt to urinate, he would howl with pain. It was horrible. After bringing him to the vet, he was diagnosed with FLUTD.

The vet said that the best treatment was to put him on a strict diet of canned "Royal Canin SO. " This didn't sit well with me since this is a non-organic brand. I avoid non-organic foods myself as I'm just not willing to consume the pesticide residues on the government's assurance that it's okay (same assurance they gave cigarette smokers for several decades). I also just didn't like the idea of feeding my cat the same pre-packaged, non-fresh stuff for the rest of his life (imagine a human living on baby food or a protein shake his whole life).

On a whim, I called up a local natural pet food store and told them my problem. They asked me if I had ever tried feeding my cat raw food. I said that I had (a slight fib, since I fed him mostly dry organic kibble, and only raw from time to time as a treat). They said that they were very surprised to hear that he had FLUTD considering that I had fed him raw.

I then remembered that the cat's symptoms had seemed to subside briefly the 2nd day of the nightmare week, about 6 hours after I had given him a raw treat.

After this advice, and considering the evidence, I put him on a 100% raw diet (I had a bag in the freezer the whole time, from which I fed him the occasional treats). I also forced some drops of apple cider vinegar down his throat (I had heard about that home remedy on a forum).

Suffice to say that in 24 hours, all FLUTD symptoms disappeared completely. His apparent health and urination returned to normal. After a few weeks I stopped forcing him to drink the apple cider vinegar.

A month later, I tried putting him back on a dry diet for the weekend (I had to go out of town). When I returned, he had started to pee blood again. I immediately returned him to a 100% raw diet, and he has never had a problem since.

I understand there are some folks out there who have an aversion to raw food or have heard horror stories. All I can say is that I am not a fanatic, I just want to share the story of how my cat was saved in the hopes that this information could save others. I have read other forum postings recently about pet owners whose cats were killed by FLUTD, and they never tried raw food. Mine was cured within 24 hours, so you will find out quickly if it works for you or not, I think.

I do not grind my own food. I buy bags of Primal. The food comes pre-blended in little frozen biscuits. Unfortunately it is not cheap ($20 and up per bag, which lasts about 3 weeks), but I am one of those pet owners who really loves his pet, so to me it is worth it.

I hope this story and info can be of help to others!

Ben Miller

P.S. By the way, on someone's recommendation, I do sometimes feed him a canned food called "Abady Apex 2", good for FLUTD cats, mainly when I go out of town for the weekend and can't leave him raw food. He's never had a problem or relapse with this food.

What type of primal do you give your cat?

what kind of primal do you give your cat?

I give him the Primal for Cats Turkey Formula, and Rabbit Formula (Turkey is the cheaper of the two).