Chronic cystitis/please help

Hello, I have a 4 year old female cat who's been having a problem with chronic cystitis.  Her Blood work is normal and otherwise she is healthy but for the past few months she's had two flare ups of cystitis and she's had two other cases of it in the past year.  The vet said it could be from the weather change but it seems like when ever she goes to the vet for an appointment or to get her nails clipped that's when her cystitis flares up.   I don't know if she's nervous about going or sometimes after her nails get clipped I see her licking her nails and it looks like she eats a piece of the nail that sheds off, the vet said this would cause a digestive problem not a urination problem but I don't know.  I'm so confused on what to do every time she has a flare up the vet gives her an antibiotic or anti inflammatory shot that works but I know they can cause damage in the long run.  I have feliway in the house for her and I am going to try and clip her nails here but I hate the fact that she is healthy but this keeps happening.  If anyone has any help for me I would greatly appreciate it.   

Chronic cystitis is often caused by exactly what you've identified - stress.

There are a couple of things you can do. First, and most important!, ensure your girl is getting as much water as you can; if she on kibble, switch her to canned, and add a bit of warm water to all her canned meals. Second, if she has an active case right now, she probably needs a pain killer or anti-inflammatory agent, as cystitis is usually pretty painful.

Dr. Hofve has an article you might find helpful: Urinary Tract Disorders in Cats. After you read it, maybe you can have another discussion with your vet?

Good luck!!! Chronic, painful conditions are NOT what we want our furbabies going through!

AC

My female cat (2.5 year old) has FLUTD, basically, difficulty urinating, similar to what your cat is experience.  It is stress induced; flare ups occurred when I had a bunch of repair work done in my house by several men and when I went away on a five-day vacation.

Like AC said, the more liquids she drinks, the better; nix the dry food entirely and switch to wet food (avoid canned seafood, though). 

In addition to Feliway, I recommend "Rescue Remedy" (Bach's is the best brand).  It's like a homeopathic destresser, you add it to water or mix it with food.   Also, believe it or not playing soft music ('new age', harp), especially when you're not at home, helps a lot.  I did all three the last time I had repairs done in my house, and Ritz did not develop a UTI.

Good luck; it's no fun for us humans when our four-legged love bugs are sick.

I have a boy with chronic, idiopathic cystitis (cystitis of unknown origin). He used to have flare ups with certain foods (anything with fish in it or cheap food) or when he was stressed. After 2 trips to the ER when he became blocked from the condition, we changed things up for him. He's on prescription food and as much wet food as he wants (and he loves wet food), and on prednilisone (a steroid) for the rest of his life. Now his only issue is that his immune system is weakened from the long term steroid use and he gets bladder infections about once a year. When that happens, he's put on antibiotics.

Giving a cat for cystitis does temporarily reduce the swelling in the bladder and does make them feel better for about 2-3 weeks. Usually if the cystitis is stress induced and the stress goes away, it is enough to treat the cat. An anti-inflamatory will have the same affect, as long as the cystitis is not triggered by a bacterial infection.

Cystitis is one of those diseases that can be triggered by multiple things and it can be maddening. If you're seeing a pattern when she gets it, the best thing to do is to watch for that pattern and correct what is causing it. For example, you said she gets stressed by vet visits and starts to bite her nails. Address the stress induced by vet visits thru things like Rescue Remedy and extra love and attention when she gets home. If you see her bit her nails for other reasons, do the same.

Thank you all so much for the advice. I am so thankful there are still nice healful people in the world like all of you.  I can not thank you enough.

Hello again everybody, I'm sorry I haven't been back to update you.  For a while Paulie seemed to be urinating perfect and I didn't want to come on here and jinks her from having another falres up but all of a sudden today she's back to going irregular, we did have a pretty bad snow storm yesterday so that's probably what caused her flare up.  I have to wait and talk to the vet on Monday but she mentioned once about putting her on Cosequin, does anyone know if this is a good idea.  the only thing that worries me is that Paulie is allergic to chicken so we couldn't use the cat ones she said we would have to use the horses unflavored ones.  Please help if you can, you guys all have such good information and Paulie is so important to me I will do everything I can to help her.

I had a kitty who had chronic urinary issues and found the folks on the Yahoo FLUTD list a great source of help and support.  You might want to join the group and see if they have any additional information to help you.  http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FLUTD/?yguid=353539644

stephanietx said:

I had a kitty who had chronic urinary issues and found the folks on the Yahoo FLUTD list a great source of help and support.  You might want to join the group and see if they have any additional information to help you.  http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FLUTD/?yguid=353539644

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The group moderator's cat has idiopathic [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]cystitis and is very knowledgeable about all forms of cystitis. It is probably the only online forum I feel comfortable wholeheartedly recommending. [/color]

Thank you both so much for that information! I will check it out right now.

One of the cat specialists that I took my boy to explained the research behind Cosequin. When researchers first did a study on the effects of Cosequin to help urinary issues in cats, they didn't do a "controlled" study. The cats that were put on Cosequin also had their diets changed at the same time. When the cats improved, they attributed the improvement to Cosequin. A later study controlled the variables, and put some cats on diet change only and others on Cosequin only. The cats with a diet change only improved and the cats on Cosequin only did not improve. Therefore, it was the diet that helped the cats in the original study.

Many vets are only aware of the earlier study, therefore there are a lot of vets out there that prescribe Cosequin for urinary issues. Unless your cat is older and has arthritis, don't bother spending your money on it, as it won't help.

I also recommend the Yahoo group on FLUTD. I used it for a while until I got Muddy's condition under control.

Thank you so much for that information i did join the group but they have to review your application first.   I'm so glad you got Muddy under control, how did you do it?  Do you know if Glucosamine is  the same as cosequine?   I have had so much trouble fnding a wet food that she is not allergic to, I found one by Solid Gold it's Tuna flavor with no chicken or guar gum in it which are two of her allergies, but then I read this fish based food should be avoided as fish is high in histamines, which can contribute to inflammation, and high in magnesium, which can contribute to crystal formation.  I found one by Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Lamb Canned Cat Food.
Lamb, Lamb Liver, Lamb Broth, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Eggs, Tricalcium Phosphate, Peas, Carrots, Lecithin, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Dried Kelp, Salt, Taurine, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Artichokes, Cranberries, Pumpkin, Tomato, Blueberries, Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale, Parsley.

But we still do not know all of her allergies so I would hate to try to give her a new food.  I don't know what to do.  I sometimes do add water to her dry food but sometimes it give her diahrea, should I use warmer water?  Thanks again for your help!

sorry to keep posting but when do you think I should call the vet?  She has already gone four times today and normally she goes just twice a day but sometimes when she has a flare up she's going every 5 minutes, would this ever go away on it's own if keep giving her more fluids or should I call before it gets really bad?  There have been sometimes when I take her into the vet and she gets worse after she goes.

Hi, MCP! I'm sorry your baby's having another flare-up! 

Cystitus is a painful inflammation (Urinary Tract Disorders in Cats), so I think the two things you might want to ask a vet for are pain relief and an anti-inflammatory.

It's good that you've switched your girl to canned, and that you're adding a bit of water to her food. You might try feeding her some of the Nature's Logic options, as the brand adds no synthetic vitamins, minerals or additives, which makes it a good canned choice for cats with commercial food sensitivities.

Hope this helps a bit!!

AC

Just chiming in really quickly as I have seen more often than not that the anti-inflammatory vets love to give for cystitis is Metacam - Meloxicam please, refuse that at all costs.
Especially since this is a recurrent issue and your kitty is taking it all the time.... Metacam is not approved for more than one use per life time as an injection, and this one use was already probably used during the spay (approved only for spays or bone surgery). NO oral dosage is approved - ever.

It is linked to Renal failure and death.

Vets, however love prescribing it - as it works FAST for UTIs. I was prescribed for Bugsy for the same thing; of course I refused it. My choice, for the pain, was a shot of a morphine derivative, used for pain, so he could pee. He also took antibiotics.
You can choose another anti-inflammatory - just NOT Metacam....

Aside from that, the advice above is great..... I just really wanted to note this.....

Thanks so much again for everyones help!  Does anyoone know if a cat is allergic to chicken if they would be allergic to eggs?

Also which canned food do you think would be the best choice...

I did add some water to her dry food but she threw up after eatting and I only gave her about six kibbles.  Sometimes when I fill my hand with water she drinks out of it, I'm going to try and do that throughout the day.

Thanks so much again!!!
 

MyCatPaulie said:

 I'm so glad you got Muddy under control, how did you do it?  Do you know if Glucosamine is the same as cosequine?  

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Glucosamine is a joint supplement that is one of the primary ingredients in Cosequine.

I got Muddy under control with a bit of trial and error. He actually saw 5 different vets in the early days of his disease and every last one of them had a different opinion on the matter. I took all their ideas, tried them one at a time for him and retained the ideas that worked for him.

When he has flare ups, he's put on a muscle relaxant, as his bladder has spasms that cause him pain. If the pain is bad, I also put him on a pain med. He was on sub-q fluids for a while also. Knock on wood, he hasn't had to take any of these for about 2 years.

His ongoing routine is this: prescription canned food in the morning (he eats about 2/3 of a can and his preference is Purina UR). The dry food that I put out for him is prescription also (Science Diet C/D). For dinner he gets more canned food. I use over the counter canned food that is a little better quality, but I never buy fish flavors. He gets 5mg of prednilisone every other day to help any inflamation. I keep his daily routine as stable as possible - fed at the same time every day, try to keep my own schedule the same, etc.

The last time I fed him a can of fish flavored wet food, he blocked and was rushed to the ER. The other time he blocked was the day DH and I were under a lot of stress ourselves and we were in and out all day, not getting home for the day until 1AM (a close friend was killed in a car accident that morning). Our stress and the stress of our changing routine caused him to stress and he blocked.

Note I didn't list all the things I tried and ruled out. I tried grain free food and it caused him to strain. I hate Purina and Science Diet foods, but those are keeping him healthy, so I stick with them. I tried different types of meds and what works for him is prednilisone. I tried anti-depressants and those made him whacky. It can be maddening working thru the combination of things to find what works for you. Don't give up and don't be afraid to challenge your vet or find a second (or third or fourth) opinion.

I'm so glad you got him undercontrol, you put so much work into helping him and it's paying off.  I'm sorry about that stressful event in your life that must have been terrible.  Thank you so much for all of your information. 

I'm so worried about finding the right canned food for her because she had a block and we had to take her to the ER vet when she was eatting the duck and green pea food, the vet there said it was probably too rich for her.

I did find a canned food by Natutral Balance that sounds pretty good, has anyone ever heard of this one...

http://TURKEY & GIBLETS FORMULA

Turkey, Turkey Broth, Chicken Liver, Poultry Giblets, Carrots, Ground Brown Rice, Salmon Meal, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Taurine, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Dried Cranberries, Carrageenan, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

It has chicken liver and poultry giblets in it but the food she's eating now has chicken fat it in and she does good with it so many she just has an allergy to chicken protein, woulf there be protein in chicken liver.  Also I found that website that said soley fish based food can lead to inflammation, right now she is eatting welless complete health, it has really helped her allergies but do you think there is too much fish in it, here are the ingredients...\

Salmon, Salmon Meal, Whitefish Meal, Rice, Ground Barley, Ground Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Deboned Turkey, NatUral Chicken Flavor, NatUral Fish Flavor, Cranberries, Olive Oil, Chicory Root Extract, Cranberry Extract Powder, Cranberry Fiber, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, lactobacillus Casei, lactobacillus Acidophilus, Taurine, Rosemary Extract

do you think it would help if I added in even a treat that had somthing other than fish it in, if I could find one that's she not allergic to like tyrkey?  Wellness has one Turkey & Salmon: Turkey, Salmon, Dried Chicory Root, Cultured Whey, Salt, Lecithin, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative

Sorry I am asking so many question, I just love her so much and she's my first cat so I learn somthing new from you guys every time I come on here are I'm so thankful for that.