Cat with chronic crystals/UTI issues.. WWYD?

kady05

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I've posted here before about my cats issues, but not for quite some time. I thought I'd come back to try to get some opinions from others. This will be long, I apologize in advance.

Some back story.. Sneak will be 6 in November. His UT issues started in '08, then again in '09. Both times they were classified as UTI's, no crystals were found. Those times we treated with antibiotics and switched him to a prescription food for 30 days and he was fine.

Then in May '11, he got really bad. To the vet we go, no crystals, just blood in the urine, so another UTI type deal. Given Clavamox. He didn't improve enough for my liking, so back to the vet. Another urinalysis done, switched to a different antibiotic. Gave that 4 days, still not enough improvement. Back to the vet. Given an antibiotic injection that was the equivalent of 2wks. worth of meds. Also prescribed the prescription food again (Royal Canin SO, wet only). That did the trick, or seemed to anyway.

3wks. after that, not right again. Back to the vet, this time urinalysis showed crystals. So he went on Science Diet S/D then. And finally he seemed better, so switched back to the C/D (since S/D isn't meant for long term). That lasted a little over a year. In fact, I was so happy with how he was doing that I switched him off the C/D wet, and put him on Before Grain wet, still getting the C/D dry. He did fine with that for a few months, so I decided to try him on the Before Grain dry as well, all seemed fine! Btw - I always float his kibble (he gets that in the AM) in water and he eats it fine, I also have a water fountain that he likes. Gets wet food in the PM. He is NOT a huge fan of wet food, I can barely get him to eat 1/4 can (5.5oz. can) of wet at night.

Fast forward to the end of July, I could tell he wasn't right again. So back to the vet we go at the beginning of August. He didn't have any urine for them to test then, so was put on a weeks worth of Clavamox, and back on the C/D. After a few days on the meds., he seemed better. But once they were finished, there were some days I could tell he was a little "off", others he seemed fine.

Went for a recheck and a urinalysis Thursday and go freaking figure, he has crystals again. Vet wants me to switch him to Royal Canin SO (which of course, is A LOT more expensive; $58 for a case of 24 cans) and do another urinalysis (another $75) in 4-6wks. If he still has crystals, they want to do an x-ray to check for stones.

He's not miserable, but it can't feel great to have crystals! I'm to the point where I'm considering putting him down.. I feel terrible for thinking that, but I also feel terrible that he keeps getting these reoccurring issues and now even has crystals on a food that's supposed to prevent crystals! I'm also not made of money :/ I just don't know what to do anymore.
 

whollycat

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Here are a couple websites and their "urinary tract issues" pages that may help quite a bit, including advice on what you can do: Catinfo.org and Holisticat.com. It sounds to me like your boy has IC (idiopathic [unknown cause] cystitis), not a UTI--unless your vet found bacteria and did a culture and sensitivity to determine what bacteria and prescribed the correct antibiotic for it. I will say that it is pretty rare (1-2%) for there to be an actual UTI (urinary tract infection) with kitties, but vet's still prescribe antibiotics without determining first if there actually is a UTI.

I have used the advice from Holisticat (including supplements, etc. to help in managing my Abby's IC) and Catinfo when my boy, Abby, had an awful bout with IC, with one subsequent flare up that was managed quite successfully and resolved that same day.

The top/best advice I can give you 1) is to feed no kibble (dry) food, and 2) give lots of water by mouth and added to canned food--especially in the acute phase. And 3) avoid any stressors. More on all three below.

You might consider, with your vet's instruction, giving sub-Q fluids (LRS--Lactated Ringers Solution) during the acute phase--could start with 50mL per day to help flush out the crystals and sediment. FWIW, I found that adding this additional amount of water to food and syringed via mouth was less stressful for Abby. These many years later I still add additional water to our [raw] diet for all my kitties--and have had no recurrences of IC for Abby. <knock on wood!>

It is vitally important that you get your boy off kibble and transition to a grain-free, no fruits/veggies (they alkalize urine, which you do NOT want) canned. Boy kitties, more so than girl kitties, can block so easily because of the much narrower and longer urethra, and therefore this can be life threatening for them.

TRANSITIONING to grain-less, not fruits/veggies canned food: The above websites also have links to transitioning kitties from kibble to canned (think there is a link here at TCS, but couldn't find it). It is well worth the effort to transition to a canned (or balanced raw) diet. (My boy Abby's photo is actually on this transitioning page with the caption, "No kibble! Is she trying to kill me?!".
Believe me, I think he actually thought that!
) I know there is a lot of information here at TCS on transitioning by other members, so just do a search if those two websites don't provide enough info on transitioning, or post a new topic here at TCS on transitioning your sweet boy. Like I said, it is well worth the effort over the long term to do this. I would hate to see you consider PTS just because of your poor boy's IC, when it can be managed if you follow the advice given by members here and on those other websites.

The third thing I would ensure is that your kitty is not stressed and identify and deal with any stressors right away. For example, my Abby's stressors: Both times Abby developed IC, there was an outside stressor-- a feral kitty fight, and a feral kitty that actually latched onto one of our screens wanting in.
I learned to be more diligent and close windows right away if anything was going on outside.


Oh! And one more thing: talk to your vet about getting a pain med, such as Buprenex, to use for your boy when he is in pain from this during the acute phase. Just me, but I started with half the dose my vet recommended, and that worked well; I didn't want Abby "zoned out" or agitated (side effects) while on the med. Each kitty is different though, so you need to be the judge in that regard.

Hope this helps a bit! Please don't give up on your boy!
 

flintmccullough

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I already been thru this, only going to say it once, and not going to argue with anybody about it.  


Royal Canin SO and Hills Science Diet do not work, because, they have grains in them, grains are one of many causes of crystals/urinary/bladder issues, its the biggest one. You have to feed them a grain freed food, and you have to feed them wet, you have to keep them flushed out, cannot stress this enough.

You mix the wet, with water, so its real soupy, twice a day, this, keeps them flushed out. If kitty won't eat wet, then feed a grain freed dry food, but mix 1 teaspoon, Gerber baby food, chicken or turkey only, with water, so its like a broth, twice a day.

You cannot use tap water, it has too many minerals in it, you have to use purified drinking water, not spring water, not distilled water, but purified drinking water, the store brand gal jug is like $1.00, or some use Brita, some use PUR.

Kitty boxes, and you need as many as you have kitties, some say even one more.  Boxes should be large, not covered, picked every day, scoopable is better than the clay, and boxes should be in a quiet out of the way area.

Do Not feed any fish flavored foods or treats, fish is one of the many causes of issues.

Look at the stress in your household, stress is another biggie.

If you keep them flushed out, it flushes out the crystals, and keeps the urinary ph lower, so it doesn't burn the bladder walls.

His issues keep coming back, because you feed dry and you feed Hills and/or RC.

They need to do a urinealisys, and if there is bacteria in there and the antibiotics are not working, then look at another family, or a stronger one, like Baytril.

The shot that lasts 2 weeks, is Convenia.  Many have had issues with it, and unless one has no other choice, you want to avoid it. Some have reactions to anitibiotics, in that case, you would take them off it. Once the shot has been given, and kitty has a reaction, its already in there, and you are sca-rood.

Do the urinalisys, do a CBC and Wellness blood panel, to check the BUN and Creatinine levels.

He was blocked when he was 2 yrs old. He was put on Hills Science Diet SD to disolve the crystals, CD to manage them, the crystals came back, so I did extensive reseach. He gets wet only, grain free, no more issues, been 5 yrs. 

Best of luck, soory had to rush this, supper is almost ready, lol. 
  


p.s. read the cat info.org site, the prev poster gave you, its a good site.     
 

whollycat

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If kitty won't eat wet, then feed a grain freed dry food, but mix 1 teaspoon, Gerber baby food, chicken or turkey only, with water, so its like a broth, twice a day.
I would add that if you go this route, make sure the baby food does NOT contain onions in any form in it. I would disagree somewhat with doing the kibble except in a transition where amounts of kibble are slowly decreased, to grain-free, no fruits/veggies canned food. But I do get Flint's idea and it could work to get more water into your boy. The use of a no-onion baby food could be used in the transition if he likes the meat baby food. If my confirmed older kibble head, Abby, could be transitioned from kibble to canned food then to raw, any kitty can be transitioned from kibble to better food.
Seriously, I got so many roadblocks by Abby when transitioning that I wasn't sure we'd ever get off the kibble--patience and persistence paid off in the end. Transitioning from canned to raw went much smoother as he hardly put up any resistance at all. Not saying you should feed raw because that's not for everyone.
 
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blueyedgirl5946

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I have had two male cats with struvite crystals.  They were given filtered water from the faucet.  They were both  put on prescription food S/D and later C/D or W/D for maintenance.  They were not allowed to eat anything else, ever.  Speedboat lived to be 14 and died of  unknown causes, not kidney.  Muffin is now 12.  He has recently had liver cancer, but his kidneys are in great shape.  Because of all he went through with his surgery for the cancer, he has been put on Purina UR canned food, but on occasion eats the W/D.  This diet worked for both my cats.  I hope you find something that will work for yours. 
 
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kady05

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Thanks for the replies all. I will read through them more thoroughly tomorrow morning. I did want to mention that I'm not adverse to trying raw (or a pre-made raw) on him. I feed my dogs a prey model raw diet, actually. Just haven't switched my cats over because they're so picky.. and again, I'm incredibly paranoid about switching Sneak to anything new based on past experiences.
 
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