Update on my Kitty (FLUTD)

So we went back to the vet today for my Kitty's follow up appointment.  

Here is his history/story on where we started: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/268415/kitty-has-his-first-uti-what-to-do-from-here#post_3447522  (Male, neutered, almost 11yrs old)

But anyway, he has been doing a lot better, eating, drinking, playing, purring, back to his normal self for the most part! He's still licking a little after peeing but only directly after, and this is what the vet said:

She did a full urinalysis again and said that everything looked a lot better, that there was no longer any sign of infection, or blood, but that there was some protein in his urine, but nothing she was concerned about right now. (not sure what this means? I should have asked 

 )

She also said that there were still some crystals in his urine but since he has been peeing a steady stream and isn't straining or anything that to just continue with the Hills Prescription c/d diet and just watch him. The actual diagnosis from her was FLUTD, which I have read some about on here. 

He is on the c/d dry and if you have read my other posts you might have saw that I started him on just small cans of the fancy feast to introduce him to wet food. Well, I went ahead and picked up the c/d wet food as the vet said he should be on just that diet, as it would be better for him. I'm going to trust her opinion as she really is a great vet and just see how it goes. I am going to keep the dry for nibbling, then feed the wet morning and at dinner just to get him started on a routine (which is what I've been doing and he seems to be working with it well so far)

But my ultimate goal is to keep him happy and healthy of course! He is back to playing a ton and running around like a maniac which is definitely a good sign, and he's also back to begging for my food, which he hadn't done in about a week and a half, so I knew he was definitely feeling better then. lol 

But if anyone has any familiarity with FLUTD and how you prevent it, then please feel free to let me know what you do with your kitties! I enjoy reading everyone's advice! 

Daisy

Glad you kitty is going better.
Ritz has FLUTD (and probable FHS), stress induced. She's had sturvite crystals (two times) about two years ago and bacteria based UTI (once, a few months ago). Knock wood, she hasn't had a recurrence.
So I try to do things that don't stress her: same daily routine, same food, same time, same litter, same litter box, cleaned litter box, no change in scents. Home same time during the week, to the extent possible.
I feed raw (frakenprey,prey model raw). I never fed a lot of dry food, and given her history, avoid fish based treats.
I use Rescue Remedy when I know something may stress her out, like repairmen coming. I also have Feliway plug ins three different places.
I have recently resumed giving her L-theanine, which is a relaxant, herbal supplement.
I wonder (hypothetically) if a cat can get use to Feliway and it looses its effectiveness. Her last UTI was bacteria based (not sturvite), not sure if that was stress-induced.
Play is an excellent stress reducer; unfortunately, Ritz has never really liked to play all that much, and only one type of game/toy.

You also want to make sure she gets a lot of water daily, both as a component to wet food but from other sources too.  Consider a pet water fountain, and possibly more than one water bowl. Dehydration = concentrated urine and crystal formation.

I add water to my boys canned food, maybe a couple tablespoons per feeding. i also give him cosequin on a daily basis. i have water fountains which encourage him to drink more. i feed an all canned food diet.

Ritz: With my kitty, it's hard to think it was stress induced: he's always been jumpy, his whole life, but our routine has always been the same, as in sporadic. My husband works nights, I'm home all day usually but we also travel to our in-laws every now and then, but he's been used to that for years. ( we also free feed so he eats when he's hungry, no schedule to his feeding) Nothing else really changed though (no new people, no new pets, no loud noises: we live near busy streets so there's noise but he's used to it all) so I don't see anything out of the usual in those aspects, plus he always has clean litter, same litter, etc. etc. So, it is possible it was his food.

We fed him Purina indoor dry forever, years and years with no problem, then this year we switched to the Purina Naturals and behold, an issue. I haven't taken the time to look at ingredients so I'm not sure if that was the sole issue, but that's my best guess. He plays like a nut and is constantly running around, so that makes me think it wasn't stress either (at least I hope it wasn't). But we will see. If the diet change works and he doesn't have anymore issues, we will know its the food. Hopefully we don't encounter any more issues though! 

stephenq: Yep! We make sure he has plenty of fresh water 24/7. We also have a fountain.

cprcheetah: I've been adding a little water to his canned food too, which doesn't seem to bother him, thankfully! He needs all the water he can get lol 

And an update: I tried the c/d wet food tonight, just half a can and he doesn't want anything to do with it. lol He knew it wasn't his fancy feast so he just turned away after sniffing and circling the plate about 15 times.