Healthy Cat Leaking Urine - HELP!

squince

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Alright, I need any sort of advice. My cat is about 4.5 and here's basically her story in a nutshell..
About 4 years ago when I adopted her, I noticed right away that she was dripping urine around the house. She'd be laying on my bed, move and there'd be a urine spot. She'd jump up on a window sill and there'd be a wet spot.
I took her to the vet and we started on a cycle of trying all kinds of medications to treat her for a UTI, bladder infection, etc. During that time, she started dripping blood, straining to go and then ended up having to take her to the ER twice because she was in so much pain. She was tested and had no blockage or crystals, she was just so inflamed she couldn't go and had to have a catheter. 
At some point, the vet decided to try a steroid to see if it would work.
It did work, to a point, but it didn't ever fix the problem. For the past 4 years, she's been on a near constant dose of steroid, prednisolone. The longest she's gone without dripping urine is about 6 weeks. Other than that, she'll go a few days or a few weeks and have to go back on. But as of late, she can't catch a break. She's been on this steroid nearly nonstop for months now. I'll start to wean her off and she just starts dripping again. Even when she's ON the medication, she's dripping.
Just recently, the vet tried an incontinence med used for dogs on her, called Proin. It made her so lethargic that I refuse to give her anymore and am now skeptical of trying any more medication.
She's otherwise healthy. Still uses the litter box, eats and drinks as well as I think she can! I feed her wet food every morning but she's super picky so she'll mostly just pick around it for the day. So I mean she's rather healthy. Occasionally, I wonder if she's expressing discomfort because of her situation, or if she's just being a wild cat. But she'll howl and run around the house. Either way, again, she's otherwise very healthy.
The vet is stumped as to what the cause is and how to solve it and I just worry that she could get really sick again. I want to find a solution for her, even if it means giving her something for the rest of her life. I just want something that will work! I see some bladder strengtheners on Amazon, also thinking of trying Feliway and a product called Leaks No More. I just hate spending more money on products that won't work for her. Obviously, I will give almost anything a try at this point, so want to see if anyone has heard of this before or has any suggestions!
 

denice

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I wonder if stress is the root cause especially with the other behavior that you are describing.  You could try some of the stress reducing things like running Feliway diffusers and there are some stress reducing supplements.  Jackson Galaxy has some holistic ones on his web site.  They are called Spirit Essences but there is a very limited distribution for store sales but they can be ordered from his website.  There are also some sold in pet stores.

A lot of people also swear by giving some interactive play each day to reduce stress.  It makes sense because exercise reduces stress for people.  It also gives an outlet for the prey drive.
 
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squince

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I wonder. I mean she doesn't ACT stressed but I always wonder if she has somewhat of a separation anxiety. And when I go to work, I wonder if she stresses out about it. 
Thanks for the suggestions! Will definitely look into them!

I did add some feliway items to my cart at Amazon to give a try. I just HATE how expensive they are, but if it works, I WILL SPEND THE MONEY! :)
 
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squince

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Argh! I had this all typed up and it disappeared.

I've now talked to my vet again, as Bella's leaking hasn't stopped and she's nearly out of her steroid. 

Well, he's now suggested putting her on this hormone replacement drug Diethylstilbestrol (DES). He said that he has never seen an animal with side effects, though I don't know how many he's prescribed it for. I'd like to think he's done enough to make a statement like that.
However, he did inform me of the side effects, and now after googling, it does worry me to read:

Although cats receive small doses of DES that are generally safe and effective, the drug can cause some serious side effects. In a worst-case scenario, DES administration results in suppression of the bone marrow, which could be fatal. It can also result in lesions in a cat's heart, liver and pancreas. Less serious side effects include vomiting and diarrhea, vaginal discharge, lethargy and increased drinking and urinating. For male cats, testosterone can result in aggressive behavior. For either hormone, it's important that your cat receive the lowest possible effective dose.

I know it's rare, but I would hate to put her health MORE at risk to treat one problem. This site did kind of counteract it, but it still worries me. The site said: 
 
Orally administered estrogen (diethylstilbestrol/DES) has historically been used the most for hormonal responsive urinary incontinence in dogs.  It appears that estrogens are required for maintenance of normal urethral alpha-receptor numbers.  DES is prescribed at 0.5 – 1.0 mg dose (0.5mg for dogs <15kg and 1mg for dogs > 15kg) PO q 24hr x 7 days.  The dosing frequency is gradually tapered to an every 5-7 day dosage over a period of several weeks.  When I use this drug in male dogs I recommend starting at one-half of this dose.
Potential side-effects include estrus, gynecomastia, and squamous metaplasia of the prostate in males.  The risk of bone marrow suppression is extremely minimal when DES is used appropriately.  In a 1940’s experimental study in Beagles, it took a 1mg dose every day for > 200 days to cause pancytopenia.

DES must be purchased from formulating pharmacies as it is not available commercially.  Injectable estrogens should never be used as they pose a much greater risk for bone marrow toxicity.  The human drug Premarin administered at 20 mcg/kg po q 4 days is a potential alternative to DES, however, the drug does not seem to be as effective in most patients.

I prefer DES to phenylpropanolamine (PPA) as my initial drug of choice for multiple reasons.  DES is administered less frequently.  DES results in consistent increase in urethral tone while PPA has an intermittent increase in urethral tone.  DES improves vaginal mucosal health.  DES is extremely safe.  PPA has more potential side effects including hyperactivity, hypertension and inappetance; PPA should not be used in patients with concurrent cardiac disease, renal disease, hyperadrenocorticism, or other diseases associated with hypertension.
The problem with this med is that I can't just get a sample from him, I have to get it from some pharmacy and I have to pay for shipping, etc. I'm looking at $40+ on a drug that, again, might not even work for her.

His second suggestion was an antidepressant called Imipramine but it also comes with side effects.

I asked him about glucosamine and he said he could prescribe something like that but isn't really convinced her problem is bladder related, and thinks it's incontinence. 

I don't know what to do at this point. I worry about side effects and trying yet another drug on her. 

I did just get my order today from Amazon that had some Feliway diffusers. I got a Feliway spray last week and she did NOT like it. I hope these diffusers don't have the same effect. I also got some Leaks No More and these Bladder Strength pills. The reviews were good and it sounds like no side effects on either. I don't know if I should just try these things for a while, or what!

What would you do in this situation? What's weird is, her problem hasn't been consistent. She had that one summer, about 6 months after I adopted her, where she got so inflamed and was dripping blood and straining and I had to take her to the ER twice. *Knock on wood* we haven't had that since but I worry about it all the time. Then she's been dripping almost non stop since, but at one point, she would go weeks with no dripping and then start again. So what is happening in those times where it seems to stop???? Was the steroid helping then and now just isn't?? It's sooooooooo unbelievably frustrating!!! 
 

sarah ann

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I would get a second opinion. Dripping blood is not normal.  Have they done bloodwork to check her kidneys?  I would want an additional urinalysis to check urine ph, and for crystals. Have they done X rays to look for stones?

Something is causing the inflammation you describe. I would want to make sure she doesn't have kidney stones or something further up.

Maybe get an abdominal ultrasound.

Leaking urine/incontinence is usually associated with a weak sphincter and should not cause blood. You definitely have something else going on. Something is causing that inflammation/blood.

I would try glucosamine or pentosan. If the bladder has ulcers (common in FLUTD), you need something to heal the area.

One study found that cats with FIC have smaller adrenal glands compared with healthy cats:

These results suggest that cats with FIC may have mild primary adrenal insufficiency. Decreased adrenal size has been observed in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, which can be a co-morbid condition in some patients with IC. If these abnormalities are confirmed in humans with IC, hormone replacement therapy may be indicated in select patients.

http://hsldigital.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/Indoorpetpublic/documents/hospital/indoorcat/westropp03.pdf
 
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squince

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Sarah -
I should reiterate, and knock on wood, that the blood dripping was that isolated incident. I still don't know the cause or reason, but it was 3 years ago and I haven't had that problem since, I'm just paranoid it will return because we/I don't know why that happened. According to her ER records, it sounds like she was just inflamed? She had no blockage then either, and they did a LOT of tests. 

She has had a LOT of tests. Blood work, urine tests, ultrasounds. I know one ultrasound showed sludge (?) in her bladder?? 
The many times she has been tested, there have been NO stones/crystals/blockages.

So that's why it's been so frustrating and confusing because she doesn't show normal signs/symptoms for ANYTHING. 

I trust my vet and I trust that he's not just trying to earn another buck and just prescribe medications. He's just as frustrated as I am and I trust and believe him when he says that. 

I think what I've decided for now is to just try the feliway and just try the items I have already (Leaks No More and these bladder strength tablets I found on Amazon). See if either of those seem to make a difference.
 
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