Cystitis

So I took my fuzzy man back to the vet the other night, as he has been avoiding his litter box again.  As background, he had a urinary blockage back in November, and had a rough recovery (uroabdomen).  He was still peeing, so I wasn't worried about another blockage, just something was off.

The doc thinks it is Cystitis.  He did a urinalysis and his crystals are under control (+5), only slight amount of bacteria (not enough to warrant treatment) and his pH is okay (6.5).  Lots of other numbers in there that I can't remember )  He gave him a shot of anti-inflammatory, and has him on prazosin for 5 days.  He is doing awesome so far, back to the litter box!  Woohoo for that!  He also gave us some pain meds, which I haven't used yet.  He really has been acting a lot better!

Anyway, the only thing I don't agree with is he wants to keep him on the Urinary S/O Dry food.  I convinced him to let me try a few days of wet prescription food to see if the extra water helps, but I don't think I am ever going to get an open ended script for that.  From everything I've read, the wet food is a must.  I also read that Cystitis can sometime be trigger by allergies - so I'd love to find him something better.

Any advice where to start?  I'm thinking rabbit (since that was recommended for allergies) and grain free.  Who would make such a thing?  And should I worry about it having an acidifying agent?  Or can I add that myself?  Or not worry?  

Ugh.  I wish the food companies paid more attention to these kitties!!

Oh, your poor fuzzy man. But I'm glad to hear that he is doing better, and also to hear that you are trying the best you can to find a good food to prevent future problems.

I feel a special concern for cats with chronic cystitis. I have interstitial cystitis - same symptoms as the cat form of the disease. You'll surely want to find a low-acid food with high moisture content. I use tuna water or the leftover water I boil chicken in to get my babies to drink more, if they need to. One of my girls will drink chicken broth from noodle soup, but I don't let her for long because of the sodium (she would drink the whole thing lol).

Stress is a huge trigger for cystitis. Keeping his environment calm and abstaining from any big changes will keep him happy, as well as some cuddles and maybe a kitty massage or kitty hair brushing. 

Hopefully someone soon can advise you as to choosing a good brand of food.

Moisture in the diet is key for urinary problems in cats.  I have 3 bladder kitties and have kept 2 of them under control with a canned food only diet and adding a couple of tablespoons of extra water to their meals.  This website has a lot of great information including information about diet choices.  http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth  I have never put one of my cats on a prescription diet for it.  My dog was on the Urinary SO and still had crystals.  I switched her to raw food and got rid of the crystals.  I am working on switching my cats to raw as well.  Definitely go grain free as carbohydrates can aid in crystal formation.

Wysong Au Jus makes Canned Rabbit.  I'm not sure whether or not it is 100% nutritionally complete or not, but you could certainly call them and ask.  They also sell supplements to make it complete, if it isn't.  AND, the also sell Au Jus in Venison and Duck, two other "non allergens".  Royal Canin also makes a hypoallergenic rabbit and pea cat food, both in dry and canned.  It is sold by prescription I believe

Other folks here (aside from cprcheetah) have gone the raw route for their cats with urinary issues.  I can't say that the cystitis went completely away, but know it greatly improved.