Cystitis AGAIN? :(

Hello all,

My cat Tripper is running from box to box and squirting a bit in each again.  He was JUST seen in mid- October for having cystitis while on Purina UR canned food.  Then the emergency vet got the catheter stuck in him, and an emergency surgery was needed to remove it.  While doing so, they cleaned out his bladder of the crystal fragments.  It was determined that he has struvite crystals.  He's been on Hill's c/d food ever since.  

Tonight?  Right after dinner, he's been running from box to box again, and licking his genitals again.  Along with that, he is jetting out of the box at breakneck speeds, running up and down the stairs, and the visiting the boxes again.  He IS peeing, just in small spurts.  I can tell which ones are his, and it seems he had bigger pools of pee earlier.  

I will call the vet tomorrow to inquire, but at this rate.. can ANYTHING else be done for him?  I mean, this is crazy.  He was just seen and he had finally gotten better, and it seems to be back again?  He's been on Purina UR and now Hill's c/d  food.  What else can be done at this point food-wise??

I'm completely hesitant to take him over to the emergency vet at this point, I'm rather tapped out of money (he's had the surgery, then allergies, then a bout of gasteroenteritis from eating paper towels, which required an ultra sound).. and I'm afraid of another catheter getting stuck in him again.  Post-op was traumatic to both him and me.

Do cats get back to back cystitis?  And if so, what can I do to help prevent it?  He's on c/d food, and have been taking zylkene supplements (for stress relief.  I also gave him a teaspoon of pumpkin and yogurt in his dinner to help with his GI issues.  There are Feliway plugins all over the house.  If there are stress outside of the house while I'm at work, there really isn't much I can do about it.   I'm.. sorta out of ideas at this point.  

Thoughts??

- Grace

Some cats just re develop it. Is he still on prazosin? Mine had the same thing in October and my vet still has him on it every other day. Your may need to just stay on it. Is he making any noise in the litter box? Have you checked his genitals for any signs of blockage? If you press on his bladder does he seem painful?

He was on Dasuquin for a good long time, along with Zylkene for stress relief.  The dasuquin ran out a few weeks ago, so he's been on only zylkene and c/d can food (with added water).  I left a VM with the vet office to get more dasuquin to see if it helps.

He's not making any noises in the box.  Just steps in, squirts a few drops, and zips back out.  Started today.. not sure when since i didn't notice it until after I fed them tonight.  He definitely wasn't doing this the days prior to tonight, so this might have started earlier today.  His genitals looks normal, but he's been licking it several times tonight.  And he was NOT a happy camper when I held him earlier to inspect him, but that's also not odd because he has very low tolerance levels to being held and gets hissy/growl-y pretty fast.  

I guess my vet opted for the serious drugs prazosin and buprenex. I was so scared I didn't really care what they gave mine as long as it worked. The dasuquin may need to be supplemented with something else to help him go for the time being, that is not a natural remedy. Looks like more inflammation than normal now or it came back after you stopped. I'd watch him closely if
you are waiting until the morning.

Oh, sorry.. my vet ordinarily does prescribe buprenex and clavamox to deal with the issue.  But she and the emergency vet both suggested the other supplements to help with stress and bladder health.  The emergency vet also had him on urethra relaxers as well.  I'm not sure what my vet would suggest, will have to wait for the vet to call me tomorrow morning (or more like, I will be calling once they open..)

What does dasuquin need to be supplemented with?  I was just given that from the emergency vet to help with the bladder.  

I wish I was a vet but I'm not so I can't really answer that. What I can tell you is that my vet told me this disorder in male cats has a psychological component where they associate pain with peeing and stop peeing
even at the slightest bit of pain. The pain meds are to get them over that association. I'm sure female cats have this issue too but to a lesser extent just due to anatomy. It seems your kitty is doing a lot of hesitating.

Cranberry extract may be helpful - it has saved me numerous vet visits with my guy (however, he does not have crystals - just infections and protein blockages).

Another supplement is a line my work carries and promotes, I have extremely good feedback on the entire line of 25 supplements and fully back it. It is called naurpet kidney care.

http://www.naturpet.com/en/internal-organ-care/8-kidney-care.html

If you live in western Canada I can help you find a store, U.S. .... You might need to order online or look for something with the same ingridents.

Get him on a wet food only diet ASAP.  My kitty has been 3 years of wet food and no flare ups, dry food just causes flare ups, even the prescription diet dry food.

Either do a prescription wet food diet or a wet food designed for kitties and crystals (Weruva is what my guy gets). 

If you catch it early enough you can flush out the crystals and save your self a vet visit. Pretty much by feed a wet food only diet you make him go pee enough that crystal never have  chance to form or the few that do get flushed out before they cause major issues. 

Also get a water fountain as it encourages kitties to drink more water then they would normally.

I've successfully avoided vet visits in the past for urine tract infections by going to a wet food diet. (And in myself too, by greatly increased my water intake)

However be prepared to go the vet if it doesn't clear up, or if you are unsure at all. It can very easily become a blockage and that gets very expensive. A lot of times the antibiotics don't help kitties with crystals and bladder infections but the extra fluids they give them. 

Slipped and slided my way to the vet with my very displeased cat this morning.  But vet wanted to see him and make sure he wasn't blocked. (he wasn't)  They were unable to get any urine from him since he's been peeing it out after multiple runs to the box.  So I left the vet with Clavamox, phenoxybenzamine and the 2 supplements (zylkene and dasuquin.)  The vet didn't give him pain meds and said that it should clear in a few days.  He's had the clavamox and phenoxybenzamine and is already calmer, and not running to the box nonstop.  He's resting up now.

Vet thinks he has IC, idiopathic cystitis..   OR he was still suffering from it, but the supplements were helping him feel well.  I have no idea at this point?  Vet says that if it doesn't calm down or he has another bout of it, he'll need to get ANOTHER ultrasound.  He just got one early December.    

He's been through worse situations in the past and never got sick.  I went through selling a house with strangers coming in and out of the house, and 2 other moves after that.  So now that things are peaceful, he is now sensitive?  UGH.  A complete mystery.  I need a cat therapist.  

Reikitty:  All 3 of my cats are on wet-only food.  He is on c/d CANNED food with 2TB of added water every meal, which is about 4TB of water plus a can of wet food a day.  So water isn't the issue from what I can see?    They are on wet only diet ever since they first got UTI/cystitis back in 2011.  Since then, it's been wet only.

My cats can't do fountains, tried, they just ran away and stayed away from it.  Yes, of all things, they are frightened of the fountain.  

peeka73 said:

 
  I need a cat therapist.  

Click to expand...

 Ha! Tell me about it.

That's good he's on a wet food diet. Alot people don't do it.

And he is getting plenty of water too. Darn it. Try a different diet, maybe he has a sensitivity to the C/D food causing the issue. If you want a prescription diet try the S/O wet food see if he still has issues. Or try a non-prescription diet food.

I've had kitties scared of the fountains too... maybe try a different design and put it somewhere else in the house so they get used to the noise and then slowly let them get used to it?

I am so glad he is calmer and doing better. Try to encourage his water intake I just multipled my waterbowls all over the house until mine was out of the woods and as everyone suggests put him on wet food. The more fluid the better for his urinary tract?

He seems to be back to normal.. which is REALLY fast.  But I'm not complaining!    He is no longer running in and out of the box.  I think I caught it early and with the drugs, it's helping him.  Phew.  

Thanks for everyone's concern and help.  

And this is the evil little brat.  

peeka73 said:

 
Hello all,

My cat Tripper is running from box to box and squirting a bit in each again.  He was JUST seen in mid- October for having cystitis while on Purina UR canned food.  Then the emergency vet got the catheter stuck in him, and an emergency surgery was needed to remove it.  While doing so, they cleaned out his bladder of the crystal fragments.  It was determined that he has struvite crystals.  He's been on Hill's c/d food ever since.  

Tonight?  Right after dinner, he's been running from box to box again, and licking his genitals again.  Along with that, he is jetting out of the box at breakneck speeds, running up and down the stairs, and the visiting the boxes again.  He IS peeing, just in small spurts.  I can tell which ones are his, and it seems he had bigger pools of pee earlier.  

I will call the vet tomorrow to inquire, but at this rate.. can ANYTHING else be done for him?  I mean, this is crazy.  He was just seen and he had finally gotten better, and it seems to be back again?  He's been on Purina UR and now Hill's c/d  food.  What else can be done at this point food-wise??

I'm completely hesitant to take him over to the emergency vet at this point, I'm rather tapped out of money (he's had the surgery, then allergies, then a bout of gasteroenteritis from eating paper towels, which required an ultra sound).. and I'm afraid of another catheter getting stuck in him again.  Post-op was traumatic to both him and me.

Do cats get back to back cystitis?  And if so, what can I do to help prevent it?  He's on c/d food, and have been taking zylkene supplements (for stress relief.  I also gave him a teaspoon of pumpkin and yogurt in his dinner to help with his GI issues.  There are Feliway plugins all over the house.  If there are stress outside of the house while I'm at work, there really isn't much I can do about it.   I'm.. sorta out of ideas at this point.  

Thoughts??

- Grace

Click to expand...

So sorry about the back to back cystitis.  My cat, Kleo, has had constant bouts of cystitis since I rescued her in 2006 when she was 4 months old.  I have lost all faith in vets and have had bad experiences with many of them.   She has seen several different ones over the years and every one of them does something different.  I have never had her on anything for stress as she's the baby and following me around . I'm not sue I believe the stress part, but it depends on the cat.   I was feeding her Royal Canin SO but stopped that and went to Friskies Special Diet, Turkey & Giblets, since I didn't see any difference in the ingredients and price was a factor.  Now they have discontinued the special diet, so I haven't decided what to do as I still have a case of the Special Diet left.  I may be forced to go back to the Royal Canin.  .  As to her last bout of cystitis, which occurred a month after she had been treated, I went online and read apple cider vinegar was good for that.  So I gave her 1/4 teaspoon mixed with her food twice a day (that now has been cut back to 1/4 once a day), plus a Dasuquin tablet sprinkled on her food every day.  The new vet I went to also added to that some Chinese herb which she was taking every day, called Si Miao San.  Both the Dasuquin and the Chinese herb is supposed to line and protect her bladder.  The apple cider vinegar brought her PH down to 6.    I stopped the Chinese herb a couple of months ago because she vomited a couple of mornings and when I quit that, it stopped.  It's worth a try for anyone wanting to do this as it cost me plenty to get this far.  

The pumpkin is great for GI issues and luckily, Kleo is my only cat that loves it.  If any of the other 3 get ill, I have to hand feed them whether they like it or not.  I had a cat that had kidney failure and kept him alive for 7 years.  The first month I hand fed him every few hours with a syringe.  When he could handle that, I started feeding him the kidney prescription wet formula by hand, 1/4 can 4x a day for a year.  If I had not of hand fed him, he would have died.  I also had to give him subQ fluids 2-3 times a week.

You can go online and read about the apple cider vinegar, it has to be organic with the Mother.  Also, as to the Dasuquin, you can get a cheap price online but my vet matched the price, so that worked out.  I may try introducing her to the Chinese herb again.  What has everyone else been feeding their cats with cystitis.

Hello, I have some information regarding Cystitis.  My male cat has it, nothing worked.  I am a firm believer in natural health so I started putting a couple of drops of Olive Leaf Extract in his food, it stopped the infection withing a day!  I wasn't sure if Olive Leaf was doing the healing, so I stopped for a couple of days & the infection came back pretty quick.  Olive Leaf heals a lot of things & is safe for animals.  I was pretty amazed that going to the vet did nothing & Olive leaf Tincture worked.  I also know of an amazing herb out there that heals kidneys problems, if anyone interested - let me know & I'll send the information.   I even called the vet back & spoke to receptionist to tell her of the powerful herb that saved my cat but the vet didn't contact me, shame really because for those that have a pet in misery with Cystitis, such a simple solution & less cost to the owner.

Hazel

Hello, try Olive Leaf Extract, it worked like a charm on my male cat.  Nothing else works.  Just a few drops in his food every day & it won't come back!

Hazel

Mine is prone to stress related cystitis as well so he now gets Zylkene once a day and Seraquin supplement (glucosamine) twice a day along with his more hardcore meds for his distended bladder problems. Seraquin sounds like something possibly similar to the Dasuquin you mention. Aside from the supplements we have been "training" to deal with stress. I got a cat stroller and we now go for regular walks around the neighborhood with the stroller or sometimes with just a harness and lead. He sees a lot of new things and people, chases after birds, etc, and I hope that getting used to these new experiences will help him to not be freaked out by new things in general that might otherwise stress him out.