FLUTD help?

Hi there! I have a 2yr old male cat who recently started having urinary trouble, no crystals, and was recently obstructed with a mucous plug. The vet thinks it's more inflammatory since his urethra was very small when the urinary catheter was passed, and the fact that the urinalysis showed no blood when I first noticed him having a problem and no crystals. I had recently changed his food maybe a month or two prior, so I'm in the process of changing it back, even if it wasn't dietary he never had a problem on the old food so why not. I've also upped his wet food intake from one in a while to twice a day as his main meal, adding water and glucosamine chondroitin in it. Before he got blocked he was on an anti-inflammatory/pain reliever for three days, as well as I have been separating him from the kitten who lately has been bothering the crap out of him (another reason why she thought it was inflammatory- because of the stress and the sudden urge for Figs to dart outside). What's probably not helping is a few days before he completely blocked we made a split decision to move, so keeping the environment less stressful is a little more of a challenge. 

Right now Figs is getting prednisone to hopefully decrease the inflammation, it's day three on the pred and the second day with no urinary catheter and Figs is still urinating small, frequent amounts in the litterbox. When I left in the spare room overnight the urine clumps seemed to be a little bigger, so I'm trying to keep him as calm and as stress free as possible. I'm trying to give the meds some time to work, and I'm defiently going to give my vet an update on Monday regardless if he's doing better, and I'm keeping an eye out to make sure he doesn't fully block again. But how long is too long that he still is urinating small frequent amounts? Also I'm seriously considering plugging in a feliway, it can't hurt right?

Is there anyone who could give me any other advise, or is having/had similar problems with their kitties? In a way I wish he did have stone or a bacterial infection, that way it could be cleared up with diet/antibiotics, but this is frustrating and is making me feel like a bad pet owner. If he reblocks again we may be considering a PU.

Hi! I am not familiar with the term PU- sorry for the ignorance but what does that mean?

My cat Bingley also struggles with this.  it can be a very frustrating problem :/ Unfortunately there is no easy magic solution.  You are not a bad pet owner, trust me.  I really believe some cats are just, for whatever reason, predisposed to this and there's nothing you could have done to make him not be predisposed to it.  However, now that you know what's going on, there are lots of things you can do/try to lower the chance of recurrences.  I do have to be honest though and tell you that, if he really doe shave FLUTD, is is something you are almost certainly going to have to 'manage' long term and that is not ever going to completely 'go away', though you can get it under control.  I don't mean he will necessarily block again, but he is likely to have issues with his bladder (and in most cases stress) long term, and this is something you are going to have to be prepared to work with.

With that said in many cats this is stress triggered, and with the apparently recent addition of a kitten and a move, it does not surprise me that he was set off :/

First I'd call the vet if you are concerned about the amount he is urinating, but as long as the total amount that he's urinating seems normal, i would not stress about if it's small frequent amounts or big not so frequent amounts.  I would only be really stressed if by 'small' amounts you mean one or two or three drops at a time.  if that is what is going on I'd probably bring him back to the vet. However, once a catheter is removed it' normal for urination habits to be slightly different, (and with FLUTD it is vert normal for cats to be urinating small frequent amounts even when not blocked) so if his total urine output is normal I would not worry about this.

Some suggestions going forward:

-Diet: If at all possible you need to get him onto an all wet diet, and he has to stay on it forever.  It seems you are already maybe trying to do this, but I would really not feed him any dry food at all other than maybe the occasional treat. Some vets recommend prescription food, and some people have good luck with this, so it may be something you want to talk to your vet about.

- Schedule and environment: You have to keep this consistent to the extent that you can. He should be fed at the same time every day,and to the extent that your life permits it you should try to be home at around the same time(s) every day, etc.  To the extent that you can, avoid things that 'trigger' him.  This will vary depending on the cat, but some typical examples are having guests, travelling, and so on. Avoid adding any more animal to the house if possible, and if you have to then make sure introductions are done properly and slowly. If you have to move again, introduce him to the house slowly, one room at a time.

Obviously you are not going to be able to 100% plan your life around a cat, but the more consistency the better the chances that he will have fewer episodes.

-You have to play with him every day, absolutely as much as you can. I'd recommend a minimum of twice a day, a minimum of 15 minutes each time, but if you can do more that's great, and if you can't do that  much just do as much as you possible can. Rotate his non-interactive toys so he's less likely to get bored.

-Make sure he has scratching posts, window perches if possible, and places to climb., Also give him some hiding places in case he wants them.  

-In terms of the other cat, try permenantly giving them separate places to eat. That can reduce stress in some cats.  They should have AT LEAST 3 litterboxes between them.  He should have multiple places he can get water from.  Some people have good success with a fountain, and I'd add a few water bowls at other places in the house besides where his currently is (if you don't have multiple ones already).

-The boxes should be cleaned every day at a minimum.  If you can clean them more than once a day, that can help some cats too. 

-Feliway helps some cats.

-If it is a stress issue, anti anxiety meds can help when he is having episodes or seems stressed.  Anti-spasmodics also help some cats during episodes.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

We just went through the FLUTD with our cat Louie and in his case, we had to get the PU (Perineal Uresthrostomy) surgery since he partially blocked/blocked 3.5 times in less than 3 weeks.  We just took his e-collar off 3 days ago!

I just want to say that I am sorry that your cat is going through this!  It was very tough to watch our little guy go through this...and recovery from surgery took about 5 weeks since he would try to get the sutures and ended up inflaming the area.  My husband and I took turns watching him 24 hrs a day...thank God I have my own business and was able to schedule clients evenings/weekends.  It is a major commitment and Louie had the crystals as well as a smaller than average opening in his urethra.  There was also some damage to his penis from catherization which was making things very painful for him.  It has been a long and hard journey, but I am so glad that we were able to do this for him.

I understand your frustration, but believe me, you don't want stones! My 1 cat had stones that did not resolve with diet, so surgery was needed. My other cat has had 4 bouts of FLUTD. 2 blockages, 2 cystitis (inflammation with no crystals). I agree that Feliway is worth a shot. Is there anywhere else where the kitty can stay during the move if its not over? For me, we bring them over to my parents house so they don't deal with the ruckus.

With him, it usually takes a week for relatively normal urine flow to return. As long as it doesn't get worse, its ok. The bladder is inflammed, so it makes the cat feel like he needs to constantly go, leading to lots of little pees. Rather than under normal circumstances where they don't feel that urge constantly, so they'll go less often, but in larger amounts. As per my vet, my cat eats 100% wet food now. He eats half Hills c/d & half Weruva wet. 

Why was he on an anti inflammatory and pain medicine before he blocked? Was it because you saw symptoms, brought him in & he ended up blocking anyway? Or was that for something unrelated?