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I'm starting this thread after just reading another thread on here where someone had actually put their cat to sleep just because the cat had stones and its bladder was enlarged. I am actually upset that any vet would advise this to their client when this is such an easily corrected problem and I hope that noone else will listen to a vet like this and make this type of mistake. Any vet can easily correct this issue. The bladder only becomes enlarged because it's full of urine, which is easily expressed by vet once the stones are removed!
Let me start by saying that I have 4 cats, 2 who have cystitis (1 male and 1 female). This can be a very frustrating and even costly condition, but it is manageable and there is always hope. My female cat began having issues when she was around 5 , which is very common. The very first time I realized that she had any issue at all, I took her to my vet and found that she had large stones in her bladder which were non-passable and her bladder was enlarged. The vet performed a surgery to remove the stones and he emptied her bladder. You can find an inexpensive vet and mine charged less than $200 for this procedure. My cat was fine for afterward.
Several months later I noticed she was urinating blood. I took her in again and the vet thought she had an infection and put her on antibiotics. The medication did nothing for her and this went on for a few weeks. I brought her back each week to test her urine and after about 3 weeks, it suddenly corrected itself. He then diagnosed here with cystitis.
We put her on Hill's C/D. She had several more flare ups over the next 2 years, even being on the C/D. During some of her flares she had crystals in her urine, but the stones never returned. The vet told me that females VERY rarely get blocked because they have a much larger urethra. He checked every time to make sure she didn't have stones, which NEVER came back to this day (she is now 10 years old). He also told me that with cystitis of FLUTD there is rarely any bacteria so there is no need for antibiotics. He also said that as long as she as no stones she doesn't necessarily need to be seen because, as happened before, it can suddenly clear up on its own. After a while he switched her to Hill's W/D because she developed acid reflux which was aggravated by the c/d. She has had no flares for over 2 years.
One thing I want to mention is that everyone will tell you that the cat must eat wet food. While the vet did recommend this as a first choice, my cat refused to eat the wet food. So, he told me that I can feed her the dry, but just wet it a little (don't believe the blogs that tell you not to wet dry food because of bacteria- my vet actually laughed when I told him I had read this and said that is not true unless you don't change your cat's food daily-which who doesn't anyway?). To my surprise, my finicky cat ate it and has been all along. This proves that a cat can certainly eat the dry prescription food if they must, and it will still help. So don't worry yourself if the cat won't eat the wet food.
Another thing that I tried (which did help) was glucosamine. I read research that was conflicting saying it may help or may not, so I asked the vet about it and he said go ahead and try it. I had to buy a couple of different brands to find one that my cat would still eat her food with it on, but I finally found one. It comes in a capsule which you open and can sprinkle on the food. You can also try a product like Uromax, which is a liquid, if your cat is not picky (this is what the vet had recommended, but my cat wouldn't eat it). This, in combination with the dry prescription food (with water on it). These 2 things together seemed to stop her chronic cystitis after about 8 months. Like I said, she is now flare free for over 2 years and she had a severe, chronic case! She has now been off the glucosamine for about a year!
Now my male cat was just diagnosed last week. Males are of course different, because they have the danger of being blocked. But, if you take them to the vet AS SOON as you notice any urinating issues, it can be easily prevented. Again, no reason to put the cat to sleep because this is a very manageable condition! With my male the vet had to clear the blockage and he is now on the W/D as well. He was a feral for the first year of his life and he refuses to eat the canned food. So, again, I am giving him the dry w/d and wetting it a little. He also is eating this. He is not on any medication at all and doing fine so far. If he has another flare, I will start him on the glucosamine as well.
Moral of the story- find a good vet who knows about cystitis and is current on research. Don't ever think that you need to put a cat to sleep because of this very common, manageable condition. It is only deadly if it is ignored and leads to kidney issues. A few simple adjustments can manage this condition for life!
Let me start by saying that I have 4 cats, 2 who have cystitis (1 male and 1 female). This can be a very frustrating and even costly condition, but it is manageable and there is always hope. My female cat began having issues when she was around 5 , which is very common. The very first time I realized that she had any issue at all, I took her to my vet and found that she had large stones in her bladder which were non-passable and her bladder was enlarged. The vet performed a surgery to remove the stones and he emptied her bladder. You can find an inexpensive vet and mine charged less than $200 for this procedure. My cat was fine for afterward.
Several months later I noticed she was urinating blood. I took her in again and the vet thought she had an infection and put her on antibiotics. The medication did nothing for her and this went on for a few weeks. I brought her back each week to test her urine and after about 3 weeks, it suddenly corrected itself. He then diagnosed here with cystitis.
We put her on Hill's C/D. She had several more flare ups over the next 2 years, even being on the C/D. During some of her flares she had crystals in her urine, but the stones never returned. The vet told me that females VERY rarely get blocked because they have a much larger urethra. He checked every time to make sure she didn't have stones, which NEVER came back to this day (she is now 10 years old). He also told me that with cystitis of FLUTD there is rarely any bacteria so there is no need for antibiotics. He also said that as long as she as no stones she doesn't necessarily need to be seen because, as happened before, it can suddenly clear up on its own. After a while he switched her to Hill's W/D because she developed acid reflux which was aggravated by the c/d. She has had no flares for over 2 years.
One thing I want to mention is that everyone will tell you that the cat must eat wet food. While the vet did recommend this as a first choice, my cat refused to eat the wet food. So, he told me that I can feed her the dry, but just wet it a little (don't believe the blogs that tell you not to wet dry food because of bacteria- my vet actually laughed when I told him I had read this and said that is not true unless you don't change your cat's food daily-which who doesn't anyway?). To my surprise, my finicky cat ate it and has been all along. This proves that a cat can certainly eat the dry prescription food if they must, and it will still help. So don't worry yourself if the cat won't eat the wet food.
Another thing that I tried (which did help) was glucosamine. I read research that was conflicting saying it may help or may not, so I asked the vet about it and he said go ahead and try it. I had to buy a couple of different brands to find one that my cat would still eat her food with it on, but I finally found one. It comes in a capsule which you open and can sprinkle on the food. You can also try a product like Uromax, which is a liquid, if your cat is not picky (this is what the vet had recommended, but my cat wouldn't eat it). This, in combination with the dry prescription food (with water on it). These 2 things together seemed to stop her chronic cystitis after about 8 months. Like I said, she is now flare free for over 2 years and she had a severe, chronic case! She has now been off the glucosamine for about a year!
Now my male cat was just diagnosed last week. Males are of course different, because they have the danger of being blocked. But, if you take them to the vet AS SOON as you notice any urinating issues, it can be easily prevented. Again, no reason to put the cat to sleep because this is a very manageable condition! With my male the vet had to clear the blockage and he is now on the W/D as well. He was a feral for the first year of his life and he refuses to eat the canned food. So, again, I am giving him the dry w/d and wetting it a little. He also is eating this. He is not on any medication at all and doing fine so far. If he has another flare, I will start him on the glucosamine as well.
Moral of the story- find a good vet who knows about cystitis and is current on research. Don't ever think that you need to put a cat to sleep because of this very common, manageable condition. It is only deadly if it is ignored and leads to kidney issues. A few simple adjustments can manage this condition for life!