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Hello, my cat in the last few weeks has had her 3rd bowt of cystitis since 2012. She is also been diabetic for 3 and half years. The vet carried out a full bladder examination and xray and thankfully no growth or stones. He said her kidneys were fine and ran a urine test and has said she has sterile cystitis. Sophie is now on metacam everyday on a low dosage and on yuralieve pills as well as her normal W/D dry food. My concern and query is that the vet and the websites have said it is good for her to drink more and i know she is drinking around the same as i measure her water and food daily to monitor her diabetes in take in proportion which other. She just seems to be peeing more often but not in small drops just normal flow nor is it excessive. Just she use to pee about every 3 to 4 hours and now its about every 1-2 hours during the day. I read on website that it is good for her to pee as it clears the urine out of the bladder, im just worried it has increased, but could this be because of the yuralieve pills and metcam or is this just the process after a scan and full examination. I cannot find any websites that say what to expect after diagnoses and during treatment, thanks for any help and advice.

I have no experience of a diabetic cat, but my Tiffany, who is nearly 14, used to have regular bouts of idiopathic cystitis, which I have successfully kept at bay for years now with a daily bladder supplement bought online - yurelieve seems to be the top of the range in this area - and she pees a couple of times a day, though they are admittedly big wees

have you joined an support group for owners of diabetic cats? a quick google suggests this one might be the most active https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Osc ... pport/info

the experience of other owners, and indirectly through them the advice of a a lot of other vets, can be invaluable

Thank you for your reply and the link. I see that Yurelieve helps with the lining of the bladder wall so is it meant to help her pee or make her pee more often? It does say on a website they need to drink more which in turn would make them pee more and the bladder does need flushing so I am hoping this is a good thing. I do worry but sometimes i over worry hopefully for no reason.

Like Kay, I'm afraid I've no experience with a diabetic cat but I do have a cat with a history of bouts of cystitis, which we seem to have kept at bay with a similar supplement (Cystophan - Yurelieve is new to me but looks good) and by adding extra water to his diet to keep flushing the bladder through and stopping the build-up of any irritants. He definitely pees more than he used to, but that's due to the extra water in his diet as I add a little water (about a tablespoon) to his wet food every meal to make sure he gets enough.

The classic cystitis pattern is lots of attempts to pee but not much flow, so if she's producing a normal flow then I think that's encouraging. I'm a little nervous of advising you to increase her water intake the way I do for my Daz (and I also give him cat milk as a treat), simply because I'm not sure if or how that might affect her diabetes, but it's a very good way of making sure that they do get enough liquid.

Thank you for your reply. The vet always said she is likely to drink more being diabetic. Ive just noticed she is peeing more often but not like straining. I don't want to sound a bit dim but is the reason the vets want her to drink more is so she can pee more to flush out the bladder or do they want to her to drink more for other reasons? I just need to know also if it is likely the metacam and Yurelieve are deisgned to make her pee more often. Thanks again and apologies for repeating myself I do suffer from anxiety.

Don't worry - ask as much or as often as you like, I'm someone who likes to get things straight in my head too!

I'm not aware of anything in Metacam that would make her drink more, but I know that a lot of the special 'urinary' diets add something like salt to make them thirsty and encourage them to drink more, so it's possible that the Yurelieve might do the same. Cystitis happens when there is irritation of the lining of the bladder wall, often linked to acidity levels in the urine, so yes the reason for wanting them to drink more is to dilute the urine and keep it flushing through the bladder.

If it helps, in the year that my Daz had cystitis problems and I was watching him like a hawk I had lots of times when I was anxiously wondering if, maybe, he was brewing up another cystitis attack, but when he actually was having problems I was never in any doubt as he was at the tray a LOT and obviously in discomfort, but only producing tiny spots of pee.

I wish her better soon.

Thank you, you have been very helpful. It does make sense more, also thinking the metacam will start to wear off before the next dose so i thought this may be the reason she pees more in the afternoon as we give it to her at 6pm.

Hello, if i think the cystitis is clearing up when do i know to stop giving metacam? I presume we carrying on giving Yurelieve

Yes, I still give Daz a maintenance dose of Cystophan even though he's not had a problem in a couple of years. As to the Metacam, I only used it when I could see he had problems but I would check that with your vet. I'm pleased to hear that she seems better.

Thank you i will check with the vet. Take care