Cystitis

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Didi
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Cystitis

Post by Didi »

Well here's we are New Year's Eve again, last year I spent it with my boy Milo away at the vets and me waiting for the morning to see if I could bring him home which I did but only for one more day before I had to make the worst decision I have ever had to make. So here I am 12 months on worrying myself sick over my other cat Bilbo. He has been fine until today when he started straining in the litter tray and only producing tiny drops of urine. He had a bout of cystitis about 18 months ago which he bounced back from after a week of treatment with metacam so my head tells me this is what it is and that he will be fine, but, I just feel sick with worry it's magnified by the fact that last new year was so awful and so unexpected and I'm dreading taking him to the vets tomorrow. I rang them earlier and as he was peeing if only a little bit they said he could come in tomorrow morning I have booked the taxi- I gave up driving years ago - and have thenbasket out ready. Part of me wants the clock to speed around so I can get him there and get him comfortable but part of me wants the morning to never come because I don't know what I will do if it's not good news.

Bilbo was my daughters cat and is 4 years old he came to me when she and her partner split up and I haven't told her yet because I didn't want to spoil her new year, she has found happiness with a new lovely man and they have just this week moved in together and I know she will just worry about him and there is nothing she can do as she lives away.

I'm sure it is cystitis and has been brought on by all the idiots letting of fireworks all week, I have a feliway plugged in but it's only been in for a few days but I think my feelings are just being skewed by what happened last year and wonder if he has picked up on that as well

I just wish I could take away the pain he is so clearly in and make everything ok for him again he has been eating and drinking and I have left "his" tap running ( the bathroom sink is his favourite source of water much better than a bowl or vein his fancy drinkwell fountain)

Sorry for the rambling post
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Marla »

Hi Didi,

I'm really sorry about Milo. This time of year must bring back really sad memories for you.

I hope you're not worried that Bilbo will have to be put to sleep. UTIs are very common and treatable. This article might be helpful:
http://catinfo.org/feline-urinary-tract-diseases/

Our 19 year old cat gets these sometimes. I think it might be from stress when our young boy cats get a bit boisterous. We keep a pot of D-Mannose on hand. We stir 1/4 teaspoon of D-Mannose powder into 1 teaspoon of water until it dissolves, and then syringe this amount into her mouth every half hour. This usually stops the UTI before the vet appointment. Only once have we had to take her to the vet.

It might be difficult to find D-Mannose today, but it might be helpful for the future. Also, the above article says to feed wet food only (no dry at all) and always provide fresh water.

If Bilbo does need antibiotics, ask for the tablets (e.g., Synulox), not an antibiotic injection (Convenia) as cats can have fatal reactions to that.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Ruth B »

So sorry to hear what happened with Milo and I can understand that this time of year must bring back awful memories. Bilbo probably also picked up on you being upset, and with all the fireworks, it all just added up to too much for him and went straight to his bladder.

Like your head is telling you I am sure it is just something like cystitis and a few days of treatment and he will be fine. That is all very rational, unfortunately the heart doesn't listen to the rational thought all the time and we can't help but worry.

Make sure he has plenty of wet food and water and let us know how he gets on.

And don't worry about rambling on here, a lot of us do it, it is just because we care so much about our pets and when something happens it helps to talk, particularly to people who understand how you are feeling.
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Didi
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Didi »

Not the news I wanted this morning I'm afraid. Bilbo was sick in the night and when we got to the vets at 11 she felt his bladder and it was rock hard so he has to stay in to have a catheter and possibly a drip overnight if his kidneys have been affected. I had to ring my daughter so now she is upset and she was due to go to a spa with some friends overnight and now doesn't know if she will. I'm sitting here sick with worry waiting for the phone call from the vets to let me know how he is.
I can't believe this is happening again at the same time of year
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Re: Cystitis

Post by booktigger »

Fingers crossed for him - kidney damage due to cystitis can be reversed
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Marla »

Poor Bilbo. :( Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Didi »

Vet just rang, they had problems getting the catheter in but managed it eventuallyand were in the process of washing out his bladder after removing the obstruction. He had a lot of crystals in there which had caused the obstruction I feel awful for not knowing there was something wrong but he's been his usual self with no sign of anything being wrong until yesterday afternoon he drinks plenty has 2 bowls a catwell fountain and the tap and drinks from them all. The really worrying thing is that his kidneys have been affected but the vet was hopeful that a day or so on a drip would resolve that needless to say he isn't coming home today I have to ring tomorrow to see what his bloods are like and then if he is better he can come home. She also said he needed to go on a special diet to try and stop this happening again

He is my daughters cat I have been fostering and until now I never realised just how much he means to me I just want him well and home
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Re: Cystitis

Post by booktigger »

Fingers crossed the drip works and he can come home tomorrow
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Mayday21 »

Hi Didi poor Bilbo & feel for you at this time. Rest assured he's at the right place & I'm sure he'll be home soon. The vets may prescribe a urinary food for him. Interesting post by Marla. Keep us posted & lots of +Ve thoughts & when he's home heaps of ear rubs. Vivian
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Lallum »

Oh I'm so sorry to read this. 2 years ago at this time, Midnight was ill with cystitis. He had to be catheterised and that was a struggle. I was convinced he wouldn't make it. It was a long difficult road and he had to have his penis removed. I was heart broken. The good news is, touch wood, he has only had one minor reoccurrence. I feed him Hills prescription cd food and full him up with water to keep him peeing. I have tried to keep him on a weight loss diet but that has proved almost impossible. I weigh his food and he gets no treats yet still he puts on weight and spends most of his life begging for food.

My thoughts are with you. I cried my heart out over him. He's happy and will which, in my negative think , seemed impossible back then.

My thoughts are with you.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Ruth B »

So sorry it didn't turn out as well as we all hoped, but he is in the best place and there is a lot that can be done to help him pull through this.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that you get good news today and that he is home soon.

I also hope he will be willing to eat the special diet, I've never had much luck with those in the past, my cats are just too fussy about what they eat. However there are plenty of people here that have had cats with kidney issues that nan offer advise if need be.
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Re: Cystitis

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The vet rang me earlier, I think she gets that I am a neurotic mess at the moment ! Bilbo has wee'd over night he is still on the drip and once surgery is over she will repeat his blood tests to see if his kidney function has returned to normal if not it will be another 24 hours on the drip and see how he is tomorrow.

He was very grumpy last night and wouldn't let anyone near him which is so not him but she said he is much calmer and more chilled this morning. They had to shave his rear end and tail to prevent his fur matting when they were washing out his bladder, he is a very furry cat with a proper bushy tail, we always say he has a foxes tail so he is going to look very odd.

It's very strange in the house without him as I said he is my daughters cat but has been living with me for nearly 2 years now he is only 4 so very lively and last night the absence of bangs as he jumped from bed to floor to chair upstairs was really unsettling I didn't even realise quite how much racket he makes when he is completing his obstacle course. I found myself gettin up to leave the door ajar so he could get in then got all upset when I remembered he wasn't here
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Didi »

Just had a call from the vet, Bilbo is weeing well and his bladder filling well but his bloods are still a bit high so they are keeping him on the drip for at least another 24 hours, she said he seems much calmer but hasn't eaten which is worrying because he does like his food hopefully as he starts to feel better he will eat, the only thing is Milo the cat we lost year stopped eating and her saying that has just really upset me and brought back all sorts of horrible memories
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Re: Cystitis

Post by vic23 »

Hi Didi,
Sorry to hear about Bilbo.
I am a neurotic worrier too and so I know how you will be feeling, but regarding the not eating, this is probably likely due to the stress, change in routine etc. Also, as like us, if we are feeling under the weather, our appetite usually disappears.

Try and take some comfort from the fact that he is in the best place and is being monitored far better than we could all do at home.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Didi »

Bilbo is coming home. I have to go and pick him up at 3 so finished work at lunchtime his bloods are fine but he has still only eaten a little bit that is my biggest fear that he won't eat the special diet, he is quite picky and knows what he likes in the way of food. Milo stopped eating and although he had other health issues it was the not eating that got him in the end
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Re: Cystitis

Post by booktigger »

Fingers crossed the not eating is just because he is at the vets - if he won't eat it, there are other options though.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Ruth B »

Lets hope its just that he is at the vets that is getting to him and once home he starts eating again.

If he won't eat the special food then get him good quality wet food and try him on that. Even if they do drink well there is a lot of evidence that dry food is more closely linked to kidney problems than wet food.

Several years ago one of mine went in for some dental work and the blood tests showed early kidney problems. There was some debate as to whether he should have been on a special diet, one vet said yes and then another said he didn't think it was necessary. We decided that we would wait and see how things went. He had blood tests done every 3 months to start with, this then dropped to every 6 months and finally he stopped needing them as all the results for the last few tests had come back fine, his kidneys had recovered. He was fine for several years afterwards before finally being pts due to pure old age.

Hopefully Bilbo will follow a similar pattern and with love and monitoring will have many more years left in him.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Lilith »

Hi Didi and very sorry indeed to hear about Bilbo (and poor Milo too.)

You've come to the right place because there are many members on here who have to juggle between what their cats will and won't eat when on a special diet.

While of course it's much better if he can eat a proper meal there are a couple of commercial supplements that can be given to a poorly/convalescent cat to tide it over:

Nurish-um (silly name) is a high calorie gunk that looks like golden syrup and smells and tastes of very little; you squeeze a length out of the tube and wipe it round the cat's lips, cat has to lick its lips, job done. I've seen this have marvellous results, even on tiny kittens.

I ordered some of this to stock up my 'medicine chest' and I swear Amazon called it 'Nurish-Um' but what I got was some stuff called Nutri-Vit Plus, which looks to be exactly the same, same tube, same description. The tube's sealed so I can't look to check but I'm pretty sure - perhaps an updated version of Nurish-Um.

There's also a powder that you can put in their water called 'Critical Care' (also from Amazon.) I got this in for a snake and haven't had to use it for cats (paws crossed that I don't have to) but this can be used for anything - snakes, birds, mammals.

At least using something like this you know they're getting calories and vitamins to tide them over. But I do hope that when Bilbo comes back from the vet and finds himself at home again he'll be so pleased that he'll start eating again.

Best wishes for his speedy recovery x
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Re: Cystitis

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Well we got home and he does look a sorry mess, he is long haired so they have had to clip his fur all round his back end and his gorgeous duster of a tail is now more like a rats tail with just a bit of fur left, but that will grow back. I have the prescription diet food and gave him some of the dry mixed with just a few bits of his old food and his head was in the bowl as soon as he saw it, he has been for a drink but he is constantly in and out of the litter box straining and just producing a few little drops the vet said he still has some spasm and he has been doing that there and then when he gets out dribbling a bit more which is exactly what is happening, he doesn't seem in pain and he has been checking out the house to make sure nothing has moved I'm guessing the straining and dribbling is just an after effect of the blockage withnhis bladder and urethra still being a bit inflamed. Because his kidneys weren't working he has only started on anti inflametries today so hopefully a couple of days of them will get him back to something more like normal. The vet seemed pleased with his progress and said she didn't need to see him again unless he relapsed and as he is due his vaccinations this month she said she was happy to wait to see him until then whichnos only a couple of weeks away
I can't help worrying about him I don't want him to have to go through that again he seems ok he has jumped on the window sill to check that out and had a little play withnone of his mice but he isn't still quite quiet not lethargic just a bit dozy. He did have a sedative late morning when they took the drip out after his bloods came back so I am hoping it's just not the tail end of that
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Lilith »

Oh good, I'm glad he's eaten something :)

I once had to wear a catheter; when they took it out I thought - ah, can't go! TMI here :oops: but at first it was little dribbles and then gradually got back to normal, thank heavens.

It IS a good sign that he's checking out the house and the eating is great, especially if he's accepting the prescription food. But of course any worries, best ring the vet, even out of hours. That's what they're there for and they shouldn't mind answering your questions.

Commiserations about the poor chap's tail :shock: :(
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Lallum »

Do you have a syringe? I keep giving Midnight a syringe of water every day. I can't guarantee the amount he drinks so everything I can get in to him keeps him hydrated. I also eat tin of tuna and give him the tuna spring water I pour off. He loves that.

I'm so pleased he's home and eating. See how he is overnight. It might be worth renewing his cat litter to see what he passes overnight. If there's still dribbles (or even worse, nothing) I'd be back to see the vet. Cystitis and retaliated problems seem to escalate fast.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Didi »

I think I am going to be going back to vets with bilbo. He came home last night was eating drinking and weeing ok only little wees but they added up to an ok amount. Got up this morning and he had weed overnight ate his breakfast with the supplement the vet gave me had his metcam for cats went to the litter tray - nothing went back again - nothing he's not licking himself like he was but he just seems sad if that makes sense. I am in work but am only going to stay a couple of hours then go home and see if he had weed if not it's back to the vets
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Re: Cystitis - blocked bladder

Post by Didi »

Well I didn't even make a couple of hours I got there and was in such a state I came straight back home. Rang the vets and took him straight down there, thankfully they have a small branch surgery at the bottom of my road so literally 5 minutes away, the vet examined him and said his bladder was very full but she wasn't sure of it was spasm or if he had blocked again she tried to express his bladder but couldn't so he is going back to the hospital with her when she finishes surgery to be sedated to see if they can empty his bladder or failing that if he has blocked again to be catheterised

I am just in such a state over him I don't know what to do I can't bear the thought of losing him, last night he was eating drinking and loving having fusses he ate his breakfast this morning and was drinking and now this I'm just so glad I came straight back home and didn't wait like I was going to
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Ruth B »

Glad you went back quickly and he is again in the best place to try and solve the problem.

Once thing I did notice in your earlier post was that you seem to have been given dry food as the special diet. I have always been lead to believe that dry food isn't the best for a cat with kidney problems and once, granted many years ago, we were warned by a vet that he and colleagues had noticed that one specific dried brand did seem to be more closely linked to crystals in the urine than others.

i have just done a quick search and there still seems to be a link between dry food and urine crystals although they still don't seem to quite know what it going on except that a lot of cats that eat dried food don't drink enough which means the urine is more concentrated and more alkali than it should be. The current recommendation seems to be to either feed a raw diet or the pates and casserole cat foods. There is also a debate regarding whether a low protein diet is best or not, a lot of cats don't react well to some carbohydrates and cats only really gain energy from animal proteins and fats. Some now seem to think that it isn't a problem to feed a higher protein diet as long as the proteins are good quality animal ones.

I hope that mentioning this won't put you at odds with your vet, I just want Bilbo to have the best outcome possible.
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Re: Cystitis

Post by Didi »

Thanks Ruth B I have both dry and wet food and he has eaten both I mixed some water in the wet food and sprinkled the yureliefe the vet recommended . They rang earlier he has been anaesthetised and his bladder washed out again there was no blood or crystals visible to the eye this time and she thinks it was the urethral muscle going into spasm so has prescribed some muscle relaxant pills to try. She thinks once the metacam starts to kick in and the pain subsides then the spasm should stop. I hope she is right I already have an anxiety problem caused by my thyroid disease which I can normally manage but all this worry is tipping me over the edge. I hate feeling he is suffering and I can't do anything I just want him happy and pain free
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