Feline lower urinary tract disorders "(commonly referred to as FLUTD, LUTD,FLUDT or FUS--feline urologic syndrome) come in at least three distinct varieties. All of them put together affect a small percentage of cats, but for those who are affected, it can be a major problem. Bladder diseases occur in both male and female cats, although males have a higher risk of life-threatening blockage of the urethra. It is usually first seen in cats between 2 and 7 years of age (though some very young and very old cats may develop signs). Episodes of FLUTDs are usually triggered by stress, such as home remodelling, severe weather, or loss or addition of a family member/pet."
We have two cats. A very large male called Steak, and a very small female called Kidney. The problem, as you may have guessed, it is Steak who has the FLUTDs problem.
Let us begin by saying - IT'S HORRIBLE - both for the owner and for the cat.
How did we spot it?
The clinical signs of all the FLUTDs are very similar. Cats may go to the litterbox frequently, strain to urinate, pass very small amounts at a time, lick their genitals more frequently or more intensely than usual, or have blood in the urine. The cat may associate the burning sensation of cystitis (bladder inflammation) with the litter box itself, and look for another place to go where it won't hurt. This leads to urinating outside of the tray, squatting in corners, in sinks or baths, on rugs, laundry piles, or beds. Steak had all of these symptoms in the one go.
How Was it treated?
We got the big guy down the Vets straight away and he was diagnosed very quickly as having Flutds by the vet feeling that his bladder was full. The vet managed to squeeze the bladder hard enough to release the blockage and empty the bladder.
The type of FLUTDS that Steak has is the type where Struvite crystals form in the bladder.
6 weeks of repeated antibiotics, anti spasmodics and prescription diet appeared to cure it and there were no relapses for about 6 months. Unfortunately last week the condition recurred and the treatment process has started over again.
Steaks Prognosis.
We are extremely lucky that Steaks prognosis is good at the moment - so long as we do not give in to the big sad eyes when he can't be bothered eating his prescription food. It is SO important not to be tempted to feed treats, or a supermarket cat food as this upsets the balance of the prescription diet allowing the crystals to form again.
UPDATE 18/04/2008
Big Steaks been back to the Vet and he's doing good. Another antibiotic shot and keeping him on the tablets and prescription diet for now. Check back soon to see how he's doing.
UPDATE 25/04/2008
The Flutds came back with a vengeance. Poor Steak had to be hospitalised and catheterised to flush him out. The vet kept him in overnight to keep an eye on him. What a hard thing to do, to walk away and leave your cat in a place like that overnight.
Got him back the next day so he could be with his sister - but he had an open ended catheter in and we were told to expect him to dribble everywhere. Clever big monkey managed to work it out and never dribbled at all - going to his tray as normal.
Went back next day to have the catheter removed and all seems good at the moment.
Big guys doing well. Vet increased the dose of his anti-spasmodic. He goes back next week on 01/5 for another antibiotic shot. Stay tuned.
UPDATE 14/05/2008
Big guy is still doing well, had his jab on 01/5 and seemed fine - however he had a slight scare a few days after when he had a touch of idiopathic cystitis, which means his muscles had a little spasm which prevented him from going to his tray and we panicked!!
A little bit of advice from the vet and a stronger dose of anti spasmodic tablets later he is as good as new.
Steak is now on anti spasmodics for life - but its a small price to pay as so far he is on top form!
We must re-iterate....... stick to the prescription diet - IT WORKS.
We had to change the diet from HILLS food as yet again he took a severe allergic reaction. We now use a combination of Purina dry UR formula, and ROYAL CANIN S/O wet and dry.
Going back to the Vet tomorrow for more tablets, food and advice - so will keep you posted.
UPDATE 05/06/2008
So now we've been using a different diet - Walthams Royal Canin - Steak seems to be on the mend. We have had a couple of scary moments where he just refused to "go". Bit of advice from the vet and we increased his dose of Hypovase from half a tablet twice a day to a full tablet twice a day. He is after all a huge cat, so we are hoping that he simply needed a stronger dose of anti spasmodic. Will give it another few weeks on the prescription food then ask the vet for another urine analysis. If it comes back clear of crystals then he'll be on this diet for life.
UPDATE 22/07/2008
Been a few weeks now since the last update. We still had a few recurrences of Cystitis symptoms. Starting to think this would never be under control, our vet recommended a new product that they got in - Zylkene.
This is a non drug, de-stressing capsule which is supposed to relax your animals if they seem stressed. Been on this for about 5 weeks now and no problems whatsoever. Well other than Steak seemed "stoned" for the first few days of using it.
We have halved the original dose now and all seems good. This also let us do away with the Dantrium anti spasmodic but will keep him on the Hypovase long term.
The Walthams food seems to be going down well also - so will keep him on that long term. It does say on the packet that the proper results of feeding this diet will not be accurate for about 6 months of continous feeding, so we will do another urine analysis at that time to see if there has been a reduction in the struvite crystals.
UPDATE 03/08/2008
Not much happening at the moment. NO relapses yet and boy is he getting fit. Steak was very overweight which can contribute to this disease taking hold as an overweight cat will only go to the litter tray when absolutely bursting. Happy to say that he has lost nearly a Kilo under his strict new diet.
Yearly Jabs are due soon - so if no problems before then, we'll update this page after his jabs and checkup.
UPDATE 14/09/2008
Still no re-occurances. The non drug Zylkene seems to be doing the trick. Weights still under control and he has resigned himself to the fact that the only thing he gets to eat now is the medicated food. Urine analysis is due soon and we will see if the medicated food is doing the job.