Cystitis subsided by calming collar

haze n blaze

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
105
Purraise
34
Location
Florida
For over a week, I was taking 9 month old Haze to vet for what seemed like an infection.

Symptoms: Urinary frequency with little to no output. He was "trilling" while in the box. I'm talking in the box 10-20 times during the evening. Immediately took him to vet.

No fever, no pain with palpation, negative X-ray. But couldn't get specimen due to empty bladder so I left him at vet for the day so they could try to collect a urine on him. No luck all day. They tell me to come back the next day. 3 days of trying to get a specimen.... No luck even with cystocentesis. Haze was wriggling to much the vet said. Vet kept saying cystitis. I was convinced an infection. After begging to please just give him antibiotics to treat the symptoms because I was just so scared of the infection worsening and going to the kidneys, the dr said to try a nuturecalm collar. I was baffled. I had already had Haze for 6 weeks. He got along great with my other cat, Blaze. He was happy. Not stressed!

I'm being completely and utterly honest, within in an hourof having the collar on, he stopped with the frequency.

It's been 3 days and no symptoms have returned.

I stand corrected.
 

Anne

Site Owner
Staff Member
Admin
Joined
Oct 23, 2000
Messages
40,207
Purraise
6,095
Location
On TCS
Cystitis could be bacterial but doesn't have to be, so you were not wrong to ask about antibiotics IMO. Did the vet ever take a urine sample for a culture. I'm really glad to hear he's doing better but if this happens again, I would talk to the vet about a culture. 

Most importantly, how's Haze doing today?
 

Anne

Site Owner
Staff Member
Admin
Joined
Oct 23, 2000
Messages
40,207
Purraise
6,095
Location
On TCS
I just added the collar to our reviews section. It would be great if you could maybe add your review there as well - 

 [product="20311"]Nurturecalm Feline Calming Pheromone Collar​[/product]  
 

tdonline

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Messages
707
Purraise
44
No research to back this up, but I've been experimenting with spraying Feliway onto regular collars.  I do it for intra-feline aggression rather than for urination problems.  I stumbled across an Amazon review of Feliway spray which recommended spraying Feliway onto regular collars rather than using the room dispensers.  It was more cost-effective and cats would have more contact with Feliway.

I bought pheromone collars for my cats, but I didn't like that they weren't breakaway and they were very messy with all the powder.

In terms of effectiveness, it's hard to gauge with Feliway.  My observations over the years of Feliway use is that the room misters do not prevent major melt downs (which one of my cats is prone to and is on prozac to stabilize).  If something spooks my skittish cat--she will react aggressively regardless of Feliway.  I do think Feilway is effective in providing a foundation of civility.  So even though Feliway does not prevent huge tantrums, when it is absent, I notice more niggly tussles between and general orneriness from my cats.  Long story short, I think spraying Feliway onto regular collars has achieves the very modest level of behavior modification of using the Feliway room dispensers.  
 
Last edited:

rlavach

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
284
Purraise
72
Like Anne said, most cystitis is sterile, meaning no infection. Even so, many vets still give an antibiotic as a precaution. One of the main known causes of cystitis is stress. But stress isn't always as visible as you'd think. There are many little triggers that us humans might not notice if we're not paying attention. I also have a cat who has had cystitis several times. They try to get a sample, but if they can't on the initial visit, then they send me home with anti-spasm medicine and a pain killer. This can be very painful for cats, as is evidence by the vocalization during attempting urination. Hope your little one feels better! 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

haze n blaze

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
105
Purraise
34
Location
Florida
Cystitis could be bacterial but doesn't have to be, so you were not wrong to ask about antibiotics IMO. Did the vet ever take a urine sample for a culture. I'm really glad to hear he's doing better but if this happens again, I would talk to the vet about a culture. 

Most importantly, how's Haze doing today?
after the complete turn around with the collar, I didnt take him back for the urinalysis. Vet said if Haze wasn't showing any discomfort or distress that I shouldn't worry.

It lasted for about a week. Then one night, he just randomly started having urinary frequency. I racked my brain trying to figure out what could be the stressor. The only thing I could think of was a new neighbor moved in to the apt next to mine and made a bit more noise than normal?! He wasn't crying with urination , just scratching around and squatting. The first time he urinated a good amount then thereafter it was little amounts. I worried all night about it. By the next morning, he was fine again and all day. I notified my vet but he said that if it was bacterial, it wouldn't be so intermittent. Now I know I have an easily stressed out kitty. I decided to try out the feliway spray. I sprayed near the rug by the litter box and near where he spends most of his time. It seems to have kept things calm for the last 4 days. I tried the spray because it was cheaper than the diffuser. Before I bought the diffuser, I wanted to see if it worked. I've now ordered the diffuser off of Amazon because it seems cheaper at ~$25 whereas it was $48 at my vet.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

haze n blaze

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
105
Purraise
34
Location
Florida
Sometimes, Haze seems like even just playing with a toy gets him all worked up and stresses him out. I'm hoping between trying the collar and the feliway, that he will be less stressed and less likely for a cystitis flare up. Can too much pheromones be bad? Like if I sprayed too much?
 

Anne

Site Owner
Staff Member
Admin
Joined
Oct 23, 2000
Messages
40,207
Purraise
6,095
Location
On TCS
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

haze n blaze

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
105
Purraise
34
Location
Florida
thank you, Anne! Those were great articles. I def hope that I won't have to put him on meds. I will try all natural stuff first. Time to start researching and cross referencing these articles!
 
Top