FIC - Prazosin is it safe for cats?

[my_money_pit]

My almost 4 yo cat has been struggling with UTI. At first we thought it was UTI but after the third visit to the vet, they ruled it’s FIC which is what i have been telling them right from the beginning.
During the last visit, they only gave him pain relief pills, they didn’t do a urine test because the bladder was empty. And for some reason they didn’t do an xray to rule if he needs an anti inflammatory.

Pain meds are helping him sleep and relax but they are not helping him pee. One facebook group suggested I give him Prazosin to help him empty his bladder.

After a quick google search, i found a study saying that Prazosin will cause rUO.

i am at complete loss.Vet prescribes pain killers but baby still can’t pee. They are playing with his life and not giving a damn about it. Vet said come back in 5 days to do a urine test. Why did she say come back the next day? Maybe she won’t be there at the clinic that day to cash money????!!!!!!!

can someone share their experience and what worked for them? Does Prazosin really helps? Is it risky?

 

[IndyJones]

It sounds risky to me I looked it up and apperently it is a blood pressure medication. Used to lower blood pressure.

It possably could interact with any other medications you are giving her too.

Personaly I would absolutly not take that risk.

Try other ways to get water in her, what goes in has to come out. Canned food, a water fountain, icecubes in the water, are all better ways to flush the system out.

 

[IndyJones]

Looking back, you were the one I was talking to in another thread about stress induced cystitis.

Do you still believe stress is causing the issue?

Try playing this

 

[fionasmom]

If the cat is unable to pee, no matter what the cause, it is an emergency and cannot wait 5 days. Even if he is peeing only tiny drops or a trickle, it is an emergency.

Did your vet offer to give you a prescription for Prazosin? I used it once with Graycie, who was dxed with FIC at the time, and had no problems. That is not to say that someone else might not have problems; it does interact with several medications and it is hypotensive. Your vet should know if any of that would be a problem. You should probably show him the study as well and voice your concerns about it.

Search Results for Query: prazosin
These are various references to prazosin on TCS

 

[my_money_pit]

Looking back, you were the one I was talking to in another thread about stress induced cystitis.

Do you still believe stress is causing the issue?

Try playing this

Vet ruled it was caused by stress. I constantly play music specially david teie’s album. It does help him relax but he still needs some pain relief to help reduce the pain.

 

[my_money_pit]

If the cat is unable to pee, no matter what the cause, it is an emergency and cannot wait 5 days. Even if he is peeing only tiny drops or a trickle, it is an emergency.

Did your vet offer to give you a prescription for Prazosin? I used it once with Graycie, who was dxed with FIC at the time, and had no problems. That is not to say that someone else might not have problems; it does interact with several medications and it is hypotensive. Your vet should know if any of that would be a problem. You should probably show him the study as well and voice your concerns about it.

Search Results for Query: prazosin
These are various references to prazosin on TCS

We have been in this situation since end of December. He got better for 10 days than he went through a big stressful event and we went back to the uti symptoms. So i took him back to the vet for the third time and they couldn’t do the urine test bcs his bladder was empty. They said to come back in 5 days. I will take him back on Monday. This is getting ridiculous, either the vet is stupid or they don’t care and they’re trying to kill him.

 

[fionasmom]

It does sound as if they are taking a less than urgent view of what is happening.

 

[my_money_pit]

It does sound as if they are taking a less than urgent view of what is happening.

We are over 1200$ in vets in less than a month :/ as long as i still have money they will still take me back and forth

 

[accidentalcattery]

My almost 4 yo cat has been struggling with UTI. At first we thought it was UTI but after the third visit to the vet, they ruled it’s FIC which is what i have been telling them right from the beginning.
During the last visit, they only gave him pain relief pills, they didn’t do a urine test because the bladder was empty. And for some reason they didn’t do an xray to rule if he needs an anti inflammatory.

Pain meds are helping him sleep and relax but they are not helping him pee. One facebook group suggested I give him Prazosin to help him empty his bladder.

After a quick google search, i found a study saying that Prazosin will cause rUO.

i am at complete loss.Vet prescribes pain killers but baby still can’t pee. They are playing with his life and not giving a damn about it. Vet said come back in 5 days to do a urine test. Why did she say come back the next day? Maybe she won’t be there at the clinic that day to cash money????!!!!!!!

can someone share their experience and what worked for them? Does Prazosin really helps? Is it risky?

I am going through this with one of my young cats, whose symptoms began at 6 mos. He has had 3 more episodes since then. Because FIC is not caused by an infection or underlying disease, it’s difficult to treat and even harder to prevent. I don’t think your vet is acting improperly or conspiring to take your money. Gabapentin and Prazosin are the standard treatments during an episode. The first one treats pain and stress and the other relaxes the bladder. My vet instructed me to only use prazosin for severe episodes. My little guy uses the litter box as many as 40-45 times a day during the height of an episode, but he does get better. He has never fully obstructed. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that he or your cat never will. Whenever possible, try to peek at the litter box right after he goes and check that there’s at least a little pee. If he’s consistently producing urine, even if it’s only a pea or marble sized clump, he is okay. Try to avoid rushing him to the ER too much because that only causes him more stress.

Lastly and most importantly, keep looking for ways to discourage new episodes such as an extra litter box or two, tightly scheduled routines, prescription urinary health diet (Hills C/D), extra water sources, squeezable wet treats and using Feliway around the house. Ask your vet for a recurring prescription for Gabapentin and Prazosin so you can begin home treatment as soon as symptoms start. You should not be needing to bring him to the vet every time he has an episode. Only serious episodes or suspected obstruction would warrant another vet visit.

 

[my_money_pit]

I am going through this with one of my young cats, whose symptoms began at 6 mos. He has had 3 more episodes since then. Because FIC is not caused by an infection or underlying disease, it’s difficult to treat and even harder to prevent. I don’t think your vet is acting improperly or conspiring to take your money. Gabapentin and Prazosin are the standard treatments during an episode. The first one treats pain and stress and the other relaxes the bladder. My vet instructed me to only use prazosin for severe episodes. My little guy uses the litter box as many as 40-45 times a day during the height of an episode, but he does get better. He has never fully obstructed. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that he or your cat never will. Whenever possible, try to peek at the litter box right after he goes and check that there’s at least a little pee. If he’s consistently producing urine, even if it’s only a pea or marble sized clump, he is okay. Try to avoid rushing him to the ER too much because that only causes him more stress.

Lastly and most importantly, keep looking for ways to discourage new episodes such as an extra litter box or two, tightly scheduled routines, prescription urinary health diet (Hills C/D), extra water sources, squeezable wet treats and using Feliway around the house. Ask your vet for a recurring prescription for Gabapentin and Prazosin so you can begin home treatment as soon as symptoms start. You should not be needing to bring him to the vet every time he has an episode. Only serious episodes or suspected obstruction would warrant another vet visit.

Hey, my cat fully recovered. It was all caused by stress. The only thing that helped was painkillers every 8 hours for around 15 days then I started reducing the dose very slowly. I also gave him d mannose and cornsilk extract.
Hope your cat is doing well!

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. As you know, a cat unable to urinate is an emergency.

If your cat is experiencing cystitis, which would demonstrate frequent trips to the litter box, only producing small amounts of urine.

Urinary tract and bladder infections are over diagnosed in cats. Most cats having issues with their bladder or urinary tract, do not have infections.
The only way to diagnose a bladder infection in a cat is to do a culture of the urine from a sample obtained through cystocentisis, a needle inserted into the bladder to obtain a sample.

Prazosin is a drug used in people to treat hypertension. It is used off label in cats to reduce the muscle tone in the urinary sphincter.

The study done that people refer to was done on a very small number of cats. While it was found that some cats taking Prazosin did reblocked while recovering from a urinary blockage, it did not mention that most cats will reblock after a urinary blockage.

What I have seen is, it used for a couple of days after unblocking a cat with a urinary blockage event. So, the cat is unblocked and a urinary cattis placed. The cat is hospitalized for three days. The catheter is removed and the cat starts on Prazosin. If able to urinate, the cat is sent home on Prazosin for a short duration. I think it may help some.

FIC feline interstitial cystitis is not the same as blocking although it can lead to blocking. The cause is unknown, but most thought are that it is stress related. The primary concern immediately during a flare up is controlling the pain this condition causes and that will often require the use of opiates such as buprenorphine. Also eliminating any stress in the cats life. A special diet of canned food only and encouraging the cat to drink by using water fountains and access to many water sites.

I personally use bottled water only, but I don’t have any studies to back that up. Only personal experience.

It sounds like you are not happy with and don’t trust your vet. You need to find another one then. Hopefully there is a feline only hospital in your area that you can go to for further care for your cat.