Post Cystitis And Struvite Crystals Diagnosis

[Fred'smom]

First time posting a thread but I have read multiple threads on this subject. Problem is I can't quite find someone else who is experiencing what I am. We have an 8 month old Bengal who has had 2 hospital stays for blockage due to struvite crystals. Both times the vet has been able to insert a catheter without any problems. 24 hours later, it is removed and he is watched for another 24 hours. Once he comes home he is peeing small amounts in his litter box. Size of ping pong balls. He will pee several times throughout the day. Problem is he is peeing small amounts in other areas of the house as well. This morning he peed in the litter box and then went to the kitchen rug and started to pee. Immediately took him to the litter box and he finished peeing. Makes no sense. He is on Royal Canin SO wet and dry. He has access to water bowls plus a fountain. I have given him low sodium water-downed chicken broth to encourage more water consumption thus resulting in trips to litter box. He is also getting Cosequin once a day. He is on anti-spasm med from vet along with a 3 day anti-inflammatory, which ends today. I am wondering if there is anything else I could be doing to help him not use other places, besides the litter box, to pee? I do use the Nature's Miracle when I find areas he has gone. I have not gotten new litter boxes but have thoroughly washed the ones we have prior to him coming home from the hospital. Should I get new ones at this point? I have read about stress being a major contributor to this problem. How do I know if he is stressed? We have 2 other cats and there are absolutely no problems between them, no hissing, growling, fighting, etc. He doesn't hide or cower when you are near him. He's very outgoing and quite lovable. Very frustrating at this point since he will use the litter box but uses other places as well. Any input/advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[rubysmama]

I'm sorry your kitten is going through so much at such a young age. I don't have any advice to offer, but am posting to bounce this thread back to the top of the forum, where hopefully someone will see it who might have had a similar situation. Sending vibes that your little guy gets better soon.

 

[Fred'smom]

Thank you, greatly appreciated.

 

[Columbine]

Hi, and welcome to TCS

I'm so sorry you and your boy are going through all this. I suspect what's happened is that he now associates the box itself with pain. This is fairly common in repeated cases of urinary issues.

Cat logic goes something like this: "peeing here (the box) hurts. Maybe if I pee in a different place the pain will stop. Nope, that place didn't work. What about over here..." etc etc. The best approach is to change up everything possible about the litterbox experience (totally different shape/style of box, different location, different type of litter etc). Adding in a litter attractant such as Dr Elsey's Cat Attract can make a big difference too.

Alongside this, be certain to thoroughly clean up any accidents with an enzymatic cleaner, and use a blacklight to check for any missed spots. During the retraining process, I suggest using puppy pee pads in any favourite pee spots. They won't either stop or attract him to pee there, but they protect the floor and make cleanup a breeze

The RC urinary food is great for helping with these types of issues. My old FLUTD boy was on it for life and never had a reccurence. If you start to have issues with him eating it, talk to your vet about maybe using a regular food with a Dl-methionine supplement (it's the primary theraputic ingredient in rx urinary foods). Worth knowing about, thou it is a little trickier to get the dosage right.
How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (flutd)
Feline Idiopathic Cystitis - How To Improve Your Cat's Quality Of Life

 

[Fred'smom]

Thank you for your reply. We did go out last night and totally change over the litter boxes with new ones as well as the litter. What doesn't make sense is that he will go in the litter box, multiple times a day. This morning after he was fed he jumped on top of the microwave cart and started to pee on it. Husband took him down to the litter box and he peed in it. I did try the puppy pad suggestion. We put a litter box in the living room with puppy pads in it and he didn't use it but our other cats did!! Didn't want to start that habit so we removed it. He doesn't have a certain spot he goes to, very random. I do use Nature's Miracle, love that stuff. At this point, I guess patience is the key.

 

[maggiedemi]

How much of the canned food is he getting per day? Is he getting more canned than dry? That might help.

 

[Fred'smom]

How much of the canned food is he getting per day? Is he getting more canned than dry? That might help.

He is getting Royal Canin SO wet twice a day, about a half can each day. He also has access to the Royal Canin SO dry. Lots of water choices as well.

 

[betsygee]

Have you tried any calming agents, like Composure treats, Zylkene, or Feliway diffusers? Something like that might help with the stress aspect. I'd talk to the vet about it before adding in anything like that since he's on other meds as well.

 

[duckpond]

Can you maybe feed more of the wet? He might do better with more wet and less dry?

 

[maggiedemi]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, maybe decrease the dry and increase the wet if the vet says it's okay.

 

[Fred'smom]

Have you tried any calming agents, like Composure treats, Zylkene, or Feliway diffusers? Something like that might help with the stress aspect. I'd talk to the vet about it before adding in anything like that since he's on other meds as well.

I am using Lavender and Chamomile oils for calming effects. Just started using it today so we shall see if over time that helps.

 

[Fred'smom]

Can you maybe feed more of the wet? He might do better with more wet and less dry?

I sure can add more wet to his diet. He has been getting wet morning and evening, I will add a wet lunch.

 

[tarasgirl06]

First time posting a thread but I have read multiple threads on this subject. Problem is I can't quite find someone else who is experiencing what I am. We have an 8 month old Bengal who has had 2 hospital stays for blockage due to struvite crystals. Both times the vet has been able to insert a catheter without any problems. 24 hours later, it is removed and he is watched for another 24 hours. Once he comes home he is peeing small amounts in his litter box. Size of ping pong balls. He will pee several times throughout the day. Problem is he is peeing small amounts in other areas of the house as well. This morning he peed in the litter box and then went to the kitchen rug and started to pee. Immediately took him to the litter box and he finished peeing. Makes no sense. He is on Royal Canin SO wet and dry. He has access to water bowls plus a fountain. I have given him low sodium water-downed chicken broth to encourage more water consumption thus resulting in trips to litter box. He is also getting Cosequin once a day. He is on anti-spasm med from vet along with a 3 day anti-inflammatory, which ends today. I am wondering if there is anything else I could be doing to help him not use other places, besides the litter box, to pee? I do use the Nature's Miracle when I find areas he has gone. I have not gotten new litter boxes but have thoroughly washed the ones we have prior to him coming home from the hospital. Should I get new ones at this point? I have read about stress being a major contributor to this problem. How do I know if he is stressed? We have 2 other cats and there are absolutely no problems between them, no hissing, growling, fighting, etc. He doesn't hide or cower when you are near him. He's very outgoing and quite lovable. Very frustrating at this point since he will use the litter box but uses other places as well. Any input/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for being so caring of your cats. Stressors can be just about anything. Cats don't like loud noise, for instance, and they are very intuitive/sensitive, so they are very attuned to any stress in their human caregivers. I'm wondering if you might want to get a second vet's opinion, as it does not seem like your kitten is 100% well. I don't think the litter boxes would be any problem. But I would think about running the entire history by another vet and seeing what (s)he thinks. That would be my suggestion. Please keep us informed as to his progress!

 

[Fred'smom]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, maybe decrease the dry and increase the wet if the vet says it's okay.

I sure can add another serving of wet to his daily routine. He has been getting breakfast and supper of wet food. I have 2 other cats and they are all on the urinary dry food so it's kinda hard to give him less dry (at least when he does eat the dry it's the urinary formula).

 

[tarasgirl06]

I sure can add another serving of wet to his daily routine. He has been getting breakfast and supper of wet food. I have 2 other cats and they are all on the urinary dry food so it's kinda hard to give him less dry (at least when he does eat the dry it's the urinary formula).

Not wanting to be a fault finder, but many experts and cat guardians, myself included in the latter CATegory, believe that a diet of dry food is not healthy for cats. We believe high-quality wet food should be the main diet. I feed high quality wet food 3 times a day and have a high quality dry available for "snacks" along with high quality treats I feed daily; and they have a fountain and several bowls of water as well. For my male, who has had a urinary slowdown twice, I give one tablet, crushed, of Drs. Foster & Smith CranHealth daily, mixed with his breakfast. It's chicken-flavored, palatable, and not a problem no matter who eats the food.

 

[Fred'smom]

Thank you for being so caring of your cats. Stressors can be just about anything. Cats don't like loud noise, for instance, and they are very intuitive/sensitive, so they are very attuned to any stress in their human caregivers. I'm wondering if you might want to get a second vet's opinion, as it does not seem like your kitten is 100% well. I don't think the litter boxes would be any problem. But I would think about running the entire history by another vet and seeing what (s)he thinks. That would be my suggestion. Please keep us informed as to his progress!

Thank you for your advice and input. He actually has 3 vets on his case, all from the same hospital. They have consulted with each other as to his problems and treatment plan. He had his last anti-inflammatory yesterday and still has about 7-10 days of anti-spasm medicine to take. I am going to call the vet on Monday and just give them an update as to how his last several days have gone. His last hospital stay was only a week ago. We have noticed today that he doesn't lick himself right away after he pees, whereas before as soon as he got out of the litter box he stopped and licked himself. My husband and I were talking last night about his stressors that he might be experiencing. The only we can come up with that changed in his life was that we moved but that was 5 months ago and he was 3 months old. His urinary issues didn't start until a month ago. My husband is gone M-F but that has been going on before we ever brought him home from the breeder. I am stressed right now because of him but otherwise life is very good in our house.

 

[Fred'smom]

Not wanting to be a fault finder, but many experts and cat guardians, myself included in the latter CATegory, believe that a diet of dry food is not healthy for cats. We believe high-quality wet food should be the main diet. I feed high quality wet food 3 times a day and have a high quality dry available for "snacks" along with high quality treats I feed daily; and they have a fountain and several bowls of water as well. For my male, who has had a urinary slowdown twice, I give one tablet, crushed, of Drs. Foster & Smith CranHealth daily, mixed with his breakfast. It's chicken-flavored, palatable, and not a problem no matter who eats the food.

I understand the dry food theory, that is why we switched all our cats to the urinary health dry food (they are all males). Currently his wet food is the Royal Canin SO and I do have cans of the Purina urinary wet. Prior to this episode they cat kids were getting Instinct wet food as a treat. Shame on me, but wasn't aware of how bad dry kibble can be for them or else they would have been getting wet more often.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thank you for your advice and input. He actually has 3 vets on his case, all from the same hospital. They have consulted with each other as to his problems and treatment plan. He had his last anti-inflammatory yesterday and still has about 7-10 days of anti-spasm medicine to take. I am going to call the vet on Monday and just give them an update as to how his last several days have gone. His last hospital stay was only a week ago. We have noticed today that he doesn't lick himself right away after he pees, whereas before as soon as he got out of the litter box he stopped and licked himself. My husband and I were talking last night about his stressors that he might be experiencing. The only we can come up with that changed in his life was that we moved but that was 5 months ago and he was 3 months old. His urinary issues didn't start until a month ago. My husband is gone M-F but that has been going on before we ever brought him home from the breeder. I am stressed right now because of him but otherwise life is very good in our house.

Good on ya! *Fred is adorable, btw. But you knew that already.* Licking after using (or trying to use) the litterbox is a sign of his not being "normal" in terms of urination -- discomfort. He could be trying to clear himself, also, if he has any sort of obstruction.

 

[rubysmama]

I am using Lavender and Chamomile oils for calming effects. Just started using it today so we shall see if over time that helps.

I don't want to add something else for you to worry about, but I've been reading that essential oils might be harmful to pets, so you might want double check with your vet(s) to ensure they're ok to use around your kitten.

Here's the article I came across earlier this week: 'Like oil and water,' essential oils and your pet may be a bad mix

 

[catsknowme]

Welcome to TCS!
I would like to chime in on this as I have suffered from crystals, stones and general UT issues most of my life (kidney, bladder).
I use marshmallow root and slippery elm to soothe irritated tissues, alongside with all the western medicines, because those herbs bring relief while/until the meds do their magic (they are also excellent for lung and gastrointestinal support). When my Maine Coon was getting UTI problems, I had to put the puppy pads alongside the litter box (often the peeing starts off okay but then it hurts and burns so the bladder spasms, despite the meds - the catheters irritate the tissues lining the urethra, separate from the medical problem). I also switched the litter from UNscented clumping to both laying crackettes and laying mash chicken feeds (i had laying hens). JC preferred the mash at first but switched to krackettes and eventually went to only litter.
Also, I took my MC off his beloved Royal Canin Maine Coon mix and put him on Hills RX topped with FF gravy lovers. I let him have Gerber stage 2 chicken and either boiled chicken or hamburger for his treats. I used the herbal decoctions in his food (some people sprinkle the powdered herbs on the food which requires ensuring higher water intake).
You can add an truly unscented litter to the chicken feed for extra clumping (Kmart's Cat&Co and Chewy's Frisco are excellent - Arm&Hammer, FreshStep, TidyCats fragrance free/unscenteds often have lingering irritating perfumes that irritate urethras as well as rectums).
I hope that your boy makes a complete recovery soon!