Post Cystitis And Struvite Crystals Diagnosis

[Fred'smom]

Oh, yeah. I keep it in the house in gallon size and have smaller bottles in the bathrooms and kitchen, at the ready.
And yes, as long as he is able to give some output, it is not an emergency -- only very likely uncomfortably pressured. I know I rely on the CranHealth tabs for my Elvis! and have in the past used MethiGel methionine supplement for my beloved angel Samuda, who was prone to FLUTD. No cats in my care have ever condescended to eat any Rx diets, which I don't blame them for as many if not most contain ingredients I do not believe are of even average quality, and look and smell quite awful. By using the supplements I was/am able to give my cats a high quality, varied, palatable diet they enjoy while still maintaining their urinary tract health. And that's what any of us would want, isn't it?

Just ordered a gallon off Ebay. I tell my husband I should wear a tool belt all day long that consists of paper towels and Nature's Miracle. He does get supplements (vet approved) and he as well as the other kitties actually like the RX food. We are gradually switching them from the RX dry to the Purina urinary, again vet approved. All 3 like it so thankfully no issues with picky eaters. Fred gets the RC SO wet while the others get Instinct wet.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Just ordered a gallon off Ebay. I tell my husband I should wear a tool belt all day long that consists of paper towels and Nature's Miracle. He does get supplements (vet approved) and he as well as the other kitties actually like the RX food. We are gradually switching them from the RX dry to the Purina urinary, again vet approved. All 3 like it so thankfully no issues with picky eaters. Fred gets the RC SO wet while the others get Instinct wet.

My ex used to call me, "Our Lady of the Pan" because with our large multi-cat family at that time, I was always scoopin'

 

[angels mommy]

Thank you for your input. He is on Phenoxybenzamine, 5mg, 2x a day. He has 6 days left. The vet tech did mention that maybe our next step is an anti-anxiety type pill. I will talk to my vet about it for sure. He seems to be using the box and today so far (knock on wood), have not found any new pee places. I watch him like a hawk! I also take him to the litter box to encourage pees and he will walk into it and pee without any problems. They are not big pee balls but they are pee balls. I am getting more patience daily and getting into more of a routine with him.

I'm not familiar with that one. I've only had experience w/ the amatriptyline. If your vet said that, then it may be a good one to try, if that's not what he's thinking already. That's good the encouraging works. They are smart, & I think understand that you are trying to help him. If he does have a bad association w/ the litter box, then hopefully the positive reinforcement your doing will change that.
Yes, it is good that he IS peeing. I know all about watching the pee sizes. Hopefully Fred will go from ping pong ball size, to tangerine, to an orange! While going through that w/ Angel, every time he would go pee, I'd say, "Good Boy!"
"Good pee pee!" I'm sure if he could roll his eyes, he would have. LOL! "Ok mom, geeez!"

 

[Fred'smom]

I'm not familiar with that one. I've only had experience w/ the amatriptyline. If your vet said that, then it may be a good one to try, if that's not what he's thinking already. That's good the encouraging works. They are smart, & I think understand that you are trying to help him. If he does have a bad association w/ the litter box, then hopefully the positive reinforcement your doing will change that.
Yes, it is good that he IS peeing. I know all about watching the pee sizes. Hopefully Fred will go from ping pong ball size, to tangerine, to an orange! While going through that w/ Angel, every time he would go pee, I'd say, "Good Boy!"
"Good pee pee!" I'm sure if he could roll his eyes, he would have. LOL! "Ok mom, geeez!"

Our litter boxes are downstairs in our finished basement and about every few hours I will say "come on Fred, let's go pot pot" and sing a little pee pee dance on the way down. He usually follows me, sometimes I have to call for him. I go to the litter box and stand and then he goes right in and pees. The whole time I am singing his praise. Alot of times our other kitten (who is a month younger) will be in the box next to him and looks at me like, "what about me mom" so of course I praise him too!! I did not find a pee spot yesterday but this morning he had peed on the bathroom rug at some point over the night. We have gone from 4-5 times a day peeing to maybe 1, it's getting better. Thank you to you and everyone who has responded to my post, gives me hope.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Our litter boxes are downstairs in our finished basement and about every few hours I will say "come on Fred, let's go pot pot" and sing a little pee pee dance on the way down. He usually follows me, sometimes I have to call for him. I go to the litter box and stand and then he goes right in and pees. The whole time I am singing his praise. Alot of times our other kitten (who is a month younger) will be in the box next to him and looks at me like, "what about me mom" so of course I praise him too!! I did not find a pee spot yesterday but this morning he had peed on the bathroom rug at some point over the night. We have gone from 4-5 times a day peeing to maybe 1, it's getting better. Thank you to you and everyone who has responded to my post, gives me hope.

I'm glad he's doing better!! =)
My guy peed on one of our dogs bed, and I saw him. He didn't scratch, squat, and actively pee like it was a well thought out idea, but he hopped onto the bed, was making his peep noises of greeting and kind of "sprayed" on the bed.
I'm not sure of his history but if you know his breeder you might contact them to let them know of the problem. Some breeders are very appreciative to know of any health problems popping up in their lines (for whatever reason, genetic or not).

 

[Fred'smom]

I'm glad he's doing better!! =)
My guy peed on one of our dogs bed, and I saw him. He didn't scratch, squat, and actively pee like it was a well thought out idea, but he hopped onto the bed, was making his peep noises of greeting and kind of "sprayed" on the bed.
I'm not sure of his history but if you know his breeder you might contact them to let them know of the problem. Some breeders are very appreciative to know of any health problems popping up in their lines (for whatever reason, genetic or not).

I contacted his breeder after the first emergency trip both to let her know and to ask if any of siblings or other litters were having problems (looking for genetic problems). She is very involved with her litters and is constantly asking me how he is, even offered money to help pay his expenses. I did catch him a little bit ago peeing on my husband's old Navy wool blanket that was sitting on a shelf downstairs. Which he walked past the litter box to get to, that's what is frustrating. We have 2 sets of shelves that have various boxes and misc crap stored on them. We have decided to put what we can in totes, rather than boxes (because he has peed on boxes), pull the shelves out and thoroughly clean them and the floor. We have Pergo floors in the basement except under a sectional couch, which has a rug. He has peed on that as well. We are going to get rid of the rug. Trying to eliminate things that he has shown an interest in when peeing besides the litterbox. I am waiting for my gallon of Nature's Miracle before I undertake this project!!

 

[1 bruce 1]

I contacted his breeder after the first emergency trip both to let her know and to ask if any of siblings or other litters were having problems (looking for genetic problems). She is very involved with her litters and is constantly asking me how he is, even offered money to help pay his expenses. I did catch him a little bit ago peeing on my husband's old Navy wool blanket that was sitting on a shelf downstairs. Which he walked past the litter box to get to, that's what is frustrating. We have 2 sets of shelves that have various boxes and misc crap stored on them. We have decided to put what we can in totes, rather than boxes (because he has peed on boxes), pull the shelves out and thoroughly clean them and the floor. We have Pergo floors in the basement except under a sectional couch, which has a rug. He has peed on that as well. We are going to get rid of the rug. Trying to eliminate things that he has shown an interest in when peeing besides the litterbox. I am waiting for my gallon of Nature's Miracle before I undertake this project!!

She sounds like an excellent breeder =)

Natures Miracle also makes a no more marking spray, in case this becomes a habit/marking issue that I've found helps, but it needs re application often (just a mist with the sprayer bottle.)
Dr. Elsey makes an excellent litter called Cat Attract. I have more than one cat so using this alone in all boxes wasn't feasible but I did keep it mixed.
Both of these things helped when our UTI girl had a recurrent bout and the peeing elsewhere started becoming a habit; I know it was medical but I wanted to intercept before it became ingrained!

 

[walli]

My Patchy had UTI at the end of her life, she was 18 tho, your cat is quite young.
we had to go all canned food, and we were looking at ingredients in cat food, someone mentioned
here earlier about minerals in cat food, vet told us no fishy food, I think I use to give her too many cat treats, not sure tho. She was on the anti spasm med too, I was giving her the homeo pet UTI also, not sure if it worked
but something did. It's a hard thing to watch our friends go through this, I hope they find an answer for you.

 

[Fred'smom]

My Patchy had UTI at the end of her life, she was 18 tho, your cat is quite young.
we had to go all canned food, and we were looking at ingredients in cat food, someone mentioned
here earlier about minerals in cat food, vet told us no fishy food, I think I use to give her too many cat treats, not sure tho. She was on the anti spasm med too, I was giving her the homeo pet UTI also, not sure if it worked
but something did. It's a hard thing to watch our friends go through this, I hope they find an answer for you.

Thank you for your reply. I did cut out all fishy food for all my kitties involved. They don't really get treats, was using the wet as their treat. He seems to be getting better so some type of combination of things are working. Going to keep going on current plan. I am nervous once he goes off the anti-spasm that things will go wrong, but hopefully the other things like the RX wet food and supplements will have given him what he needs to keep moving forward.

 

[walli]

They let me refill the anti spasm med, my cat was older and female, big difference
My heart is with you, If that is your kitty in the Avatar he is precious.
One thing too they had me give her water under the skin, to help break up the crystals?
Maybe this is just a temporary thing, He is so young!!

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I agree with Walli, that sub-cutaneous fluids are a great idea. You may even be able to do it yourself with proper instruction (I was not able too, I would get nervous, but many pet parents do their sub-c's.). It is only going under the skin.

 

[Fred'smom]

They let me refill the anti spasm med, my cat was older and female, big difference
My heart is with you, If that is your kitty in the Avatar he is precious.
One thing too they had me give her water under the skin, to help break up the crystals?
Maybe this is just a temporary thing, He is so young!!

Yes, that is dear Fred in my Avatar. He is a 8 month Bengal. Love him to pieces, even thru all his crazy Bengal mannerisms! I talk to my vet regularly in regards to his progress so I am confident if he needs to stay on the meds longer she will refill them for us.

 

[Fred'smom]

I agree with Walli, that sub-cutaneous fluids are a great idea. You may even be able to do it yourself with proper instruction (I was not able too, I would get nervous, but many pet parents do their sub-c's.). It is only going under the skin.

Thank you, I will talk to our vet in regards to this. I might be a little nervous at first but will do what I need to for him.

 

[walli]

It's pretty easy, just make sure they give you the small needles.
You know when I was researching all this for my Female Cat, I think I remember something
about a surgery they can do for a Male cat, to make the path not so narrow?
Just saying cuz your cat is so young, and also worst case scenario.
We want Fred to fully recover from this tho!!

 

[sweetblackpaws]

It's pretty easy, just make sure they give you the small needles.
You know when I was researching all this for my Female Cat, I think I remember something
about a surgery they can do for a Male cat, to make the path not so narrow?
Just saying cuz your cat is so young, and also worst case scenario.
We want Fred to fully recover from this tho!!

It is called PU surgery, my boy had it. It is very costly and not a 100% guarantee of no blockage. But he was an extreme case and had blocked more than once.

 

[Fred'smom]

It's pretty easy, just make sure they give you the small needles.
You know when I was researching all this for my Female Cat, I think I remember something
about a surgery they can do for a Male cat, to make the path not so narrow?
Just saying cuz your cat is so young, and also worst case scenario.
We want Fred to fully recover from this tho!!

His vet and I have talked about the PU surgery but we are really trying to avoid it as he is so young. She said his pee pee is still small and will grow so if we were to do it now we would have to do follow ups as he grows. He had a pretty good day today so fingers crossed!

 

[sweetblackpaws]

Glad he had a good day. Yes, PU is extreme and recovery is delicate.

 

[Freyacat]

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.

 

[Freyacat]

Try Hills diet food. I had a similar problem with two different cat. My experience is the Royal Cannon food does not work. In addition get a second opinion from a different vet.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thank you, I will talk to our vet in regards to this. I might be a little nervous at first but will do what I need to for him.

Yes, your vet can teach you. I learned for our beloved angel Moti, who was diagnosed with kidney issues. It bought us 7 more months of quality time with her, for which I will always be grateful. It might help if you do learn sub-Q to use our method; if you have a bathroom with a good counter space and an elevated place to hang a coat hanger not far away, put the Ringers (sub-Q fluid) bag on a coat hanger, and hang the hanger on the hook or side of shower frame or whatever; place Fred in a top-loading cat carrier with the top open, and do the sub-Q therapy like that. It can help him to feel more calm by being in a "box" like the carrier, and it's very easy to access him from the top-load being open. Once you learn how to give it and do it a couple of times, you should be quite confident, and you'll remember each time that you're helping him, which should add to your feeling of accomplishment.