Pipsqueak does have FIC - blood in urine with no known cause - no crystal's or stones. I took him through all of the tests: xrays, culture sensitivity urine tests, and ultrasound. Everything was normal. Very frustrating not to be able to find out the WHY... I have not been able to see actual blood though (red urine) although when I collect it from him it is a brownish color. He let's me collect his urine while he goes, I just use a sterile small plastic container. He is currently on Dasuquin http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/vet/products/Dasuquin-for-cats.aspx It is suppose to help strengthen the bladder wall against irritation.Oh Jenny! How annoyingly frustrating. So no crystals or gravel in his urine, either? Many for Bonaparte!
Lauren's Pipsqueak had the same thing (though I don't think he ever had a problem with crystals) - only it seems maybe not as much blood. She's trying Dasuquin. Though it turns out the glucosamine studies weren't controlled, and they now believe it doesn't really help with idiopathic cystitis, in some cats it does (by thickening/buffering the bladder wall). I don't know if it's worth discussing with the vet or not, but wanted to put the idea out there. :heart3:
Thanks for the info. Lauren. The vet has called me this morning and I can bring Bonaparte home htis afternoon. The vet says he removed a lot of gunk form his tubes, some of which was embedded and had been there a long time. I must keep him on a special diet for the rest of his life, difficult in a mulit-cat (and dog!) household, but I will sort things out. He is also an inside/outside cat and eats the prey he catches, and I cannot change that - I have a feeling that it may be no coincidence that this has happened just after I had to keep him in for a month because I had a cat-killing dog staying in my gite and the poor cat was definitely very stressed. All the cats are already on the best urinary balance food I can find, but it will need to go further. I will discuss the details with the vet when I see him later.Pipsqueak does have FIC - blood in urine with no known cause - no crystal's or stones. I took him through all of the tests: xrays, culture sensitivity urine tests, and ultrasound. Everything was normal. Very frustrating not to be able to find out the WHY... I have not been able to see actual blood though (red urine) although when I collect it from him it is a brownish color. He let's me collect his urine while he goes, I just use a sterile small plastic container. He is currently on Dasuquin http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/vet/products/Dasuquin-for-cats.aspx It is suppose to help strengthen the bladder wall against irritation.
I am not sure it is working though. These last few day's he is going to the box a bit more again, not like before, but a little more and the urine clumps are not as big. He was also on an anti-depressant but not at the current time. The antidepressant he was on was called Elavil. It helps the cat's to retain their urine and allows the bladder to heal. Although it did stop his urinating frequently - it did not clear the blood in the urine. He was on it for three month's. I may have to go back to it just for his stress and urine retention. His FIC is most likely due to his high strung nature. Stress goes directly to a cat's bladder causing inflammation and irritation - which produces the blood.
The Cosequin that I had for Pipsqueak was made for Cat's. http://nutramaxlabs.com/Vet/Products/Cosequin-for-cats.aspx I is not a pill - It is a capsule and you only have to sprinkle one on the food once daily. Twice daily for over ten pounds (two capsules sprinkled on food). It is very easy and they can't taste anything either. I ordered mine from Amazon and also the Dasuquin http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/vet/products/Dasuquin-for-cats.aspx can be ordered from Amazon. It certainly won't hurt to put Bonaparte on one of these two product's. The Cosequin a a little cheaper but the Dasuquin has a better formulation of ingredient's as Laurie says . That is what Pipsqueak is on right now. :nod:I'm so glad he's home!!!!! :rub:
I do hope the analysis will help with some answers. :nod:
As to the cosequin... I hope he takes pills well. My understanding is they're large, and you have to give quite a few of them. Dosuquin is the same thing, just formulated slightly differently, and thus smaller and you give fewer of them - and the form of the glucosamine, in my understanding, tends to be more effective. Either way, it's hit or miss though (for bladder issues). The research on it is old and not well controlled - it showed it helped. Then the problems with the study(ies) came to light... and other better controlled studies showed no difference. But vets continue to suggest it, because it definitely helps some cats.
But WHY he's making the stones would be a much better help!
he loves the RC wet and keeps liking it (and it does the trick!)
That is interesting, as the manufacturer's website says both are available only through vets. anyway, I will wait to see what the vet says, and he is now on a glucosamine med to help keep his system lubricated, so I won't add to that for the moment. He is still quiet today, not yet himslef, but he has been through a terrible time and will take awhile to get over it all.The Cosequin that I had for Pipsqueak was made for Cat's. http://nutramaxlabs.com/Vet/Products/Cosequin-for-cats.aspx I is not a pill - It is a capsule and you only have to sprinkle one on the food once daily. Twice daily for over ten pounds (two capsules sprinkled on food). It is very easy and they can't taste anything either. I ordered mine from Amazon and also the Dasuquin http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/vet/products/Dasuquin-for-cats.aspx can be ordered from Amazon. It certainly won't hurt to put Bonaparte on one of these two product's. The Cosequin a a little cheaper but the Dasuquin has a better formulation of ingredient's as Laurie says . That is what Pipsqueak is on right now. :nod:
I wish we could find out WHY certain cat's are prone to stone formation like that. Hope he gets better on the new diet and continues to improve. :cross:
Jenny is in France, but Amazon.co.uk has Nutramax Cosequin for Cats and Nutramax Dasuquin for Cats Capsules The shipping for the cosequin is ridiculous (GBP 22.02), but it's GBP 3.95 for the dasuquin.The Cosequin that I had for Pipsqueak was made for Cat's. http://nutramaxlabs.com/Vet/Products/Cosequin-for-cats.aspx I is not a pill - It is a capsule and you only have to sprinkle one on the food once daily. Twice daily for over ten pounds (two capsules sprinkled on food). It is very easy and they can't taste anything either. I ordered mine from Amazon and also the Dasuquin http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/vet/products/Dasuquin-for-cats.aspx can be ordered from Amazon. It certainly won't hurt to put Bonaparte on one of these two product's. The Cosequin a a little cheaper but the Dasuquin has a better formulation of ingredient's as Laurie says . That is what Pipsqueak is on right now. :nod:
I wish we could find out WHY certain cat's are prone to stone formation like that. Hope he gets better on the new diet and continues to improve. :cross: