Conference misery::feline_v1

    My cat, Pollux, used to get cyctitis fairly frequently.  He also
    had crystals in his urine, but the vet did give him antibiotics
    when he displayed symptoms.  As a preventative measure the vet
    suggested low ash foods and adding water to the food to help flush
    out his bladder and prevent crystals building up.  It seems to have
    worked.  He hasn't had an infection in several years.
    
    I'd at least call another vet and explain the situation. If it is
    a muscle spasm problem surely they could give her a muscle relaxant.
    
    Good luck.   

    Kelley
    I can truly sympathize with what you are going through.  I have
    two male cats that have FUS and I feed them both c/d dry food and
    occasionally some c/d canned food.
    
    I am no expert on cystitis but here are some of my thoughts.  Maybe
    some of the others out there will be able to help too.
    
    First of all, maybe they haven't given her antibiotics because they
    wouldn't help her particular problem.  Antibiotics will help with
    an infection, but the vet doesn't think her problem is caused by
    an infection.  Urine crystals are helped by acidifying the urine
    so the vitamin c is a good choice.  The vet might also give the
    cat an injection or tablets of a drug that also acidifies the urine.
    
    Another thing you should do is make sure she drinks lots of water.
    One way that I do this is put a little salt in there food.  And
    I also make sure that there are plenty of water bowls around so
    that they don't have to go far to find it.  My cats don't like our
    tap water so I give them the bottled spring water that my husband
    and I drink.  They like it better and so drink more.
    
    Another thing that I do to keep tract of how much they are urinating
    is to only put about 1 inch of litter in the box.  This serves the
    purpose of letting me know how much urine is being passed and also
    it is much easier to tell if there is any blood in it.  The big
    drawback is that you have to change the litter more often but, if
    you are changing it more often you are more likely to notice a problem
    in the early stages.
    
    Urine crystals can be serious if left untreated.  The cat can become
    blocked and hence unable to urinate.  This happens most commonly
    in male cats but can happen to females also. 
    
    What type of treatment did your doctor reccomend?  Other than the
    c/d did he have any ideas.  My cats rejected c/d at first but I
    didn't offer them any choices so they eventually decided it wasn't
    so bad after all.  It took about 3 days for them to figure out that
    all they would be given was c/d.  Now they gobble it up.
    
    I will try to help as much as I can.  Give me more details if possible.
    
    Jo Ann
    

    Well, my experience with Argus and FUS has pretty much been the
    same in that the vet usually like to try to treat it with medicine
    before doing something drastic like catherterizing or operating.
    The situation that they usually do that for is when the cat is blocked,
    and that happens more frequently in females. The last time Argus
    was catherterized he wasn't completely blocked, but they did it
    so that they could drain his bladder (which was very bloody and
    infected). They did this after sending a urine sample out to a lab
    for analysis. Then they pumped him full of antibiotices (because
    he had three types of germs in his bladder) for a few days before
    they operated and gave him a periourithoectomy (not sure how to
    spell it but basicly he was replumbed so he wont block.)
    
    The cat's life (not comfort) is only in imediate danger if the cat
    is blocked. It sounds like your cat isn't, but if it were my cat,
    I certainly wouldn't want it to suffer. I'd really consider asking
    the vet to take the cat in for a few days observation; if the vet
    doesn't want to do that, I suggest that you perhaps call another
    vet. You mention being in Marlboro; Once on an emergency, I took
    Argus to Slade in Framingham and I was VERY IMPRESSED with their
    concern for him (it was just a scratched eye, but about 8 hours
    after we got home the vet that treated him called just to make sure
    Argus was more comfortable).
    
    Please let us know what happens,
    Deb

    I can understand what you are going through.  My two cats had the
    same problem several years ago, at the same time.  What seemed to cure
    the problem was the following steps...
    
    	1) The vet prescribed some type of acidified gel that came in
    	   a tube.  I'd give them a one inch strip every day or so until
    	   the problem went away.
    
    	2) Stopped using 'Super Market Junk Food' and started feeding
   	   them C/D.  At first they didn't care for it but when they
   	   got hungry enough they ate.  Same little trick my mother
    	   used on me to get me to eat what was good for me.
    
    	3) They only get distilled water to drink.  No tap or spring
    	   water.  I feel that this has played the most important part
           of clearing up the problem.  Distilled water is pure water,
    	   no minerals or other impurities, thus it provides the best
    	   internal cleaning liquid the body can get.  Thus the mineral
   	   structures that cause the problem do not have the opportunity
    	   to get large enough to be of consequence.
    
    I have not had a recurrence of the problem in any of my cats since.
    
    Hope that maybe it may help you out.  Let us know as things progress.
    
    Joe
    

    Thanks for all the great suggestions!   Underfoot has been having
    good days and bad days, obviously because on those bad days she's 
    passing a crystal.  She seems to be the worst in the morning...probably
    because I'm in the bathroom getting ready for work and she likes
    to be in there with me and the litter box is right there.  She's
    definitely not "right" yet, but hopefully it won't be too much longer!
    
    I've tried a couple of the suggestions already....I've started
    sprinkling just a little salt on the food to make her drink more
    water.  And I'm still giving her the Vitamin C every morning.
    
    I called Dr. Nelson again, and he suggested trying the canned C/D 
    one more time, but I'm going to heat it a little to see if she'll
    eat it then.  She seemed to have adjusted to the dry Science Diet,
    but it hasn't seemed to help that much yet.
    
    I was wondering how long it takes for this problem to go away? 
    Never having experienced this problem before, I'd appreciate anyone
    telling me how long it lasted for their cat.   It's terribly difficult
    for me to be patient when I know she doesn't feel good. 
    
    She has been wonderful through this whole thing....she's been VERY
    affectionate and "cuddly" since this started.  As soon as I come
    home from work, she wants to be held on my shoulder and insists
    on sleeping right near my face at night.   She's sooo cute!!
    
    Thanks again for the suggestions.  I'll keep you posted!
    
    Kelley

    Glad to hear that Underfoot is doing better now.  When Monroe was
    dealing with the crystals he was sick for about a week and a half.
    Winston showed noticeable improvement in just a few days.  Monroe
    is the one who had the crystals and the blood in his urine.
    
    Heating up the food is a good idea, since cats are led by their
    sense of smell when it comes to food and when heated the c/d does
    have a stronger fragrance (?) (odor?)  We heat the c/d in the microwave
    when it has been in the fridge so they don't have to eat it cold.
    
    Good Luck
    Jo Ann

    
    Rather than heating the food in the Microwave (which distributes
    the aroma??? in a much greater area) I add hot water to the soft
    food. This heats up the food, but also adds water to their diet
    without them having much say about it. If they want to eat, they
    have to get through the water first.

    The amounts of water vary for either cat - Rascal will suck anything
    down and seems to like his food very watery. Merlin won't eat it
    (or I should say doesn't eat it quick enough before Rascal gets
    to it) if there is too much water, so his food is somewhere between
    wet and not-really-soupy.
    
    Good luck and I hope your kitty feels better soon!
    
    janet b.