Cats & Bladder Problems

[icnmgrjill]

Here's a link you might find very interesting. Male cats often get bladder problems, which they struggle to treat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3956833.stm

Jill

[XoChelsey03Xo]

Wow, that is really interesting. I had no idea that cats could have bladder problems. I have two cats. One is a male cat however he is still a baby. He looks just like the picture of the cat they show on the web page. Thanks for sharing that. Chelsey

[Mel53H]

Yes, my male cat, a few years back, had a problem with his bladder. They had to put him under to open up his uretha or he would have died. He was having trouble peeing. Poor guy! They have special food out in the grocery store now that is good for bladder health. :cat:

Mel53H

[ICNDonna]

I didn't know that about cats. I know that dogs, especially dal*****ns, can have urinary tract problems. I did a lot of research and found that many experts feel that high protein diets can cause this problem in dal*****ns. So we're very careful that we don't give our Meggie high protein dog food. I don't have any idea if that would be true for cats.

Donna

[mayray518]

My vet told me that cats get IC all the time.

[Dani72]

Cats are the animal with the closest urinary system as humans.

[Moby]

Actually, since cats get IC (feline interstitial cystitis) the bulk of animal research on IC is done with cats. Don't fret everyone, they don't hurt the kitties. :) Dianne

[July]

A cat we had in the past had UTIs. The vet told us to avoid cat food with magnesium, as this leads to UTIs in cats. The bad thing is most cat foods have it. I think we switched to Purina One and the problem went away.

[Stella1609]

I knew that cats could be prone to UTIs, but I had no idea about the IC. That's fascinating! Gotta feel sorry for the poor kitties though :(.

Laura

[Sarojini]

My mother-in-law's Siberian kitty (named Spanky) was diagnosed with FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease, ie. feline IC) a few months after I was diagnosed with the human version of the disease.

Spanky spent a week in the hospital with a catheter after his cysto because his urine also contained crystals that were large enough to obstruct his poor urethra. When he came home, he was on an IC Diet for Cats, and was taking a cat version of Elmiron and some Valium for his bladder spasms. As expected, he was rather dissatisfied with his bland IC diet, and also as expected, the two of us were razzed by our family about having the same disease and some of the same meds ("Jen has a kitty disease!" or "Spanky has Jen's Disease!") but it was all in good fun and everyone showed the utmost concern for both of us.

Spanky and I bonded over the experience as only two ICers can; and now when we visit my MIL's, often Spanky and I can be found sitting in a chair together in a quiet place, wordlessly sharing our hopes and dreams as only cat and cat lover can. :)

[Iris]

Jen, that was so cute, I had read a while back about cats having IC, and my heart goes out to any kitty with IC. I can just imagine the two of you bonding, you are a cat lover like myself, and cats certainly know when we are not feeling our best. Great post, take care Iris. :) :cat: :flower:

[greghh]

I have a friend that is a vet. He knew a lot about IC from lectures on cats.
Vets are using amitriptilene(sp). He didn't know about Elimiron. I told him how much it costs. He said it was cost prohibative for most vet practices.

[anxious one]

Poor little babies!!!! :cat: My mum has a cat Jemima that gets repeat uti's... will definately pass this info on to her. Thanks!!

sara

[work it]

Just curious on how you can tell if your cat as a UTI or is having bladder problems. I have 3. 1 older male and 2 female kittens. I would hate to think they any of them are in any discomfort and I am not aware of this.
Thanks

[Iris]

Hi Teisha, I know I had a cat many years ago, that had bladder problems. I know he used to meow when using the litter box, and then I noticed blood one day, and took him to the vet. Sometimes they even try to go outside the litter box, and look like they are really straining to urinate. Hope this helps, he was the only cat that I have had, that had the problem, Iris. :hi: :cat:

[work it]

Thank you Iris, now I'll know what to watch for.

[JaimieEileen]

My poor kitty Nox. I had noticed one night she made frequent trips to the litter box and was squatting on her favorite blanket. They associate the litter box with pain so they begin urinating elsewhere. I took her to the vet the next morning right when they opened, assuming it was just a UTI. She went through courses of medications and pain relievers for several weeks and UAs were done. Just thinking of her being catheterized is painful to me, I know how awful it is. Most of my IC pain is my bladder stem and urethra. I can deal with spasms and cramps. Her UAs were clean but her symptoms still sporadically appear which led to her diagnosis. Upon researching this disease in cats, I came across something awful. It made me think of how much I overcome with just a little pain medication and my symptoms don't ruin my life. Someone simply euthanized their cat at three years old just because it didn't respond to three weeks of treatment and was peeing on the carpet. I can't imagine IC being a life or death situation.

http://www.petfinder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=176271

I now have a greater attachment to my cat knowing she knows what I'm going through because she has to go through it too. Mine also started with a UTI almost six years ago. No amount of money she could cost me would ever justify killing her for something she didn't ask for. I love my special needs kitty.