Any experts on FLUTD?Need advice managing.

I'll try to make this short. My 2yr old male, Oliver, had a urinary blockage. 3 days in hospital diagnosed with struvite crystals and FLUTD. Has been back to vets (regular and ER) for continuing problems. Mostly just going a few drops at a time.
He has been on 2 different antibiotics (not because of the FLUTD, but due to bacteria found in the urine) and is currently at the end of the Baytril he is taking. The last vet visit I also left with Prazosin and he took it for about 3 days till he seemed back on track. Vet told me some of his cats with FLUTD have the Prazosin on hand for when this happens and only use it for a few days when necessary.
Now I gave him Prazosin again today because I noticed frequent trips to the litter box with only producing a few drops. Since his 1st Prazosin dose this am he has gone 1 time that I feel was adequate, but still visits frequently only producing a few spots.
I'm new to FLUTD and have figured out to this point that there is no specific treatment. But more figuring out what might work. I am wondering if you can tell me what has worked for you and what should I expect. Are flare ups, like I am assuming oliver is having right now, frequent. I am thinking that the frequent litter box trips while producing drops is due to spasming? Or the feeling of needing to go.
I am feeding canned and also purchase a fountain to encourage drinking.
I am a multi cat (4) household.
I'd like to hear your experiences and what has worked for you to manage the FLUTD.

 

First, sorry you and your buddy are going through this. I've had several cats with FLUTD and understand your frustration and concern. Did the vet send you home with a prescription diet? Second, did they encourage you to add salmon oil to Oliver's diet? You might ask about a short term dose of pred to reduce the inflammation in the bladder. Amitriplyin can also be used to relax the bladder and reduce or stop the spasms that are occurring. Did they x-ray or ultrasound Oliver's bladder to see if he has bladder stones? Hope this helps and more importantly I hope Olive feels better in the very near future.

 

He he still having crystals? My cat Lightning (GA) repeatedly blocked due to stuvite crystals even with the urinary prescription diet.Still blokced after one PU surgery. The second PU surgery resolved it.

 

When Oliver first went (blockage) in he did have crystals. 2nd trip to ER vet (took him because he was only producing small spots of urine) the urine showed no crystals, only bacteria....so she gave him Convenia. So that vet told me to continue feeding what I was because it was working. I have not tried prescription food. ER vet said it's only used short term to dissolve crystals and there was no need to put him
on it since he didn't have any. Back to my vet (3rd) time for only small urine spots again and that's when the Baytril was given. (Assuming the Convenia didn't work) Also gave the prazosin at this visit. Also suggested
a prescription diet....confused, ER vet said not necessary. Kinda aggravated at this point.
Oliver is acting fine, playing with the other cats. Dr. mentioned nothing about Salmon oil. I've read about Amitriplyin and also Cosequin. Was wondering if anyone has their cat on a daily med for FLUTD. Also, what
do you feed. It's tricky with 4 cats, but I will do whatever I can.

 

OK...now a whole new problem. I was just on the couch and Oliver jumped on my lap, i petted him a bit, he walked a step off my
lap and started peeing all over me and the couch.
On the upside, it was quite a bit so I know he's not blocked, but I cannot have a cat peeing all over my house.
Put a call into the vet, but what to do ????

 

I found Dr Pierson's information about urinary tract health very helpful.

Saoirse had bladder stones a few years ago and later had a stress-related UTI (my civvie was bullying her). The vet at the time prescribed Royal Canin Urinary s/o dry for her and that, I think was the start of what led to Saoirse's diabetes and pancreatitis. (See her profile in my signature for further details.) I've seen several members here report feeding RC urinary prescription diet before their cats were diagnosed diabetic. Saoirse started overgrooming her tummy when I started her on it and the vet at the time put the behaviour down to stress. With my now better educated hindsight, I think it was due to a food allergy/sensitivity and that is what led to Saoirse developing pancreatitis and then diabetes.

Since switching to a wet, low carb diet Saoirse has had two abdominal ultrasound scans and in both she was free of both calcium oxalate and struvite uroliths. I add c. 1 tbsp water to all of her feeds - about 150ml per day in total. That, plus the moisture in her food keeps her well-hydrated. Note that Saoirse has early stage renal insufficiency (probably due to the diabetes) so she can't concentrate her urine as well as a cat without renal issues and therefore loses more fluids through elimination. (Her urine specific gravity is running at about 1.02.) I've learned from Tanya's Site that urine acidifiers aren't great news for kidneys.

I perform regular home urinalysis for Saoirse. It is great because it lets me check her urine pH regularly. It varies most of the time between 6.5 and 7.0 (but occasionally down to 6.0 and up to 7.5). Anti-jinx she has been fine at these values.

That sounds odd. Definitely a good plan to call the vet.



Mogs
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He may not be able to hold it once he relaxes ... as he did on your lap.

 

My civie has FLUTD, aka idiopathic cystitis. It manifests most of the time with the small spots of pee and licking. One time, on the way to the vet, he flooded the carrier. Thank goodness for pee pads! Another time he was "leaking", unfortunately on the bed. Sigh! As you say, at least you know they aren't blocked.

At the time of an episode, he usually gets cerenia (for it's anti-inflammatory properties), cartrophen (equivalent to Adequan in the US), fluids, buprenorphine for 3 days as it's very painful, and sometimes the prazosin. A million anti-jinxes, but it's been a couple years since an episode. What he eats is low carb/low phosphorus food with plenty of water added. He gets raw with occasional canned. He's not much of a drinker (ignored the fountain) so I have to supplement with water and the raw food also has lots of moisture. For supplements he get fish oil and Cosequin. He does also get a treat (Pet Natural of Vermont Urinary support) that contains d-mannose. At the time of his last episode, he got a short course (4 shots, once a week) of Cartrophen. Here is an article describing FLUTD, signs and treatments, including Cartrophen. You will note that the article says less than 2% of these are caused by bacterial infection. And last but not least, I have Feliway plug ins in the most common areas. A lot of these cystitis kitties are skitty kitties.

 

My female non-diabetic has interstitial cystitis- Wendy&Neko's plan above is very thorough. I do the Cosequin (those active ingredients also help humans who have IC), fish oil, and Feliway too.

 

One of the most important things in dealing with a FLUTD cat, is getting enough water in them. Of course watering down their canned food is a great place to start. Many cats like a fountain to drink from. Then there are the odd ducks. The will drink only if you put ice in the bowl with the water, or only from the tap in the sink or tub. It's kind of a guessing game to see what works for your cat. Personally, my guys prefer the ice cubes and the fountain. Do some experimenting, and you'll find out what the preferred service style is at your house.