Cystitis

[dandysmom]

Thanks for that extremely informative post!

[angieh]

Yes, that is very interesting, thanks wilbar.

I have noticed in my cats that playing with them has a positive effect on their coats, making them silkier. I think that the condition of a cat's coat can indicate how they are "feeling" as much as it can about their health. Am I right?

[Danielle0211]

Wow thats great I think she may be under a lot of temporary stress like most will know I was worried about taking her as she had never lived with dogs or another cat. So lots of new things but hopefully it will settle down for her!

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by angieh

Yes, that is very interesting, thanks wilbar.

I have noticed in my cats that playing with them has a positive effect on their coats, making them silkier. I think that the condition of a cat's coat can indicate how they are "feeling" as much as it can about their health. Am I right?

Yes, a lovely glossy coat is one indication of a healthy, happy cat. But grooming can play an important part too, so just because a coat is a bit dull, matted or greasy doesn't necessarily mean the cat is unhappy. It could be that the cat is getting a bit old & arthritic so needs some help with grooming. Or maybe it has something wrong with its teeth/mouth which makes grooming itself more difficult. Of fleas or other parasitic infestations can affect coat condition. You just need to take a holistic approach & look at the cat's general lifestyle, age & behaviours.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by wilbar

Yes, a lovely glossy coat is one indication of a healthy, happy cat. But grooming can play an important part too, so just because a coat is a bit dull, matted or greasy doesn't necessarily mean the cat is unhappy. It could be that the cat is getting a bit old & arthritic so needs some help with grooming. Or maybe it has something wrong with its teeth/mouth which makes grooming itself more difficult. Of fleas or other parasitic infestations can affect coat condition. You just need to take a holistic approach & look at the cat's general lifestyle, age & behaviours.

When we first got Amber her coat was very dull & looked "dusty" - it wasnt of course but definately was not healthy looking. I put it down to lack of food & /or

lack of good food. She had been living rough before taken into rescue.

Slowly with a good diet & plenty of it her coat has improved, its "still not there" but that dusty dull look has gone.

Tim has the most gorgeous silky coat, its not like usual cat fur as its slightly longer & not so dense, when you touch / stroke him its just like touching silk. Ax I said I put that down to gpod food now I wonder if yts his environment & fact he is happy - well he spends most of the day purring

[jan]

I have had lots of experience with cystitis, unfortunately, over the years. It invariably needs antibiotics to clear and there is a bladder calming tablet called cystease you can purchase from your vets or online without a prescription, they say if your cat is susceptible to getting cystitis one a day of these will keep the bladder healthy. It has always been due to over feeding dry food in my opinion, and I tend to monitor my cats carefully, two who are prone to getting it. My little kitten loves his dry food but he does drink water. My other s rarely touch it, another reason to avoid dry food. It is potentially fatal in male cats (you can check if their bladder is totally blocked by feeling gently between their back legs, if there appears to be a tangerine type bulge there then its vital to get them immediately to a vets as it can cause kidney failure and sudden death, its not so urgent for the females initially. The whole course of antibiotics will need taking before you can be sure the infection is gone. Its horrible to see them squatting in discomfort. Hope this helps a bit. Jan x

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by jan

I have had lots of experience with cystitis, unfortunately, over the years. It invariably needs antibiotics to clear and there is a bladder calming tablet called cystease you can purchase from your vets or online without a prescription, they say if your cat is susceptible to getting cystitis one a day of these will keep the bladder healthy. It has always been due to over feeding dry food in my opinion, and I tend to monitor my cats carefully, two who are prone to getting it. My little kitten loves his dry food but he does drink water. My other s rarely touch it, another reason to avoid dry food. It is potentially fatal in male cats (you can check if their bladder is totally blocked by feeling gently between their back legs, if there appears to be a tangerine type bulge there then its vital to get them immediately to a vets as it can cause kidney failure and sudden death, its not so urgent for the females initially. The whole course of antibiotics will need taking before you can be sure the infection is gone. Its horrible to see them squatting in discomfort. Hope this helps a bit. Jan x

I agree with nearly everything in your post except the bold bit. Yes, a dry food diet can contribute to the formation of stones, particularly if the cat doesn't drink much. But there are plenty of cats that have mainly dry diets & never suffer from cystitis & plenty of cats fed largely "wet" diets that have recurring bouts of cystitis.

If your cat suffers from recurring bouts of cystitis & your vet doesn't diagnose stones as the cause, (which is very often the case), then you need to look at your cat's whole lifestyle & identify any stressors & get rid of them. It is living under chronic stress that is the most common cause of FIC. And no-one wants their cat to be constantly on courses of antibiotics to treat the symptoms ~ it is far better to try to identify the causes & treat those as well.

[dandysmom]

Question for you, Wilbar. When Leia had her one bout of cystitis I was originally given AB pills to treat her; the vet then called and said it was inflammation, not infection and changed to a liquid medication. I was too upset at the time to ask what the difference was (what would have caused the inflammation?), and have wondered since. Do you have any info? I'm happy to say she's never had a bout of it since.

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by dandysmom

Question for you, Wilbar. When Leia had her one bout of cystitis I was originally given AB pills to treat her; the vet then called and said it was inflammation, not infection and changed to a liquid medication. I was too upset at the time to ask what the difference was (what would have caused the inflammation?), and have wondered since. Do you have any info? I'm happy to say she's never had a bout of it since.

In my experience, most cystitis is a result of infection so ABs are generally the answer. Cats that are under pressure/stressed often have a weakened immune system that means they find it more difficult to fight infection & are often prone to recurring infections. And if they are susceptible to cystitis anyway, this is where the infection often takes hold.

If the cause was inflammation then your vet probably prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication to reduce the inflammation in the bladder. I'm not a vet but I would expect inflammations in the bladder to be more likely to be one-off events with causes such as urinary tract stones. Perhaps these instances are less likely to occur? Maybe they are dietary related? Whereas infections due to a suppressed immune system are more likely to recur because the cause of the suppressed immune system will require dealing with chronic stress ~ less easy to identify & treat.

Did your vet advice a change of diet for your cat? Were any stones detected?

Once stones pass (often a very painful process as anyone who has had kidney stones will tell you!), then the inflammation can heal & hopefully, with dietary management, they should not recur.

Unfortunately, with some cats, the pain of cystitis (whatever the cause) can lead to associations with the litter tray, the location of the tray, and sometimes "weird" associations e.g. the door bell rang at the same time as the pain occurred!! It's not easy to identify the triggers for these associations, but not always vital because just changing the tray location may break the association.

The cases of cystitis that are referred to me are usually ones that are recurring & the vet is concerned about continually prescribing ABs. In these cases there is obviously an underlying cause for the recurring bouts so behavioural advice is often the only way to go.

Hope that helps but if you are still worried, maybe ask your vet next time you go?

[dandysmom]

Thanks! He did not mention stones; suggested that she eat one of the Royal Canin products (forget which), and wet food rather than the half-wet half dry that she was on. She absolutely refused the food, but with her regular diet minus the dry except a wee sprinking of the latter, plus a little extra liquid, has been symptom free for almost two years now. I suspect she has a good healthy immune system as she is never sick; that was the only illness she has had in her 11 years. I'm very lucky!