Constant Cystitis!

[CreatureTeacher]

Hey everyone!

My fat orange boy kitty gets cystitis about once every 4 months, which resulted the first time in an $800 visit to the emergency room and every time after that in a $100-$150 vet visit complete with meds and all that mess. My vet, who is a wonderful man, explained that there's not much out there as far as preventative care for cystitis. We keep catching him in discomfort and getting him to the vet before he gets a urethra blockage, but I know one of these days we're going to have to deal with that again and be out another $800. I was just hoping to get some recommendations on the situation. Does anyone have something that worked for them? I know he needs to lose some weight and that might help. We have the prescription diet on hand and we take his urine in to be tested frequently. He doesn't get to "snack" anymore on Cheetos (his favorite food). I guess I'm hoping for a miracle cure, but I know that a lot of the time there's no such thing. I love my boy and will continue to take care of him, I was just looking for ideas. Thanks!

 

[smkie]

The best cat i ever had/knew developed this..at first we had the "sand" drained out..a couple of times..i changed his diet. and still he would fill back up and not be able to go. Finally at a huge vet bill they redid his plumbing..removed his penis and increased the size of the opening..it was a painful procedure for him, but it did take care of his condition...we didn't even know about feline lukemia way back then,,he had just regained his strength when I found he had a fever..and lost him after that. I do not know why some animals have to suffer so..i took him to the vet at the very first of the symptoms, but it still hurt him so bad. He was sooo big and so strong, he was the best cat ever..i am sorry your cat is going thru this too..

 

[Renee750il]

This is going to sound off the wall, but what is your drinking water source?

 

[CreatureTeacher]

They have three: there's a kitty fountain in the living room, a regular bowl in the bedroom, and they're big on drinking from the toilet. They really prefer the kitty fountain, which is fine with me because it has a filter. Since this all started, we've been trying to leave the toilet lid closed.

 

[Renee750il]

Okay, I should have been more precise with my question, lol! Does your water come from a processing plant (city water), a well, a spring, or some other source?

I'm looking at the potential mineral content. F'rinstance - our water is from a 400' deep limestone well. Tastes great, no nasty chemicals in it, but it does have a high mineral content. Something like that could be causing the problem. Some animals - like some people - are much more sensitive to high mineral content in water.

Another question . . . Is the clay or glaze in the fountain food safe? Some aren't and contain lead and other minerals, and you might want to check the filter in your fountain as well.