Jake has cronic cystits......veterinary diet prescribed but very confused

[Millys Mum]

Very few cases of cystitis are bacterial yet most vets give antibiotics for it, this drives me mad. Some metacam and diet changes are often enough to help, if the trigger wasnt an outside thing eg its problems with other housemates its harder to sort out.
The special food will dissolve the crystals but once they are gone you can maintain him on a quality wet diet, water is the key, maintenance urinary diets dont keep the urine ph permanently high they make the cat drink more so why not just provide this water in a normal and tastier way?!

His skin could be a mulitude of things, flea allergy, dustmites, wheat, soya. Probably you have fuciderm to wipe over him, is your vet going to try a different approach or rely on cream, did the skin issue start after changing to bozita?

[Leanne]

I too have had a cat with persistant cystitis and 2 blockages.

Jess had to have urinary food and biscuits for 9 months, before he came off it, his now back on his beloved felix but still has urinary biscuits.

We give Jess 2 cystease a day and one Zylkene. Zylkene might be something you want to consider if it is stress related.

If the vet has found crystals then I think he'll need special food to diluate them.

We have a water fountain too which does encourage them to drink (well Milo drinks it Jess who needs it doesn't)

[Gillian Harvey]

Wouldnt bother with prescription diet personally, I didnt use it for Ben when he had a blockage following a couple of bouts of cystitis 6 yrs or so ago, and I know of cats on such diets for this condition who still get cystitis. I was feeding a dry diet, so did change all the cat's diets to wet and then raw. But, as others have said it doesnt sound like the cause is dietary (although I'd cut out the dry food completely just to ensure good hydration), more likely (or additionally) stress related - more often than not cystits is due to a combination of factors. Also, although you say its usually Jake causing the stress to others - that in itself can be a source of stress for the perpetrator if you see what I mean? - i.e. being 'the boss' is hard work!

Bacteria is a rare cause of cystitis, but presume bacteria was rule out in the urine sample anyway? I wouldnt underestimate the stress of the time you spent with Jake at your sisters flat and then the move back home again - this was one of the factors when Ben had his bout of cystitis - an impending house move and then several months later the actual move itself - which was when he had the blockage.

As others have mentioned cystaid might be worth trying and if it is stress related, maybe try Zylkene and keep Feliway diffusers plugged in to see if that helps. 

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Well, Rachel, being part of our local CP's welfare bods, I do get access to all kind of theories and advice as well as different opinions. It comes in dead handy when my own cats come down with a condition we have previously handled in the branch. And sometimes vice-versa.

My own vet stabbed around a bit and had a few attempts at managing Tilly's cystitis with some limited success. The antibiotics cleared it up for two weeks but then it came back.  Then notably he put Tilly on Cystaid which was twice the price of Cystease S but an identical product. (More expensive product, higher commission for vet you see.)  So I put Tilly on Cystease S myself and we've never had a flare up since. 

I love my vet, I really do. He battles valiantly to save my little feral foster kittens even when we know there's no hope... but he's not beyond making a few unnecessary bob out of me if he thinks my guard is down.  He also knows I'm not beyond challeging him if I think there's another way or he's talking  I think the proof of how well that works is that he chose to adopt a cat for his granny from us last year. 

As for the diet your vet has put you puss on... I'd do some further research into it's success rate in stabilising and managing the condition. Your puss is already on a very good quality diet and I would be very surprised if diet was a contributory factor. My personal hunch would be that a prescription diet will not be needed for too long and only during stabilisation. In the long run, I'd cut down permanently on dry food as that does tend to make the problem worse. My Tilly does love her biccies but I do ration them so as not to tip the balance again. 

BTW, if you do end up being put on perminant stabilising meds, Cystease S can be bought over the internet from places like Vet UK without a prescription. 

[Christine (Blip)]

It's true that vets often opt for the simple diagnosis first before looking at tougher ones... but why shouldn't they?

They should indeed, Pinkbear: it's good practice and based on Occam's Razor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor if anyone else is interested).

I hope you can quickly establish treatment and management regimes that work for little Jake 

[rachelburdett20]

she did test the urine for crystals and that came back positive.......

think she ment he was unable to fully fight of the leg problem with the underlying cistits.......made sence to me at the time!!

he has had antibiotic injecton as well as the pills.....think i will try the deit for a couple of months and get him re tested.......the cystease seems like a good option for long term managment......did your vet recomend this??

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Cystitus can have a number of causes and sometimes it's nothing to do with stress. People often overlook bacteria.   My Tilly is managed with 100% success on a maintenance dose of a Cystease S every alternate day.  

It's true that vets often opt for the simple diagnosis first before looking at tougher ones... but why shouldn't they?   A broad spectrum antibiotic jab covers all kinds of infections.

I'd want the vet to explain the "compromised immune system" remark. Vets often think out loud but they don't realise the implications of their words.  

[rachelburdett20]

thanks gill

didnt realise that cystits had to diffrent ways of showing itself.....if that makes scence!

i am 98% sure these vets arnt the kind of vets to fob you off.....rearly do trust them

dont think i will have any problems with him eating it dawn......he likes bread, crisps, crumpets, rabbit food, locusts, ohhh and ceral!

[Dawn F]

no he didn't stay on the diet permanently - he stopped eating it and had to go back on felix

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Yes that is right but have to assume that cats cystitis can also be the opposite but you would need to cross question your vet on this.

Sometimes they just hit upon something close and try to get away with it......has he had tests for his kidneys?

[rachelburdett20]

by problem urinating.....i ment he is able to pass urine fine -  no straining, crying ect

other posts i have read on here the cats apear to develop a sudden blockage or problem actually passing urine

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

It maybe considered chronic due to the length of time but most likely stress related I would guess, so diet has nothing to do with it. How ever a diet to help him get rifid of this maybe a good idea.

Cant comment on the dietry stuff and have never heard that about Royal Canin....where did you here this from?

Loads on here have experience of this so will be able to give you pointers. I lknow you have said that Jake doesnt have a proble urinating but he does, maybe over urinating and inappropriate urinating since you first has him.

I know Misa suddenly had a problem which was stress related and was solved with abs.

maybe you need to discuss this with your vet more.....hope you are able to get to the bottom of this 

[rachelburdett20]

thanks.....did bluto have to stay on the diet perminantly??

someone i used to work with a a rescue told me that about royal canin.....it was in reference to dog food though

[Dawn F]

my old cat bluto suffered from crystals twice in his life - no particular reason that I know of - he did go on a prescription diet and it never came back - I'm going back a bit here, hopefully others with more up to date info can offer some help - not sure about the royal canin thing - my lot eat it!

[rachelburdett20]

Hi, i was just looking for some advice for jake, hes been diagonosed with cronic cystits

Jake is 2.5 years old, neutered, vacinated, wormed and flead regually. Have had him since he was 6 weeks old (hand reared kitten from my friend) since i have had him he has been feed on James wellbeloved with high quality wet food (hilife/natures menu....just recently swaped to botiza) he now has aprox 60 g of wet food daily the rest is dry (used to only be 35g wet)

we have two other cats, his sister and a 16 yrold female....he is definatly the boss....if anything he causes them and the other cats in the area stress!....they have a microchip cat flap so no one can get in their house!

he is alowed unlimited accsess outside during the day but is kept in after dark

back in july i moved to a flat with him and his sister for two months........very stressfull for all concerned, but we are now back at home

he did gain a little weight during the time in the flat....300g but is now down to 5kg and the vet says that is fine



Jake has always had issues using a litter tray since he was a kitten, tryed various things, with little sucess. he would go through periods of using the try fine or going outside for a month or so, then we would have a bad couple of weeks with him peeing on door mats, bathtubs, carpets.....obvious places, he wasnt trying to hide it

i thought this was just jake being jake and it was something we had to live with (mums renamed him sir pissalot!!....to which he responds!!)

Back in june 2009 i noticed red raw patches on his leg, and one of the other cats toes.....after two treatments the other cats have cleared up and never came back

in october i took him for his boosters and the bald patches were gone....fur growing back (3 treatments later)

late november they returned again and he was prescribed a cream to clear it up - 2 treamtments of cream and last week it returns again!!




I took him to the vet on thursday and we went through his behaviour/stress/other cats......toiliting - something i have never mentioned because he never fulley used a tray properly since a kitten

she thought his imune system might be comprimised by something else and thats why the thing on his leg isnt clearing up, took a urine sample and tested it to cystits

it came back possitive with blood, protein and white blood cells (I think!) present. the vet said it was cronic

he has been but on an 8 day course of antibiotics and a royal cannin veternary uniniary diet (wet and dry) because of the crystals in the urine


sorry for the longness....but i just dont understand......good diet and he gets this, was his diet to high in something or is it just one of these things

rather reluctunt to use vetinary diets because i dont aprove of the ingredientce, and have been told royal cannin has cancer causing agents??

have been reading about other cases on here of cystits....they all seem to have problems peeing.....jake dosnt....

is there anything else i can do to help him, rearly dont want him on a vet diet for ever, have been reading about cystad and cystease.....would these be benificial??......or a water fountain???



sorry for the long post.......... ......any pointers would be very welcome

thanks Rachel and Jake