Topic: Fifi now , cystitis again! And again ! now saying only option is pts and here we go again ! (Read 31999 times)

cazzer · « **Reply #112 on:** June 12, 2012, 20:32:04 PM »

poor Fifi hoping all goes well next week

sheilarose · « **Reply #111 on:** June 12, 2012, 20:01:14 PM »

This is really positive, so pleased you have got this booked in Gill. Good luck

bunglycat · « **Reply #110 on:** June 12, 2012, 19:46:29 PM »

spoke to receptionist who has told him all my concerns and thoughts.
She is now booked in to stay overnight on Monday for urine samples and a scan on Tuesday to see if there s anything to see.
In the meantime will continue to syringe in the cystease every day.
Thanks everyone

Lotzy · « **Reply #109 on:** June 12, 2012, 19:10:39 PM »

You may have already phoned, but as I said in my last post one of my vets (three in the practice) said that things can change over the course of six months, ie other conditions occur, so might be worth asking about things changing. I know it's hard for you to think straight at the moment, but when you've had chance to digest, let us know what was said.

bunglycat · « **Reply #108 on:** June 12, 2012, 15:14:57 PM »

He hasn't done a urine test this time .
I am going to ring in a bit after surgery and have another word with him
She can't eat wet food , she won't eat Hills and anything wet goes straight through her including ordinary chicken.
Been giving her the cystease in water by syringe.

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #107 on:** June 12, 2012, 14:55:23 PM »

The antibiotics are unlikely to be doing anything unless a urine sample shows there is actually a bacterial cause. If the injection she had last time beginning with c was cartrophen then I am pretty sure this is a course of injections and not a one off single injection.

The cystease and a wet diet are probably the most important things at the moment. Did they check the ph of her urine this time?

bunglycat · « **Reply #106 on:** June 12, 2012, 14:33:05 PM »

Fifi hasn't had a steroid injection this time ,they were Baytril injections .
She did have an injection last time beginning with c and a long lasting antibiotic, neither worked.

She has had a scan , but will have to ring and find out when it was , also she had blood tests and her bladder flushed out . It came back a few months later and they found nothing then , they did a urine test too .

Will ring later and ask more questions . Have mixed some cyst ease up with water and started syringing it in her yesterday .
Hope I havent completely lost my voice by the time I ring up .

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #105 on:** June 12, 2012, 14:05:57 PM »

I have just found an information sheet on the FAB website that you might find useful:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/flutd/info.html

Amanda (mad4moggies) · « **Reply #104 on:** June 12, 2012, 14:02:08 PM »

I`m so sorry to hear about Fifi, this condition can be very frustrating to deal with.

I do have to agree with Gill on this one. I think it would be an idea to either get a second opinion or ask your vets to contact a specialist for advice which should be free of charge. I work in a referral practice and we often give out advice to vets when needed.

I`m not sure whether you are still giving Fifi Metacam but you have to be very careful now that your vet has given her a steroid injection. It also depends on the type of steroid injection given. It might be worth asking whether it was a long acting one? You must not use steroids at the same time as Metacam as it can cause a lot of gastrointestinal problems.

So far in all of the studies that have been conducted into feline lower urinary tract disease, steroids and antibiotics have not been shown to be of any real benefit unless a bacterial cause is identified. I know when i took my own cat to the vets for this a while back they did not want to dispense antibiotics until they had a urine sample to send for analysis. Has your vet sent away a urine sample this time? The only problem is that Fifi has now been on antibiotics and so the results may not be reliable as she would need to be off them for around a week ideally.

As far as i am aware the two most useful treatments are modifying the diet to increase water intake and medications such as Cystaid/Cystease. If Fifi gets an upset stomach could she have something like RC sensitivity control pouches?

There are other reasons why cats can get cystitis so it might be worth getting your vets to do a blood test to rule out any problems with Fifi`s major organs. It might be good to rule out things like chronic renal problems or diabetes.

Cystease can be given in the capsule too so maybe you could use a pill giver to pill her with it? This is very important as it may help to repair the lining of the bladder. If you cannot do this then a similar drug called Cartrophen can be given by injection. Maybe your vets would let you do this at home? I believe that you can start an initial higher loading dose and then reduce to a maintenance dose but your vet should have this information.

The other option which can be used in very bad cases is Amitriptyline which is an antidepressant. Drugs like this do have to be used carefully but they can help with the inflammation in the bladder.

Is there anyway that Fifi could maybe stay with someone else for a while to see if her condition improves? Hopefully there are some other things to try before having to think about pts.

Hope some of this helps!

Dawn F · « **Reply #103 on:** June 12, 2012, 11:21:19 AM »

I assume she has had a scan Gill?

Lotzy · « **Reply #102 on:** June 12, 2012, 11:08:49 AM »

In all fairness I'm sure you've thought about the wet food issue and cystease over the years (not that they both cure cystitis totally but reduce the amount of doubts).

Going back to the question of re-testing, is this an option for you? If you have her re-tested you know what you're dealing with - anything else medical can be treated/advised on and if it turns out to be cystitis then you can make any decisions based on that. When Lottie had a bad case of cystitis about 18 months ago, another vet in the practice did say that even six months after testing things can change due to the other conditions and if it continued, she'd advise getting Lottie re-tested then to rule out certain things.

I know the couple of times Lottie has had cystitis on and off for a month how stressful it can be for me and I know she gets stressed out by vets visits which never helps the problem. You've done a lot for Fifi and cared for her well, and I can well understand your probably out at end of your tether. I hope you can make the right decision for her soon over future treatment.

bunglycat · « **Reply #101 on:** June 11, 2012, 22:44:45 PM »

She is on RC sensible for sensitive tummys.
To be honest it's a nightmare trying to hold her , let alone open her mouth at the same time , she won't hesitate to stick teeth and claws as hard as she can into you .

Pandora seems to have hayfever too as she keeps sneezing , she is due for her booster in the next two weeks so will ask about that too.
Not sure who is sneezing the most right now , Pandy or me !

Feel like I am in a continual nightmare .

Liz · « **Reply #100 on:** June 11, 2012, 22:23:57 PM »

I use kitstick = tesco version as they are more pliable and I use them fro a multitude of wormers, cystease pills, and anything that needs a tablet in general also have used pill pockets as some like them to

Have you tried Hills or RC foods for sensitive tums comes in biscuits to so that might help

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #99 on:** June 11, 2012, 20:57:47 PM »

I'd mix cystease with butter and a smidgeon of marmite, and put the blob directly into her mouth - she won't be able to spit anything so gooey out again, and will probably like the taste

bunglycat · « **Reply #98 on:** June 11, 2012, 20:07:34 PM »

Spoke to the vet again and she has had every med possible .
I am only stressed because of Fifi keep getting this .
I think there must be an underlying problem.
She has eaten a bit of wet food but it goes straight through her , so then we have both ends.
She will not eat any kind of cat treat at all. She has had metacam by syringe as well .
Fifi has had this since I got her and its got steadily worse and longer to get rid of .
Looking back at this thread , she has had it now every month this year, so this just can't be good . It's taking longer for melds to kick in too , this time they didn't start working till almost 8 days and the minute they stopped , she is just back to the beginning again.

I have tried cyst ease in a syringe watered and she usually throws it back up.

tab · « **Reply #97 on:** June 11, 2012, 19:45:59 PM »

That sounds like an extreme reaction to me. Then again maybe Im being niave.

Did you say you cant tablet Fifi? and she wont eat wet? Will she eat treats? Long shot I know but my friends cat who was shall we say difficult she got those webbox sticks and actually rolled them out thin, put the powder in and got tablets in that way.

I know with Amber she got given metacam (?) which made her sick so has to have injections now but in general we can cope with cystease, feliway, me trying to keep calm and not upset her (not easy as Im not well at the moment so she had brekkie at 11am this morning)

I do feel for you both as I know that when I get upset, Amber gets ill and I feel guilty and to be honest kind of annoyed with it all.

Is she an only cat I cant remember?

Amber moved in after Mogs but when Mogs died there was no way she would let another cat in. In fact when Mogs was ill Amber didnt want her to come back in from the vets. Shes very much an only cat, and only person cat and a no visitors allowed cat. Its hard but its what suits her so I have to go along with it.

to you both

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #96 on:** June 11, 2012, 16:23:48 PM »

Time for a second opinion I think..................and have you told them about the stress?

This sounds just too drastic and maybe they need to get specialist advice from somewhere like Bristol cos I cant believe this is all that can be done.

Sending lots of good wishes vibes

bunglycat · « **Reply #95 on:** June 11, 2012, 16:09:09 PM »

Thats what she has had Angie, 14 days of doing them ,only finished on Thursday night and she started again on Friday !
She also had 7 days worth a couple of weeks before that which i also did.

Angiew · « **Reply #94 on:** June 11, 2012, 15:51:07 PM »

will your vet not show you how to put in water under her scruff via injection?

bunglycat · « **Reply #93 on:** June 11, 2012, 15:31:22 PM »

You know , i dont know anymore ! My head is just all over and feel lousy myself .
All i know is its not nice seeing her in and out the tray every 10 mins and just little dribs coming out , she sleeps for a bit and then off she goes again .
I did notice a bit more crying from her lately though , not when in litter tray , but coming up to me and meowing!?

There doesnt seem to be any reason for it and looking back on her threads , she has now had it every single month this year . She has had it on and off the whole time i have had her and it just grown worse and worse till its just constant now .

Dawn F · « **Reply #92 on:** June 11, 2012, 15:25:03 PM »

oh Gill what a horrible situation, do you think her quality of life is suffering?

bunglycat · « **Reply #91 on:** June 11, 2012, 15:22:51 PM »

Well, no idea what to do or think now.
Spoke to vet and he said nothing else he can do !
There is another injection beginning with C -cant remember what its called , but he tried thaat once before and it didnt work . Otherwise Cystease or cystaid which if you give it by syringe she just throws it back up , no guarantee she will drink milk or cat milk , she might she might not !
Wet food just goes straight through the other end -so no solutions at all now !
The lady on saturday said i may have to think about PTS !!!

In spare room on computer and she just tried to wee on the bed !

Vet just rang back and said if she cant/wont take the cystease -or if she did and it doesnt work -only option is pts

tab · « **Reply #90 on:** June 10, 2012, 16:30:31 PM »

Amber has cystitis on and off since she moved in 1999. The very first thing I did was remove the dry food, put her on wet food and stir a little warm water in it as I never saw her drink. The vet suggested I collect rainwater for her to drink but living in a flat thats not easy. Now she has wet food and I leave biscuits down all the time. The only wet food she will eat is Felix senior so not the best but better than nothing. I put cystease on her food once a day and have a feliway plugged in. If Im upset about something or if theres a lot of noise or visitors I up her cystease to 2.

I hope you can find a solution that helps you both. To be honest I found that when she was doing the 8 weekly attacks I got to the point where around 7 weeks I started watching her and folling her to the tray to check so I think I set her off

Lotzy · « **Reply #89 on:** June 10, 2012, 15:12:44 PM »

Assuming you trust your vet, it might be worth having a honest talk about what they would recommend is done next, re-test so you are confident other things are ruled out or if anything shows up the right treatment can be given, give more anti-biotics as you have to treat the present problem or any other treatment. If there aren't any other solutions re: present treatment then I'm a strong believer in that you treat the problem in front of you, ie you let her have more anti-biotics this time in the hope they work and get her right again rather than not have them and her bladder is going to feel even worse. I know you must be at your wits end trying to work out what's best

I'm sure you've tried it, but would it be worth trying her an another wet food in the hope she can digest it better when she will have some.

sheilarose · « **Reply #88 on:** June 10, 2012, 08:28:52 AM »

This is rotten news, Gill. I agree she needs to be re-tested as its a while since her last lot and it could be something else/new that's causing all this.

Sorry if this is a daft question, but isn't there a vet a bit closer to you who could give you a second opinion?

bunglycat · « **Reply #87 on:** June 10, 2012, 03:01:01 AM »

Only trouble is she won't eat any wet food , she has had a bit these last few days for some reason ,but it goes straight through her , so then it's both ends with problems .
I tried to syringe it down her once before and she just got stressed and threw it all back up .

It's hard to know how to treat a cat like this . Tablets are impossible too , unless I want to lose my fingers as well .

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #86 on:** June 10, 2012, 02:56:58 AM »

Destruction of the good bacteria can be solved and thats by using Lacto B or protexin in food, protexin capsules are better cos just half a capsule a day so not much powder.

I think Fifi is picking up your stress and you need to explain to your vet that you are having loads of health probs and that may help him to treat Fifi from a different angle rather put her thro loads or repeat tests.

Sending lots of calming vibes to Fifi

bunglycat · « **Reply #85 on:** June 10, 2012, 02:23:27 AM »

Fifi had her last injection ( that's 14 days total ) on Thursday and it's started up again today . Can't take much more of this now . Spoke to the person on duty today and said she would speak to the vet , but no call today , my usual vet isn't on this weekend either .
She said that now if she has any more injections it might start destroying good bacteria , and maybe there might be a decision to make if it carries on !!
Last time , she had her bladder flushed out and loads of tests , but never found anything , looks like she will have to have it all rechecked .
At my wits end as did not expect it to be back as soon as she stopped having injections!

Lotzy · « **Reply #84 on:** June 05, 2012, 14:33:27 PM »

Sorry to hear both you and Fifi have had to cope with cystitis again. I know how frustrating it can be, especially when you can't be sure what's causing it. I've changed Lottie's diet to 100% wet, add water and keep her constantly on cystease and she is obviously still prone to it. She has her own quiet places, where we try to leave her to relax as well.

She did get it again fairly recently and someone pointed out to me that although she had the original diagnosis of cystitis, they can still get other problems occur in that area causing similar problems. As you say it certainly does seem like cystitis, but if she does get it again so soon, it might be worth getting her re-tested so you can rule out crystals, infection etc, although I appreciate you've spent a lot of money on her.

bunglycat · « **Reply #83 on:** June 03, 2012, 01:09:07 AM »

Thanks Liz , she has a few laps of ordinary milk , so will get some cat milk for her.

Liz · « **Reply #82 on:** June 02, 2012, 17:08:49 PM »

If she likes cat milk the Zylkene can be popped in there - I also use the catmilk trick with liquid Panacur for my awkward nasty feral Blue and he never notices

bunglycat · « **Reply #81 on:** June 02, 2012, 14:28:56 PM »

Fifi is much better, but she developed a few sores in the injection spot , so we had to go back .
She had a steroid injection and the usual Baytril , but near the side of her. He gave me another 8 to give her and still a few days to go.
She doesn't hardly eat any wet food, so that makes it a bit difficult to put tablets or powder in.
As regards massage , she only tolerates a bit of fuss from you then she will lash out , she is a bit scatty though and has been since I had her .
She is a awkward one to help !

sheilarose · « **Reply #80 on:** June 02, 2012, 11:01:28 AM »

I wonder if there is an underlying condition causing her discomfort that hasn't been picked up, and its this causing her to stress resulting in the UTI.

If it's not, and she is stressing herself out, I wonder if some back to basics therapy might help her mental state. A little Rescue Remedy in her water, a Zylkene in her food now and again, perhaps a massage to take the edge off whatever might be bothering her.

I discovered Animed are doing Zylkene by the tablet as opposed to VetUK who only do them in boxes. Might be worth starting over with her and see if she improves. Such a worry

Peggy C · « **Reply #79 on:** May 31, 2012, 17:56:05 PM »

I agree with Gill that cats pick up on human stress She could be realisiong that you are worried I am not sure what you can do about that as cats are so sensitive to how we are feeling Ofcourse that is why we love them so much but in this case you could almost wish that they didn't

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #78 on:** May 31, 2012, 17:28:27 PM »

Stress can be something you dont see and very small, it can also be you being stressed and she is picking that up

bunglycat · « **Reply #77 on:** May 30, 2012, 00:56:13 AM »

I have seen the younger vet there too , saw him Friday .
I cannot see where she can be stressed though , she has loads of places to sleep , get out the way if needed , none of the others bother her. She does what she wants , when she wants , sleeps on my bed when she feels like it . She started with it around 6-12 moths after having her .
I have no idea why she would be stressed and she doesn't look it and no idea why she is getting it so often .
It's just baffling . She is around 14 now .

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #76 on:** May 30, 2012, 00:44:36 AM »

I don't have anything constructive to add as (thankfully

) I don't have any experience of repeated cystitis but just wanted to send some

your way as I do know how stressful and worrying it is to have a repeatedly poorly cat

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #75 on:** May 30, 2012, 00:42:24 AM »

So what is causing it? Stress? and if so what is causing the stress.

Personally I like younger vets cos they are more up to date and have new ideas although some and am thinking of one inparticularily that was useless!

bunglycat · « **Reply #74 on:** May 30, 2012, 00:33:08 AM »

Don't really think so Gill .mr Owen has been a vet all his life and he is over 60 now .
It's obviously cystitis as she is in and out the litter tray and only doing small little bits .
About 2 years ago she was given a anaesethtic , bladder emptied , urine checked , loads of tests and they never found anything , I think she even had a scan

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #73 on:** May 29, 2012, 23:13:34 PM »

Is it worth getting another opinion?

Sending loads of good vibes for Fifi

Author Topic: Fifi now , cystitis again! And again ! now saying only option is pts and here we go again ! (Read 31999 times)