cat FLUTD problem--any advice?

Gretch.. In another lifetime I bred Persian Cats. One male, owned by a friend was sire to my first litter with my female. Shortly after, he started with these urinary tract problems. Sounds so similar to what you are describing. My friend opted for operation to "expand" things so potential stones could pass.. well it worked. he was also kept on a low ash diet for his entire life thereafter. This was a young cat at the time( 4 years old) and he lived a long and glorious lifetime.

I think you should try less invasive methods, like just diet and distilled water but if it comes to surgery it can be a real (though expensive) option.

I have been very lucky (knock on wood), my nine year-old desexed male cat has never had any urinary tract problems. I know this doesn't help you, but anyone out there considering acquiring a male cat, would be advised to do as I did, which was to research potential health issues in cats and take precautions. In my case I have fed my cats (I have a nine year-old desexed female as well) a high quality dry food diet (Royal Canin Indoor Cat initially, now Hill Science Diet Oral Care), which have been formulated to prevent FLUTD.

It is also possible that some cats are more susceptible than others.

I looked at vet insurance when I first brought the cats to NYC and several times since, but have been generally unhappy at the price to be paid versus what conditions they'll cover at the age my cats are now.

You may want to consider a different veterinary practice. My experience in NY has been that veterinary practices that seek to emulate upscale human medical practices tend to have upscale prices. I have a great vet on the UWS of Manhattan that doesn't have the whole gamut of vet assistants and multiple exam rooms etc. He charges reasonable prices. My partner takes his small dogs to these midscale - upscale practices and generally pays outrageous fees and gets offered treatments that are similarly upscaled and up-priced.

You are always entitled to seek a second opinion, and in asking for one, need to be quite pointed about asking the vet about his/her confidence in performing the surgery successfully.

The Winn Feline Foundation website provides a lot of information about cat health. See http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/.

we have that problem, too. never had it before this cat, so yes, i agree that some cats are just more susceptible. we've never had to do that surgery, because he's always started yowling and complaining when not yet seriously blocked -- muscle relaxant plus some pressure from the vet has done the job (YEOUCH).

what's worked for us is low-magnesium wet food (<.003%) plus a dose of this powder every day. when we stopped the powder, he started having problems again.



hope vet carries the powder -- though i think they may want to know a vet has recommended it -- or you can order it online. (if you find somewhere local that has it, please pm!)

tsarina wrote: Bonhuma, I take issue with your term "de-sexed" in referring to your cats that have been spayed and neutered. What exactly are you implying? That a male without testicles is not a male? That a female with tubes tied, or in case of a hysterectomy, without a uterus is not a female?
My altered pit bull still "dances" with the ladies. and by that I mean full erection and getting locked in. Thankfully he is shooting blanks and not adding to the pet overpopulation problem. Nobody would call him desexed or not a male. My mother had a hysterectomy, does that make her de-sexed? Not female? Not a woman?
Your loaded term implies that a spayed or neutered animal is somehow not fully an animal or male or female, which leads to people who are uninformed to believe that they shouldn't fix their animals.

What exactly are you trying to convey when you use that term?

In my dialect of English, desexed refers to an animal that has had all its reproductive organs removed in their entirety. Take a chill pill.

While I am lucky not to go through any of this with my boys - that seafood cat food has been linked to urinary tract infections in male cats. I know that is not what you have going on but might be good just to cut that flavor out to be safe.

Good luck with your kitty and hope it all works out for the best.

One of my cats had exactly the same thing happen a couple of years ago (worsened by the fact that he is afraid of water to the extent that he won't drink).

He now only gets wet catfood with water added to it, ensuring he gets enough fluids.. seems to have done the trick so far..

Good luck!

We take our dog to Brooklyn Cares, they are nice and caring, and never give a bad attitude. They can be expensive, however.