Interstitial Cystitis - civvie

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Kim 'n Shadow

Kim 'n Shadow

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Hello folks. I need some help.

My alpha male Romeo began urinating on things several weeks ago - usually the dirty clothes pile when I sort laundry. But it was infrequent. We recently had new flooring put down in the living room so he and the other monsters had to be couped up in a back bedroom. When he finally nailed something white, I realized it was a bit rusty looking and took him in to the vet. I have 4 cats but he was most likely suspect as some of the "accidents" required some athleticism. If it wasn't the laundry hamper, it was the floor right next to the cat box. It got worse during the construction. We had plumbing issues right after the floor was finished and he'd pee on the floor around the base of the new toilet. His cysto and C&S were negative except for 3+ blood. He got a shot of Covenia for a bad looking tooth and she - vet - felt it was most likely interstitial cystitis,. I came home and did all the reading I could on the subject and stress apparently is a big trigger for bladder irritation. So I was reading the suggestions about reducing stress in a cat and one of the suggestions was to allow more access to the outdoors. What is it about the outdoors that he needs? We have a high fenced backyard and he used to go out regularly in the backyard only but lately we've had some coyotes in the neighborhood and they've warned everyone about letting housepets outside. Lysine and cosequin both have an anti-inflammatory effect on cystitis, we started that. So I wanted to open the back door for him, he used to like to go out in the evenings and he's scared now. His tail fluffs out and he crouches around and refuses to go out. He had taken to peeing right next to the kitty box even though we keep the kitty box well-scooped. We do only have one kitty box but we scoop it a couple times a day. I'm am almost OCD about it. I just can't think of another place to put another one in this house.

That's everything I can think of - what does all this say to you? And what can I do to help him get past what-ever this is that has robbed him of his self-confidence?
 
I have several suggestions 1 you should always have one box per cat if at all possible makes SUCH a big difference when it comes to litter box problems and 2 I would get some feliway plug ins for stress they are also supposed to help with stress and urine marking I use them here for stress since I breed I always have some sort of stress issue somewhere going on in my home. But one box is just not enough no matter how much you clean it JMO anyway. I have 15 cats here and 18 boxes.To me there is always room for LB's we Beans just may not like to see them. Hope I am not sounding too harsh or anything Kim I am not trying to sound that way.
 
interesting. i never read anything about letting them outside to reduce their stress. that would probably stress my Jr to the max actually. LOL!! but then again, he's never been outside other than when his mother buried him in my backyard when she gave birth to him.

fwiw, he did the same thing pretty much a few years ago. construction started behind our house and fiance suddenly was getting pee'd on . took a bit but we figured out that it was Jr. same thing, took him to the vet to rule out medical problems and he was diagnosed with idiopathic cystitis. vet ended up putting him on a low dose of prozac once a day and it's kept him destressed enough that he only pee's in the litterbox for the last few years now :-)
 
Lisa - you are so right, we DO need more boxes. I had tried the feliway spray and couldn't see much benefit. I've looked up the plug-ins on Amazon and have some on the way.

Thanks for the suggestions.

It's good to know this may resolve on its own. He is 10 years old, we never had to deal with this before.
 
few thoughts...

"He got a shot of Covenia for a bad looking tooth "
hmm..wonder if that is your answer right there? bad tooth = pain = stress = a case of FIC.
a shot of covenia is not going to 'cure' a bad tooth, only a dental will fix that, which i would be scheduling asap.

i'm sure you are, you seemed to have done a real good job of researching this, but didn't see any mention so i'll throw it out there~ you are using a good enzyme cleaner to clean up the spots he has hit, right? there are a ton of good ones on market, everyone has their own particular preferences.

yes, adding another litter box would be a very good idea. try a different brand of litter in the new box, of course always unscented only! there is also a product called Cat Attract that you can add to litter boxes to encourage a cat that has abandoned them to use them again: http://www.thecatconnection.com/cat/Cat ... itive.html

i also do not see any mention of pain meds. FIC is painful (and there is a bad tooth in picture too), again pain = stress. talk to your vet about this, it is important.

okay is 4 am, brain just shut off. good luck, hope he is feeling better soon and the IE stops.
~jojo
 
Looks like you have some great advice already.

Add another litter box, that cannot be stressed enough. You should always have one box more than the number of cats. And correct any other medical problems as many medical problems create a perceived behavior issue. Often the 'behavior' goes away once the medical problem is resolved.

Construction stress, construction stress, construction stress...noise, smells, new stuff....I've got to re-establish my territory....definitely could be going on. Feliway is one thing that can work, you can also try a calming collar. Petsmart has them. I have found that the "sprays" don't seem to work as well as the plug in or the collars. The collars are expensive, but hopefully it won't be needed longer than 30 days. I recently purchased some feliway for a client. Beware the less expensive brands they do not have the phermone. In this case cheaper was not equal too.

Fear of returning outside? You said coyotes are potentially in the area. We have coyotes here in Ohio too. I've actually seen them in my fenced in backyard @-) early in the morning! They will take small dogs and cats for food. Check the outside perimeter of your fence. Check for prints and/or urine stains, even digging attempts. There might be a darn good reason for a healthy fear being displayed. I would not force him out if he doesn't want to go out. What we cannot see what our cats can. Their ears, noses and eyes are far better than ours. Trust his commonsense not yours in this case. Keep in mind that the farmers of old worked hard to protect their farm animals and often failed even with fencing and barriers.

Second with all the construction and in home changes...I would not be inclined to force him outside. As silly as it may sound to you and me...he might get lost. Too many changes and his stress level could disorient him. Let him take it on in his own timing.

What is it about the outdoors that he needs?
Click to expand...

Cats are carnivores and therefore hunters by nature. They stalk, prey, hunt and this is psychologically good for them. You can satisfy some of that with enriching their indoor environment.

Hunting Enrichment:
1. Move and hide the catnip mice around the house and cat trees.
2. Before I had a diabetic cat I would put treats inside a cat treat dispenser that they had to 'play with' to get the treat to come out. http://www.phatcattoys.com/ With a diabetic in the house or an OTJ kitty you could likely use a high protein treat and eliminate the treats you feed. I liked this particular design because the crumbs don't end up all over and I could control how much and every paw-bat didn't reward with a treat.
3. Again, think vertical enrichment. Windows for perching and watching outside, but also create outside activity. I have a bird feeder in the yard, a tray bird feeder up close on the back step to the slider windows.
There are birdfeeders that stick to the windows too. Wild Birds Unlimited has several styles available.
4. If you really want to go all out add kitty ladders and steps up to the ceiling with perching areas and cat walks. http://www.brushyland.com/cats/catwalk.htm

Well, I've taken a little time to review and write this little bit up for you, but I have to go for now. Attie just threw me a 43 again at the +1 and I shot him a full dose for this next cycle. Post questions on this thread and I will try and get back to you.
 
I really appreciate everyone's help. Romeo has a dental scheduled this week. She (vet) wanted the AB injection to work for 2 weeks before she does it.

Pain medicine, never would have thought of that.

Coyote smells. Yikes! he did look scared, his tail was fluffed out like a bottle brush and he slinked back and forth in front of the open door but wouldn't go out.

I have another kitty box down and bought 2 more, once I figure out where to put them.

Again - I really appreciate this, guys.
 
yep...something out there in the yard around the yard had him spooked. Follow his lead. I have a friend in California lose two cats to the 'yotees. Needless to say when she told me she had another feline I told HOUSECAT right?

Enrichment:
Here is a book we used to sell> http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Watching-Cat ... 1572231890 Perhaps you can get a copy at a library or even flipping a few of the peak inside pages will give you some fresh ideas.

This morning MudCat missed breakfast. Now she is my shy kitty and I went looking for her. I found her sitting at the slider window looking like a Bastet Goddess. It seems there is a little field mouse outside that has discovered the tray feeder. She was watching the mouse running back and forth across the ice capped snow to the feeder and back to it's den under the garden bench.
 
Kim 'n Shadow said:
She (vet) wanted the AB injection to work for 2 weeks before she does it.
Click to expand...

I am going to try to be tactful here but I cannot express strongly enough just how wrong this is and every boarded dentist on this earth would also VERY strongly disagree with this.

First of all, Convenia is NOT an appropriate medication to be given for mouth problems.

Secondly, Convenia is NOT a 100% safe drug and I almost lost one of my favorite patients to this when a colleague saw fit to give it (unnecessarily) post-dental. The cat's life was saved....$6,000 later after a 1 week stay in a Critical Care unit. I have noted other cats on VIN that were not so lucky having died post-Convenia-induce anemia.

Thirdly, giving antibiotics instead of addressing the 'bad' tooth is wrong on so many levels. If you had a splinter in your hand, would you wait two weeks before removing it ...and just put yourself on antibiotics? I would hope not. I would hope that you would remove the offending agent ASAP.

I come on very strong about this issue because I am sick to death of seeing Convenia mis-used and abuse - with some deaths associated with this newfound 'wonder' drug.

Maybe someone could supply the link to my Convenia post that I wrote a couple of years ago. I don't have it handy.

Also, please see my Feline Urinary Tract Health page where I pretty much scream in red about PAIN MEDS and the vicious cycle between PAIN > STRESS >CYSTITIS. I am getting so crabby with my colleagues because they won't stop drowning cats in UNnecessary antibiotics.....while neglecting the obvious...ie...cats with cystitis are in PAIN!!!

And....there are few things in life that are more stressful than pain and since stress is highly linked to cystitis, I can't figure out why my colleagues keep neglecting the obvious.

As you can see, these are very hot buttons of mine....the abuse of Convenia and the lack of pain meds for these patients.

Please see the Urinary Tract Health page linked below.
 
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