Poor Monty... peeing probs / cystitis

**Antonia** · 8th October 2010, 06:28 PM

For some days I’d noticed our Monty making more frequent toilet visits than usual. As he didn’t act the least bit unwell I initially dismissed it as insignificant. But this morning I didn’t trust it any longer, especially when I saw he only produced a few drops which were an orange-y color!
So I immediately called the vet. She told us not to bring him in at once, but first keep him for an hour inside a locked carrier with no blanket. That way, he should have a full bladder and with any luck would even pee inside the carrier so she'd have a sample. No such luck though. Poor little guy just sat there patiently, big golden eyes staring through the mesh door at little Minnie who kept him company on the other side.
When we finally arrived at the vet’s and she examined him, she could feel no full bladder. And no obstruction either, thankfully! She suspected cystitis and we took our little fellow home together with a bag full of pills and potions: antibiotics, something to relax his bladder, and a painkiller fluid. We also got a bag of plastic grains to put in his litter tray, so we can collect a pee sample for bringing in early next week.

Luckily hubby is quite adept at popping pills (into the cats’ mouths I mean), and with the aid of some generous dollops of butter he got the first batch of medicine inside El Monto who was being a very good and brave boy about it all. After that we treated him to ‘Swill’ (a small can of Gourmet mixed with water for extra fluid). Tomorrow I’ll cook some fish in lots of water and give it a whizz in the Magimix to make Fish Swill for him.
The vet said he’ll need lots of fluid for the time being. Of course we all too gladly indulge him… but it’s a drag trying to keep the girls from stealing Monty’s share of the Swill! We hate feeding them separately – the one time we ever tried it they went all Bolshie… it was like Mutiny on the Bounty.

An interesting thing though… I have been reading up on the web about cystitis in cats and found out cats with cystitis often don’t act as if they are ill! So now I’ve learned to take any unusual toilet behaviour very seriously.

And a second thing I’ve learned: I am going to abandon the ‘mostly dry food’ rule. Especially now that all three our Coonies are approaching adulthood, and I was planning to stop feeding kitten kibble soon anyway. Dry food may be good because MCs are supposed to be prone to gum disease, but I understand it also raises the risk of bladder problems. So I am going to try to work out a diet which (a) is 50:50 dry:wet, (b) gives them enough to chew on, (c) agrees with their tummies, and of course (d) they like the taste of.

Suggestions are welcome.

**mcguy** · 8th October 2010, 07:28 PM

Definitely one of the worries particularly in male cats...at least you don't appear to have gotten to the blockage stage.

The other thing I would suggest trying if you do not already have it is a cat water fountain. Three of ours definitely drink more water since we got them (one never ever uses either of our two fountains, however).

We also have one cat that eats primarily dry food, despite all attempts to tempt her with various canned foods and cooked meats. We just monitor her water intake as best we can (she regularly drinks from one of the fountains).

**Howlinbob** · 8th October 2010, 07:32 PM

Oh dear poor Monty!

We had a beautiful white moggy called Sylvester a few years back who was prone to cystitis. The vet said it is more common in male cats (as opposed to female humans!) I remember the vet placing a receptacle on the table and 'expressing' Sylvester's bladder into it - and nearly filling it! Poor lad. I think you can get a prescription dry food which is especially for cystitis-prone cats - I think it has extract of cranberry in it, or some such thing, for 'urinary tract health'. No idea if it works. But I think your idea of 50-50 wet/dry will help.

By the way, love your nickname of El Monto!
Now our lads are a bit older, they have calmed down slightly, so we don't really call them the Criminals any more. Instead, we call them the Beastie Boys! OH is a fan and it makes us laugh...

**Antonia** · 8th October 2010, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by candes

No suggestions. But I hope Monty gets better soon! The poor baby! You know come to think of it, I did read that kitties don't drink enough water when eating dry food. That is why drinking fountains are suggested. And the new thinking about leaning towards more canned food in their diets. And less dependance on dry.

We used to have a fountain earlier on. But we had to clean the pump almost daily because it got awfully slimy… some kind of algae presumably. And when Monty developed nasty diarrhoea we decided to bin the fountain … just to rule out possible causes.

I also got a tip from the vet’s assistant to get them to drink more. Defrost some frozen fish or prawns in the drinking bowl. Which I am doing right now. As soon as the temperature is right I’ll put that bowl out (with the prawns still in it, of course).

BTW, how is your cold? Better, I hope.

debbie560 · 8th October 2010, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by Antonia

We used to have a fountain earlier on. But we had to clean the pump almost daily because it got awfully slimy… some kind of algae presumably. And when Monty developed nasty diarrhoea we decided to bin the fountain … just to rule out possible causes.

I also got a tip from the vet’s assistant to get them to drink more. Defrost some frozen fish or prawns in the drinking bowl. Which I am doing right now. As soon as the temperature is right I’ll put that bowl out (with the prawns still in it, of course).

BTW, how is your cold? Better, I hope.

Just make sure they drink more...

I have lost in the past 4 stud boys, to this, you have to be sooo careful.

Debbie

**Antonia** · 8th October 2010, 07:55 PM

@Louisa - I have also read about cranberry being beneficial. I will have to find out if it's OK to feed such foods to the girls as well. If it means feeding Monty separately I'm afraid it will be very difficult.

The nickname of El Monto stuck because he has such a Latin-like macho-ness about him. The way he looks, the expression on his face, the way he struts around the place... even his voice... they all spell: "I am Don Monty, El Presidente! I rule! The buck stops with me!"
Which is utterly deceiving 'cause he's a big sweet fluffy Pansy who lets the girls steal his food and box his ears.

Whenever I have time - and others have time to listen - I'll explain why Minnies nickname is Crobi Wan Kenobi.

**Antonia** · 8th October 2010, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by debbie560

Just make sure they drink more...

Dankjewel / Thanks Debbie, I am going to watch it very carefully in future!

**jckkerrison** · 8th October 2010, 09:16 PM

Poor Monty,very unpleasant time for him,better cystitis though than stones.
Working for a vet from "The old school"I have always been very wary of dried food,never had the number of problems with cats suffereing from cystitis pre the dried food era,some seem to cause problems more than others...We used to find our fountain seemed to go slimey & needed cleaning out frequently but stuck with it because we knew by how the water dropped daily that it was being well used,not only for drinking,have come up with a good remedy to prevent it though,since there has been six cats using it the slime side has disappeared ! We assume it is because for most of the day there is one cat or another at it,alongside big bowls of water as well.If Monty will eat tinned food give him one of the cheaper jelly ones,lots of jelly equates to lot of fluid intake.....along with his prawns in water of course ! I would keep him well away from dry for a little while anyway & although mine don't have much dried food in their diet they are given Hills Oral a couple of times a week,its a really large kibble & I actually count out the number of biscuits I allow each cat,how sad is that,I also make sure that the magnesium content in any of their dry is no higher than 0.08% although Hills is good because it is normally 0.07%,another whim from a vet of the old school !
Hope he is soon feeling a lot better.

**Howlinbob** · 8th October 2010, 09:53 PM

I don't have a water fountain, just a big ceramic dog bowl of water, and between the 3 of them I top it up every other day. Still, I don't actually know if they are drinking enough, so I add water to their food when I can. If I am cooking them some fish or meat, I add water to the pan and when it's cooked, I let it all cool down and serve the cooking water with the food. They have something like this once a day. Sounds a bit like your fish swill! Except I don't whizz it up. They've had no problems so far, but they are only young...hopefully this will be OK for them.

Hope El Presidente is back to strutting his stuff very soon! xxx

**Antonia** · 8th October 2010, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by jckkerrison

Working for a vet from "The old school"I have always been very wary of dried food,

Yes, I think I am coming round to the ‘old school’ philosophy as well. Hill’s Oral is on top of my list to try as dry food. For canned food I will have to find out what they like and what agrees with their tummies. They love Whiskas and it doesn’t give them the squits, but I am not sure about the nutritional value.

How exactly did you prevent the fountain from getting slimy? I’d gladly cash out for a new one if I knew.

Monty has been quietly dozing for a couple of hours. Then I gave him some Prawn Swill, while hubby and I frantically tried to keep the girls away – they got their own bowls but the little minxes insisted on helping themselves out of Monty’s. He just lets them, he’s such a wuss. After that battle Montyman went to the loo… I snuck after him and boldly lifted his tail (yep, sad lot we are) and saw he’d produced a rather nice amount of pee… not yet a tsunami but significantly more than this morning! YAY!