Does anyone have any experience with a male cat having FUS?

Question

My male cat was acting really funny and I thought since he went outside a lot he might have gotten into a fight. It turned out he had FUS, urethral blockage, renal failure, Azotemia. He was in extreme pain. On my way to the vet with him yesterday, he got away from me and ran down the road and hid in one of the drainage areas in the street. I had to check all of the drainage holes this morning and finally found him too sick to even move. This is what the doctor told me he had and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this horrible disorder?

I don't understand how he could have gotten this since I feed my animals well and give them non chlorinated spring water that is chilled and clean 2-3 times per day? This was a huge and healthy male cat who is dearly loved and is wonderful pet. "Mister" was 5 years old with no previous symptoms of anything.

I meant flouridated not chloridated! So sorry been a really hard day for me!

Answer 1

Hi there...I currently have a cat staying at clinic the past two weeks who was diagnosed with FLUTD - Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disorder (formerly known as FUS) as Feline Interstitial Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC). FLUTD is commonly seen in cats between the ages of 1 - 10 years of age and can be caused by several factors, and combinations of these factors, which include obesity, stress, urinary pH, water and fibre intake in the animal's diet, and possibly high ash and magnesium content in the animal's diet. Recurrence is common with FLUTD cats so preventive measures such a canned food diet to keep hydration levels high plus any other ways to encourage more water consumption is a must, easy access to multiple litter boxes in addition to regular check ups as well as supplementation with prescriptions depending on the severity of the condition.

My cat since he was a kitten always has eaten foods low in ash and magnesium which is devoid of corn, corn meal, byproducts as well as at a healthy weight so it's quite confusing to determine why this would happen. I always noticed his urine was more concentrated than his brothers when they were kittens so his body apparently wasn't as efficient at diluting the urine. This seems to be a common denominator with cats diagnosed with FLUTD/FIC. Several articles that I've read indicate this could be genetically related, however none could be more specific.

Here are some websites that I've researched to help prepare us for the long road ahead to minimize the repeat episodes:
FLUTD/FUS:
http://www.hdw-inc.com/healthfus.htm
http://www.thensome.com/flutd.htm
http://www.fabcats.org/flutd.html
http://www.vet.uga.edu/sams/courses/urology/lectures/Lecture06_FelineIdiopathicCystitis.pdf
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_feline_lower_urinary_tract_dis.html
http://www.holisticat.com/FusFaq.htm

FIC/FUS:
http://www.petplace.com/cats/feline-idiopathic-cystitis-fic/page1.aspx
http://www.nssvet.org/ici/resources/urinary.php
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/intersit.html

Answer 2

1st off, your cat would probably be better off living in the wild than with you smacking it everyday. 2nd, rubbing its nose in pee and smacking it is not going to solve the problem, it will only make him scared of you every time you want to pet it. And 3rd, color has no bearing of the behavior a cat displays. Some cats will pee just because they are ornery. The other thing is he may be marking his territory due to you have another cat. Lastly, he could have an urinary tract infection. This will sometimes make a cat pee elsewhere besides the litter box because they associate the pain and burning they have when they go pee with the litter box. You may need to have him checked for a urinary tract infection at a veterinarian. They have medicine for this and it is not that expensive. Lastly, it is very hard to get the cat pee smell out of anything. If he even smells a little sent left there, he will keep peeing there. You need to thoroughly wash the area with a pet neutralizer and cleaner. If none of this stops him from peeing in your bed, I suggest you keep him out of the bedroom and make him sleep in another room and you won't have this problem anymore and you and your cat both will be much happier.

Answer 3

I am currently dealing with situation now. I took my cat to the emergency vet clinic, maxed out my credit card and took my cat home earlier against the vets advice.

I guess 1% of cats get this and it has a recurrence rate of 50-70%. Mine was caused by a urinary tract infection.
I guess it is also caused by magnesum.

I went to the petco today and found a wonderful book. It said that rubbing the penis between your thumb and finger can help break up the blockage. I was going to try it, (this sounding silly) but I can't find his penis.

I'm not all clear with my cat yet. Trying to make sure he's hyrated.

Is your cat still at the vets.

Answer 4

I am so happy you caught this in time. Many male cats who go outside get this fatal blockage because the owners don't realize the cat is blocked from urinating. It is more noticeable when the cat is indoors and uses a littbox.

You are most likely going to have to make some dietary changes with your cat. The pH of the urine is out of balance and must be corrected to the slightly acid urine that is normal for the cat. Veterinarians have special foods to correct this problem and your cat may have to have that until the proper pH is achieved.

If you go to www.littlebigcat.com you can read Dr. Jean Hovfe's article titled "Urinary Tract Disorders in Cats". It is near the end of about sixty articles on cat health, diet, behavior etc. It will give you a lot of background information on the problem when you talk to his vet about changes in his diet.

I had a cat with this problem (it tends to recur often once they have had it) and as I was starting a raw meat diet for my cats at that time it kept his urine at the proper pH balance. Raw meat is the natural diet of the cat, keeping the urine at the slightly acid level (6.5) appropriate for the cat.