Hi everyone.

Need a second opinion (or two!) on this issue with my kitten.

About 3 weeks ago I noticed my little Ollie was peeing and pooping outside of his litter box even though it is always kept clean and empty of pees and poops.

A quick search on Google led me to find out that usually this sort of behaviour is attributed to a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), so to look out for other signs such as small amount of pee (if anything at all) and whether or not he strains for ages. Low and behold, he had all the symptoms so I took him to the vet that morning, and after having a feel of his bladder, the vet confirmed he must have some kind of blockage or at the very least, some crystals in his urethra making it difficult for him to pass wee.

He was kept there all day, and given a catheter (who knew cats could have catheters?! ) His urethra was also flushed out to get rid of the crystals, which the vet said he didn't have many of, but those that he did have were quite big. He couldn't give me an exact reason as to why he contracted this UTI as there are loads of possible reasons, but the fact I fed him on a solely dry food diet maybe could have been the problem…but he also said he's seen cats get UTIs even on wet food. So yeah, still not sure how or why he got it

He was kept over night, and the proceeding afternoon, after shelling out £200+ on the vet bill, I brought him home. And I know, I know, believe me I KNOW I should have had him insured. Trust me I've been furious with myself over not getting it as soon as I had him at 8 weeks old , but what's done is done. He's insured now.

ANYHOO! The vet said that

a) Some cats can have UTIs for the remainder of their life, some cats it can be a one off

b) That he will have to be on special food for the rest of his life, which is this Royal Canin Urinary S/O Moderate Calorie wet food pouches, which can only be bought from the vets. He also has to take 1 Protexin Cystophan capsule a day, which are described as giving a "High level of support for feline urinary health"

I also give him half a Kitzyme fishy bite a day, which also supports the immune system and urinary tract health.

Now, these packs of 12 pouches (which he has to have 2 a day for, by the way) cost £8.87, and 30 capsules of Protexin Cystophan cost £7.60

I asked the vet if I could keep him on these special pouches for say, a month or two, and then slowly reintroduce a good quality shop bought wet food back into his diet, but also keep him on the Protexin Cystophan capsules as I don't mind paying £7.60 a month for that.

Well, he basically said no. It's imperative he's kept on these special pouches for the rest of his life, and that introducing 'regular' store bought cat food (I'd make sure I'd get a reliable and trusted brand by the way) would basically reverse everything and he'd maybe get another UTI.

Now, my point is this, he's only 7 months old, so probably more likely to overcome an 'illness' more so than an older cat. Also, the receptionist at the vet informed me that she also gives her cat Protexin Cystophan as he has kidney problems, which is basically the worst a UTI can spread to, but she also gives him regular cat food.

What would you do? It's not that I want to skimp on my cat's health, as like I said, I'm more than happy to pay the £7.60 a month for the Protexin Cystophan and (God forbid!!!) pay another £200+ if he ever did get another UTI. First of all because I chose to take the risk of putting him back on ordinary food, and secondly because it's my fault for not getting him insured :sleep: But I can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, this UTI was a one off. Who's to know?!

Bit long winded, but I hope some of you can shed some light and advice on what I should do, and what you would do too.

Ollie is an indoor cat by the way. After suffering the loss of my beloved Kitty, I never want to go through losing another cat by the hands of another

One of my babies had a very nasty kidney infection earlier this year. At first the vets thought she had a stump pyometra (a deep and rare kind of pyo that can affect spayed cats) however it turned out to be pyelonephritis. She was on a fluid drip for about a week as well as IV antibiotics and after coming home she was on very strong antibiotics for 6 weeks. She isn't insured so as you can imagine the vets bill was huge!! the vets didn't think she was going to make it and were very reluctant to continue treatment as the infection was so bad. The vets think it was caused by a stray tom trying to mate with her but getting rid of him is proving to be very difficult!

Anyway that was around 5 months ago and since then she is back on dry cat food as all of my cats have a constant supply of it so she just helps herself. She also has wet food twice daily and occassionally has to have liquid glycerin in her food as she gets a little constipated.

She visits the vets regularly and they are happy with her diet as she always has fresh drinking water and is making good progress. They have a bit of a soft spot for her as she looks like a little old lady even though she is only 2 years old.

If you feel that your cat would be okay back on normal food then maybe you could get a second opinion from another vet? Otherwise it is probably safest to take your vets advice. Perhaps you could agree to monthly check-ups and make the transition back to normal food but again check with your vets.

Hills science plan do a food which is for cats that have had bladder crystals - if you google you should be able to find the one I mean . It comes in both a dry and a wet (canned) version and will be cheaper if suitable than the royal canin brand . Hills is what my vet stocks for various medical problems that require a specific diet.
Also you will find it cheaper I'm sure to buy whatever cat food your vet recommends online than direct from him .

Has he been neutered yet ?

Garlic: Yes, a second opinion from another vet would be a good idea as they'd be pretty neutral towards it as they wouldn't be my vet. Would they be ok giving me free advice though, do you think?

Alpha K: Yes, he has been neutered. And that's good to know about the Hills food! I was sure there would be store brand food to help with bladder crystals etc. So thanks! I've had a look for the Royal Canin online but it's pretty much the same price. Cheapest one I could find was 0.69p a pouch compared to the 0.73p I buy it for now.

They should just charge you the cost of a consultation which is around £20 though it may be different where you live.

My simon had struvite crystals at about the same age. He had a emergency neuter too see if that helped which it did for a while. Its something too do with the ph levels in the food why you can feed ordinary food on them. Yes he will have if for life it sometimes goes away but can come back at anytime but you will now know the signs too look for. I very much doubt thought that the insurance will cover it at all. I had too use the pdsa but i saw how much it cost. I dont use them now though. Guinness is another cat that had simialr problems(cystitas) and had too go on the same food he had hills science perscription only one as well. It used too cost me a fortune on it but i did wean them off it but it was i chance i had too, Is he overweight at all.

He is very young to start with UTI problems.

Hopefully you know that being blocked is a major emergency and you keep a close eye on him now.

Yes, another vet's opinion on how to feed is worth seeking.

Re the Kitzyme - what proof do they have for their claims? Looks a bit snake oil to me.

A friend has a cat that kept blocking, eventually it became such a major issue that he had a sex change op which has completely resolved the problem. He still has crystals but doesn't block now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urethrostomy

And unfortunately I suspect the insurance probably won't cover future UTI problems, as pre-existing conditions are usually excluded.

Two of our cats are on Hills CD prescription diets and do well on it. It's much cheaper online. Have you checked vetuk or animalmedicines? Lots of other online stores are cheaper than vets. Would have thought Royal Canine food would be cheaper too.

http://www.royalcanin.co.uk/products...calorie-umc-34

I suggest you contact Royal Canin and ask them for their feelings on their product being used in this instance, also stating the price you are paying. Tell them you really cannot afford to pay such high prices and if they feel they can't advise you, that you will seek alternative opinions. They sure as hell will not be happy if some vet is miss using their products. You have nothing to lose by trying this route. Good luck!

Thanks for everyone's responses.

Maisey Moo: Nah, I didn't expect the insurance to cover it now. Gutted... No he's not overweight. But he is a big kitten. His twin sister is still soooo teeny and light. Ollie's pretty much almost cat size and quite heavy. But the vet said he wasn't fat by any means, just big for his age, but to still watch his weight none the less.

cats_five: Yes, I thought he was quite young. But like I said, I think it's because I gave him only dried food, AND sometimes he's sneak into the dog's bowl and nick osme of his biscuits. Most of the time I managed to get it out of is mouth though, but I guess that didn't help him either. My last cat, Kitty, used to eat the dog's biscuits all the time, but she was older and female so less likely to have anything like that affect her. As for the Kitzyme, just saw it on the shelf in Pets at Home and thought it might help. Why does it look fishy to you? (No pun intended)

Snow_Leopard: I'll check those sites, thank you.

0rch1deam: I like this idea! Not sure if there'd really care about 1 little ol' customer and her kitty though! I'll give it a try thought. Might work! : )

Our female cat got a uti when she was young ,but the vet said that with male cats , these infections can be a lot more serious ,as the crystals can basically block eveything up and kill them ,but that doesn't happen with a female cat . I can never give her low fat biscuits as they are very dry and symptoms start . You could always speak to another vet ?Also when she was younger and still went out during winter ,and got cold symptoms would start then .A water fountain could help ,it encourages them to drink more water.

Feeding dry food is almost certainly NOT the cause of the UTI so don't beat yourself up about it.

Rufus ate almost nothing but biscuits (plus the odd bit of small rodent) for most of his 15 1/2 years and never had an issue with this, and he is by no means unique. What I do notice is that Max (who eats biscuits) drinks water, but Minnie (who won't touchg biscuits) doen't drink water.

Whatever you feed him, make sure it's a good-quality food which the cheap supermarket biscuits aren't.

Just ordered one online now. Thanks for the advice!


Lucky Rufus! Ollie's water bowl would be almost empty every other day when he was just on biscuits, so I know he was drinking. However now he's on this wet food, he barely touches his water. Hopefully this new cat water fountain I've just ordered will tempt him to drink more.

And yes, I always make sure to get a good brand of cat food. No disrespect to people who get a supermarket own brand or anything, but the fact that the assistant at Pets At Home advised me to buy like, 5 mini packs of different brands she personally recommended, and then bring back the 4 OPENED packs that didn't suit well with him for a full refund, makes me think that for some kitties, it really *can* matter which brand/type of food one feeds their cat.

I use a large stainless steel dog bowl for water for M&M, and have two down. The dry food is James Wellbeloved, the wet food is Felix as that's the only one that gets eaten.

When I fostered a cat with her kittens (got to watch all bar the first one being born!) they had the same kind of water bowl and it was so, so funny watching the kittens accidentally dip their noses in.

I use stainless bowls as they can go in the dishwasher, and also the finish gradually degrades on plastic ones.

my koppa is a 3/4 ragdoll and eats a completely dry diet by choice i have him on royal canin fit 32 as it is also a hairball and weight management too he wont eat any titbits even fresh chicken or fish etc

My Thomas had a urine infection when he was small. He also had undescended testicles so had to have a special op. The vet recommended this food for him and he loved it. It's part of the Hill's Prescription Diet range.

Fed him on that for a couple of months then went back to "normal" dry cat food. He's not had any further problems thankfully.

Hope your cat gets well.