5/7 | Jude: AMPS 146; +10 167; PMPS 198; +3 159

Mary & Jude

Mary & Jude

Active member
yesterday's condo

Jude continues to remain relatively stable.

Have a great day, everyone! Safe surfs!

Update: I've just heard back from the vet regarding Jude's cystocentesis. The specimen is negative for bacterial growth. Given the fact that there was blood and protein in his urine (which was also cloudy) when the vet drew the specimen, the vet is leaning toward a diagnosis of FIC.

So here is my question for any of you with FIC experience to weigh in on: Can FIC cause an increase in bg?

@Angela & Cleo
@Bandit's Mom
 
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Poor Jude. Is he showing signs of being in discomfort or pain?
I think you said before that Jude is not a big drinker? Wonder if that played a role in getting FIC? So hard to get them to drink if they don't want to!
 
Helen + Noogi said:
Poor Jude. Is he showing signs of being in discomfort or pain?
I think you said before that Jude is not a big drinker? Wonder if that played a role in getting FIC? So hard to get them to drink if they don't want to!
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He isn't showing any signs of pain or discomfort, but Jude is super adept at hiding all of that. The sickest I've ever seen him is when his BG spiked really high at the onset of his FD. Otherwise, when he has had a UTI, no "painful" symptoms--he doesn't cry in the box, etc.

He doesn't drink, so I water down his food significantly. What I'm trying to determine right now is whether the FIC is spiking his bg. I've got to learn more about FIC (and the darned calipers), but FIC apparently mimics a UTI except that there is no bacteria present. And the bacteria/infection is what spikes the BG. I know that stress is connected to FIC (stress and inflammation), and stress can increase BG, and also pain can increase BG. Bottom line: I'm not sure if his numbers are staying where they are and inching up because of his FD or because of something else.

I don't want to figure all of this out. I just want to go to the beach.

Edited to add: Bhooma said that apparently when they have FIC, there is a lot of pain with the flare-ups and that I should ask the vet for some pain medication, but he's not showing any symptoms of pain. I'll talk to the vet.
 
Neko's buddy Theo got his FIC or idiopathic cystitis diagnosis one week after Neko's FD diagnosis. Guess he didn't want her hogging all the limelight. :rolleyes:. Often it's the skitty kitty's who get it. It can mean inflammation and pain, so yes, both those can increase BG's. Treatment included Cerenia (for anti inflammatory properties), bupe for pain relief, tons of extra water and putting Feliways around the house to calm his anxiety. He was a recently adopted semi-feral. The key to keeping away the FIC was getting the right mix of water into his food and glucosamine (Cosequin) which is supposed to give support for the bladder wall. More on this here: Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection
 
I echo the trip to the beach! Poor Jude, I'll be interested to see what you learn, I've never even heard of it. Wonder if Gaba would help calm his nerves and relieve some pain. 🤗 😽🤗
 
I’m so sorry, Mary. FD already is so much to deal with and anything additional can feel like just too much. All I want is for you and Jude to be at the beach too. Hopefully with all the advice above, from your vet, and some yet to come, you’ll find the right way to manage this for Jude. And hopefully it will help lower his numbers a bit and get you both to that beach.
Will be keeping an eye on you both and watching for all the other comments/advice.
Sending lots of good energy for you 🥰
 
Cleo has it and has flare-ups every now and again. FIC is painful. But like Jude, Cleo was very good at hiding her pain.
I did everything that Wendy said, including increasing the cosequin during flareups and have used Pet Naturals UT support. See Effects of oral administration of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine on plasma and urine concentrations of glycosaminoglycans in cats with idiopathic cystitis

I also got a low extra large senior little box. As a side note Cleo uses these senior little box exclusively for pee and a different litter box for her #2s - she's so weird.

What kind of water are you adding to her wet food? I used to give her tap water, but switched her to bottled or filtered water to mix with her food and in her special cup for drinking. Weird Cleo tidbit 2- she won't drink from a bowl, only a coffee/tea cup WITH the saucer from my nightstand.
In addition, we feed her wet food which is lower in phosphorus and in magnesium
 
Angela & Cleo said:
Cleo has it and has flare-ups every now and again. FIC is painful. But like Jude, Cleo was very good at hiding her pain.
I did everything that Wendy said, including increasing the cosequin during flareups and have used Pet Naturals UT support. See Effects of oral administration of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine on plasma and urine concentrations of glycosaminoglycans in cats with idiopathic cystitis

I also got a low extra large senior little box. As a side note Cleo uses these senior little box exclusively for pee and a different litter box for her #2s - she's so weird.

What kind of water are you adding to her wet food I used to give her tap water, but switched her to bottled or filtered water to mix with her food and in her special cup for drinking. Weird Cleo tidbit 2- she won't drink from a bowl, only a coffee/tea cup WITH the saucer from my nightstand.
In addition, we feed her wet food which is lower in phosphorus and in magnesium
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Thanks for weighing in, Angela. Bhooma had mentioned to me that you have experience with FIC, so I tagged you.

How do you know when Cleo is having a flare-up? Is the presence of blood/protein in Jude's urine the sign that he is having a flare-up? Could this be causing his numbers to go up? He isn't having any other symptoms other than he was doing some licking of his urinary area. Should I contact the vet and ask for pain medication? I'll check into the cosequin. I wonder if my vet will know how much to give him? And I'll check into the Pet Naturals UT support. I've also seen people talk about Cystease. And I ordered another supplement called (don't laugh) Urinary Gold by Pet WellBeing, but then I became afraid to give it to Jude because I was afraid it might cause his numbers to go up.

Jude (and his sister Hazel) have two of the largest boxes made. Both are relatively low.

I put filtered water (from the refrigerator) in Jude's food and in his water fountain (that he and Hazel NEVER drink from).

I guess I'm going to need to switch Jude from FF pates, since it's higher in phosphorus. What do you feed Cleo?

And her "weird Cleo" tidbits made me LOL.
 
Cosequin dosing is pretty easy. They list it on the sites that sell it. Under 10lbs is 1/day and over 10lbs is 2/day. I just went to check what I remembered, and they say to taper down to 1/day after 6 weeks. Didn’t know that!
 
Mary & Jude said:
How do you know when Cleo is having a flare-up?
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frequent trips to the box is one sign.

Mary & Jude said:
He isn't having any other symptoms other than he was doing some licking of his urinary area.
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Excessive licking is another.

When I see either of these is when I up her Cosequin. The dosage is written on the bottle. A full episode is the mucous blood droplets.

Mary & Jude said:
Should I contact the vet and ask for pain medication?
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Can't hurt. On FDMB, there is a link to the feline pain scale. That's a life saver!

And YES, I've seen her BGs increase prior to and during an episode.

I feed her primarily Weruva. I rotate textures and flavors because she is a food diva. I also have other brands on hand for picky moments. Like with today's pm shot, we played cat food buffet. 🙄

The feliway diffusers are a great help too.
 
Angela & Cleo said:
When I see either of these is when I up her Cosequin. The dosage is written on the bottle. A full episode is the mucous blood droplets.
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I'm not sure what you mean by "a full episode is the mucous blood droplets."
Angela & Cleo said:
I feed her primarily Weruva. I rotate textures and flavors because she is a food diva. I also have other brands on hand for picky moments. Like with today's pm shot, we played cat food buffet. 🙄

The feliway diffusers are a great help too.
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Which Weruva do you feed her? I feed the triplets Weruva, but they'll eat anything; Jude's not so easy.

With five indoor cats, we use Feliways, so that's already in action.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Besides more frequent trips to the LB, smaller size pees is also a sign.
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Jude has huge pees, so he's definitely not having that symptom. If he's having a flare-up right now, based on blood/protein in the urine, he's showing very minimal symptoms (only licking, and not even that much--could be considered regular grooming). His numbers have gone way up tonight.
 
Mary & Jude said:
I'm not sure what you mean by "a full episode is the mucous blood droplets."
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The blood in the urine from FIC is actually the mucus of the bladder wall lining. In my experience, if I see blood in the box, I know that this episode will last another 3-5 days. A precursor to bloody urine is what you've seen with Jude, ie excessive grooming in his special area and frequent trips to the LB with little to no urine output. When I see that she is excessively grooming and going to the LB often, that's when I increase the Cosequin and water. I also give her some gabapentin so she can relax.

Feeding a cat is ECID. Prior to her FIC dx, she ate ZiwiPeak pates. Although they are great foods, they are too high in phosphorus and magnesium for her stage in life. I still keep cans around for those picky days and for special occasions.
Cleo hates the Weruva BFF line of foods. She'll have the Weruva Classic and she loves the WX chicken shreds is gravy. The WX is the ultra low P foods with extra moisture. She likes lamburgini, meowiss bueller, press your lunch/dinner until she doesn't .
Hope this helps.
 
Angela & Cleo said:
The blood in the urine from FIC is actually the mucus of the bladder wall lining. In my experience, if I see blood in the box, I know that this episode will last another 3-5 days. A precursor to bloody urine is what you've seen with Jude, ie excessive grooming in his special area and frequent trips to the LB with little to no urine output. When I see that she is excessively grooming and going to the LB often, that's when I increase the Cosequin and water. I also give her some gabapentin so she can relax.

Feeding a cat is ECID. Prior to her FIC dx, she ate ZiwiPeak pates. Although they are great foods, they are too high in phosphorus and magnesium for her stage in life. I still keep cans around for those picky days and for special occasions.
Cleo hates the Weruva BFF line of foods. She'll have the Weruva Classic and she loves the WX chicken shreds is gravy. The WX is the ultra low P foods with extra moisture. She likes lamburgini, meowiss bueller, press your lunch/dinner until she doesn't .
Hope this helps.
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Okay. I need to get him on the Cosequin stat and increase his water in his food. Is there a specific Cosequin I should order? @Tim & Pookey? Any brand you recommend? Jude is VERY difficult to pill--like impossible--the 17.5 lb. dude's head is so big, I can't get my hand around it to pill him (and I have pilled some cats in my day). I'll talk to the vet tomorrow about gaba. I've seen the WX brand, and our pet smart just started carrying them in the store, so I can try them without ordering a bunch. I wasn't sure if they were low carb. Are they? Jude likes lamburgini, but it's much higher in carbs than FF, but still under 10%, so LC. Thanks, Angela. I need to start doing my reading on FIC. Jude's numbers have spiked tonight.
 
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