The feline urologic syndrome, that involves inflammation, and possible infection, and painful mineral crystal and stone formation in the urinary tract, and often the development of mucous plugs in the urethra, is a widespread problem in cats today.
It is a major reason why cats are euthanized, or are put outdoors for the day or night because they become house-soilers, urinating in the home outside of their litter boxes. The major reason why cats develop this distressing condition is because they are fed a dry food diet too high in cereals that makes their urine too alkaline, which encourages the formation of urinary calculi or crystals. The lack of moisture in the cat’s diet can lead to highly concentrated urine that is extremely harmful to the lining of the bladder.
Symptoms of cystitis include straining to urinate, frequent, often frantic licking of the hind end, and great difficulty in urinating, blood in the urine, urinary tract obstruction and inability to urinate at all, (a painful emergency), loud crying, and voiding at the care-taker’s feet as a clear display of distress.
Treatment with an analgesic like Butorphanol, or with Valium or valerian, that have antispasmodic properties as well as being anxiety-alleviating, has helped many cats during the first 5-10 days of treatment.
This serious, treatable condition is to be distinguished from cats’ aversion to using the litter box for such reasons as: it is not being cleaned out daily by the care-taker; the cat does not like the type of litter; the box is not in a quiet, low-traffic, easily accessed part of the house; the box is enclosed under a hood, and the interior becomes ammoniated; the cat has a pain-associated aversion to using the litter box because of constipation, impacted or infected anal glands, arthritis, especially spinal, in older cats, and diseases of the urinary tract.
If crystals/urinary calculi are involved in the cystitis, it is important to determine what type they are chemically. With most types, acidifying the urine with Vitamin C or capsules of cranberry can help. Uva ursi or Bearberry can be a valuable anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory herbal treatment for cystitis, but it tends to make the urine alkaline, which is not desirable if a cat has struvite crystals in the urine. But an overly acidified, artificial diet can lead to calcium oxalate crystal/urolith formation in the urine, so maintaining an optimal acid-base balance in the cat’s diet, and normally slightly acidic urine, is essential. Giving appropriate probiotics may help when there are oxalate crystals, and in cases of uremia, and bacterial infection of the urinary bladder and tract.
Encouraging the cat to drink more water, as by flavoring with milk, tuna juice or unsalted beef or chicken broth, and not feeding an all-dry type commercial cat food are additional steps to take. Diuretic herbs like parsley and dandelion help keep the urinary tract flushed out, but increasing the cat's fluid intake, as with flavored water and moist, canned or home-prepared foods, is important. No cereals and more raw or lightly cooked meat to increase the acidity of the urine is advisable in many cases, unless they have calcium oxalate crystals in their urine.
Cats with cystitis and incontinence may have an underlying food allergy and some have made spontaneous recoveries when all corn was eliminated from their diets---a common ingredient in many cat foods.
Cats with cystitis often need antibiotics because of underlying infection. Diabetic cats and those on long-term steroids, often develop bacterial cystitis because of lowered immunity. Incontinent cats should be checked for these problems. Changing the type of litter to a non-mineral/clay base, like newspaper or corn pellets, may also help.
Emotional stress, as well as an all-dry diet, is a major aspect of feline cystitis/urologic syndrome. Environmental enrichment, as with perches and climbing posts; a cat ‘condo;’ safe places to hide; identifying and resolving conflict between cats in the same home; regular play and grooming; providing an extra litter box, and putting out extra food and water bowls located in a quiet place were cats will not be startled or compete with each other are all helpful preventive measures. Treatment with an analgesic like Butorphanol, or with Valium or Valerian, that have antispasmodic properties as well as being anxiety-alleviating, has helped many cats during the first 5-10 days of treatment.