Anyone who has ever had a cat with urinary issues can tell you, it’s the WORST. So of course I was devastated when the vet told me my kitty had Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD). Unfortunately, some cat owners will not tolerate cat box accidents and end up banishing their cats outside or worse surrendering them without looking into the bad behavior has a possible medical issue. I’m here to let you know there is hope for cats with FLUTD.
It was the perfect storm that lead to the diagnoses. It all started when my boyfriend and I went away on a 5 day vacation for Memorial Day. I left my Ragdoll, Morty, in the care of our roommates and upon arrival home everything seemed completely normal. A few days later I was doing laundry when I noticed a layer of cloths in the hamper were soaked and smelled like pee. Clearly alarmed, I did a quick Google search which didn’t help. Everything I read said he needed to go to the vet. So I made the appointment. Two days later, as I was packing him up for the vet, I was starting to think I was over reacting. He had been peeing in his box and didn’t seem lethargic or sick at all. But I decided to keep the appointment just in case.
The vet examined him and agreed, I might be over reacting. After all she said, although UTI’s are more common in neutered male cats, it’s rare to see a young, healthy male with one. We decided to do an urinalysis just in case.
A day later I got the call that Morty had FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease). In Morty’s case he had crystals in his pee (often brought on by stress) causing him to strain when using his cat box and pee more often with less coming out (similar to a human UTI). The good news was he didn’t actually have an infection, just this weird, vague FLUTD diagnoses that, I was told, could come back at any time. I felt so bad I hadn’t addressed his health needs sooner. The crying out when he was near his box should have been an obvious sign. So I decided to do everything the vet told me to make him more comfortable and send his FLUTD into remission.
Step 1: Switched His Diet
He already had a diet of half wet food, half dry food. The vet recommended I switch to the Science Diet Urinary Food to help his symptoms. Expensive? Yes. To compensate I switched his wet food and kept his usual dry. I’ve also read it’s good to feed them smaller meals throughout the day if possible. So I broke dinner in half, creating a ‘snack’ meal between breakfast and dinner time.
Step 2: Add water sources
Making sure your FLUTD kitty has enough water is key. Adding more than one water source around the house will encourage them to drink more. I got Morty this water fountain and he LOVES IT. He drinks twice as much water now. I highly recommend it.
Step 3: Increase exercise
Most FLUTD kitties are overweight, this wasn’t the case for Morty but I want to keep it that way. So I stepped up play time with a few extra minutes every day. Dangle toys are the best to really get your kitty moving. He also loves his new cat tunnel, (we oped for the extra crinkly one) which helps make crazy time even crazier.
Step 4: Reduce Stress
This one’s hard. I realized the onset of Morty’s symptoms may have been caused by our vacation/ time apart. But I get it, you can’t NOT go on vacation every once and awhile. To compromise, when you are home make sure you play with your cat! It’s a misconception that cats are independent and don’t love you. They need attention too! Also try to find a cat sitter that will give your fluff the attention they need while you’re away.
After trying all these things I am happy to say Morty is doing much better. Once I started the urinary food I noticed his bathroom habits returning to normal within a few days and we haven’t had an accidents in months. With a little extra work from their humans, kitties with FLUTD can live long, comfortable lives.
