I know have 2 cats with IC

[Sprockets]

Jen, I'm sure Puddin is still there with you. Where else would he be?

I often feel our Nozz still here, and it's a very comforting thing. He isn't suffering now. We have his sister, and I'm sure he'd never leave her.

It's so hard for us to deal with this, but I'm certain nothing as wonderful as a pet's spirit just disappears, aren't you? Everything in nature is recycled.

[Cillajane]

I don't know much about cats but I have a dog with Chronic Canine cystitis. My vet told me it was the same thing as IC. For the most part she has 2 UTIs a year where as she was getting UTIs about every 5-6 weeks before her diagnosis. For the most part she is on chondrin and Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Bison and seems comfortable.
Only God knew I had the same condition and knew I'd take care of her.

Lucia Cassity
Lexington, KY

[brwneyedgrl]

I too have a dog w/ chronic UTIs, how ironic, huh? The difference is we know exactly where her's are coming from. She is first of all hypothyroid, which can make her susceptible. Second she has horrible seasonal allergies that manifest as a chronic vulvar dermatitis... and I am sure many can relate to her pain. It itches like crazy and breaks out in a horrible red rash. I am constantly having to put various antibiotic/steroid ointments on her vulva to try to relieve her symptoms. The problem is that dogs don't know not to scratch/lick things so she will lick at it if I don't catch it quick enough. (And yes, she has one of those dumb E-collars to wear, but she cannot live in it 24/7.) By doing so, it often becomes infected. I try to keep on it and catch it, but sometimes even if I do the bacteria from the inflamed area often ascends her urethra into her bladder. And my poor dog is just as miserable as I am when she has a UTI. For her, the best way to treat it is to control her allergies as best as possible.

It's so sad, but I actually have her trained now to lay down, roll over and lift her back leg to reveal her vulva for medication... she knows the command "show me peepee"

At times I would trade places w/ her b/c I honestly think she gets better vet care than I get care from my own doctors.

Erin

[kadi]

Yes, cats can have IC. There is a veterinarian, Dr. Tony Buffington, who has done research on cats with IC...

[brwneyedgrl]

I second that... we have talked about it in veterinary school. When I was required to give a letter to our school about it and my having to sometimes miss class/take pain meds my dean even remarked about all she knows about it is the disease in cats. I can't say I have learned much about it yet, but I do know it is diagnosed based upon the same microscopic lesions in the bladder. It is a widely accepted disease among the vet field, if only MDs shared similar beliefs.

[Sprockets]

i've had cats who had chronic urinary problems that were not associated with UTIs, but they were all males. Two of them had to have urethrostomies, which fixed them right up. In their cases they each formed tiny stones, "or sand," of one kind or another, and these stones irritated their narrow male urethras, in one case causing a complete blockage necessitatig immediate surgery. In both cases, FUS had been the diagnosis until the stones were found.

The issue I have with the diagnosis of IC in cats or dogs is that, in animals, stones or sand in the urinary tract can cause symptoms that might be irresponsibly diagnosed as IC. A human can say "Doc, I have sharp right flank pain," leading to workup for kidney stones, but an animal cannot. In the absence of an ultrasound to rule out stones and several UAs to rules out sand, a diagnisis of IC in pets is sloppy and will lead to further suffering.

I agree that vets are much more reasonable about handing out pain meds, but that's only because, legally, pets are just property, and also because vets are not subjected to the same oversight in regard to dispensing that doctors are.

Brwneyedgrl - IC is not diagnosed based on lesions in the bladder.

P.S. I apologize if my messages sound terse today. I'm in a flare.

[brwneyedgrl]

Sprockets,

I am just repeating what my dean had said to me about the disease. I have not learned about it yet, nor looked it up myself. Plus, I am at a vet teaching hospital. We have tests available to us that are not performed in private practice.

And vets may be more liberal in your opinion about dispensing pain meds, however, that statement is far from true. We discuss this in class a lot. It just depends on the vet. But historically vets have not prescribed pain meds for animals. There was the wide held belief that animals should feel pain b/c it prevents them from doing further damage to themselves. Ie. a dog w/ a broken leg. It was originally thought believed that the dog needed to feel pain to prevent it from walking on the broken leg. Otherwise, if given pain meds the animal would walk on the leg, and do further damage. We have had discussions about this concept in ethics classes. And some older vets still do not provide much pain relief for animals. Plus, there is the problem of determining when the animal is actually in pain and how much pain.

And even if your vet prescribes more pain meds, they are under the same laws that doctors are. They are probably more liberal in dispensing them in your opinion b/c we don't worry about animals abusing them like humans. They cannot od on them unless their owner does it to them.

[Sprockets]

My opinion that vets are more likely to dispense pain medications (appropriately) than human doctors is based on my own experience over nearly four decades in various parts of the U.S. and in England. Your mileage may vary.

[jen74]

I agree, I think vets are more likely to dispense pain meds opposed to doctors. Animals are not going to abuse them unless the owners give them to much. when my puddin hurt his back he was on pain meds, and thank goodness because he was in pain. After he hurt his back we would carry him up and down the stairs and not let him jump onto furniture. It was rough, out house was upside down, pillows on chairs and we bought one of those big springy tubes and put it on the couch so he could not jump up there. Puddin was a Dachshund so have to be very careful since they tend to get back issues. Hey, but I did not mind turning my house upside down, I would have done anything that my little guy if it meant making him better .

And yes Sprokets, I agree that his little soul is right here with me in my heart. He will always be my favorite little angel. I call him my angel from God because he helped me go on throughout this whole time from when I first became sick. There were times when I was ready to throw in the towel. I seriously wanted to die. He kept me going. Myabe that is why I am so devastated without him. But, I realize this is life and we all are going to make that journey one of these days. You know the saying " there are no "but waits" when god comes a calling for you. " but wait, I'm not ready to go" or but wait, I have a family to care for" . No, when it is your time, it is your time. That is what I believe. So I guess we have to go on and make the best of what we have. I do not look at death as a horrible thing at all. I look at it as a way out and another chance. I mean think about it, would you seriously want to live forever? Death gives us a way out. Think about how sick some people are, or ones that are paralyzed. If we lived forever, that would suck for them. I think that is why we die. It gives us a way out. even the little animals that are sick or suffering. Just a thought

Jen

[brwneyedgrl]

Just to clarify what I was trying to say, vets historically have not been more liberal about dispensing pain meds. But newer younger vets are. So I too agree w/ you in that remark. It just has not always been that way. So if you come across an older vet, this may not be the case. We are currently taught to assume that if we think we would be in pain in such a situation, then to provide pain relief. There are also behavioral cues to look for to determine if an animal is in pain. It is hard, b/c most animals hide their pain. So often, if you see signs of pain, the animals is probably in more pain than you think. Also, it is very different in large animal and small animal medicine. Small animal medicine is much more liberal about handing out pain meds. And perhaps an even stricter area of the profession in pain management is laboratory animal medicine.

I can only talk about the US, as I do not have experience in Europe w/ vets. However, we have many international professors at our school and they have made remarks about it from time to time as being very similar.

But yes, there is not risk of abuse w/ animals unless the owners are not following the dosage. So that is not often considered when dispensing pain meds. There are instances of humans taking their pets pain meds or seeking pain meds from vets.

And yes, it is much harder for me to get pain meds than it is to get them for my dog. My family's dog is severely arthritic and it only takes a phone call to get strong narcotics. I have to be doubled over in pain at my doctors office for him to even consider giving me vicodin.

Like I said before, I truly feel my dog gets better medical care than I do. But part of the problem is that there are so many people w/ addictions that have abused the system and ruined it for the rest of us that are truly in pain.

[Sprockets]

I think genuine addicts are pretty easy to spot, as is drug-seeking behavior. When a person has a painful condition for which there is no cure, withhholding pain medication amounts to abuse. The "all those addicts out there" excuse is utterly bogus to the point of ridiculousness, and the next time I get even the merest whiff of it from a medical professional I might have to resort to mayhem.

We have a right to be pain-free.

[SandyRN]

Sprockets--there are lots of articles out there that talk about cats having IC. It's not all that uncommon. My cat had the same bladder symptoms that I did, well, of course, from what I could see, and the vet suggested IC. Eventually it did turn into bladder cancer and we had to let him go.......was one of the hardest things I'd ever done.

This cat was my husband's favorite, and he (the cat) was so jealous of me...like if I snuggled up to my hubby, he'd come get right in between us.

I've got pictures of him in my lap, cradled like a baby a day or two before we had to put him to sleep...I almost felt like he was telling me he loved me, too...just loved his daddy more...lol....

The only bad part of loving an animal with all your heart is knowing that the time has come to let them go in peace instead of leaving them to suffer. We should treat humans this well...but that's a whole 'nuther subject.

[waterflow]

I had all tests that could be done (including driving to a big specialist vet hospital) and no stones or any kind or anything else that could be causing it. Other then the fact of IC. The first cat was finally doing better this summer. Just still needing her meds and even the 2nd one who came down with it this summer was starting to do better but add in company coming to often and the wonderful holidays and it just upset the two of them to often. Vet has told me from the first start of IC upset a cat and they get sick and it could just be from moving their furniture around and that can make them sick. I moved their furniture thinking they would like a change and bingo...they got worse. I have 6 cats so chances I guess of me having a cat with it increases. Often wondered if by keeping all 6 I made them sick and then I think if I had given them away would they still have gotten IC and if that person who took them would have taken care of them? Either way, they have IC and it can't be changed. I did have to fight in the beginnig with the vet when the first cat got IC about her having pain meds. She kept saying it was curable. I told her no it wasn't (told her I have it too. Infact, I was the one who called and asked if it was IC since all tests showed nothing wrong) and if the pain wasn't under control she would never get "better". She said ok it was my choice. I did refuse to give her Prosac. Was to dangerous for her. Vet said she could die and I told her no. If she gets to the point where it is that or she would die maybe then but it's just to calm her down and I use the Feliway and since she has gotten better her little tazmainian side doesn't show anymore. Cats I have noticed have this thing of hiding their sickness and pain very well and you can't see if until they are in very bad shape. They will act normal until they can't anymore and I've often thought why didn't I see they were sick? The vet did tell me it could turn into cancer later on in life and I hope it never does. I hope they don't get worse like me. I hope and hope theirs would finally be cured but I know it can't. Hopefully after the wonder holidays are done things can get quiet again and they will get to feeling better. I do have to take the one cat for a shot this afternoon. It's for inflamation. Can't pronouce but it works the same as the cosequin but stronger and faster. She does better after the shot.
I still think it is wrong to put an animal to sleep but I can't let them just lie in pain either. I still feel guilty and cry to this day about my first dog I had put to sleep Dec. 13, 1981. I do feel like I killed all 5 dogs (and someone even told me that) and I cry but I coudln't let them lay there in pee.

[JaimieEileen]

I posted this on another thread but thought I'd share here too. My cat was just diagnosed with IC too Obviously we all have quite a bit of sympathy for our animals, what I want to share most was the link. It's crazy how someone could just give up on something they're meant to love and treasure.

My poor kitty Nox. I had noticed one night she made frequent trips to the litter box and was squatting on her favorite blanket. They associate the litter box with pain so they begin urinating elsewhere. I took her to the vet the next morning right when they opened, assuming it was just a UTI. She went through courses of medications and pain relievers for several weeks and UAs were done. Just thinking of her being catheterized is painful to me, I know how awful it is. Most of my IC pain is my bladder stem and urethra. I can deal with spasms and cramps. Her UAs were clean but her symptoms still sporadically appear which led to her diagnosis. Upon researching this disease in cats, I came across something awful. It made me think of how much I overcome with just a little pain medication and my symptoms don't ruin my life. Someone simply euthanized their cat at three years old just because it didn't respond to three weeks of treatment and was peeing on the carpet. I can't imagine IC being a life or death situation.

http://www.petfinder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=176271

I now have a greater attachment to my cat knowing she knows what I'm going through because she has to go through it too. Mine also started with a UTI almost six years ago. No amount of money she could cost me would ever justify killing her for something she didn't ask for. I love my special needs kitty.

[Sprockets]

Our lives revolve around our four cats, and I've dealt with my share of cat urinary issues over the years. We have one cat who often pees on a towel just outside the litter box, and we can't track down a medical cause after hundreds of dollars of tests. We just wash the towel when that happens.

This has been the situation for years, and we cope. I hope she never starts peeing elsewhere, because if she did we'd have a very difficult decision to make.