Please help with a difficult decision

[unicorncham]

So background is I have a male cat who was a rescue, approximate age of 10 (rescued at approx 1 year)
When I rescued him I was told he had FIV and so needed to be an indoor cat, which was fine and he has had many happy years with us so far.
He has had a few bouts of cystitis over the years which has been treated without issue. He had a bout a few months ago and already I think has it again (weeing outside of litter tray, frequent peeing and also peed on something where I noticed he had blood in it).

Now I am obviously going to go to the vet, but last time I was there they said they would like to do scans to check for stones and a possibility of kidney issues. In this last year he has gotten rather skinny and I am quite worried that it could be kidney problems which is horrible for a cat.

If I had all the money in the world I would pay for any treatment necessary for him, providing it was in his best interest. But I don't, as I currently have 2 under 2 and we just get by.

Please be honest what would you do in my situation would you take out a loan of some sort to pay for various tests to be done, or would you put the poor boy out of his misery and probable pain? I mentioned FIV above because I was told at the time he should live a fairly lengthy life but will probably be more susceptible to medical issues (which is the case for him).

Sorry for the long ramble, hope it makes sense. I'm devastated to be having to make this decision he's honestly the sweetest boy and loves the kids to bits.

For me it would depend on the type of tests. Things like blood tests I would move hell and high water to do, more invasive testing would depend on the likely outcome. For example if the results of the tests would likely mean a lifetime of tablets shoved down his face 3 times a day or lead to more and more invasive tests to try and find the problem I would probably say no.

Thank you for your reply. Yes I think you are right about the likely outcome. I had a cat in the past that was elderly and ended up on tablets for thyroid issues and it was stressful for her and us trying to get them down her.

Good luck. Be lead by your vet, but ask lots of questions.

If they think it's A and want to test for that, ask what the treatment for A, the likely outcome of treatment and the next step if it isn't A.

Then ask the same questions if they say if it's not A it could be B, etc.

Remember though that they can't possibly know everything.

It might just be crystals in his urine. That’s causes bleeding and also peeing outside the box etc. Ours had that. He was put on a renal diet and was ok after that. He wasn’t put on pills
I would at least have a few tests like blood test and urine test if I could

I had a cat in the past that was elderly and ended up on tablets for thyroid issues and it was stressful for her and us trying to get them down her.

I know you didn’t ask about this, OP, but for anyone with a cat with hyperthyroidism who worried about giving daily tablets, you can now get a gel which you rub on the inside of their ear and does the same job as the tablets. It’s brilliant!

There's a product from feliway called cystease, its £45 for 300 capsules from animed.co.uk.

I give it every day to ours and it keeps him uti free.

My old girl used to get cystitis, she had about seven lots in a year and it got worse. The vet could continue treating her for cystitis, but in her interests we needed to know if we were dealing with crystals, stones, infection, even cancer as that would involve different treatment. We did go down the xray route and cystitis was confirmed.

If money is really tight, could you afford blood tests as that may give an indication of why he's lost weight (I doubt cystitis wouldn't cause that). Regarding the cystitis, obviously you're not 100% sure, but you can buy cystease/cystaid or possibly something cheaper with the same ingredient off the internet. My girl got so stressed with vets visits, I put her on it permanently rather that when she just had cystitis. It might be it had naturally stopped, but she never had it again - I dropped the dose after a couple of years but she was still on four a week at the end of her life and went six years without a reoccurence. Cystease lines the bladder reducing irritation so could help alongside crystals although ideally it would be better to treat for those.

Cystitis and other urinary issues in male cats should always be treated as an emergency as they can get blocked and that can easily be fatal, as well as extremely painful.

How is he in himself? Cystitis can make a cat feel really poorly.

He should probably be on a special diet and/or supplements if he is prone to urinary issues. And weight loss is not normal in cats so yes, blood and urine tests would be needed to investigate... Would you be eligible for low cost treatment anywhere if you're on low income? Where in the country are you based?

I think I would have blood tests done and see what the issue is and take it from there.

But have a plan now, as to what you would want in the event there is a bigger problem. It makes it easier (slightly) when the time does come.