Is my cat unhappy?

[LondonLady1980]

Long story short: 4 weeks ago I had two sisters (a bonded pair) from a rescue centre who came from a neglectful background. They are approximately 18 months old. One of them was very outgoing and one was much more timid.

Two weeks after they arrived the outgoing one showed classic signs of stress induced cystitis and so was commenced on a 10 day course of treatment (Gabapentin) which seemed to work. However, within 48 hours of the treatment course being completed the symptoms returned but worse than the first time.

A urine sample was sent to the vets which showed no signs of infection, no crystals and so it was deemed to be stress induced cystitis again. Another course of Gabapentin was started again (three doses a day), as well as a pain relief drug (one dose every 24 hours).

We are now on day 4 of the treatment and not much has changed. There is no longer any blood in her urine but when she is using her litter tray she is still only passing really small amounts of urine, and she is still attempting to urinate outside of her litter tray.

She is eating absolutely fine but she is seeming withdrawn and not her usual self.

Could the change in her behaviour be a side effect of all the medication she is on? Or is she just not happy here? Two episodes of stress-induced cystitis back to back surely is a sign that something is bothering her?

I have bought Feliway infusers, water fountains to encourage her to drink and purchased specialist diet for urinary tract health, Crystease capsules etc and I don’t know what else I can do.

Her sister, the one who was the timid cat is absolutely thriving being here with us so it’s really upsetting to see the more outgoing cat going through all of this ☹️

I guess I’m worried that this second course of treatment will stop and then everything will just flare up again.

Do they have a litter tray each?

We have three litter trays in the house and they have supervised outdoor access in our garden (where they do toilet).

I’ve been where you are and again it was my usually bold and confident cat that gets the stress induced cystitis. You are doing all the right things, keep going. It takes more time than you think to resolve- it took our boy a month to get back to normal last year! It was incredibly stressful for everyone and I cried over him soooo many times! Apparently if it’s stress induced cystitis they have overproduced a stress hormone which damages their bladder lining and causes the symptoms- this takes time to repair and get back to normal. The gabapentin prevents any additional stress, the painkiller helps them keep weeing through the symptoms and the cystease and urinary food will help their bladder repair.

With the personality, it’s absolutely the medication! Gabapentin, especially in that dose knocks them for six and if the painkiller is buprenorphine, it adds to that. You actually want them to be sleepy and docile whilst going through it because it’s really unpleasant for them, even though it’s sad to see.

What you want to happen is the size of the wees gradually increases and the frequency of them gradually decreases. It is incredibly subtle and slow to improve- we slept in shifts so someone was up to monitor our boy 24/7 (but also partly because a blocked boy cat is an emergency!) and the slight improvements were so subtle we didn’t quite believe it at first, but then when we reflected on a week prior, we both agreed it was an improvement

I think it was a month before we weaned him off all the meds. Our confident, shouty boy was back as soon as the gabapentin wore off! Hopefully you have a good vet who is guiding you through it all!

Also we had a similar issue to you that we thought we’d solved it and then it bounced back. Now we’re really firm on keeping the gabapentin going until it’s really resolved.

The other medication we have been given is called Loxicom and we have 5 days worth of that.

The veterinary practice has been fine and my pet insurance gives me 24/7 access to free online video calls with a vet too so I was planning on speaking to one of them later this afternoon just for some more reassurance.

Ironically, when she is attempting to wee outside of her litter tray it’s always near her water bowls or water fountains. Is that quite common?

How do they get on? Like do they seem like they want to be together or is it more they tolerate each other. My cat got stress related health issues when we tried pairing her with a cat she didn't quite get on with, nothing too high drama but she just wasn't quite happy. My mum had a sibling pair that didn't get on, whilst they didn't become unwell they was just not happy, she gave one to a friend and they then thrived in seperate homes.

Avoid dry food. Avoid too much fish (metals).

Try a specialist probiotic.

I have just lost my old girl (18) after a three years with chronic kidney disease, so we have some experience with this.

My girl didn't get on with a water fountain. She preferred a large flat bowl of water.

Lastly we had a liquid low dose gapabentin which was much easier on her.

They are a bonded pair that have always been together, the rescue centre would only regime them if they went together.

They don’t fight or anything like that, they get along well and can often be found cuddling up to each other.

The only dry food they have is Royal Canin Urinary Tract Health biscuits, and they have two small portions of it a day. Apart from that they have 2.5 pouches each of wet food a day, which again is Royal Canin Urinary Tract Health food.

I have two water fountains (one per floor), as well as 3 standard water dishes dotted about the house, and another one in the back garden.

The dose of Gabapentin is about 20mg per dose but I don’t know if this is high or low?

I just feel so overwhelmed and I don’t know what to do for the best.

Overnight they are shut in one room of the house (with their trays and water) as this is what they have been used to at all their previous foster homes, but I don’t know if this is contributing to the problem? I asked a veterinary nurse about it and she said it was fine.

I worry that I don’t have the litter trays in the right places and whether this is contributing to it, and so I just worry that I’m somehow making things worse ☹️

Genuinely think you are doing all the right things! 4 weeks is such a short period of time for cats and she’s been back and forth to the vets in that time. Some cats are still hiding under beds etc at that point. Cats love stability and routine and need to get used to everything in your household so I think just continue what you’re doing and be consistent.

Thank you for that. They came from an awful background and they only ended up in the Rescue as the police were called to the home for a domestic incident and saw how neglected they are. The Rescue have done a wonderful job rehabilitating them and getting them back to health, but they have been back and forth between foster homes too so it’s been a difficult few months for them, including them both having a set of kittens and various infections. This is their 4th home in three months so they’ve been through so much during their life.

I also wonder if these sudden flare-ups are related to the fact that it’s Easter holidays and so the home has gone from a generally quiet one to one where the children are here all day as they’re off school (as is my husband who is a teacher). This sudden change, where the home is now louder and busier may also have triggered it possibly?