The Columbus Academy of Veterinary Medicine is an established local association of Central Ohio Veterinarians. Its members reflect all aspects of veterinary medicine from small and large animal veterinary practices to academics and research. All the members share the common goal of creating an organization to promote veterinary medicine and safeguard its interests on a local level. The Academy is a vital source of continuing education hours offered at no charge to its membership. It is an important link between the veterinary community and the public it serves.
Feline idiopathic or interstitial cystitis (IC) is a disease whose cause is not known despite extensive investigation. IC can be an acute, chronic relapsing, or persistent condition. Most cats with IC are young or middle aged. From 55 to 70% of young cats will have IC sometime in their lives. The most common clinical sign is a failure to urinate in the litterbox. This may be the only sign of a problem, but owners may also see blood in the urine, more frequent urinations, or difficult or painful urination. Some male cats can even develop a urethral obstruction, which is a life-threatening situation.
Feline IC is diagnosed by excluding the other possibilities. A urinalysis will indicate the presence of blood, protein, or crystals in the urine. A urine culture will determine whether bacteria are present and what antibiotic would be most effective. An x-ray will detect the presence of bladder stones (calculi). In cats with recurrent IC, cystoscopy (examination of the bladder with an endoscope) may be necessary to rule out other diseases such as anatomical abnormalities, polyps, and small calculi.
Once the diagnosis of IC has been made, it is not possible to tell which cats will have chronic relapses. As many as 85% of cats spontaneously resolve their clinical signs within 1 week, with or without treatment. As many as 50% of these cats will have another episode within 6 months. Enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity seems to be central to the inflammatory process involved in IC. Therefore, it is important to reduce your cat's stress level. Do not continually switch diets, as this may be stressful for your cat. However, some cats do improve on canned food, because the increased water content of the food will increase their urine volume and flush irritating substances from the bladder more frequently. Keep the litterbox clean; scoop it daily. If you decide to change to a different litter, make the change gradually to avoid stressing your cat. Keep litterboxes, as well as the food and water bowls, in quiet well-ventilated areas. Exercise and play activity may help decrease stress in cats. For ideas and resources for enriching your cat's indoor environment, visit the website www.indoorcat.org. Feliway, a synthetic analogue of a naturally occurring feline facial pheromone, may decrease anxiety-related behaviors in cats. Some cats do still need drug therapy to help them cope with IC, such as analgesics, antidepressants, or glycosaminoglycans. Your veterinarian should be consulted before trying any medication, since some over-the-counter medications can be harmful to cats.