My cat has feline interstitial cystitis. What OTC supplements help?

Reducing stress is an important part of the treatment, because this is suspected cause of idiopathic cystitis. Try to identify any stressors in the household and do your best to eliminate them. You can also buy a cat pheromone product like Feliway at the pet store, which may help to reduce stress. Aside from reducing stress, there's really not much more you can do besides giving the prescribed medication. Below is a link to more information about this condition. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/cystitis-and-lower-urinary-tract-disease-in-cats I hope that helps and Ollie gets better soon.

Hello. The use of a glucosamine supplement has anecdotally been helpful in cats with cystitis, so this product is fine to use. If Thierry continues to have flare-ups, an injectable form of this, called Adequan, may be more useful. I give this once a week for 4-6 weeks, then monthly for several treatments taking time to completely stop all treatments. Make sure you primarily feed a wet diet as the more water consumed, the more urine is produced to help flush the bladder of any impurities that can lead to cystitis. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

In cats with urinary irritation, wet food is preferable to help reduce urine concentration and flush out the bladder. I strongly recommend a urine exam in order to determine exactly what is going on and to guide the most appropriate treatment (infection/inflammation etc). A sample can be collected using special urine collection litter which does not absorb urine. Petco provide a home kit for detecting UTI which can help to monitor such conditions

This is a frustrating disease to deal with. You can try to add Feliway diffusers or plugs in to help with stress in her environment and add more litter boxes. Some times you have to change the type of litter or litter box because some have a preference. They always make fountains to recycle their water to encourage more water intake. There are several different types of urinary food to help with infections, sediment and crystals, and stress that may help. I would monitor her a urinalysis frequently to make sure there is no infection or sudden changes.

She probably has cystitis and not a UTI. It is not impossible that she has a UTI concurrently but I think cystitis is more likely. Antibiotics will not help that. She needs to be on pain meds and you need to de-stress the environment. This article has more in-depth information: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951488 I strongly recommend you put some Feliway diffusers in your house and do some environmental enrichment for her. Usually these two things help too. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=117324 thedrakecenter.com/materials/environmental-enrichment-indoor-cats  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejmrLa_Cs4

I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Harry. FIC is a very frustrating condition. Individual cats can respond very differently to different therapies and so there is not one single, best way to treat FIC. There are diets on the market that can dissolve struvite crystals and stones, but these are not effective in all cases. The concentration of the urine and the components of the diet are the most important factors long-term. Different brands of diets can sometimes work better in different cats. If the c/d diet is not working for Harry, you may want to try a different brand such as the Royal Canin urinary s/o diet. If he has only had one obstructive episode you do not necessarily need to proceed with a PU at this time, but keep in mind that if he has small stones present and continues have to have flare-ups, he is at risk for another blockage. A PU surgery will greatly reduce the risk of an obstruction but is not without risk itself and is expensive, as you know. Most cases of FIC can be managed via diet and supplements but I cannot speak to the need for a cystotomy without reviewing x-rays and medical history. If you would like to discuss this case further, using our consultation option may be helpful as you are able to upload X-rays and other medical information. This would allow us to give more specific recommendations. I wish you the best of luckin managing Harry's condition. He's very lucky to have you.

I hate to hear that Lulu is having issues with FIC. It is a very common condition in cats. When you are feeding any of the urinary diets, you must feed that diet exclusively. The diets are generally designed to affect the acidity of the urine as well as stimulate drinking. When you mix the diet, those properties are negated so they don't work. I would recommend to feed a diet made by Royal Canin that combines Urinary S/O and Calm. It's a multifunction diet. The S/O will control the urinary signs and the Calm actually helps relieve stress. As you likely know, FIC is in part related to stress. Once you start the diet, it will take about 1 month to take full effect. For her anal glands, you could try a product such as Glandex to see if that helps control her anal sac issues. If the issue continues, follow the recommendation of your vet as far as testing her urine for infection. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!