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Is there a surgery to prevent my cat's FLUTD from recurring?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 13 lbs

My 3 yr old neutered male spent a week at the vet diagnosed with FLUTD . Is there a surgical procedure to prevent a reoccurrence? He has been home 4 days with prescription food he is drinking water and has only urinated small amount about 3 times. He seems healthy otherwise and is being a typical cat but I am concerned for his future health / life.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 14th, 2017

Unfortunately no, there are no surgical procedures to prevent a reoccurrence of FLUTD. My own cat just had a bought of it, and I had to have him on pain medications as well as increasing his fluid intake. The best things you can do to prevent future occurrences with Ozzie is to make sure he is drinks plenty of water, keep feeding him the prescription diet, and have him lose weight if he's overweight. To encourage him to drink water, I would consider getting him a pet water fountain. It provides a continuing source of fresh water at all times, and cats love drinking from it. Prescription diets help maintain a healthy urinary tract, so it's important to keep feeding that. Try to get him some exercise as well, as that will help Ozzie maintain a healthy weight. Play with him twice a day to get him this exercise.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA
Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer
I'm sorry to hear that Ozzie is having this problem! FLUTD can be a frustrating condition in some cats. If this is the first time that he has ever had this issue, there is a reasonable chance that he may not have a recurrence - about 50% of cats have only one episode, and do not develop any recurring issues. Prescription food and increasing his water intake with kitty fountains, ice cubes in his water dish, etc. can improve the chances even further that he will be symptom-free from here on out.

If he does have a recurrence of this problem, then unfortunately it's likely that it may continue to be an issue throughout his life. In that case, there is a surgical procedure that can be done to prevent him from developing a bladder obstruction, which is a life-threatening complication of FLUTD in male cats - it's called a perineal urethrostomy ("PU" for short), and involves opening up the tip of the penis to give him a larger opening to urinate through.

This procedure won't necessarily prevent him from developing some FLUTD symptoms again in the future (such as crystals, straining to urinate, and sometimes bloody or painful urination), but it will drastically reduce the chance that he will become obstructed and unable to pee. This is something that you could definitely discuss with your veterinarian, especially if he has a recurrence of his urinary issues at some point in the future.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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My cat's FLUTD surgery: Is it permanent? How long will he live?

The life expectancy is the same for a cat that has undergone a PU surgery versus a cat that has not. No difference as long as there is not any underlying kidney damage. PU surgery is a permanent fix but it will not stop bladder stones from forming so a urinary blockage is still possible. Keeping him on a prescription diet ONLY is the best option to prevent recurrence of the problem.

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Best food for cats to prevent urinary blockages after surgery?

Moving forward, you will need to feed Frodo a prescription diet for cats who have urinary problems. I recommend Royal Canin S/O. These diets are formulated to promote increased drinking and urination. They also affect the urine pH to prevent the formation of crystals and one type of bladder stone. You will want to have his urine checked at least twice a year for infections and crystals until you know things are stable. I've got my fingers crossed for you and Frodo!

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What can I do to prevent my cat from getting urinary problems?

Urinary issues are quite common in cats. Different issues can include urinary tract infections, crystals in the urine, bladder stones, feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) that is often related to stress, among many other conditions. As with most health-related issues, prevention is the name of the game. Offer your cat ample quantities of water to assure that they are drinking appropriate volumes. Some cats prefer running water sources, so a water fountain designed for cats may be helpful. Water can also be mixed in with canned foods or added to dry food. Monitoring your cat at home for changes is another critical step. Always be sure that your cat is using the litter box appropriately by urinating normal volumes several times per day and is not straining excessively in the box. Too much or too little urine volume can indicate changes that warrant veterinary attention, as can straining to urinate, vocalizing while urinating, or blood in the urine. If a cat has been previously diagnosed with bladder stones or crystals, your veterinarian may recommend a prescription diet to regulate the pH of the urine and mineral content of the diet to prevent the recurrence of these issues. Cats with previously diagnosed FLUTD may also benefit from calming pheromone collars or diffusers to keep their stress levels at bay.

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What else can I do for my cat's bladder crystals and urinary issues?

Sounds like you all are doing quite a bit already. If you feel that pain is not well controlled the addition of something like buprenorphine may be beneficial. Also, there is a surgical procedure that is commonly performed on cats that get urinary blockages. Essentially the urinary tract is changed from a male to a female shape, thereby widening the urethra and making it much less likely to allow for obstruction in the future. Whether or not your vet is comfortable performing this procedure is another thing altogether. I know many vets that can perform it perfectly well while I know others that have never had to perform it a single time. It is a delicate procedure because the urethra of the cat is so small so finding a doctor that is comfortable with it is of utmost importance. If your cat is not a repeat offender or has not yet blocked completely, surgical change may not be the best option at this time. Continue following the directions of the doctor and be patient with waiting for dissolution. You can also consider lithotripsy to break apart stones if there are any instead of bladder surgery. Hope this helps.

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How to prevent urinary blockages in my male cat after hospitalization?

Hi, thanks fir using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Jose! The most common causes for urinary obstruction are: crystals in the urine (struvite or Calcium oxalate), bladder stones, stress causing inflammation or a urinary tract infection (not common). The goals of therapy are to relieve the obstruction, test the urine for crystals and infection, do blood work to make sure he isn't sick (high potassium, increased kidney values) take an X-ray to look fro bladder stones. We treat with antibiotics for 2-3 weeks, a urethral relaxant (Prazocin) for a week, and pain medications for a few days. If he has bladder stones surgery is require to remove them. Long-term management is a life long diet change to a prescription urinary diet (royal canin s/o, Hill's c/d, Purina UR) and increase water intake. You can buy a water fountain and change him to an all canned food diet (more water in canned food) from one of the above company's. Jose will also be at risk to reblock and should always be monitored and on a prescription diet. Other wise there are no life long medications. I hope this helps and I wish Jose a speedy recovery!

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My male cat had a urinary blockage. How can I prevent it again?

The two main things to prevent the formation of a blockage in a male cat are prescription urinary diet, a supplement called Cystophan and generally reduce any stress factors that might affect your cat.

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My male cat has urinary issues. Is gender change surgery needed?

This is only done in very severe cases that do not resolve or in cases that tend to reoccur too often, is this the first time it happened? if so you should first explore traditional treatment, and by the way in cats UTI is actually not very common, urinary blockage is usually caused by a condition called FLUTD which is related to stress and causes bladder inflammation.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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