How to Diagnose and Treat Feline Interstitial Cystitis
If you've noticed symptoms of feline interstitial cystitis in your cat, like frequent urination, difficulty urinating, painful urination, bloody urine, excessive grooming, or aggression, take your cat to the vet as soon as possible. The vet will examine your cat and perform tests, like a urine analysis and ultrasound, to figure out what's going on. If your cat is diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, your vet will prescribe medication to treat its symptoms. However, there are also things you'll need to do at home to prevent the symptoms from coming back, like making sure your cat's litter box is clean and providing your cat with more water. You should also try to minimize your cat's stress as much as possible, since stress can make the condition worse.
Look for difficulty with urination. The most obvious and clear symptoms of interstitial cystitis are connected to difficulty urinating. With an inflamed bladder, the cat could have a variety of problems when trying to urinate. These include: Frequent urination Difficulty passing urine Urinating outside of the litter box Painful urination or crying out while urinating Blood in the urine Assess whether your cat has been stressed. While the exact cause of interstitial cystitis is unknown, stress has been connected to recurring bouts of the condition. If your cat has been under stress, for instance, if you have recently moved or you have brought a new pet into your home, then your cat is more likely to get FIC. In general, stress can make a cat more likely to get a variety of health problems, including urinary tract problems. Look for behavioral changes. There are a variety of behavioral changes that may occur in your cat when it has FIC. For instance, it may begin over-grooming itself, particularly in the area around the urethra opening. The cat does this due to the discomfort of not being able to urinate easily. Other behavioral changes could include aggression and general irritation. Take your cat to be seen by a veterinarian. While interstitial cystitis is a serious condition that needs to be monitored by a veterinarian, the symptoms connected with this condition can also be connected with other urinary tract problems that are much more serious, such as a total urinary blockage. Because of this, you need to take your cat to a veterinarian right away if it is having trouble with urination. Call your veterinary office, tell them about all of your cat's symptoms, and then ask to be seen right away. Allow the veterinarian to do a physical exam. Your veterinarian will likely do a thorough exam on your cat. Most importantly, they will feel around your cat's abdomen. When the veterinarian feels the abdomen, they are looking for signs of pelvic organ pain, thickening of the bladder wall, and a small bladder. The vet may require additional help to restrain the cat during an abdominal exam. This may be especially true for a cat that is frightened and in pain. While the veterinary staff will usually be on hand to help, you may need to assist the vet during an emergency visit. Approve diagnostic testing. In order to definitively diagnose interstitial cystitis, your veterinarian will need to do some diagnostic testing. Some tests that your veterinarian might suggest include: Urine samples for bacterial culture and analysis X-rays of the bladder Ultrasound of the bladder Approve immediate treatment. If your cat is in distress or pain, your veterinarian will give it immediate care for pain, discomfort, or life-threatening problems. This could include an IV of fluids, pain relievers, or other types of medication that the veterinarian decides are needed. If your cat is unable to urinate, your veterinarian may need to put in a catheter to allow the cat to empty its bladder. This will require sedation, but is necessary for the cat's health. Give your cat medication. The medications used for interstitial cystitis treat the symptoms of the disease, not the cause. However, they are important for helping your cat with any discomfort or continued problems urinating. Your veterinarian may prescribe one or more of these oral medications: Amitriptyline hydrochloride: This is a tricyclic antidepressant medication that may reduce the severity or duration of your cat's FIC symptoms. It may cause side effects, such as drowsiness, excess salivation, or constipation. Pentosan polysulfate sodium: This medication may reduce pain by creating a protective barrier in the bladder. While this medication has few side effects, it's not clear how effective it is for treating FIC. Ketoprofen: This is an anti-inflammatory medication which may reduce your cat's pain. There is no evidence that it is effective for FIC in particular. Tolfenamic acid: This is also an anti-inflammatory medication that reduces pain and discomfort. Minimize the cat's stress. The best thing you can do to prevent further bouts of FIC is to reduce the cat's stress. Above all, make sure the cat is in a stable and comfortable environment that includes proper nutrition, mental and physical stimulation, and love and comfort on a regular basis. Do not yell at your cat or pick it up in ways that it doesn't like, and avoid scaring it if at all possible. Avoid yelling or screaming around the cat, even if you are not directing it at the cat in particular. Don't bring new pets into your home or change your cat's way of life dramatically. If you need to bring a new pet into the home, make the change gradually and make sure that your cat is comfortable and not bullied by the new pet. Give your cat a space of its own and its own feeding area, so that it can get proper rest and nutrition without having to interact with other animals. If you have children, teach them how to behave appropriately around your cat and handle it gently. Teach them how to recognize when the cat wants to be left alone. Increase the cat's water intake. Increasing the cat's water intake will dilute its urine, allowing the urine to flow more easily. Be sure that you have water available for the cat at all times and try to encourage it to drink by putting fresh water out often. Place water bowls in various locations around the house to give your cat easy access to water and encourage drinking. Begin to feed your cat wet food if you don't already, as this can dramatically increase the cat's water intake. You may also want to consider getting a water fountain for your cat. These are sold at pet stores and online retailers. The movement of the water can really encourage cats to drink more water. Make sure litter boxes are clean and appealing. If your cat does not like its litter box, this can prevent it from going to the bathroom when it needs to. An unappealing litter box setup can also create a lot of stress in the cat. Place your cat's litter boxes in quiet, private locations away from noisy appliances and heavy foot traffic, so that your cat feels safe. Clean litter boxes daily, and use a litter and litter box type that your cat seems to like. Whether you are a 1 cat household or you have more than 1 cat, you should have more litter boxes than you have cats. Giving your cat the option of several litter boxes will reduce its stress and increase the likelihood that it uses a litter box when it needs to. 
Look for difficulty with urination. Assess whether your cat has been stressed. Look for behavioral changes. Take your cat to be seen by a veterinarian. Allow the veterinarian to do a physical exam. Approve diagnostic testing. Approve immediate treatment. Give your cat medication. Minimize the cat's stress. Increase the cat's water intake. Make sure litter boxes are clean and appealing. 