Request herbal info for bladder spasms (senior lady)

Hello.
Our elderly neighbor was put in a nursing home and her children came
to her house, packed the furniture and put their Mom's 15 year old +
calico cat on the street. I have taken her in. She's a very loving lap
kitty and very prone to stress-related urinary difficulties.The vet
always gives her 6-week courses of anti-biotic therapy and a drug
(diazepam?) that makes her so groggy she can't walk. I give her half
of the dose and it still makes her miserable and so weak. Even with
this pain and discomfort she insists on being inside the potty box.
She strains to get up for water or potty; it's stressful, she gets
worse and weaker every time she gets sick. The vet says that's the
only thing to give her. He is strictly traditional and won't discuss
any alternative treatments. Fortunately, this last time she has been
well over a year until this week. She does not have an infection, the
blood eventually goes away and her urinary functions return to her
normal level if I can keep her well hydrated, on her vits and meds and
her body and bladder CALM for about a week. I found Pet-Eze and give
her 1/2 a tablet which reduces her stress for a few hours and reduces
her potty box runs to every hour. The pill down the throat is
stressful for her. I get the liquid antibiotics as she does much
better with a few drops of liquids over the top of her tongue. I just
don't know what herbs will work for felines to reduce bladder spasms,
or, simply calming her overall would be beneficial.
If anyone has a short-term liquid herbal therapy protocol that has
been helpful for related matters, please let me know so I can check it
out.
I would be deeply grateful for any info that may help this little
girl, she is quite the trooper and she's having a hard time.
Thanks for your time.
Sandee

On 2005-10-09 21:42:46 -0500, SandeeK said:

Hello.
Our elderly neighbor was put in a nursing home and her children came
to her house, packed the furniture and put their Mom's 15 year old +
calico cat on the street. I have taken her in. She's a very loving lap
kitty and very prone to stress-related urinary difficulties.The vet
always gives her 6-week courses of anti-biotic therapy and a drug
(diazepam?) that makes her so groggy she can't walk. I give her half
of the dose and it still makes her miserable and so weak. Even with
this pain and discomfort she insists on being inside the potty box.
She strains to get up for water or potty; it's stressful, she gets
worse and weaker every time she gets sick. The vet says that's the
only thing to give her. He is strictly traditional and won't discuss
any alternative treatments. Fortunately, this last time she has been
well over a year until this week. She does not have an infection, the
blood eventually goes away and her urinary functions return to her
normal level if I can keep her well hydrated, on her vits and meds and
her body and bladder CALM for about a week. I found Pet-Eze and give
her 1/2 a tablet which reduces her stress for a few hours and reduces
her potty box runs to every hour. The pill down the throat is
stressful for her. I get the liquid antibiotics as she does much
better with a few drops of liquids over the top of her tongue. I just
don't know what herbs will work for felines to reduce bladder spasms,
or, simply calming her overall would be beneficial.
If anyone has a short-term liquid herbal therapy protocol that has
been helpful for related matters, please let me know so I can check it
out.
I would be deeply grateful for any info that may help this little
girl, she is quite the trooper and she's having a hard time.
Thanks for your time.
Sandee

Ametrypteline is what they usually give (and it *can* make them very
groggy if the dose is high). Has the vet talked about changing her
diet? Also, I found Feliway to be very effective at keeping my Grant
from getting crystals from stress. Poor kitty. That is REALLY good of
you to take her in. I hope the old lady knows. What crappy kids.

"SandeeK" wrote in message
...
Hello.
Our elderly neighbor was put in a nursing home and her children came
to her house, packed the furniture and put their Mom's 15 year old +
calico cat on the street. I have taken her in. She's a very loving lap
kitty and very prone to stress-related urinary difficulties.The vet
always gives her 6-week courses of anti-biotic therapy and a drug
(diazepam?) that makes her so groggy she can't walk. I give her half
of the dose and it still makes her miserable and so weak. Even with
this pain and discomfort she insists on being inside the potty box.
She strains to get up for water or potty; it's stressful, she gets
worse and weaker every time she gets sick. The vet says that's the
only thing to give her.

I think I would see a new vet. And bless you for caring for this kitty.
I hope her owner knows she is okay and being cared for. It would
probably mean the world to her.

SandeeK wrote:

Hello.
Our elderly neighbor was put in a nursing home and her children came
to her house, packed the furniture and put their Mom's 15 year old +
calico cat on the street. I have taken her in. She's a very loving lap
kitty and very prone to stress-related urinary difficulties.The vet
always gives her 6-week courses of anti-biotic therapy and a drug
(diazepam?) that makes her so groggy she can't walk. I give her half
of the dose and it still makes her miserable and so weak. Even with
this pain and discomfort she insists on being inside the potty box.
She strains to get up for water or potty; it's stressful, she gets
worse and weaker every time she gets sick. The vet says that's the
only thing to give her. He is strictly traditional and won't discuss
any alternative treatments. Fortunately, this last time she has been
well over a year until this week. She does not have an infection, the
blood eventually goes away and her urinary functions return to her
normal level if I can keep her well hydrated, on her vits and meds and
her body and bladder CALM for about a week. I found Pet-Eze and give
her 1/2 a tablet which reduces her stress for a few hours and reduces
her potty box runs to every hour. The pill down the throat is
stressful for her. I get the liquid antibiotics as she does much
better with a few drops of liquids over the top of her tongue. I just
don't know what herbs will work for felines to reduce bladder spasms,
or, simply calming her overall would be beneficial.
If anyone has a short-term liquid herbal therapy protocol that has
been helpful for related matters, please let me know so I can check it
out.
I would be deeply grateful for any info that may help this little
girl, she is quite the trooper and she's having a hard time.
Thanks for your time.
Sandee


I give Cosequin to one of my cats for arthritis, I have heard that it is
also effective for some bladder problems. I don't know if it's something
that would be appropriate for your cat but it might be worth looking in
to. It's not a short term solution though, it takes 6 to 8 weeks to
become effective.
http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/products...in_cat_FAQ.asp
#4
or http://tinyurl.com/btyto

On Sun, 9 Oct 2005 21:53:52 -0500, Karen wrote:

On 2005-10-09 21:42:46 -0500, SandeeK
said:

Hello.
Our elderly neighbor was put in a nursing home and her children came
to her house, packed the furniture and put their Mom's 15 year old +
calico cat on the street. I have taken her in. She's a very loving lap
kitty and very prone to stress-related urinary difficulties.The vet
always gives her 6-week courses of anti-biotic therapy and a drug
(diazepam?) that makes her so groggy she can't walk. I give her half
of the dose and it still makes her miserable and so weak. Even with
this pain and discomfort she insists on being inside the potty box.
She strains to get up for water or potty; it's stressful, she gets
worse and weaker every time she gets sick. The vet says that's the
only thing to give her. He is strictly traditional and won't discuss
any alternative treatments. Fortunately, this last time she has been
well over a year until this week. She does not have an infection, the
blood eventually goes away and her urinary functions return to her
normal level if I can keep her well hydrated, on her vits and meds and
her body and bladder CALM for about a week. I found Pet-Eze and give
her 1/2 a tablet which reduces her stress for a few hours and reduces
her potty box runs to every hour. The pill down the throat is
stressful for her. I get the liquid antibiotics as she does much
better with a few drops of liquids over the top of her tongue. I just
don't know what herbs will work for felines to reduce bladder spasms,
or, simply calming her overall would be beneficial.
If anyone has a short-term liquid herbal therapy protocol that has
been helpful for related matters, please let me know so I can check it
out.
I would be deeply grateful for any info that may help this little
girl, she is quite the trooper and she's having a hard time.
Thanks for your time.
Sandee

Ametrypteline is what they usually give (and it *can* make them very
groggy if the dose is high). Has the vet talked about changing her
diet? Also, I found Feliway to be very effective at keeping my Grant
from getting crystals from stress. Poor kitty. That is REALLY good of
you to take her in. I hope the old lady knows. What crappy kids.


Thank you. I think they were monsters to do that, and then their Mom
died so there was no one to tell them how bad they behaved. It is so
sad that we don't even know her name, we call her Tinkerbell - mostly
Tinker. She's tiny.

Thank you for the info, I have the Feliway diffuser in the room where
she spends most of her time and I also use teh spray on the doorway
flaps to her outside cattery (we built a screened room on the back of
our house just for them so the cats could go out without being "out").
She is on a urinary food from nature's recipe and she eats okay, not
as much as normal. I also give her limited Royal Canine #33 easy to
digest or the Senior, but not much dry.The drug was the diazepam (I
wrote it down) and the strength was 5.
She doesn't get stones, she was tested and the first time when she
didn't get better and still passed blood after 6 weeks on antibiotics,
the vet did exploratory surgery telling us she might have a blockage.
Her chance was little to survive, she pulled through, had one more
episode when we put in a new kitchne floor. It is strictly stress
related, my husband (loved dearly by all of us) went to help the
relief effort (fireman) and this started after he was gone for two
weeks.

I have googled for herbs and would only be comfortable getting herbs
to help her that a cat lover has had experience with.

Sorry this is so long, would appreciate help from anyone with any
experience with such things.

5cats wrote:

I give Cosequin to one of my cats for arthritis, I have heard that it is
also effective for some bladder problems. I don't know if it's something
that would be appropriate for your cat but it might be worth looking in
to. It's not a short term solution though, it takes 6 to 8 weeks to
become effective.
http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/products...in_cat_FAQ.asp
#4
or http://tinyurl.com/btyto


Oh, that link says Cosequin is only available from a vet, but, in fact,
there are many sources on the net you can get it from without prescription.
I used amazon.com last time I bought it.

Your cat's condition is called Interstitial
Cystitis. This is a chronic inflammation of the bladder that happens
because there are flaws in the protective lining of the bladder and the
urine irritates the bladder wall causing inflammation, blood and
symptoms
of a urinary tract infection. It's unfortunate your vet is so poorly
educated about treating this condition, and I would definitely NOT give
valium anymore as it is a risky drug to begin with and is not going to
help your cat.=A0Neither are the antibiotics.

I have three cats with this condition, two who had very severe cases. I
have been able to successfully control it in all three cats with diet
and glucosamine supplementation and have virtually eliminated flare-ups.
I suggest you try my approach for a few months and see if you see
improvement.

1) The first thing you'll need to do is eliminate dry food.
Dry food diets have been shown to exacerbate or cause urinary tract
issues. Cats have evolved to derive most of their moisture intake from
what they eat. As a result the cat does not get enough water from dry
food and usually doesn't drink enough to make up for the losses, thereby
not allowing the bladder to be properly flushed and keeping the cat in a
constant state of dehydration, which puts a lot of stress on other
organs as well. The fact is dry food is not a species appropriate diet
and is now suspected to cause diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease,
kidney problems, etc., and it was shown in one study that it often
exacerbates urinary tract issues.
Some good websites that address a lot of the problems with dry food a
http://catsincanada.com/articles/feeding.html
http://www.catnutrition.org

When choosing a canned food, it is also important to only feed *high
quality* foods, which generally use a fixed formula and are more
digestable as they contain quality ingredients (no by-products), where
grocery store foods generally are made with whatever is cheapest. The
food I would recommend, and use myself is Wellness, (which also promotes
a neutral urine ph of 6.1-6,4, which is very similar to Hill's c/d and
may help to keep crystals from developing.) To find a supplier of
Wellness near you you can go to
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/loca...cator_form.asp

I also use Nature's Variety frozen raw food for one of the cats and I'm
very happy with it. I alternate and feed the organic chicken in the
morning and the chicken/turkey in the evening. It does require special
handling (slow thawing, immediate washing of hands and dishes, etc.) but
nothing difficult, and if your cat is in otherwise good health and will
accept the diet this would be a very good option. You can find a store
locator at http://www.naturesvariety.com

2) The next thing you'll need to do is put your cat on a 12 hour feeding
schedule. Free feeding is not a good idea, and can't be done with canned
or raw
food anyway. I also recommend that you give your cat a variety of
flavors (something different each meal), so you don't risk the cat
getting fixated on one particular food to the exclusion of all others,
and also to alleviate boredom with a food where the cat gets sick of it
and stops eating it altogether.

3) ***This is not optional and is the cornerstone of dealing with
interstitial cystitis.***

Supplement your cat with Glucosamine. While it is generally used for
joints and arthritis, it also works to rebuild the protective layer of
the bladder, which in turns stops the pain and irritation that causes
the cat to exhibit symptoms of a UTI. For this purpose your best bet is
to buy Cosequin for Cats, which can be given by capsule or is easily
mixed in with soft food. It is available through your vet, or can be
purchased online without a prescription.
http://vetmedsdirect.com has a pretty good deal- 4 boxes(80 capsules per
box) for $55.00.

To start with I would *double* the dose for the first week or two and
then cut back to regular dosing once you start to see significant
improvement.
The usual dose is 1 capsule for every 10
pounds. If your cat is larger, say 12-13 pounds. I would suggest you use
a capsule and a half rather than try to get away with using one capsule
as it would be better to do a little extra than not enough. If your cat
is smaller than 10 pounds, just use one whole capsule.

4) Try to determine, then eliminate, any stressors that might exist in
the
household. Stress can exacerbate or cause flare-ups in cats with IC. You
can also buy Feliway plug-ins and use those as they have a calming
effect
on cats and can help reduce stress. http://www.petguys.com is a good
source for buying these at a reasonable price. The refills last longer
than the packaging says, and the ones I have last close to two months,
so the long term expense is minimal. You can find Feliway FAQs he
http://www.petcomfortzone.com/cats_FAQ.html

5) Keep the litterbox immaculately clean. Generally, as a rule, using a
clumping litter (natural litters such as World's Best Cat Litter or an
*unscented* clay litter such as Everclean are good) and scooping a
minimum of twice a day will keep the litterbox clean and to the cat's
liking. It is also important to regularly disinfect the box (every 2-3
weeks) and completely change the litter *at least* once a month. Having
a dirty litterbox can be really stressful for cats, and the routine I
have described to keep the litterbox clean takes no more than a few
minutes a day for scooping and maybe 10 minutes every few weeks for the
disinfecting and litter change.

I hope this helps.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

There is a special place in hell for those people. I was thinking, do
you have any tshirts or anything that your husband wore before he left?
I know she will know it isn't him, but if you can put some clothes with
his scent on them in the places she hangs out, it might comfort her a
little.

Suddenly, without warning, 5cats exclaimed (10-Oct-05 4:28 AM):
5cats wrote:


I give Cosequin to one of my cats for arthritis, I have heard that it is
also effective for some bladder problems. I don't know if it's something
that would be appropriate for your cat but it might be worth looking in
to. It's not a short term solution though, it takes 6 to 8 weeks to
become effective.
http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/products...in_cat_FAQ.asp
#4
or http://tinyurl.com/btyto



Oh, that link says Cosequin is only available from a vet, but, in fact,
there are many sources on the net you can get it from without prescription.
I used amazon.com last time I bought it.

I actually use a joint care product - it has the same active ingredient:
Glucosamine. The additional joint care help would probably help her as
well.

I'm told that glucosamine coats the bladder, protecting it from crystals.

I get mine he

http://tinyurl.com/86pf8

I've used the Joint Care capsules (and still do when we travel), but am
currently using the Joint Care Plus powder (it says 'for dogs' but has
been approved by my vet).

I also use this, but it's too early to tell if it helps or not:

http://tinyurl.com/chxgh

Also, a Drinkwell fountain may help her keep better hydrated. I was a
bit sceptical at first (as was Meep), but she's drinking out of it now,
and actually seems to be drinking a lot more, even from her other water
bowl, than she was before. A very good thing, as a primary factor in
her cystitis attacks was her urine was very concentrated, it's been hard
to get her to drink more, since she's not fond of wet food.

Good luck. There's a very special hell for those who would abandon a
helpless old cat like that. Good luck with her!

jmc

SandeeK wrote:
The vet says that's the
only thing to give her. He is strictly traditional and won't discuss
any alternative treatments.

Hi Sandee,
Bless you for taking in this kitty If you're in the U.S., there is a
state by state listing of holistic/alternative vets at

http://www.altvetmed.org/pages/organizations.html

You may also find other information there that might be helpful.

Lauren
(and Mickey & Meesha)

See my cats: http://tinyurl.com/76tg8