What to do when your cat has been diagnosticated with Feline Idiophatic Cystitis (FIC)? FIC is a complex syndrome that requires a multimodal management approach. Lets look at some tips:

ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATION- REDUCING STRESS
Cats with FIC are more sensitive to stress than avarage cats. Often, it is difficult to detect signs of stress in cats, but we need to provide an appropiate and rich
enviornment for them.
The most important aspects to consider are:
– Provide safe and quiet places to rest, where the cat can not be disturbed.
– Provide hight places where they can climb and have a view of most of the “territory”.
– Provide scratching surfaces, horitzontal and vertical.
– Play with the cat every day; they need to express their predatory behaviour and stay active. We can also hide small amounts of food around the house to simulate predatory activities.
– In a multiple-cat house is very important to provide enough ressources to avoid conflict (water, food, litter boxes..).
– Litter boxes: there are several aspects to consider refering the litter boxes: Place the litter box in a quiet and safe place, away from the
windows/outsie, so it can’t be overlooked. The litter box has to be away from the water and food. In mutiple-cat houses, there must be 1 box for cat plus 1 extra ideally, in different locations. Litter should be cleaned regullarly.
– We can also use feromones like Feliway.
It is very important to have close attention to the preferences of our cat (toys, litter, food…) and provide him/her depending on them.
You have to notice that environmental enrichment is the most important aspect in FIC management.

DIETARY AJUSTMENTS
Another important aspect in the management of FIC is increasing water intake in order to diluate the urine. Some strategies to achive this are:
– Feed with wet food (canned food) but we need to be careful when changin diets, it can be a stress factor in some cats.
– Use pet water fountains.
– Change water regularly, the water must always be clean and fresh.
– We can try flavoured water (tuna, beef…).
– Add some water in the dry food (if your cat tolerates it).
– Be sure that your cat likes the water bowl. It is recommended to fill the bowl so the cat doesn’t need to put all his/hers head inside. We can try different
bowls.
Normally, no other changes in the diet are required. If you cat needs an special diet, we will adapt it with the descrived strategies.

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Overweight and obesity are an important risk factor in FIC developement (and many other pathologies).
Some things we can try are:
– Increase activity: we can try playing more with the cat, with games that requieres running, jumping and climbing. If the cat stays alone long periods
of time, we can try with interactive toys.
– Diet management and diet changes: it’s important to feed the exact quantity that the cat needs and avoid giving him/her too many treats. If necessary,
we may change the diet into a specific weight management diet.

 

DRUG THERAPY
There are few drugs proved to be effective against FIC, but we can use some to improve clinical signs and recurrence.
– Glycosaminoglycan replacers: might be beneficial in some cats.
– Analgesia and anti-inflamatory drugs: they can’t resolve the episode by themselves, but can reduce the severity of signs.
– Amitriptyline: it can be usefull in severe recurrent cases