Tubby’s First FLUTD Episode

I had a major freak out yesterday. I got home from a friend’s bachelorette party and was eating lunch when I look over to see Tubby trying to pee in my suitcase (and he’s VERY good about using the litterbox!). When I shooed him out of there, I noticed that there wasn’t any pee to clean up. I immediately realized he must be FLUTD, but he has never had an episode before!

I gave him some of Frou’s fluoxetine and then called my hubby and had a panic attack over the phone (because FLUTD episodes are much worse for male cats than they are for female cats). He got me calm enough to call the vet’s office and set up an emergency visit. They know me very well by now (because of Frou’s difficulties with this), and they checked his bladder to see if it was swollen. It was not, so if it was a blockage, I caught it super early! Since his bladder was so tiny, though, they had to keep him and put him on fluids to try and get a urine sample. A few hours later, they called and said they still hadn’t gotten anything, so they needed to keep him overnight.

This morning, they called and said they have never had a male cat give a urine sample so easily! It was normal in color and consistency, but it did contain signs that he was FLUTD. The best news? No crystals, so no blockage! He will be on an anti-inflammatory for a few days, and he is ready to be picked up any time (although they told me it was no rush because everyone loves him). We’re finally out of the Hill’s Diet food, so we’re going to start on the Royal Canin now. Hopefully we can go episode free from now on!