Feline Idiopathic Cystitis
So. The diagnosis is that Sheppy has Feline Idiopathic Cystitis. Essentially, he has an inflammation of the bladder, but not one caused by infection -- as verified by the urine tests he underwent.
No, rather, my Sheppy is a delicate soul and he's apparently unusually sensitive to environmental stress. This feature of his means his stressed brain doesn't control hormones properly, ergo, the lining of the bladder is being worn down which leads to inflammation.
Interestingly, this condition frequently develops with male cats when they're about four years old; and yeppers, Sheppy is going on 4 1/2.
As for what's stressing him, it's almost impossible to diagnose. With sensitive kitties, it could be anything -- something which doesn't even feature on my radar. It could even be me going into London nearly five days a week to work as opposed to working from home the majority of the time.
So, Sheppy is now on two meds a day to control the possibility of inflammation and I need to destress his lifestyle as much as possible. He's currently curled up in my lap snoozing away so he hasn't been too traumatized by our visit to the vet this afternoon. Bless him, he is my special little boy. We'll get past this.
No, rather, my Sheppy is a delicate soul and he's apparently unusually sensitive to environmental stress. This feature of his means his stressed brain doesn't control hormones properly, ergo, the lining of the bladder is being worn down which leads to inflammation.
Interestingly, this condition frequently develops with male cats when they're about four years old; and yeppers, Sheppy is going on 4 1/2.
As for what's stressing him, it's almost impossible to diagnose. With sensitive kitties, it could be anything -- something which doesn't even feature on my radar. It could even be me going into London nearly five days a week to work as opposed to working from home the majority of the time.
So, Sheppy is now on two meds a day to control the possibility of inflammation and I need to destress his lifestyle as much as possible. He's currently curled up in my lap snoozing away so he hasn't been too traumatized by our visit to the vet this afternoon. Bless him, he is my special little boy. We'll get past this.