095 What's New in FIC in Cats

Episode 95 – What's New in FIC in Cats

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis is such a fascinating disease from a Veterinary Behaviour Medicine perspective as it poses the perfect intersection between physical and behavioural health.

It is a diagnosis of exclusion, is mainly seen in younger cats under 10 years of age (2-7 years is most common), and can be triggered or exacerbated by stressful events.

Often referred to as "bladder migraine", this inflammatory psychoneuroendocrine disease can be very uncomfortable for cats, may cause them to "block" and can have recurrences over time, which can lead to euthanasia (20% mortality).

While we are aware of some risk factors for FIC (male, pedigree, overweight, indoor only cats fed on a dry diet… and a few more…), we are always in search of other factors that may contribute to the development and recurrence of this disease.

In this episode, I mention a recent study (see below) that found a significant statistical association between cats that are fearful of unfamiliar people and the RECURRENCE (not development) of FIC episodes.

Cats that were fearul of familiar people were also overrepresented in the recurrence group.

So, this gives us even more information when we think about the urgency of treating these behavioural presentations in cats, especially if they have had an episode of FIC in the past!

Here's the study I mention in this episode:

Caudron, M., Laroche, P., Bazin, I. and Desmarchelier, M., 2025. Association between behavioral factors and recurrence rate in cats with feline" idio