Feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) is strongly stress-linked in cats, making environmental management a primary welfare intervention for this painful, recurrent condition.
FIC welfare management requires treating the cat's environment as the primary therapeutic target, not just the bladder. Stress reduction through environmental enrichment, reducing conflict in multi-cat households, maintaining consistent routines, providing appropriate litter box provision and cat trees - these interventions have stronger evidence for reducing FIC recurrence than dietary or pharmaceutical management in uncomplicated cases. The welfare insight is that FIC is the bladder's way of expressing chronic stress - treating the bladder alone without reducing the stress is symptomatic management of a psychosomatic disease. Proactive environmental management prevents the acute pain of FIC episodes and the chronic welfare cost of living in a chronically stressful environment.