My Tabby Has Blood In Her Urine.

nomeowing

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I'm not looking for medical advice, I thought I'd post to see if anyone had any similar experiences. X-ray was negative. Coarse of antibiotics did not stop the blood (UA and culture were negative for bacteria, showed blood of coarse and the vet stated the urine was well concentrated) Sh e will have blood work today and the vet stated the next test would be an ultrasound which can take up to 2 months to get into at another vet in my town. The alternate would be to go to the closest city about 2 hours away which is large, spread out and I don't know my way around. I have no car or smart phone with GPS. And I hate to put her through such a long trip. Has anyone ever had a cat with blood in their urine and it wasn't infection or stones? Thank you. I'm so scared and worried. She's 10 1/2, strictly indoors.
 

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I know of one friend whose cat had urine her blood and an ultrasound revealed inflammation in the bladder lining - she was given anti-inflammatories. It was a while ago and I don't remember if they found out the exact cause, but she was told that very concentrated urine could easily cause inflammation leading to bloody urine. I think they changed her diet to all wet food and added water dishes around the household to encourage the cat to drink more. I lost touch with her so I have no idea if the inflammation was recurring or not.

Ask your vet if inflammation might be a possibility, and if they could do anything to treat it while you wait to get in for the ultrasound.
 

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You could ask your vet for a list of possibilities, if you haven’t done so already. Especially if they suspect something. I assume the vet asked you about litter box habits, meowing while in the box, etc?

I would think it could be a number of things, especially at 10.5 years old. An ultrasound is a good idea in case it is due to something more serious like a tumor that doesn’t show up on an X-ray.

I‘m not a vet, but I’ve seen a lot of blood in urine once due to cystitis. That was in a younger cat I was fostering. It was caused by stress and was treated with Gabapentin until the cat settled down. I don’t know if it shows up in older cats. I thought cats tend to have episodes/ flares throughout life.
 
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nomeowing

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I know of one friend whose cat had urine her blood and an ultrasound revealed inflammation in the bladder lining - she was given anti-inflammatories. It was a while ago and I don't remember if they found out the exact cause, but she was told that very concentrated urine could easily cause inflammation leading to bloody urine. I think they changed her diet to all wet food and added water dishes around the household to encourage the cat to drink more. I lost touch with her so I have no idea if the inflammation was recurring or not.

Ask your vet if inflammation might be a possibility, and if they could do anything to treat it while you wait to get in for the ultrasound.
Thank you for your reply. I really like your idea of treating possible inflammation. I will mention this to the veterinarian. One issue with my tabby (who is my profile picture) is she has a fish allergy. They eat a Royal Canine dry with one small can treat (fish free) a day split between them. They would eat all canned that is for sure.
 
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nomeowing

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You could ask your vet for a list of possibilities, if you haven’t done so already. Especially if they suspect something. I assume the vet asked you about litter box habits, meowing while in the box, etc?

I would think it could be a number of things, especially at 10.5 years old. An ultrasound is a good idea in case it is due to something more serious like a tumor that doesn’t show up on an X-ray.

I‘m not a vet, but I’ve seen a lot of blood in urine once due to cystitis. That was in a younger cat I was fostering. It was caused by stress and was treated with Gabapentin until the cat settled down. I don’t know if it shows up in older cats. I thought cats tend to have episodes/ flares throughout life.
Thank you for your reply. No issues like meowing in the litter box or licking her area. I'll ask the vet about possibilities more in detail after her blood work results come back. They will be of coarse checking her blood clotting factors. I want her to have the ultrasound if needed. I don't want to wait up to two months. I'd have to drive to the city by myself as I have no one that could go with me. My kitty shouldn't be stressed. The home is quiet and only me and her littermate sister.
 

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I agree about getting the ultrasound. Hematuria is the general condition in which blood appears in the urine or exits from the urinary outlet, even without a lot of urine being present at the same time and it can have a number of causes.
 

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I'm not looking for medical advice, I thought I'd post to see if anyone had any similar experiences. X-ray was negative. Coarse of antibiotics did not stop the blood (UA and culture were negative for bacteria, showed blood of coarse and the vet stated the urine was well concentrated) Sh e will have blood work today and the vet stated the next test would be an ultrasound which can take up to 2 months to get into at another vet in my town. The alternate would be to go to the closest city about 2 hours away which is large, spread out and I don't know my way around. I have no car or smart phone with GPS. And I hate to put her through such a long trip. Has anyone ever had a cat with blood in their urine and it wasn't infection or stones? Thank you. I'm so scared and worried. She's 10 1/2, strictly indoors.
This happened to me about 10 days ago with my 4.5 y.o. male cat. He ended up having bladder stones. My vet didn't take an x-ray and I don't think she did an ultrasound because the bill was pretty cheap compared to what it usually costs me! Did your vet specifically say your cat didn't have bladder stones? Mozart received IV liquids and we came home with Rx medication and some Rx dry and wet food, which he hated! The blood disappeared within two days and I am in the process of looking for info into alternative food that I can replace that doesn't cost $85/bag and isn't full of junk. That is actually why I joined this group, I need to get opinions on using the proper foods to prevent bladder and kidney stones that I can cook myself. Good luck with your girl, I would also suggest you stay away from commercial dry cat food, it is so full of junk it breaks my heart.
 
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nomeowing

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Thank you for your response. X-rat was negative for stones. I'm sorry about your kitty. I hope you find a food solution.

I had a calico with stones, she had surgery once to remove them. Gratefully they never returned.
 
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nomeowing

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I agree about getting the ultrasound. Hematuria is the general condition in which blood appears in the urine or exits from the urinary outlet, even without a lot of urine being present at the same time and it can have a number of causes.
Thank you for your reply. I'll get the blood work results tomorrow and if those tests are OK, the ultrasound will be the next step.
 
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nomeowing

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Late on updating. The ultrasound was absolutely negative except for one thing: mild calcification of the kidneys. My vet stated this is not considered normal aging. The vet at the office that did the ultrasound talked about more advanced testing but it would have to be done at the veterinary hospital associated with a university hours away. I can't do that to my cat or myself.

Recently she had the worst blood episode yet as she sometimes over pees the litter box so it's very noticeable with the white paper towels. I'm not sure what I will do at this point.
 

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Hi. Do you know the medical/technical name for this mild calcification? Do the vets think the blood is affiliated with this calcification? And do you know what advance testing to which they are referring? Sorry I am asking so many questions...

I've read up a lot on urinary tract issues, and it is very, very rare for blood in the urine to come from the kidneys or ureters - much more common from the bladder and urethra. And, when no infection is involved, it is almost always from cystitis. But I have read documentation that says calcification can be found in cats as part of the aging process. It is also known to occur from previous injury or 'damage' to the kidneys. Kidney failure can cause bleeding, but if that were your case, the blood work most likely would not have been normal.

I am just curious as to whether this calcification might fall into a 'similar' category for what Feeby was diagnosed with (although she has no blood in her urine). She was diagnosed with pyelectasia and after 2 ultrasounds 4 months apart, it has been determined her condition is stable and most likely due to damage done apparently when she had oxalate stones - which were ultimately removed via surgery many, many years ago. One condition may be nothing like the other, so I could be going down a completely unrelated path regarding the calcification specifically.

Is your cat being treated in any way for cystitis? Did you ever talk to the vet about anti-inflammatories?

EDIT: maybe wait and have another ultrasound in a few months to see if the calcification has changed any?
 
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nomeowing

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Hi. Do you know the medical/technical name for this mild calcification? Do the vets think the blood is affiliated with this calcification? And do you know what advance testing to which they are referring? Sorry I am asking so many questions...

I've read up a lot on urinary tract issues, and it is very, very rare for blood in the urine to come from the kidneys or ureters - much more common from the bladder and urethra. And, when no infection is involved, it is almost always from cystitis. But I have read documentation that says calcification can be found in cats as part of the aging process. It is also known to occur from previous injury or 'damage' to the kidneys. Kidney failure can cause bleeding, but if that were your case, the blood work most likely would not have been normal.

I am just curious as to whether this calcification might fall into a 'similar' category for what Feeby was diagnosed with (although she has no blood in her urine). She was diagnosed with pyelectasia and after 2 ultrasounds 4 months apart, it has been determined her condition is stable and most likely due to damage done apparently when she had oxalate stones - which were ultimately removed via surgery many, many years ago. One condition may be nothing like the other, so I could be going down a completely unrelated path regarding the calcification specifically.

Is your cat being treated in any way for cystitis? Did you ever talk to the vet about anti-inflammatories?

EDIT: maybe wait and have another ultrasound in a few months to see if the calcification has changed any?
Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I thought cystitis would have shown in the ultrasound, but none was. I'm going to look up this condition your kitty had. The blood has been intermittent but this morning she had urine with the worst amount of blood yet.

The vet at the emergency hospital where they did the ultrasound stated further testing could be going in the ureters to look inside the kidney? If I remember that right. She also mentioned something called "bleeding kidney disease" with the only treatment being removal of the kidney.

Right now for reasons I don't want to get into, I may need to find a new vet and this isn't a good time to do so, but I may have to. Thank you again.
 

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I am not sure all cystitis will show up on an ultrasound - they are usually looking for a cause of it, such as stones or other bladder abnormalities. However, bladder wall thickness is typical for cystitis, so I suppose that might be evident in an ultrasound.

As far as I know, strictly as a layperson, 'bleeding kidney disease' is normally associated with kidney failure. And I would guess - if a Chemistry Panel was included in the blood work - there would have been abnormal levels related to kidney function. The only other thing that came to mind would be some sort of tumor or mass in either one of the kidneys or ureters that could bleed. But it seems strange that would not have shown up on the ultrasound.

Keep us posted, please.
 
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nomeowing

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I am not sure all cystitis will show up on an ultrasound - they are usually looking for a cause of it, such as stones or other bladder abnormalities. However, bladder wall thickness is typical for cystitis, so I suppose that might be evident in an ultrasound.

As far as I know, strictly as a layperson, 'bleeding kidney disease' is normally associated with kidney failure. And I would guess - if a Chemistry Panel was included in the blood work - there would have been abnormal levels related to kidney function. The only other thing that came to mind would be some sort of tumor or mass in either one of the kidneys or ureters that could bleed. But it seems strange that would not have shown up on the ultrasound.

Keep us posted, please.
Thank you for your Reply. She had all blood work including chem panel and clotting factors check. Everything normal. Her lab work shows no signs of any kidney disease at this time. She'll be 11 mid April. According to what was told to me, her bladder was normal. This is all so very strange. And that's her in my profile picture.
 
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