Blood in Urine!!!

[sophiec]

My cat Ansel is going to be 8 years old in October. He had his very first UTI earlier this year. He was put on S/D food along with antibiotics to help get all the crystals dissolved....then was switched to C/D food for the rest of his life. One of the doctors told me that if he got just one kernel of another cat's food, it could cause his PH levels to spike. Well, Ansel is a master at stealing the other cat's food. There are 2 other types of prescription food being served among the other 3 cats. The stealing factor, along with the fact that he will often lick his genital area after he's urinated had me wondering if he was coming down with another infection. He licked alot when he had the first one. So I dropped him off yesterday at the vet's office and picked him up after work. I was told they would call with the results on the next day, which was today. A little history on the office visit. I had previously called them and asked how they obtained a sterile urine sample from the cats.....person answering the phone said she didn't know....so I asked her if she could find out for me. She said they would put a catheter in his penis and collect different samples throughout the day. When I got there to drop him off, I asked if he would be sedated and was told yes. When we got home last night, Ansel walked over to one of the litter boxes and then walked away. He then went into the laundry room, where there are 3 boxes. I peeked in and saw him in one of them and he was urinating. I walked in to watch him....he peed and peed and peed....must have been for about 20 or more seconds. As soon as he was done, I pushed him out of the way to look. There was (very obvious to me) blood in the urine. Because he released so much urine (he must have been holding it all day at the vet) it took a few seconds for it to soak into the litter and it was pooled on top. As soon as it soaked in, you could no longer see the red in it. I did dab the top of the pile with a piece of toilet paper and it came away pink. I asked my mother about this and she thought that the blood might be a result of having the catheter in. So my plan was to mention in to the vet when they called today with the urinalysis results. I got to looking at my invoice. There was no mention of a catheter or the sedation. There was something called cystocentesis. I didn't know what this was, so I looked it up. It is the alternate procedure for obtaining a sterile urine sample. They go directly into the bladder with a small needle and withdraw urine into a syringe. I knew of this method...just didn't know what it was called. So my question is this? Is there was no catheter in his penis, why was there blood in his urine. They called with the results.....no infection, no bacteria. Someone at the front desk called with the results and I told her about the blood. She had the doctor call me back. I told him what happened....he reiterated that there was no infection found. So where is the blood coming from I asked? He said it's not coming from his bladder.....maybe there is a problem within the penis itself. He told me to keep watch over him for a couple days. If it clears up, great. If not, he said I could bring him back in and they could do two things to see if there is a problem. One was something he said that I had never heard of and I can't remember the word. When I asked what it was, he mentioned something about pulling back the sheath on his penis to inspect the tip to see if there was some obvious problem. The other thing was to put a catheter in to see if he had any bumps of any kind in the urethra. If you've read this far, has anyone ever heard of a cat NOT having a UTI and passing blood in his urine? Any ideas?

 

[gayef]

I would seek a second opinion and ask about interstitial cystitis. Here is a good article which briefly addresses this common disorder:

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/heal...ary-tract.html

There is a paragraph or two down towards the end of the article which discusses interstitial cystitis and I am certain if you do a google search on the term feline interstitial cystitis, you will find a wealth of information about it. Seems to be controlled with diet and stress reduction.

Best of luck, I know this has to be frustrating for you and painful for your little guy.

 

[sophiec]

Thanks GayeF.....I'll look into that. I find it hard to believe that nothing is wrong.

 

[sophiec]

I took Ansel in for a second opinion at a different vet office yesterday. The day before I was able to speak to the doctor on the phone. After we talked for awhile, he seems to think that it might actually be nothing and that the blood may be a result of the procedure that was done (going straight into the bladder with the needle). He asked me if the other vet did bloodwork....they didn't. I asked him what his thoughts were on wet vs. dry for cats with UTIs and he said as long as the cat is getting enough water, he doesn't see a problem with an all dry diet. I told him Ansel drinks plenty...I have a pet fountain. As a matter of fact, I told him I thought he drank alot of water. He mentioned diabetes, which I figured he would mention when I told him that. He said that it was very simply to rule that out. When I got there, the girl who was talking to me said that the doctor would probably want to do a blood test to rule out diabetes. The first thing (and only thing) the doctor did was examine his penis. Ansel was NOT happy about that. Any chance he had, he would turn and hiss and swing at the doctor. The doctor said it looked fine. He also said that more than likely, the blood I saw in his urine was a result of the cystosentesis procedure that was done. He asked me if the other vet told me what his PH level was and I said, "no, he only told me there was no infection or bacteria present." So, he had the girl call the other vet and asked them to fax over the urinalysis results. His PH level was 7.....and this vet I was seeing said he prefers to see it at 6 or 6.5. He sold me something called Methigel. He said this is used to help bring the PH levels down. I mentioned those urine PH level strips I had seen online and planned to order. He told me that was a good idea to monitor the PH levels at home. He told me to give Ansel this Methigel right now to get the PH down since it is at 7. He told me to go ahead and order the strips and when I notice it starting to get close to 7, give his some of the Methigel. The problem is this....this morning I tried to give him some....the dose is 1/2 - 1 teaspoon daily. I figured I'd start with 1/2 tsp. He DOES NOT like the stuff. It comes in a tube like toothpaste or hairball paste. Not easy to give a cat something he doesn't like. So I scooped some of it out of the spoon onto my finger and tried opening his mouth and putting my finger in there......he was having NONE of it. He had more of it on his fur than I got in his mouth. I don't think this is an option for me. As for the diabetes theory....the glucose level on the urinalysis came back negative, so he didn't feel in necessary to draw blood for that. He told me that he thinks Ansel is fine and not to worry.