Brownish Urine Verified As Not Blood

[nfain]

Hi,
Petey has had brownish urine for about 10 days now and lack of appetite. He was thoroughly checked out via urine sample to outside lab and via sonogram from my vet. All is well with organs and no bacteria colonies.
Having phone consult with my out of state holistic vet on Sat. Anyone had a kitty with brownish urine? I was out of town the week before and husband was in bed with the cold I gave to him before I left so I know stress is contributor. Petey will be 9 in March. He has a brother Frankie a year old who is fine. Thanks!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Dark urine, if it doesn't contain blood, could be a sign of lack of proper water/moisture. However, I would have thought the urine sample would have shown the urine was too concentrated. And, the urine sample should have ruled out blood as well, yes?

Did the vet do a blood work up to look for any indications of liver/kidney/etc issues? If not, that would be my next step if I were you. Petey is getting toward the senior stage and probably should have a full senior check up and blood testing.

 

[nfain]

Hi. Dark urine, if it doesn't contain blood, could be a sign of lack of proper water/moisture. However, I would have thought the urine sample would have shown the urine was too concentrated. And, the urine sample should have ruled out blood as well, yes?

Did the vet do a blood work up to look for any indications of liver/kidney/etc issues? If not, that would be my next step if I were you. Petey is getting toward the senior stage and probably should have a full senior check up and blood testing.

Yup he had all that - everything normal.

 

[nfain]

Giving him liquified babyfood with dropper now. His appetite is the pits. He does drink water, not excessive, but daily. It's the weirdest thing.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Can you add a little water to his food, and try filtered water (if you aren't already) along with daily cleaned, fresh bowls, located in unusual places and even at different heights such as on a small box or thick book ?

Oh, the baby food should help, definitely

 

[nfain]

He's liking the Earth's Best turkey. I am anticipating that the holistic vet will mail me some granules that will stimulate appetite. I keep checking the litter box, hoping for a change!

 

[FeebysOwner]

You might want to "squeeze in" (no pun intended) a few syringe droppers full of water as well.

Do you live near a vet university? I believe they would accept test results from a vet for assessment.

 

[nfain]

The JG "U R Fine" essence coming in tomorrow too!

 

[nfain]

You might want to "squeeze in" (no pun intended) a few syringe droppers full of water as well.

Do you live near a vet university? I believe they would accept test results from a vet for assessment.

 

[Furballsmom]

Maybe some of these other things might help, too;

For stress, try music - there's classical harp music, there's an app called Relax My Cat, also MusicForCats . com, as a few sources of ways to hopefully help him to be a little more calm.

Try feeding in different locations - really, completely different, and utilize different heights. For example put a couple of books underneath the dish, next time use two thick phone books, or a small-ish box so the heights are varied....

Try some raw egg yolk. Egg white must always be cooked, and some people cook the white and make a slurry of sorts by adding in the raw yolk.

Also you could try some Nutri-cal or similar product.

Try making these recipes - they're just as viable for an adult cat as for kittens;
Kitten-Rescue.com

These below can be used on their own or combined with food, other than your excellent results with the baby food . Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave.

Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored (pureed) baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up, lettuce, applesauce, mashed chickpeas, black olives
• whipped topping such as reddiwhip
• dry pasta

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables, Only Natural Pet, Primal

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese, string cheese

 

[nfain]

Wish we did. Closest is UT Knoxville which is 6 hours. I'm hopeful my holistic vet will come through. The good news is that his organs are all fine and I'm getting him to drink water and take the baby food.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[nfain]

Thanks so much

 

[FeebysOwner]

Was enzyme testing part of the work up he got? How about any of the food he does eat - sometimes the food can change the color of urine.

 

[Jem]

Brown but clear urine can be a sign of liver disorders (acute viral hepatitis or cirrhosis), but I would assume that would have shown on all the tests you had done.

And FeebysOwner beat me to it, but I wonder if the manufacturer changed the food he normally eats. He could not be eating because he does not like the food change and his pee could be discolored because of an ingredient change (like beets) or food coloring. But that would not make much sense if he no longer eats it anymore.....IDK....
I hope you get to the bottom of this!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Was enzyme testing part of the work up he got?

Oops. I really meant electrolyte testing, but yeah, enzyme levels as well...

 

[Noirele]

Urine gets brown when it's full of pigments. This happen with hemoglobin (which you ruled out), but also with myoglobine (look for cat myoglobinuria images to see if the color is the same) and urobilinogen. Of course brown color could also mean the urine is really concentrated: did you remember the USG value in the urinalysis?

 

[nfain]

Hi. Dark urine, if it doesn't contain blood, could be a sign of lack of proper water/moisture. However, I would have thought the urine sample would have shown the urine was too concentrated. And, the urine sample should have ruled out blood as well, yes?

Did the vet do a blood work up to look for any indications of liver/kidney/etc issues? If not, that would be my next step if I were you. Petey is getting toward the senior stage and probably should have a full senior check up and blood testing.

 

[nfain]

We had to put out boy down on Saturday. Local vet missed the issue which were kidneys. They were NOT fine.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Sorry to hear that there was nothing that could be done short of putting him down. At 9 yo, that is very sad. So sorry for your loss. RIP Petey.