Cat going back & forth to litter/UTI

[javi3]

Hi. I'm planning on taking my cat to the vet on Monday unless she gets completely better, but I need some insights. She's been going back and forth to litter box to urinate like she has URI/FIC issues, but she's not crying while she goes and she is producing some urine (a few teaspoons or even more). If she becomes blocked I will of course take her to ER, although it's 45min. away.
She started this on Thanksgiving, so I gave her the homeopathic remedy "Cantharis" and it helped quite a bit, enough to not take her in on Friday, but of course it's the weekend and it's happening again. I hate to take her anywhere, she gets EXTRAORDINARILY vocal/worked up when in her carrier and if this is stress related, Im afraid of making her worse. I've given her another dose of Cantharis last night, then again this morning which is helping. It's been about 3 hrs, and she just ate some again (her appetite is great), took a quick break to urinated again (im guessing 1-2 teaspoons), then immediately ate again.

My questions are these:

Has it been anyone's experience while your cat has gone through this, that your cat is very playful, eats alot as well? She's not too wired, but she is a demanding vocal Siamese and could perhaps be in the beginning stages of hyperthyroidism (She's around 8-9). Wouldn't a cat who is distressed from UTI/FIC be depressed or lethargic? Sometimes she will want to play like a kitten literally in-between repeated litter visits..and she's very curious/happy when she's playing. Then she'll walk around the house checking things, then eats again. All of the above are taking place seconds after the other. It seems like once the Cantharis kicks in, she calms down and naps for several hours with no litter box visits. In the last few hours, I've checked on her several times to pet/love on her and then she immediately jumps up and follows me to her food bowl and eats heartily.

So if she's eating/playing/tail up, is she anywhere near being blocked? I know nobody can really give serious medical advice, but I don't know what to make of all of his. I just ordered some low ash food for her today.

She has had chronic diarrhea in the last two months until I started putting cat enzymes/acidophilus in her food 2 months ago. It's made her #2's for the most part normal and has increased her eating and energy to a great level.

Im wondering if the acidophilus is starting to cause dehydration/cystitis... I've read it can cause thirst, and she has been drinking extra water in the last month (not extreme amounts). I tried giving less enzymes yesterday, but then the diarrhea comes back somewhat. I also added a little water with food which might be helping today. Any thoughts? Thanks!!!

 

[abyeb]

I would take her to the vet. Urinary blockages are more common in male cats, but female cats can get them as well. Blocked cats will often howl or really strain to urinate, and produce only a few drops, or none at all.

Urinary Blockage in Cats: A Real Emergency

So, it sounds like she’s producing more urine than that. BUT, considering that urinary blockages can be fatal within 24 hours, it’s not something to mess around with. So, I would take her to the vet, just to be sure.

 

[Fluffyfatty]

Cats are good at hiding pain. My boy is doing the exact same thing. Although when he was 100% thoroughly blocked, he was hiding more and he was lethargic. Look out for that as well as any vomiting or diarrhoea.

Later on my boy started dribbling pee in small amounts but still kept up high energy levels and appetite (much like your cat). I have consulted the doctor way too many times and made countless of trips to the ER to tell you one thing: it is only an immediate emergency if your cat is

1. not peeing AT ALL or just small drops (important to monitor her litter box movements and try to give her her own litter box for you to monitor how much urine output came from her)

2. bladder is huge and hard like a baseball. You can watch some videos on YouTube that shows you how to feel for a cats bladder. If you gently press the bladder and it feels like half filled water balloon then she is non-emergent (although still requiring vets attention asap for pain relief and anti inflammation medication). If it feels like a hard firm ball and she screams while you press it, it is 100% emergent and don’t wait even an hour longer for her to see the vet.

I say this because I literally just took my boy to the ER ($$$) at 3AM because he was peeing so little and I saw blood and I panicked. This is like the 3rd or 4th time I’ve done this. It always happens at night over the weekends tell me about it.

The doctor felt for his bladder and told me it felt empty and small, not firm and hard, which is a sign that he is not blocked (at the moment). He sent me home with some spasm, pain/inflammatory medication. He also told me to watch my cat like a hawk and monitor his EVERY litter box movement.

I’ve since learned from all my ER trips how to feel for my cats bladder and also to take videos of his penis each time he goes to pee. It keeps a good log.

 

[fionasmom]

Fiona herself was hyperthyridic and had repeated UTI's with blood, but seemingly never appeared ill from them. Upshot was bladder stones that were removed. One vet tech at the ER once, in the middle of the night with Fiona, told me that in 30 years she had never seen a blocked female, but I would not take any chances with that.

 

[javi3]

I would take her to the vet. Urinary blockages are more common in male cats, but female cats can get them as well. Blocked cats will often howl or really strain to urinate, and produce only a few drops, or none at all.

Urinary Blockage in Cats: A Real Emergency

So, it sounds like she’s producing more urine than that. BUT, considering that urinary blockages can be fatal within 24 hours, it’s not something to mess around with. So, I would take her to the vet, just to be sure.

Thank you. I found a vet that was still open and wisked her down there.

 

[javi3]

Cats are good at hiding pain. My boy is doing the exact same thing. Although when he was 100% thoroughly blocked, he was hiding more and he was lethargic. Look out for that as well as any vomiting or diarrhoea.

Later on my boy started dribbling pee in small amounts but still kept up high energy levels and appetite (much like your cat). I have consulted the doctor way too many times and made countless of trips to the ER to tell you one thing: it is only an immediate emergency if your cat is

1. not peeing AT ALL or just small drops (important to monitor her litter box movements and try to give her her own litter box for you to monitor how much urine output came from her)

2. bladder is huge and hard like a baseball. You can watch some videos on YouTube that shows you how to feel for a cats bladder. If you gently press the bladder and it feels like half filled water balloon then she is non-emergent (although still requiring vets attention asap for pain relief and anti inflammation medication). If it feels like a hard firm ball and she screams while you press it, it is 100% emergent and don’t wait even an hour longer for her to see the vet.

I say this because I literally just took my boy to the ER ($$$) at 3AM because he was peeing so little and I saw blood and I panicked. This is like the 3rd or 4th time I’ve done this. It always happens at night over the weekends tell me about it.

The doctor felt for his bladder and told me it felt empty and small, not firm and hard, which is a sign that he is not blocked (at the moment). He sent me home with some spasm, pain/inflammatory medication. He also told me to watch my cat like a hawk and monitor his EVERY litter box movement.

I’ve since learned from all my ER trips how to feel for my cats bladder and also to take videos of his penis each time he goes to pee. It keeps a good log.

Thanks, I learned a lot from you! Especially about the bladder etc. I found a vet office that took her the last hour before they closed today. The Dr. said her bladder actually felt empty and wasn't sure if he could even get any urine from her. He managed to get less than half a vile and showed me that because it was clear with no blood or sediment falling to the bottom that he didn't think she has an UTI. He put my fears to ease about diabetes and said her blood sugar was 179/perfect. He went ahead and took a blood test ,and to check for hyperthyroidism, so I'll find out more on Monday. I also asked if he could give me antibiotics in case there was an infection (he did, thank goodness..but she's not to take them until I hear from him whether she needs them).He asked if she was under stress, which she has been (changes, new people in our *little* house, some new furniture brought in,).. and me listing stuff on eBay always seems to stress her. I guess she got an acid tummy giving me the "glare" for not finishing sooner and suddenly regurgitated/projected liquid cat gack one foot across the couch. It serves me right for ignoring her...poor little doll. Sometimes it takes a major event to show us how important their emotional needs really are. I'm trying to be ultra sensitive, but a cat mom's still gotta bring in the bacon and Mom often gets in the "Zone", and needs to take more breaks .
I'm sooooo sorry and really feel for you having to spend all of that time/money in the ER. I definitely understand...and greatly admire you for that though. That's what precious love does to us...and yes... almost always on the weekends! I hope your boy gets better.

 

[javi3]

Fiona herself was hyperthyridic and had repeated UTI's with blood, but seemingly never appeared ill from them. Upshot was bladder stones that were removed. One vet tech at the ER once, in the middle of the night with Fiona, told me that in 30 years she had never seen a blocked female, but I would not take any chances with that.

Thanks. Kudos for you for not taking any chances. It's nice to hear that the vet rarely witnessed a block female, but it's up to us in the end to protect our babies. I learned that lesson the hard way when a vet who years ago wouldn't let me hold my cat to calm her down for x-rays. He said he'd have to give her a pill to sedate her, had me sign a waiver because some cats have died from it. He assured me it only happened to 1% , but it happened to my beloved girl. It was very traumatic ( I literally threw up all day long).

Today fortunately I was able to get Java in at the last minute to a regular vet clinic, and the Dr. didn't find any blood or sediment in her urine. Blood glucose was perfect which was a huge relief since she's been eating beyond normal. But he took a test for hyperthyroidism, so we'll see.
Im hoping she doesn't have to have surgery. How much did it cost to have Fiona's stones removed? And was that related to her UTI's?

 

[Fluffyfatty]

Thanks, I learned a lot from you! Especially about the bladder etc. I found a vet office that took her the last hour before they closed today. The Dr. said her bladder actually felt empty and wasn't sure if he could even get any urine from her. He managed to get less than half a vile and showed me that because it was clear with no blood or sediment falling to the bottom that he didn't think she has an UTI. He put my fears to ease about diabetes and said her blood sugar was 179/perfect. He went ahead and took a blood test ,and to check for hyperthyroidism, so I'll find out more on Monday. I also asked if he could give me antibiotics in case there was an infection (he did, thank goodness..but she's not to take them until I hear from him whether she needs them).He asked if she was under stress, which she has been (changes, new people in our *little* house, some new furniture brought in,).. and me listing stuff on eBay always seems to stress her. I guess she got an acid tummy giving me the "glare" for not finishing sooner and suddenly regurgitated/projected liquid cat gack one foot across the couch. It serves me right for ignoring her...poor little doll. Sometimes it takes a major event to show us how important their emotional needs really are. I'm trying to be ultra sensitive, but a cat mom's still gotta bring in the bacon and Mom often gets in the "Zone", and needs to take more breaks .
I'm sooooo sorry and really feel for you having to spend all of that time/money in the ER. I definitely understand...and greatly admire you for that though. That's what precious love does to us...and yes... almost always on the weekends! I hope your boy gets better.

Surprise surprise! I woke up this afternoon to a healthy boy again. Yesterday night he was peeing close to nothing and even pooping bloody clot looking stools. Rushed him to the ER and it seemed bleak (for me). Took him home. Today he peed a great stream of clear pee!

I’ll tell you what worked for my cat (since our cats really do sound very similar in their experiences), it wasn’t antibiotics that helped. It was meloxicam. It’s a pain medication that helps with inflammation as well. Inflammation caused my cat to drip pee. He was stressed by something and then his brain sent signals to contract his urethra to become even narrower, causing difficulties peeing.

But please be so careful asking your vet for it because long term use of meloxicam can cause kidney failure. My vet said using it for a week is completely fine since my cat has no pre-existing kidney problems and for it to cause problems, a cat has to use it for really long periods. None of the vets I went to even suggested giving it to me until I asked for it. They didn’t give it simply because they really don’t know what’s happening with your cat.

Cats are mysterious creatures and vets hate to diagnose FLUTD for cats because it is so tricky and there never is a definitive diagnosis. FLUTD is a big umbrella term for many little “urinary diseases” with many different reasons and causes. It is so tricky even for vets that a huge percentage of cats just end up getting diagnosed as FIC > feline idiopathic cystitis > idiopathic literally meaning the cause is unknown. I think my cat has FIC.

It really takes the owner a great deal of effort and a lifetime of watching over the cat that makes all the difference. I think I have finally found out what is causing my cat to have his random pee problems. It’s stress related. I can’t 100% say it is but since the vets ruled out almost every other health-related cause, then it’s got to be stress-related. I realised he peed badly ever since I stopped separating him and other house cat I have. They had some beef a year ago and I thought that was long buried but apparently no. My cat obviously still holds the trauma close to his heart that it blew up his urinary issues so badly that he got several UTIs and one blockage. He got so stressed, he made his urethra narrower. Cats are weird. Go figure.

Now that I have a hunch this is the cause, I have started separating them again, using Feliway (no harm trying) and also started him on a bunch of urinary supplements (D mannose, Cornsilk, Cosequin, NutroMaxx etc) I will keep using them interchangeably for preventive measures. I hope I NEVER have to go through this again. Monitoring his pee is seriously so much work (it’s either that or paying hefty hospital bills for them to watch him for me) and I lost too much sleep over it.

All the best to your kitty! FLUTD is a lifetime battle. The owner can never have their guard down. Feed ONLY wet canned food, water is your cats best friend, look out for UTI signs whenever you can, obsess a little over your cat when he/she is using the litter box, start some supplements for preventive measures.

 

[Fluffyfatty]

Oh also! You mentioned your cat seems to get stressed when you have guests over or when you do eBay. Those are great observations. I hope feliway will work for your cat. As for your house guests, they have to always warm up to your cat with toys (catnip toys etc). Sometimes I take for granted that my cats are so nice that I let my friends just touch them and carry them. I’ve learnt my lesson here. Some cats are really so good at hiding their pain and fear. I use to think all stressed cats do is hide whenever they get scared. I was wrong. My boy got stressed and scared all the time but he was never hiding. He allowed people to touch and carry him but inside he was stressed af. I also realised that he started vertical scratching random scratch posts whenever he got stressed/scared.

 

[Fluffyfatty]

one more thing, a cat only gets lethargic and depressed when they cannot pee and their bladder is close to being full and they are blocked. My cat was never lethargic except the night he got blocked. All his other UTI relapses he was happy eating and playing. Even sometimes with my house guests. So it’s crazy how good cats are at hiding pain.

 

[fionasmom]

javi3 That is a terrible story of what happened to your cat. I lost a dog once on one of those 1% chances of something happening and it took forever to deal with it emotionally. I am so sorry that you had to experience that.

In 2009 Fiona's surgery was $1500. This is LA, but I also use a vet I take the cats to is high priced. It was not a situation where I wanted to start calling around for prices or take a chance on a vet I did not know. I have been told that even out here the price can be much lower. It did end her UTI's forever, fortunately.

 

[fionasmom]

Fluffyfatty I am so glad that you hit on a solution for your cat. You certainly had to do all the footwork, along with paying the bill and watching the cat have those ongoing issues.

My GSD who had degenerative myelopathy which paralzyed his bladder was on D Mannose and never got a UTI despite the fact that his condition was notorious for causing them as the dog's bladder has to be expressed several times a day.

Yes, cats are weird. I remember taking a cat to the ER after he presented with severe seizures but nothing fit any profile of what was going on. The young vet who was on duty said that the problem with cats is that they have not read the same medical text book as the vets have. I hope you are out of the woods on this one and can get back to a normal life.

 

[javi3]

javi3 That is a terrible story of what happened to your cat. I lost a dog once on one of those 1% chances of something happening and it took forever to deal with it emotionally. I am so sorry that you had to experience that.

In 2009 Fiona's surgery was $1500. This is LA, but I also use a vet I take the cats to is high priced. It was not a situation where I wanted to start calling around for prices or take a chance on a vet I did not know. I have been told that even out here the price can be much lower. It did end her UTI's forever, fortunately.

Thank you for your kind words and compassion. It was also hard because after work, I went to check on her at the vets office and the receptionist said the vets had gone to lunch so I thought everything was fine. I noticed there were absolutely no lights on in the surgery room where the animals were (it was pitch dark under the wide swinging door, and the lights up front were also off, except for only a tiny reading light for the receptionist). After I got home, the vet called after getting back from lunch to tell me she had died. He was very vague about what happened. He said "We gave her oxygen and did some things" ("some things"??). I felt he was being dishonest so I came in and asked to see the charts (besides holding my little girl and saying "goodbye"). The charts simply said "Cat died suddenly", (nothing about giving her oxygen/doing "things"). So I think what happened was that they left the animals unattended while they were at lunch and she died with no one to help her. She was only six. Almost every night she would lay next to me like a human, wrap her arms around my neck, lay her face on the side of my face and sing us to sleep.

I'm so very sorry you also had a traumatic experience of losing your precious dog. It is just one of the hardest things.

 

[javi3]

Surprise surprise! I woke up this afternoon to a healthy boy again. Yesterday night he was peeing close to nothing and even pooping bloody clot looking stools. Rushed him to the ER and it seemed bleak (for me). Took him home. Today he peed a great stream of clear pee!

I’ll tell you what worked for my cat (since our cats really do sound very similar in their experiences), it wasn’t antibiotics that helped. It was meloxicam. It’s a pain medication that helps with inflammation as well. Inflammation caused my cat to drip pee. He was stressed by something and then his brain sent signals to contract his urethra to become even narrower, causing difficulties peeing.

But please be so careful asking your vet for it because long term use of meloxicam can cause kidney failure. My vet said using it for a week is completely fine since my cat has no pre-existing kidney problems and for it to cause problems, a cat has to use it for really long periods. None of the vets I went to even suggested giving it to me until I asked for it. They didn’t give it simply because they really don’t know what’s happening with your cat.

Cats are mysterious creatures and vets hate to diagnose FLUTD for cats because it is so tricky and there never is a definitive diagnosis. FLUTD is a big umbrella term for many little “urinary diseases” with many different reasons and causes. It is so tricky even for vets that a huge percentage of cats just end up getting diagnosed as FIC > feline idiopathic cystitis > idiopathic literally meaning the cause is unknown. I think my cat has FIC.

It really takes the owner a great deal of effort and a lifetime of watching over the cat that makes all the difference. I think I have finally found out what is causing my cat to have his random pee problems. It’s stress related. I can’t 100% say it is but since the vets ruled out almost every other health-related cause, then it’s got to be stress-related. I realised he peed badly ever since I stopped separating him and other house cat I have. They had some beef a year ago and I thought that was long buried but apparently no. My cat obviously still holds the trauma close to his heart that it blew up his urinary issues so badly that he got several UTIs and one blockage. He got so stressed, he made his urethra narrower. Cats are weird. Go figure.

Now that I have a hunch this is the cause, I have started separating them again, using Feliway (no harm trying) and also started him on a bunch of urinary supplements (D mannose, Cornsilk, Cosequin, NutroMaxx etc) I will keep using them interchangeably for preventive measures. I hope I NEVER have to go through this again. Monitoring his pee is seriously so much work (it’s either that or paying hefty hospital bills for them to watch him for me) and I lost too much sleep over it.

All the best to your kitty! FLUTD is a lifetime battle. The owner can never have their guard down. Feed ONLY wet canned food, water is your cats best friend, look out for UTI signs whenever you can, obsess a little over your cat when he/she is using the litter box, start some supplements for preventive measures.

Yay! I hope your boy is still better now. I try not to get mad, but it's upsetting to think that the other vets didn't recommend the Meloxicam earlier. Gosh, all of those visits in the ER. You and you're kitty are definitely troopers. I wouldve had a nervous breakdown by now I think... seriously. I hope this will be a solution for your boy, you've been through a lot!

I just talked to my vet and he eased me about some of the slight abnormalities on my cat's bloowork. She is very slightly anemic, has low protein/globulin, potassium is a tiny bit high...but everything else looks good (other than him telling me he aged her at 10 rather than 8 lol). I was freaking out about the results but he explained in great detail that he sees these issues in cats with gastrointestinal disorders and her electrolytes could be off due to vomiting/diarrhea. He thinks she has chronic IBD/IBS and we're going to try Flagyl which is a combination of antibiotic/inflammatory med.
Then I might gradually change her over to a different protein food like rabbit or duck, since kitties can get IBD from getting to use to one protein like chicken or turkey.
He said her urine looked good..no infection/no crystals/stones., And that her urethra may be inflamed due to the diarrhea.
Oh wow.. these kitties are complicated little creatures, and sometimes I just start to shut down and think it's not worth it when I think of the worst outcomes. But yet, when I think of the love, joy, richness and memories of each individual one...well Im sure you understand.

 

[fionasmom]

It sounds like this vet is really dedicated to helping his patients and gave you a thorough report about conditions that can be managed and controlled.

Such a sad story about your other cat; I suspect that my dog was in a similar situation of no one monitoring him from the description they gave me of his passing. I hope that this is resolved and you both can return to your normal, happy lives.

 

[javi3]

Thank you. I'm so sorry this happened to you as well. I firmly believe that we'll see our pets again. They know how much we loved them.

Java is doing really well today even after I decided to not give her the Flagyl, so I'm feeling more hopeful. Thanks for your support, it is so appreciated .