Frothy pee

[taryn]

I have noticed that when Nuts(1 year old unaltered male, going to email the $5 place to get him done this week, so he should be done next week) pees it seems to always be frothy. He always pees a lot so I know he's not having any issues with that. I have noticed it for awhile but kept forgetting to bring it up and ask y'all until Paul noticed. This isn't a few time thing every time I see him pee it is frothy. He isn't having issue with litter box use he has never gone outside the box. He hasn't seen the vet since earlier this year, he hasn't needed to, as y'all know Attitude is at the vet all the time due to her eyes so I'm not one to deny my cats a vet when they need one.

Do I need to call the vet or make him an appointment or is this no big deal and might need to be brought up if he needs the vet or at his well visit for shots in Oct and what might be causing this. This happens no matter what clumping litter(Arm & Hammer Multi-cat, special kitty orange box, Tidy Cats 24/7, with or without litter box deodorizers) I use so it's not something I can say might be litter related. Right now I have one with Citrus Fresh litter deodorizer and a mix or Arm & Hammer, Tidy cat, and the special kitty; the other 3(we have 4 boxes total, have the litter additive, Tidy Cat and Special kitty litter.) I'm worried if it might be something wrong or if it might just be 'one of those things.' Might there be something really wrong with him, like i said it is always frothy when I see him pee(obviously I don't follow him around but if he goes and I'm there I check since I know boys can get blocked so I want to make sure he can pee, he has never been blocked or had urinary issues but I still want to make sure.) Like I said he always seems to pee A LOT every time he goes, but he doesn't go that often so he doesn't seem to have an issue with over peeing, I think he just holds it until he really needs to go. I have never watch Attitude pee so I don't know if she pees like that or not. It's also only my observation that it seems like a lot so it might be a normal amount for a cat to pee.

Is there something wrong with him and what might it be, he's eating, drinking peeing, pooing and being his normal 'rotten' self. So no behavior issues or changes. No change in litter box contents/amounts when I clean them. He does have feline leukemia, not sure of that is relevant or not but I think it need to be known in saying what it might be. I just need to know what to do and what it might be and if it's serious. Like I said this has been happening for a while, don't know how long but months. If it is something that could be serious I want to get this early before I end up with hundred to thousands of dollars for something that could have been cheaper if found early or bad enough that it kills him or I have to have him PTS.

Please help, is this normal or do I need to be concerned?

Taryn

 

[snickerdoodle]

You should consult a vet about this, but I have seen frothy pee from my cat (Foaming urine) and he is a CRF kitty. This was when he was using clay, and now that we've switched to World's Best Cat Litter (Milled corn) I haven't seen it, but I can't say that some of his treatments haven't stopped this occurence, or it's the litter. I've heard it can be the type of litter that can cause a foam, but it could also be http://www.felinecrf.org/treatments.htm#proteinuria what is called Proteinuria, where excessive amounts of protein are leaked into the urine. But that is from a CRF site, so a vet consult would be much more helpful. Is he losing weight? Is he seeming to drink more water? I put Boo's water drinking off as him liking the tub so much and his weight loss as getting older until it was almost too late.
Boo started peeing more because he was drinking lots and lots of extra water, which I didn't take notice of. His amount of pee is the size of a softball in the litter box compared to Chicksters, healthy female, who's is about the size of maybe a golf ball or larger. He doesn't go 15 times a day, neither does she, but he was doing that before he was diagnosed. Definitely time for a check with the vet I'd say. (Boo had his tinkie winkie removed, so he can pee really hard into the litter and it sounds like a mini firehose, so I thought at first that was why the litter was foaming, but he is still peeing hard, and no foam with this milled corn litter)

When you do take him to the vet you should get a blood panel, and a superchem is what I was suggested to get (Checks all organs I believe) but tell the vet of this foaming urine. It could be nothing, it could be something. Please keep us updated on Nuts and I hope he is ok <3

EDIT: I also cannot say how it might be linked to his luke, I have no experience there

 

[taryn]

He is still growing, gaining weight, and water consumption is normal(I'm not having to add water to the fountain any more often than usual.) Nuts sounds like a mini firehose when he pees as well and he still has his tinkie winkie. I think this was what I assumed was causing it until Paul noticed. His is more golf ball sized, there are some larger clumps when I change the box but that could simply be the litter clumping action. Every time I see him pee it is around golf ball size.

He is just so young(not that age has much to do with illness I just know crf is more common in older cats), he just turned 1 this month and a crf possibility is scary.

OK, his appointment is today at 3:30, he's seeing the same vet that has seen Attitude the last 2 times for her eye. Better get the carrier out since they run whenever they see it. I just take Attitude on her harness and leash but Nuts doesn't do harnesses and I am not taking him with a dog collar which is what I do on the rare occasions that he goes outside(he isn't too into outside.)

Let me go weigh him- 10.8 lbs so he has gained weight. I'll have to see what the vet's scale says and how it compares to his last visit in I think March or April.

He needs blood work anyways, I'm going to the el-cheapo neuter place so I want him to have his blood work done before that, even though I could have them do the blood work at el-cheapo which is what I was going to do if he didn't need the vet before then.

I'll wait on applying his Revolution until we get back just in case he has a problem that Revolution is contraindicated.

I'm scared, I just want him to be ok. I'm used to this with Attitude but Nuts is never sick. I hope it's nothing.

Taryn

 

[Willowy]

I've seen it a couple times myself, and I always attributed it to the cat being a strong pee-er, LOL. Like if you pour water gently into sand, it won't froth, but if you squirt it hard into the sand it'll froth up a bit before settling down. But of course it's always best to have a vet check it out, especially because of his FeLV status.

 

[taryn]

They say it's because he's not neutered. They did a urine test said it was pretty much normal. I had to ask them to do blood work(CBC Chem 6) and I'll have the results on Weds. I didn't need the reminder that anesthesia is more risky because of his FeLV, I already know that. When his blood work comes back on Weds I'll contact the $5 place to get him done if normal(and I have no reason to think it won't be), if something is off I'll just pay out the nose for my vet to do it. He did have a slight fever(103.1 I think) but they didn't seem to think it was a concern. It's in the 80's(86 with a heat index of 88) so I assume that could have caused his temp to be a little high.

He's hasn't gained weight but he hasn't lost any he's still at 10.1 lbs I know he does pee hard so that might be it. I guess I'll know if there is any worries once his blood comes back.

Nuts was not too thrilled with the vet, first they shove a thermometer up his rear, then they force him to give pee and then they draw blood, so I know he's not too thrilled at the vet right now.

Guess I'll update when I get the blood work results back. I so don't want to wait but I have no choice, I'm still worried.

I'm glad they don't think it's anything, guess I'll get the confirmation when his blood comes back.

Taryn

 

[snickerdoodle]

I'm sorry Taryn I didn't mean to scare you

was just trying to offer what I know about foamy pee. It could just be the litter, it's clay right? Hoping everything is ok

 

[taryn]

I was still worried, everything I have read about it says kidney failure, so it was everywhere that it can be bad, very bad.

Yes, I use clumping litter which could be it but once Paul noticed and was worried I knew he needed to see the vet. I'm a dog person so have no experience with cats, foamy pee and whether or not it's normal(well not normal but if it's a concern.)

Like I said I'll feel better once I have the blood back and know everything is great for him. If it's nothing then they'll have a baseline for future tests. They have Attitude's from her spay in Dec. Either way it needed to get done in case something shows up in the future they'll have a point of reference from prior blood work.

I do appreciate you offering what you know about foamy pee.

We'll see if it continues after his neutering and the months after.

Taryn

 

[kwren]

i think it really is the unaltered male thing. we have our friends guy, who is 8 and unfixed, and he always froths when he pees. always. he is a big healthy fat thing. no kidney issues.

 

[kittyl0ve4]

I'm no expert, but I don't think the frothy pee is because he isn't neutered. Like someone else said, I think it's because he's a strong pee-er. I could be wrong, but I'm saying that for a reason. Monster is a strong pee-er, and I also worry about UTI's and crystals in the urine, so if I'm around while hes in the litterbox, I watch him, and I can sometimes get a glimpse of it before its covered, and I see froth sometimes. And I can hear him peeing from across the room, it's so loud lol. That's why I think it's a mixture of Monster being a strong pee-er and possibly the dust from the litter.