Glittery/crystalline urine in litter box?

[Tabby22]

Hi,

I have a savannah X main coon 9 months old. I noticed something like glitter on some of her litter after going pee and tried to find out what it was. I noticed she kept going small amounts of wee so took to the vet followed by urine sample and urinalysis. Results were struvite crystals, to put her on urine veterinary food and anti-biotics. After 6 weeks to carry out another pee sample to see if crystals have reduced. Today I noticed her brother pee and had a spotlight still on above the litter tray he uses. I looked at what he passed before he or I covered it (with a scoop) and found it was sparkling all over it. I use white litter which none of this had sparkles on, only just where the pee was wet then it nearly all disappeared as it soaked into the litter. I feel like getting his urine checked if this is maybe crystals. I read that all cats have a low ammount of struvite crystals in their urine that isnt a problem, unless multiply and form bigger crystals to cause a blockage so maybe it's just that, a low ammount but weird to see all the glitter look to it.
I had purchased something called vets+best urinary tract gel for cats online to stop crystals forming and prevent infections, before I took my female in for her check up and urine test. The vet said it would be good to use so will be using this for a month to make sure their urine is healthy though it's no good for cats that already have larger crystals or stones.

I had an indoor cat for 16 years and never noticed this. I also have 2 more 14 month old cats so might try have a look next time they pee with a torch and see if there's any sparkiling glitter look to any of their urine.

All my kittens/cats have been spade and neutered are on wet and dry good quality foods.


Thank you.

 

[Caspers Human]

Our eldest cat, Casper, has crystals. A few years ago, he got blocked and couldn't pee so we had to take him to the vet. His condition was sketchy for a while, until we got things figured out.

The first thing our vet told us to do is make sure the cat drinks plenty of water. Our vet pounded her fist on the table and said, "Water! Water! Water!" Water dilutes the cat's urine and prevents the buildup of crystals. Another beneficial effect is that it makes Casper's urine less smelly.

The other thing we were told was to make sure Casper eats more wet/canned food. The vet said that he should eat AT LEAST 50% wet food but the more the better. Dry food has higher ash content which contributes to the formation of crystals. Wet food also helps the cat poop easier, too. (Casper has a problem with constipation but that's a whole different kettle of fish.)

Making sure Casper gets enough water is easy. We have several different places around the house where Casper can drink. We have a fish bowl on the kitchen window sill where he likes to drink. (No fish. Just water.) He also likes to drink from a watering can that we keep under the plant stand. We don't put any plant food or fertilizer in the water, anymore, because it's one of Casper's watering holes, now. There's another bowl of water in one of the upstairs rooms but Casper's all-time favorite drinking spots is the bathtub faucet. He loves to sit under the faucet and drink water as it drips. The faucet drips a little bit. I was going to fix it but, because it's Casper's favorite watering hole, I left it alone.

Finally, we have some medicine that makes it easier for Casper to pee if he needs it. Changing his food and making sure he drinks water has taken care of 90% of the problem. I don't remember the last time we had to give him the medicine.

We just watch the litter box, the same way you do. If we notice problems, we check the watering stations, double down on the wet food and give him a pill if he needs it.

We discussed special urinary formula cat foods with our vet. We had him on one for a while but it didn't really make much difference. Our vet told us that special foods aren't really a panacea. They work okay but, if you make sure the cat drinks enough, they aren't really necessary. But, as always, YMMV.

It's been several years, now, and Casper hasn't had any relapses. We were pretty worried, at first, but, after all this time, Casper has only had a few minor flare-ups.

If you keep in touch with your vet like you have been then work on giving your cat lots of water and good food, I'm sure things will work out for you, too.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I've always heard to same...water, water, water. And reduced stress, as stress can cause crystals! So make sure they have plenty of high spaces to escape the other cats, and give them plenty of play time

 

[cmshap]

I wanted to add a link to a thread I started on wet vs. dry food...

Wet/dry food ratio and pooping issues

in my cat's case, he actually drinks more water when dry food is added as a portion of his diet (which is mostly wet, but with some dry). You can read about the details in that thread.

Wet food has more water content, for sure, but my cat drinks significantly more water when I give him some dry in addition to the wet. This will probably vary between individual cats. My point is that experimentation is a good idea (I describe how I experimented with this in the above thread).

Also, I give my cat fresh, cool water multiple times per day. He is more likely to drink when the bowl is full to the top, and the water is fresh and cool. I am wasting water this way, but it's the best way I've gotten him to drink the most.

I don't use fountains anymore because they get clogged with minerals, and he also prefers still pools over flowing fountain streams.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Above and beyond all the advice you have received, I would check all of the cats' litter boxes to see about this glittery effect - that is assuming all the litter you use in all of your litter boxes is the same stuff. I am not saying that two cats, or even more, can't have crystals at the same time, but unless the food you are feeding them is causing it, it would seem unusual. A glittery appearance can also be the result of a stream of urine meeting with the litter - and then disappearing once the litter has absorbed the urine.

And was there a urine culture done to follow up on the urinalysis? Urine showing sediment that could indicate crystals is not the same thing as seeing bacteria in the urine, which then requires a urine culture to determine what kind of bacteria. Not all bacteria require antibiotics, and the existence of crystals alone certainly does not.

An x-ray can be helpful too, to determine if there is a large number of crystals in the bladder - and their size - enough to cause concern. But as all have said above more water is never a bad thing.

What litter are you using?

 

[danteshuman]

My boy recently got bladder crystals from stress from construction. The vet told me giving him wet was more important than the right dry food. He gets 4 mini wet food meals a day and 1/4 cup of Royal canin urinary SO. Plus I add a teaspoon of water mixed in to each of his mini meals (& he has a fountain.)

I recommend a vet visit ASAP because the crystals HURT coming out. It hurt my boy so badly that even on gabapentin he didn’t pee for 24 hours. Once I got him on some oppiate for kitties he was peeing like a champ. For a week I was adding 2-3 teaspoons to each of his wet food meals and took away his dry food; to help flush him out.

 

[Alldara]

hey T Tabby22 sorry to hear about that! It's not a fun issue for pets or owners.

Here's some resources re: urinary issues
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) | International Cat Care
Crystalluria in Cats | VCA Canada Animal Hospitals.


Without knowing what type of litter you have we won't know whether some shine is normal.

As well, food and whether or not it is "high quality" is subjective. Actually, it was on a "high quality" food that Nobel first developed crystals. After a food change, and litter change, it wasn't an issue any further. He was mostly on Purina urinary wet (nonprescription) food, with added water. He was fine on an 50% wet diet but we slowly moved him up to 80% wet for further prevention.


Most of the studies state that the best way to prevent crystals is switching to a wet diet. Since you're already on a hybrid diet, I'd compare the nutritional content to that of urinary diets (magnesium, salt, etc.....the values not the ingredients) and find something in the middle if you don't want to make the full switch to prescription food. Whatever you can add extra water to, and add as much as the cats will tolerate.


some more info if you're interested:

What's in My Cat's Food?: Designer Diets, Grain Free Diets | VCA Canada Animal Hospitals
Effect of a struvite dissolution diet in cats with naturally occurring struvite urolithiasis

Oral glucosamine and the management of feline idiopathic cystitis - PubMed

Dissolving feline struvite stones

 

[Caspers Human]

Most of the studies state that the best way to prevent crystals is switching to a wet diet.

Almost exactly, word for word, what our vet said to us.

 

[Alldara]

Almost exactly, word for word, what our vet said to us.

Our vets taught us well over here! I'm just the parrot.

 

[Tabby22]

Hello and thank you all for your replies.

I am reading into this so much now to find out all what is best to do and not to do which is most of what you are saying about the wet food. My female that has the problem with more crystals is very fussy with wet food so I have bought plenty of what the vet advised and have started her on Royal Canin urinary S/O. Once her crystals have reduced I will be trying to get her eating more wet food rather than dry. Her brother loves wet food and so do my other 2 young adults 14 months. They all drink a lot of water and I change this frequently filtered rather than tap as read that can cause crystals as well.
I use mainly catstan non clumping though have bought a few large bags of Sanicat hygiene white litter. The litter does not sparkle, it was only a just passed area of pooled wee that had like glitter in and on it before soaked away.

I was replying to the origional member who put up the thread but what I said at the end thanking the person for their post wasn't included.

I have a lot of very tall and to ceiling scratchposts with numerous hideouts and dens also a cat wheel. My home is no longer a home its a giant catio lol. I had a lot before with my 1st cat though have bought several more as of the 4 cats/kittens. They all get along great, I use feliway friends diffusers too.

I appreciate your links to information, much I have read and still finding more to learn about having a multi cat household.

Thanks very much again

 

[Alldara]

T Tabby22 Its always the fussy dry food addicts

Let us know how it goes. Were all happy to help brainstorm if you need it! Rooting for a good outcome.

 

[Linneaann]

Hello and thank you all for your replies.

I am reading into this so much now to find out all what is best to do and not to do which is most of what you are saying about the wet food. My female that has the problem with more crystals is very fussy with wet food so I have bought plenty of what the vet advised and have started her on Royal Canin urinary S/O. Once her crystals have reduced I will be trying to get her eating more wet food rather than dry. Her brother loves wet food and so do my other 2 young adults 14 months. They all drink a lot of water and I change this frequently filtered rather than tap as read that can cause crystals as well.
I use mainly catstan non clumping though have bought a few large bags of Sanicat hygiene white litter. The litter does not sparkle, it was only a just passed area of pooled wee that had like glitter in and on it before soaked away.

I was replying to the origional member who put up the thread but what I said at the end thanking the person for their post wasn't included.

I have a lot of very tall and to ceiling scratchposts with numerous hideouts and dens also a cat wheel. My home is no longer a home its a giant catio lol. I had a lot before with my 1st cat though have bought several more as of the 4 cats/kittens. They all get along great, I use feliway friends diffusers too.

I appreciate your links to information, much I have read and still finding more to learn about having a multi cat household.

Thanks very much again

We recently started using the diffuser as our Siamese had been mishandled before we adopted him and he is easily provoked. The woman caring for him in her home fosters cats who have had difficulty being placed in homes at the local humane society. He didn't care much for petting but would sit near us or make sure he could see us. He follows me around the house when I am doing my cleaning or laundry. I guess he wants to make sure someone is still there with him. Since using the diffuser he has become more of a lap cat, especially with my husband, who sits in his recliner in the evening and doesn't move around too much. Walter (our cat) jumps up on the arm of his chair and makes his way onto his lap He also comes over to me for some TLC, but I do a lot of needlework and my lap and hands are usually occupied with some sort of craft, so he gets up behind me and rests his head on top of mine. Talk about bad hair!. Before we had the diffuser he would tolerate some petting with a back scratcher but not our hands. Now he loves a little more of a hands on approach. We are both amazed at the change in his personality. We had wanted to adopt another cat as a playmate for him since we don't let him outside - too many fast cars and communicable feline diseases - but weren't sure how he would handle it. I think since we purchased the feliway diffuser he has become much more relaxed than he used to be and might actually accept another cat with a little time and patience on our part. We're still going to hold off for a little while longer to make sure the diffuser continues to work, but I think he'll get used to the idea if it is done properly. It's nice to find other people as concerned about their pets as we are. Have a nice holiday !
Linneaann