Help! My 4 Year Old Female Cat Is Having Trouble Urinating, So Many Vet Visits!

[Opals Mama]

Hello, so my baby has been going through a lot of frustrating vet visits, six weeks ago I took her to the vet after noticing her squatting all over and trying to use the litter box for hours. She was still eating, drinking, and pooping. Still very playful. They gave her an antibiotic and a anti-inflammatory shot after examining her and testing her urine. The tests came back with no signs of crystallization. After that she seemed to be doing better then a week later it started again. Went back and they gave me a maple flavored hairball elimination and prevention lubricant. That seemed to help and I went back for a check up and she was fine. She has started again and the last time I went and spoke with the vet she said she may just be having the urge and that's why she spending so much time in the litter box. I've only seen her poop and only urinate a little. I'm worried it might be something more serious but she is acting fine! I'm at a loss. Please help!

 

[jen]

Glad you had her urine checked. Now the important question is what are you feeding her? The answer should be no dry food at all to start and see if that helps her urinate more. Dry food is awful for cats and leaves many of them dehydrated.

 

[1 bruce 1]

How is she now? If she's peeing little spots here and there, she's probably uncomfortable and (if it were my cat) it could wait til morning (for a vet visit) with check ups during the night. Odds are an infection or bladder inflammation that the vet can treat, but this can lead to complications without intervention.

If she's squatting, crying out, and producing nothing at all....do NOT hesitate and take her to an emergency vet ASAP!!!
I'm not a scare tactic kind of person but this can be a sign of blockage that can be life threatening and can kill. More common in boys than girls but not unheard of...so be watchful...
So if you have multiple cats, separate this girl and monitor the box like you'd monitor your first born daughter going out on a prom date! =D
Watch her overnight very carefully and call the vet in the morning.

jen mentioned diet (quite good of her I might add!) and sometimes cats cannot handle dry food.
We feed a moisture rich diet but if I run short on time and buy a respected brand of dry food to feed in the morning....I can guarantee you, one of our girls will come up with bladder inflammation and will be squatting and straining nonstop within 2-3 meals of dry food. I don't get it, either.
Does your girl see wet food, canned, or even scraps like spice-less cooked chicken, etc., as something that's good or something that she avoids?
I hope she's well ASAP. It's concerning when they do this!

 

[Opals Mama]

Glad you had her urine checked. Now the important question is what are you feeding her? The answer should be no dry food at all to start and see if that helps her urinate more. Dry food is awful for cats and leaves many of them dehydrated.

Hello, so my baby has been going through a lot of frustrating vet visits, six weeks ago I took her to the vet after noticing her squatting all over and trying to use the litter box for hours. She was still eating, drinking, and pooping. Still very playful. They gave her an antibiotic and a anti-inflammatory shot after examining her and testing her urine. The tests came back with no signs of crystallization. After that she seemed to be doing better then a week later it started again. Went back and they gave me a maple flavored hairball elimination and prevention lubricant. That seemed to help and I went back for a check up and she was fine. She has started again and the last time I went and spoke with the vet she said she may just be having the urge and that's why she spending so much time in the litter box. I've only seen her poop and only urinate a little. I'm worried it might be something more serious but she is acting fine! I'm at a loss. Please help!

 

[Opals Mama]

She is on a mix of both wet and dry food that I got from the vet. She is still spending a lot of time trying to go. I will call the vet in the morning for an appointment and do what you suggested and watch her through the night and see if she goes. I hope so! Thank you guys for all the help, I just with there was more I could do.

 

[Furballsmom]

The other item in the equation is water, is she drinking? I know you said she's getting wet food but she needs to be drinking as well.
Can you try some Pedialyte? There are recipes on the internet, for the added moisture, take a look at this;

tent test for dehydration and home-made pedialyte recipe - The Daily Kitten

 

[lavishsqualor]

Poor girl. Let us know what your vet says. I'm really curious. You both are in my thoughts.

 

[Opals Mama]

The other item in the equation is water, is she drinking? I know you said she's getting wet food but she needs to be drinking as well.
Can you try some Pedialyte? There are recipes on the internet, for the added moisture, take a look at this;

tent test for dehydration and home-made pedialyte recipe - The Daily Kitten

She is still drinking little bits of water from what I have seen. I will try the pedialyte and see if she will drink it, she's a bit picky with things!

 

[Opals Mama]

Poor girl. Let us know what your vet says. I'm really curious. You both are in my thoughts.

I will! Thank you so much!

 

[jen]

Can you drop the dry food and just stick to wet? That will greatly help her in the long run. She is dehydrated. As someone else mentioned on here, if they are drinking water they are probably dehydrated as cats should be getting enough water from their diet, of meat.

 

[Opals Mama]

Took her to the vet, they said she wasn't dehydrated. I might try the wet food diet still. They expressed her anal glands and said hopefully that would help cause they were really full. I will see if this helps and if not we will go back and get another urinalysis to see if she has UTI.

 

[Furballsmom]

.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Took her to the vet, they said she wasn't dehydrated. I might try the wet food diet still. They expressed her anal glands and said hopefully that would help cause they were really full. I will see if this helps and if not we will go back and get another urinalysis to see if she has UTI.

It could be just bladder inflammation without active infection.
Our cat has had UTI's before but usually it's just inflammation and antibiotics aren't necessary.
Does she like the wet food as much as the dry?