Help Please...video---is This Flutd? Cat Jerking/straining During Urination

[tibble]

Hi,
I need some help. I adopted an 11 month yr old DSH kitten 3/3/2017. As soon I got him home I noticed frequent uncomfortable urination and golf ball size pees in litter. Also his poops are a little crispy on the outside so I give him miralax daily which helps a little. Took him to the vet did a full blood and urine. Urine was clean, blood work came back high WBC. 18.7 and high Neutrophilis 10285. Penis was a little purple (irritated) He went on clavamox for 10 days and then we followed up with another blood and (urine taken with needle from bladder )test about 3 weeks later. Similar results High WBC and Neutrophilis. Had them run a urine culture which came back negative as well.

DR says stress, Took him to another vet who does an ultrasound, tells me the kidneys look bad, "never saw a cat with kidneys like this but I need to send the films to a specialist" I didnt want to wait a week so I took him to the hospital and did another ultrasound the next day. This internal medicine DR says his kidneys feel good with her hand, shows me the ultrasound films and says his kidneys look pretty normal, good color etc.. Goes through all the images and says organs bladder etc all look healthy. She said there were some things different about his kidneys but that it was normal and thats why maybe the previous doctor had said those things. Says its FLUTD most likely from stress. Put him on Amitriptyline 6.5 mg and we switched from Wet Hills c/d with stress can cat food to Royal canin Multi care urinary/calm which is basically s/o with calming. He was doing very well for about 3 weeks.

I have a pet fountain and waterbowl (ceramic and one glass) in a few rooms, a 2nd box which he never used in another room, no other pets. He seems to like this litter after a few tries, its a soft step wood type, very light. Pretty quiet apartment. The kitten is very happy and playful. He hardly ever drinks any water (spring or tap) which is why I mix in 5-7 ounces of bottled spring water in his wet food and blend it into soup for him. Sometimes new sounds will give him a spook for a second other than that he shows no signs of stress. Hes very sweet and not jumpy with us.

I have an iphone camera recording his litterbox with a motion sensor app (cambush) so I know how many times a day he goes etc etc. This week he started to jerk a bit while peeing at times. I also see some small red blood particles on his poop from yesterday and today. Looks like I am going back to the DR.

Just some info, he has always peed, never strains WITHOUT peeing. Pees 5-6x a day.. golf ball or a little larger size pees. His poops are almost always crispy even with 1/4 tsp miralax 2x a day. He does show discomfort when pooping at times. Poops 1 or 2x a day. He is on wet food only. I gave him a bunch of different supplements early on which did not seem to help, tinkle tonic, tried Feliway difuser, duralactin, some cranberry stuff for cats.

His urine looks very clear too and came back good 3x. He does lick his lips at times but I have only seen him drink about 4x in 7 weeks.

Thanks for your help

 

[stephanietx]

I don't see anything in the video that looks abnormal to me. It does seem like he's in the box for longer than my kitties, but I don't actually sit and time them in the litter box, so I can't be sure. Stress is one of the biggest contributors to urinary tract infections. Have you tried running a Feliway diffuser (or 2 or 3 depending on the size of your home) to help him de-stress?

 

[tibble]

yes I have tried feliway difuser. Its not a large apt.

 

[lalagimp]

Was he ever peeing normally without straining or is this just how he goes? He could have a narrow urethra. He's peeing, his urine is ok, no blood in the urine, all wet diet, extra water, low key lifestyle.
Tommy's pH was at a 7 so we started Cranberry Relief after his last two blockages and surgery(this was all the same week) and it said to give it to him for 2-3 weeks twice per day and then move onto once per day, twice a week so that's where we're at. He is a FLUTD cat. He's on raw with additional water or bone broth mixed in plus he has 2 water fountains he drinks from.

 

[DreamerRose]

Your video looks normal to me, too. The stress of being in a new home will wear off after a while. Mingo got diarrhea when I first brought him home, and it took him about two to three weeks to calm down. Two years later, he developed struvite crystals, and the symptoms were much worse than what you are experiencing.

 

[tibble]

yes for almost 3 weeks he was not straining. Prior to that he would cry for a second before he peed or he would hunch over and look uncomfortable. This is new just the last few days. Unless I am mistaken I believe the DR said his urethra looked normal in the ultrasound. I know his penis was still a little irritated then. When I showed her this video yesterday she mentioned that she may need to do a catheter if he doesn't improve over the next few days. Yes he was on cranberry relief 2x a day for about 3 weeks and that did not help either. I had even given him some apple cider vinegar for a about a week. His ph was 6.5 when we got him and about 5 weeks ago it dropped to 6.0. I was planning on putting him on a raw diet once this clears up for a few months if ever...I am just worried that this is something else.

 

[DreamerRose]

That does sound like struvite crystals, especially with the low pH and irritated penis. But it's surprising it didn't show up in the vet's labs. If the vet is thinking about a catheter, that sounds even more like struvite crystals. The water you are adding to his food will help, and so will food for cats with urinary issues. I use Purina One for Urinary Tract cats, which is a dry food that you may not want to give. The raw diet plus water would be better.

 

[tibble]

I'm surprised that some think the video looks normal. It starts about 12 seconds in if you stare at his abdomen. He is clearly rocking back and forth or pushing or straining. Unless do you mean this is normal for a cat with FLUTD? Unfortunately I have been recording him for 7 weeks since it started. I never saw him do this before. I hope you are right.