My cat's urine is a little pink

[gabicards]

Hi all,

So, this morning I noticed my cat's pee had a pinkish tone to it in comparison to last night's very yellow pee. I immediately suspected either an UTI or cystitis (neither of which he's ever had, I've just heard about the symptoms). Then he peed again after about 1 hour and very very little, also pinkish.

I do remember his pee was a little pinkish at one point last year too, which scared me, but I decided to just observe it because back then I wondered if it could have been the litter - which we're still using now, but at this point I don't think the color of the urine I'm removing from the litter box has anything to do with it.

His behavior is fine and so is his appetite. He's not meowing when he pees (and not before or after, either). Can I monitor him at home, or is this an emergency?

As some of you may know, we've had a long and annoying journey with vets this year, so I'm not keen on taking him again unless strictly necessary. He had something on his nose over a month ago that gave me a serious anxiety crisis, but I ended up monitoring it at home and it went away just fine, so I'm trying (and failing hahaha) not to panic.

 

[tabbytom]

His behavior is fine and so is his appetite. He's not meowing when he pees (and not before or after, either). Can I monitor him at home, or is this an emergency?

Please bring him in ASAP to the vet before it gets worse. Pink urine indicates tinge of blood in urine. This is as good as an emergency. Better arrest the problem before it gets worse and it'll be painful for your cat and it'll be painful for you to see him cry and strain to pass urine.

Please do not wait and see.

 

[gabicards]

Please bring him in ASAP to the vet before it gets worse. Pink urine indicates tinge of blood in urine. This is as good as an emergency. Better arrest the problem before it gets worse and it'll be painful for your cat and it'll be painful for you to see him cry and strain to pass urine.

Please do not wait and see.

Thank you for your response, I'll call the vet clinic in 5 min when they open.

Edit: He'll be seeing a vet in 4 hours. I hope it's nothing serious

 

[tabbytom]

Thank you for your response, I'll call the vet clinic in 5 min when they open.

Edit: He'll be seeing a vet in 4 hours. I hope it's nothing serious

Yes, better get to see the vet. Treat it before it becomes worse. Although he has not yowl and cry while peeing, pink pee is an early indication of UTI.

Always ensure if you can when your cat is pee-ing, you hear pee gushing sounds and that is to let you know he is pee-ing ok and not blocked. Good that you discovered the pink pee early.

 

[gabicards]

Yes, better get to see the vet. Treat it before it becomes worse. Although he has not yowl and cry while peeing, pink pee is an early indication of UTI.

Always ensure if you can when your cat is pee-ing, you hear pee gushing sounds and that is to let you know he is pee-ing ok and not blocked. Good that you discovered the pink pee early.

Yeah, whatever it is I definitely caught it at the earliest visible sign of it. Unless an UTI or cystitis can go a while without any symptoms, then it should be early, because last night his pee was the same color as always, and then at 7am this morning it was pinkish, and a small amount, but the amount alone would not have rung any bells since he pees often (he's been eating home cooked meals with extra water added to them, since he leans on the side of constipation) and not every single pee is massive (though some certainly are). I wouldn't have been too concerned if he hadn't gone back less than an hour later and done very very little.

The vet asked me on the phone why I wanted to take him there and I talked about the symptoms, she did mention that, if there was anything, we're likely catching it early, so fingers crossed. She also asked me if he was eating, and he ate very well this morning, 100g of food with extra water and a probiotic (which makes me think he doesn't have a fever).

 

[tabbytom]

How did the vet’s visit go?

 

[gabicards]

Update! I took him to the vet, he got two injections, I think one was just fluids and the other for pain (will check this once I'm back home, I had to come to the office for a bit). His bladder was empty, so I guess, at least for now, it's not a blockage.

His urine analysis in March showed some crystals, but the vets weren't concerned, so that's one possibility. The other would be an UTI, caused most likely by stress, but he isn't on antibiotics for now. I got two meds to give him for a week (will share them here later) and then I'm supposed to get an urine sample from him 7 days from now and take to the vet. If I can't (I don't know if he will pee in the litter box if it doesn't have litter, to be honest), then I can take him to the vet and they will collect it.

His behavior continues to be OK, I'm monitoring him through a camera I have at home. Though he does seem to be licking his genital area perhaps for a little longer than usual, I can't be sure. If this is an UTI or crystals, is it okay for me to let him clean himself? Sorry if it's a dumb question, I genuinely don't understand much.

The vet doesn't think it's an emergency for now, but I need to monitor him to make sure he's peeing. Will add extra water to his food... since his bladder was empty at noon today when the vet checked it, I wonder when I should expect some pee and by when I should be worried if I don't see it. Could anyone advise me on this?

 

[tabbytom]

Update!

It's still better to keep an eye on him. Idk you can catch him peeing, have a chines soup spoon and collect the urine as he pees. This is what ti did when my boy had UTI and I collected his urine in this manner. The other way is to use pee pads as you mentioned there's no litter in the litterbox.

Cleaning the private part is a normal routine except if he's cleaning it for a long long time and if his bladder is empty, I don't think he'll try to pee.

Yes, more water please.

 

[gabicards]

Okay, so I'm home now and the vet prescribed him two medications:

Meloxydil - For pain and inflammation
Scopalgine - "Symptomatic treatment of urological spasmodic conditions", which I don't know the meaning of

So essentially we're treating the inflammation as well as the symptoms? And I was told to wait 7 days to collect urine...

I'm not gonna lie, having to wait to collect the urine is scary, because if it is an infection, it won't matter that I caught it very early, it will just continue to get worse. Or am I mistaken and the inflammation medication could already help a bit?

He just ate a bowl of his old food, RC Kitten wet, with a significant amount of extra water (very soupy). He ate/drank everything and is now running around the apartment chasing a bug.

 

[gabicards]

Ah, okay, so this website has some info.

"Initial management may involve fluid administration to help dilute out the urine and flush the lower urinary tract. Management of discomfort is difficult. Some cats seem to respond well to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, Onsior, Anti-spasmodics such as prazosin or phenoxybenzamine are often used along with opioids for pain relief. Empirical antibiotic therapy may or may not be instituted."

I think the Scopalgine is the anti-spasmodic in the situation, and the Meloxydil the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory one. The vet gave him two shots, one was Meloxydil, I think, because I was told to start giving that to him tomorrow, and the other might have been fluids, then. I guess this makes sense?

 

[tabbytom]

So essentially we're treating the inflammation as well as the symptoms? And I was told to wait 7 days to collect urine...

I'm not gonna lie, having to wait to collect the urine is scary, because if it is an infection, it won't matter that I caught it very early, it will just continue to get worse. Or am I mistaken and the inflammation medication could already help a bit?

I guess the medications the vet gave is for both and 7 days later to collect the urine is to see if it's positive.

No matter what, you have to collect the urine for tests and hope that the medications and getting your cat more hydrated did their job.

Here are two articles you may want to read :-

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis - How To Improve Your Cat's Quality Of Life - TheCatSite

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (flutd) - TheCatSite

Sending vibes to your kitty

 

[gabicards]

I guess the medications the vet gave is for both and 7 days later to collect the urine is to see if it's positive.

No matter what, you have to collect the urine for tests and hope that the medications and getting your cat more hydrated did their job.

Here are two articles you may want to read :-

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis - How To Improve Your Cat's Quality Of Life - TheCatSite

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (flutd) - TheCatSite

Sending vibes to your kitty

Thanks for the links! Will make sure to read them.

He peed again, and both the size and color are normal. Go figure. I will still give the meds, monitor it and collect the urine after 7 days (if there are no changes that constitute an emergency). I won't lie, I'm confused.

 

[tabbytom]

Thanks for the links! Will make sure to read them.

He peed again, and both the size and color are normal. Go figure. I will still give the meds, monitor it and collect the urine after 7 days (if there are no changes that constitute an emergency). I won't lie, I'm confused.

Oh, that's great to hear, normal pee size and color is normal.

Anyway, to be on the safe side, continue the ritual, medications and lots of water and monitor the situation and hopefully by the 7th day, no surprises. I know how you are feeling. Hugs for you

 

[iPappy]

Water is the bladders BFF Adding the extra water will help keep it flushed out, so even if things are appearing normal and he accepts eating his wet food with extra water I'd continue doing this indefinitely as a form of extra insurance. As confusing as it is, I'd keep giving the meds as directed and do the urine collection and have it checked to be safe. The last thing you want to do is have him form a stone!

 

[Furballsmom]

You've gotten great replies, and I think you're doing a terrific job. Hang in there !

 

[Alldara]

Once you start getting lots of water in and flushing the bladder it may look normal again. Since he had stones, he could have passed one and it make a small scratch, causing the pink earlier.
ALWAYS better safe than sorry with red in urine to go to the vet ASAP so great job on that!

This is a great resource for FLUTD, which is an umbrella term for ongoing bladder and urinary tract issues.
Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) | International Cat Care

Cystitis and Lower Urinary Tract Disease in Cats | VCA Canada Animal Hospitals



With FLUTD it's important to read and understand as much as possible to prevent further illness.
- food type
-increased water
- Lowering stress
-enrichment
Those are the 4 corners of prevention. There are many ways to approach each and I'm sure any of us here are able to help brainstorm things to work on your home as you have questions going forward.

my personal experience was my now late cat Nobel developed FLUTD at age 5. He had a flare every year or twice a year for a bit. Then I had a vet who said I really needed to research and gave me some resources. I was able to keep Nobel from having a full flare up during his last 7+ years of life (he lived to 17).
Anticipating what could cause stress and giving extra water, as well as giving extra water to flush his bladder if I noticed a strong urine smell or him grooming excessively. I didn't have the resource of this group yet to know of the different suppliments etc. So you'll be in great hands going forward to figure out what works for your cat.

 

[gabicards]

Thank you all so much for the replies and the links


Last night I saw him sit in the litter box and saw nothing in it once he left, which made my heart race. But I found a big pee in the litter box this morning! So no blockage for now, right? (I am terrified beyond belief). I’m adding a significant amount of water to his old food, since he loves it. I had been feeding him home cooked for two weeks, which should have been properly balanced, but I’m back to commercial wet food for now.

Once we do the collection of the urine for analysis next week and the vet is able to give me a proper diagnosis, she’s told me she can contact a veterinarian that’s specialized in nutrition (and is quite known in France, I think) and have her create a home cooked recipe that’s adapted to any chronic conditions he might have. He has presumptive IBD, but if he’s prone to having stones, for instance, they can factor this in as well.

He’s taking a little longer to finish his breakfast today, but I figure the amount of water in it is playing a role. It’s probably making him feel full (he still ate everything within 15 - 20 min, so whatever is going doesn’t seem to have had an impact on his appetite yet - and I really hope it won’t).

The non steroidal anti inflammatory medication he was given scares me, though I’ve read bad things about it. Please keep my cat in your thoughts and send us good energy, as I’m really scared of side effects.

 

[tabbytom]

Last night I saw him sit in the litter box and saw nothing in it once he left, which made my heart race. But I found a big pee in the litter box this morning! So no blockage for now, right? (I am terrified beyond belief). I’m adding a significant amount of water to his old food, since he loves it. I had been feeding him home cooked for two weeks, which should have been properly balanced, but I’m back to commercial wet food for now.

That's great! Big pee clump. It means that he's also drinking lots of water which is a good thing.

He’s taking a little longer to finish his breakfast today, but I figure the amount of water in it is playing a role. It’s probably making him feel full (he still ate everything within 15 - 20 min, so whatever is going doesn’t seem to have had an impact on his appetite yet - and I really hope it won’t).

Yes, water will make him feel full but it's better than not drinking water. We are emphasizing very much on fluid here and as long as he drink up and also eat, maybe not finish the food, it's ok.

Continue sending vibes

 

[Alldara]

gabicards Lots of good vibes to you both.
I understand, when I was watching for a blockage I often felt like I couldn't breathe before I checked the box

Just keep in mind that the internet will be a bit skewed when it comes to medication reviews. Those whose cats had no problems aren't likely to come post online right? It's good to check potential side effects, but try not to stress too much over them. The vet decided the reward is worth the risk.

 

[gabicards]

gabicards Lots of good vibes to you both.
I understand, when I was watching for a blockage I often felt like I couldn't breathe before I checked the box

Just keep in mind that the internet will be a bit skewed when it comes to medication reviews. Those whose cats had no problems aren't likely to come post online right? It's good to check potential side effects, but try not to stress too much over them. The vet decided the reward is worth the risk.

This 100%. I woke up and my heart was beating really fast as I made my way to the litter box.

He's peed 3x this morning, from 6am to 12pm, all litter clumps are regular sized. Appetite is good despite the huge amount of liquid I'm giving him - I keep expecting him to leave food in his bowl, but he eats all of it, even if it takes longer. He normally drinks all of the liquid first, and then "grazes" on the actual food until it's over.

So we're doing great, I'll continue with the meds and extra water, but I don't think we're dealing with a blockage here. I'm curious for the urine analysis next week to see if we'll actually learn what happened...

I'll be honest, I had never worried about anything bladder related, because, through our constipation issues, he's always been so hydrated, since he's always been on just wet food. I'm wondering if the water content of the home cooked meal is drastically different and that could have caused an issue... I discovered today that he will eat a soup made out of the home cooked meal if I add a little bit of Fortiflora to the water before mixing it in, though, so that's a plus. He had his old RC sachet for breakfast and will also have it for dinner, but I gave him home cooked food for lunch (reduced the amount until I'm certain it's nothing about it specifically that's causing the bladder problem, but also don't want to depend just on RC since he's probably allergic to something in it... it's a puzzle).