Kitty kidney problems?

Yesterday, I caught one of my cats peeing in a box of t-shirts I was going to give away. He's been known to use a plant once in a while when it was too inconvenient to go outside or use the litter box (sometimes the bathroom door is closed for a day by accident). So, I didn't think much of him using the t-shirt box--I was just a little miffed that he ruined the shirts.

Today I noticed that one of the top t-shirts had blood spots on it that it didn't have yesterday (the shirts are all brand new, leftovers from my baseball league). In my decluttering this evening, I realized that he has definitely peed on the wall or carpet there, because I could smell it after the box was outside. The box has been sitting there for a while, so he may have used it several times before I caught him in the act. (I didn't smell it until yesterday, and since I moved the box it is stronger.)

Now because of the blood I'm concerned that the kitty has a UT problem. I'll probably take him to the vet tomorrow. But I'm wondering, how do they diagnose such a thing?

He seems normal in every way, except for the blood. All four of the other animals have had access to that box, but none of them would pee in it and none of them have bled anywhere else. (My other cat goes exclusively outside. He doesn't use the litter box unless absolutely necessary, like extremely bad weather.)

As an aside, both of my cats were overdue for their shots (>3 years) and I had them vax'd about 2 months ago. Should I be concerned about a reaction to the vaccinations? They eat Nutro dry food and always have.

Thanks!

Karen

Crystals in his urine are definitely a possibility. They are sharp and can cause bleeding.... (my poor boy had some blood when he had his bout with FUS). Take him to the vet ASAP - it doesn't sound like he's blocked yet, but it will be bad if he does become blocked (very painful for him and $$$ for you). They'll get some urine and test it, then probably put him on a crystal busting food - it makes very acidic urine to break the crystals down.

Thanks, Eden. We'll go in the morning.

Karen

If your cat already has blood in his urine, it's already very critical and painful. Please get him to the Vet asap. This can kill them, it's a really painful death.

My only opportunity to get him to a vet is tomorrow a.m., unless I drive for an hour to the animal emergency clinic in the "city". I don't think that's necessary, because this does not look like a cat in pain. He looks and acts completely normal. He just beat up his brother to get him out of the window he favors. He threw himself on his back in front of me while ago to get me to rub him. He's eating and drinking normally.

He may be having pain when he urinates, but he's not in pain otherwise. Thanks for the advice, though.

Karen

As long as he's still eating and still going, he's not completely blocked (the crystals can totally block his ability to go). Unless that happens, his regular vet should be fine (at least this is what my vet told me after years of dealing with this off and on). It probably is crystals in the urine. Depending on the type, they may be easier or harder to deal with. The vet will get a urine sample to check, and perhaps take an x-ray.

CA

I've dealt with the same thing, and in my cat, it is chronic. We feed her a urinary tract-specific food (prescription), and haven't had any issues since two large stones were removed (surgically) from her bladder about 4 years ago.

Good luck to you and kitty!

SheFly

Yeah, I concur, sounds like FUS. I have a chronic FUS boy- usually clears up with some antibiotics, pain killers, and finding the right food (for us, it was Hill's prescription diet). The other thing my newer vet has him on is a Cosequin everyday. For some reason even though the urinary tract and bladder are not joints, the cosequin keeps the inflammation down. Weird, but I went from issues every 1-3mos with him to every couple of years, which is much better!

Our trip to the vet was helpful. The vet didn't think it was necessary at this point to take an xray or a urine sample. He said he couldn't feel the bladder in a cat this big, to tell whether it was distended (he's not fat, just large). That inclined him not to do the urine sample with the needle, just yet, as well, since he would be doing it blind. Kitty had a low-grade fever, so we both thought the conservative approach was antibiotics and watch and wait. I'm watching his litter for more blood (I put shredded paper in the box.)

Thanks for encouraging me to take him in. I do tend to wait and see too long, sometimes. It pays off most of the time, though! ;)

Karen

thanks for letting us know. I hope the antibiotics kick in fast!

I'd encourage you to put him on an at least part canned, if not entirely canned diet and mix in extra water for a while. If he does have crystals you want his urine to be very dilute to flush them out, so that he does not block. (and it certainly won't be bad for him even if he just has a UTI). Some of the more holistic foods use the same things that people use for UT problems too - cranberries and blueberries. If you can get him to eat/drink some of that I can't see that it would hurt (both are urine acidifiers) - but the trick might be getting him to actually eat them... My wierdos will eat dried blueberries if I drop them on the floor. You can get a powder acidifier at some pet store too - but I believe it shouldn't be used long term, as it can cause a different kind of crystal.

If you feed your cat dry food, wet it before you give it to him. My cats don't mind this at all.

I am kind of surprised that the vet is only treating symptoms.

Actually, most cats will just decrease their water intake if you put them on wet (or wetted dry food). I talked to many vet school professors as well as general vets, and read a lot about this about my boy through the years. They are descendants of desert animals, so they tend to run low on water intake relative to say a human. This desert adaptation makes their urine inherently concentrated, so it's pretty easy to push them over to crystal formation with a small increase in extra minerals in their food. And with boys, the small urethra means the crystals cause more noticeable irritation. FUS in male cats is extremely common. Different individuals have problems for different reasons, but almost always food related. My boy with chronic FUS is extremely food sensitive- if he sneaks even a small amount of non-prescription food from my kitten, he will show symptoms the next day. My kitten and other boy eat holistic non-prescription food, but the mineral amount consistency in even high quality holistic food does not match the consistency of the prescription food. My other boy, who is of barncat stock, has only been sick once- when I put him on Wellness food he developed crystals. Wellness is a great brand, but for some reason it unbalanced my hearty boy. Switched his food back and one round of antibiootics and never had another problem again. Oh, and back when Jonas's chronic issues started, we tried the Purina prescription for urinary stuff, but even that was not as balanced as Hills and still gave him issues. Sorry this is long, but you really should talk to the vet about food.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mayanorange

Actually, most cats will just decrease their water intake if you put them on wet (or wetted dry food).

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Indeed this is true, as is the fact that they evolved in the desert. With free flowing water in very short supply they evolved to take most of their moisture through their prey. Cats don't have a very good sense of thirst, nor are their tongues very well adapted to drinking, so they tend to drink too little when they have to rely on a bowl of water for their moisture needs. Many dry fed cats are chronically dehydrated, even if offered sufficient water. Though I still keep a bowl of water for them, my two no longer drink out of it at all as far as I can tell, but from cleaning out their litter boxes I can tell you that they are taking in far more moisture. They urinate more now that I don't feed them any dry food. They also always have nice cool damp noses.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eden

Though I still keep a bowl of water for them, my two no longer drink out of it at all as far as I can tell, but from cleaning out their litter boxes I can tell you that they are taking in far more moisture. They urinate more now that I don't feed them any dry food. They also always have nice cool damp noses.

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This has been my experience, too. Since I switched to wet food my male cat has had zero urinary tract symptoms.

I've posted this link before, but here again is some excellent info on feeding cats: http://catinfo.org/

Not only did I switch my 3 cats to canned food instead of dry, but I also mix water into it before feeding to make it even wetter. They like their 'stew' just fine.
I can vouch for the fact that the urine 'patties' that I 'harvest' from the cat boxes are literally twice as much as when they ate only dry food. My cats seem to do much better on wet canned food. We used to have lots of serious kitty kidney problems before, and even lost one kitty to it at 7 years old. Almost lost Pearl too a few years ago, when she was 5. That all occurred when they were on dry food.

This particular cat drinks every day, several times a day, and even stands up to the dogs to get to the common water bowl. In fact, if it weren't for this cat licking the floor under the fridge daily for about 3 days I wouldn't have investigated and found that the icemaker had been leaking for probably weeks! I just thought he was licking up a spill or something, and then I saw a puddle.

I never see my other cat drink.

I'm satisfied with the course we're taking with the UTI. He had a shot and will take pills for 10 days. He's still acting wholly himself, except for peeing more often.

By the way, we only have one veterinary office in our town, and they do large and small animals, and it is a very low-key and "countrified" atmosphere. No appointments--just walk in and take your chances. They have a lot of the modern equipment and methods, but they don't foist its use on you. The doc knew I had been spending big dough on the Weimaraner lately (bronchitis), and didn't want to go straight for expensive tests when it could just be a little infection. I agree and will watch and wait.

Karen