Kitty kidney problems?

[Eden]

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.

[Tuckervill]

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

Karen

[Biciclista]

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.

[Tuckervill]

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

[Blueberry]

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

[SheFly]

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

[mayanorange]

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!

[Tuckervill]

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