Could this be a sign of a UTI?

I've noticed that Rocket has begun peeing in a semi-standing position. He used to do the full squat, but lately he's been semi-crouched; a little bit higher than if he was going to take a poop. This causes him to spray the sides of the box; sometimes overshooting a little bit. But that's not my concern. Rather it's that this change in urination behavior may be a sign that urinating is uncomfortable to him and he needs to be checked for a UTI. There aren't any of the other warning signs. What do y'all think?

I realize Rocket is a male cat, and the cat in this thread is a female, but there is some interesting information in this thread -

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77076

Originally Posted by coaster

I've noticed that Rocket has begun peeing in a semi-standing position. He used to do the full squat, but lately he's been semi-crouched; a little bit higher than if he was going to take a poop. This causes him to spray the sides of the box; sometimes overshooting a little bit. But that's not my concern. Rather it's that this change in urination behavior may be a sign that urinating is uncomfortable to him and he needs to be checked for a UTI. There aren't any of the other warning signs. What do y'all think?

Click to expand...

Here is what Kittens for Dummies says: Is the kitten straining to pee so hard that the urine lands outside the box? This usually indicates it hurts him to pee. Is he sitting on the box, but never goes? Is he using the carpet instead of his box? These could all be signs that he has a lower tract infection, another one of those darn "can't wait" problems. Visit your vet.

Yes, thank you Persi; I'm aware of all those.

And thanks, AbbysMom, for the link.

I didn't mention I had changed the kind of litter I was using because Twinkie didn't like that litter. Is it possible this new behavior of Rocket's could be due to not liking the new litter?

When my female suffered from UTI the big change for me was how
many times she had to go. Like every 10-15 Minutes she was in the box
going little tiny amounts. She went so often, she didn't bother covering.
Is he going to litter box frequently? She also did seem to stand up in higher postition than normal and seemed to strain, i.e. ears pinned back.
Sometime she even cried out to say I am hurting here. I also caught trying
to tinkle on the couch.
Brenda

No, there hasn't been any change in frequency or amount, and he didn't seem to be straining, but he had his back turned toward me.

I would suspect the litter could be some of it .. which litter did you use and go to???

Is he eating and drinking and pooping normally???

I had been using non-clumping clay litter (Tidy Cats), but Twinkie, who was diagnosed with struvite crystals a month ago, seems to prefer the finer grain of clumping litter. Maybe he associates the old litter with his discomfort. Since I switched litters, he hasn't urinated outside the box. But I have noticed somebody peeing on the sides of the box (I have high-sided boxes) and up until now I thought it was just Twinkie. I didn't know it was Rocket until now. Come to think of it, I've only found pee on the sides of the boxes with the finer-grained litter.