Blood found in urine

chloe12.5

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Hi everyone. Very new to this site and my kitty may be quite possibly facing a kidney problem. From reading on here, I know it is very common. Boy, I have learned so much on here. Thank you! First had a UTI and gotten that under control but has been drinking tons of water. Her urinalysis showed her urine concentration level is low and there was some blood in her urine. Could blood in the urine be something else besides kidney problems? She is 12.5 years old and vet suspects she is going through early kidney failure and had me try k/d wet food. My Chloe did not like that, so we are now trying another wet food brand. I even try to mix up this food with the 9 lives brand she loved. She has definitely gotten to be more picky with her food. I was told to give her amoxicillan for 2 weeks and then another urinalyisis and watch her weight. She too is smacking her lips. This is all new to me...my first kitty. Any thoughts?

Thank you all.

Meows,

Marla
 

sharky

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Silly me is not at home but there are some wonderful crf sites to help... You may with talking to your vet of course consider a homemade or raw diet for her ... If you need recipes or ideas just pm me ...
 
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chloe12.5

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Thank you both! Gayef, the vet also did blood work when Chloe had the UTI 2 weeks ago. Her levels were elevated and he did not know if it was because of the infection. They checked the thyroid and no problem there as well as diabetes. The urine test he did on her last Saturday showed the blood. Just wondering why she might have blood in her urine? She did not eat all day but when I came home I gave her some of her 9 lives can food and she ate that up so that is good but then she goes right to the water and drinks and drinks and drinks. I am glad she is eating and drinking. Does it sound like Kidney probs? I am trying to read up on CRF. What is a organ function panel?

Thank you again.
 

pat

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Hi there. With my kitties, licking/smacking lips is a sign of nausea...precedes hawking up a hairball, and also occurs with my 2 cats with chronic renal failure (crf)...as kitties with crf have stomach acid issues. It is treatable with several meds, including pepcid.

Yes, I do think some of what you are saying sounds like it could be kidney failure, but your vet is doing exactly the right thing by treating for the uti and then rechecking values.

The best site (besides this forum..hah!) on crf on the 'net is www.felinecrf.org I strongly encourage you to go read through this site.

The blood in the urine can be from infection, from the bladder being irritated by crystals, from cystitis and from ??that I may not be thinking of.

I have paid more attention to the phosphorous content of my crf kitties diet, than protein (though with my very young crf kitty, we are feeding her a lower protein food), and I prefer a wet diet for it's increased moisture. Dehydration is an issue with crf kitties, so having a pet fountain, feeding wet food are two things to try to combat it.

I wish you all the best as you do further testing to find out what's going on...please keep us posted.
 
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chloe12.5

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Thank you so much for your reply. I am starting to read through the website you mentione. Lots of info. I am feeling more relieved and we still are not sure what is going on. I did not realize an infection in the bladder could cause the bleeding so thank you for bringing that to my attention. I will watch out for the phosphorous content as well. Great info! Thank you again and I wish you the best with your babies!
 

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Your kitty's problem sounds just like what my Sluggo is going through right now. My vet usually prescribes Baytril to treat it. He has the blood in his urine, drinks alot, has a very concentrated urine too. Your symptoms sound like mine. My vet is having me try Cosequin for a few days to see if that helps. I guess sometimes cats can have a weak/thin lining inside their bladder that can break down and make them bleed. Supposedly this Cosequin, which is actually glucosomine for cats, helps to heal this and rather quickly I'm told. Sluggo has only been on it for 2 days now and I haven't noticed a difference yet. I'm putting him back on Baytril come Saturday if I don't see any changes. I wish you well with this. It's such a problem for so many cat owners!
 
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chloe12.5

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Thank you so much for the info. Since we are going through the same thing, please, please, please feel free to private msg me and let me know how it goes or reply to this thread. My vet put us back on amoxicillan for 2 weeks. Also, it has been mentioned to me to have the vet do a culture to see if we can see what we need to treat and how after we finish our amoxi. Please keep me updated. I wish you all the best and thank you for replying to my post. We can go through this together. Whew. Best of luck on your meds. My fingers are crossed it helps Sluggo!!!!!
 

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I too am going through the same thing with Tinker. She is 15 years old. She has had two UTI's in the past 6 months. The specific gravity of her urine is also a bit on the low side. Could also be the start of kidney disease.
She just finished her antibiotics and went in yesterday for a urine culture.
I won't have the results until after the weekend.
She's always been on wet food and has dry available 24/7, she usually picks on that in the middle of the night or early morning, before I get up to feed her. Since she finished her meds, her appetite is better than ever, but I still catch her going back and forth to the litter box and just sitting there. So something may still be going on.
Good luck to you and kitty.... we just have to wait and see! as frustrating as it is!
 
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chloe12.5

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Yes it is frustrating to see our babys' in this condition. We want to help but do all we can. Please keep me updated and I will too. My fingers are crossed too for you. My Chloe is just barely eating and will not eat the dry food at all. Like you it is out but she won't touch it and she ate it 2 weeks ago. So strange. Well hopefully our babys' will be better soon!
Thank you again.
 

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What is her breed? Some breeds of cats have a genetic predisposition for Polycystic Kidney Disease. This is a disease where the cat develops cysts on their kidneys and they eventually fail. Usually later in life. Blood in urine could be from a ruptured or leaking cyst with the absence of any bacteria in urine or evidence of infection. This disease is very prevalent in humans as well. I know this because it's in my family and I am coordinator for the Stockton, CA chapter of the PKD Foundation. As far as kidney problems in cats go, it's worth thinking about. It is usually diagnosed with a simple ultra sound on the kidneys.

~Amy
 

purrpaws

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

The blood in the urine can be from infection, from the bladder being irritated by crystals, from cystitis and from ??that I may not be thinking of.
The only other thing I can think of is anatomic abnormalities, but if the cat is 12 years old, any anatomic abnormalities would probably be discovered.

Originally Posted by Lndscpsam

Your kitty's problem sounds just like what my Sluggo is going through right now. My vet usually prescribes Baytril to treat it. He has the blood in his urine, drinks alot, has a very concentrated urine too. Your symptoms sound like mine. My vet is having me try Cosequin for a few days to see if that helps. I guess sometimes cats can have a weak/thin lining inside their bladder that can break down and make them bleed. Supposedly this Cosequin, which is actually glucosomine for cats, helps to heal this and rather quickly I'm told. Sluggo has only been on it for 2 days now and I haven't noticed a difference yet. I'm putting him back on Baytril come Saturday if I don't see any changes. I wish you well with this. It's such a problem for so many cat owners!
This sounds like cystitis to me. Cosaquin is a standard treatment for cats with cystitis. They are missing some of the cells that line the bladder and protect it from the irritants found in urine. The cosaquin is thought (but not proven) to help rebuild the bladder wall. It may take awhile to see the changes. My cat also has cystitis as well as a couple other people on here that I know of (gailuvscats and Sar come to mind). You can PM us or start a thread of whatever if you want more information about what kinds of treatments our cats are on and stuff like that.

P.S. I just figured out how multiquote works!
 
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chloe12.5

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Thank you for your post. My Chloe is just a domestic cat...black and white med hair. How would I know if she had a ruptured or leaking cyst? What does an ultrasound show? I did bloodwork and they read some of her levels. Is an ultrasound more accurate? Thank you!
 

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Blood work can't diagnose PKD. All it can do is determine if there is kidney damage. An ultra sound is very straight forward. It will basically show if there is the presence of cysts. If there is more than 2 or 3 cysts (in an adult cat) the chances are, PKD is the cause. Talk to your vet. They should be able to tell you if genetically there is a cause. Also, you can try checking out www.felinepkd.com. Good luck to you and your baby.

~Amy
 

lndscpsam

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This sounds like cystitis to me. Cosaquin is a standard treatment for cats with cystitis. They are missing some of the cells that line the bladder and protect it from the irritants found in urine. The cosaquin is thought (but not proven) to help rebuild the bladder wall. It may take awhile to see the changes. My cat also has cystitis as well as a couple other people on here that I know of (gailuvscats and Sar come to mind). You can PM us or start a thread of whatever if you want more information about what kinds of treatments our cats are on and stuff like that.

P.S. I just figured out how multiquote works![/quote]


Yes, that is what my vet called it! And that is why the Cosequin. Even though my vet thinks Sluggo has this problem, she also thinks it's possible he has a secondary infection, so we've put Sluggo on two weeks of Baytril to clear him up. Then I'll continue with the Cosequin and see how that does.
 
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chloe12.5

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Thank you both. Think I will be calling the vet tomorrow.
 

purrpaws

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Originally Posted by Lndscpsam

Yes, that is what my vet called it! And that is why the Cosequin. Even though my vet thinks Sluggo has this problem, she also thinks it's possible he has a secondary infection, so we've put Sluggo on two weeks of Baytril to clear him up. Then I'll continue with the Cosequin and see how that does.
Cystitis is usually diagnosed by eliminating other problems. It can only be definitely diagnosed with a biopsy. I could definitely see how cats with cystitis would be more prone to a secondary infection since there's chronic inflammation.

Hope you feel better soon Sluggo!
 
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