Cat in litter box for long time, meowing a lot

I'm really worried about my cat. I got back from class at about 12 today and ever since I got back, my cat (about a year old) has been either sitting in the litter box for extended periods of time, or walking around sort of strangely and meowing a good bit. He hardly ever meows and is never in the litter box for more than a minute or two. Any ideas of what could be the matter with him? Only thing I can think of is that it got really cold here last night and the bathroom where I keep him at night got down to maybe 50 or so, could that have caused some of this behavior? could he just be constipated or something maybe? Thanks so much for any help.

Please don't wait! Get him to a vet now! He could have either a urinary tract infection, or crystals in his urine which can be life threatening!

You're right, that's a symptom of something amiss. It could be a bowel issue, or a urinary one. You should take the cat to the vet right away.

It sounds like a urinary infection. He might have crystals, that can be very painful and if he's not urinating enough you may need to take him to the Vet as soon as possible. Good luck. Keep us updated.

Call the vet.
Sounds like he has crystals or a uti.
I have a cat that has had bladder problems on and off for 2 years.
Males can block up if he dosent see a vet.

Vet - ASAP. He could well block up, & I have seen several cats die from blockages.

thanks so much for your help! I called my vet and after telling her the symptoms, she told me to bring him in right away. I did, she gave him some fluids under his skin, and some antibiotics, she also suggested feeding him different food (I was using generic Food Lion food, now I feel bad. Anyways, he appears to be feeling much better, he LOVES his new food, gave him some fresh water and fresh kitty litter and he's good to go. He's already urinated like 3 times since we got home (i guess he REALLY had to go). She gave me some antibiotics to give him, but other than that, he's fine!

Thanks again!

Great news!! Many that he continues to do well.

So, was it an UTI?

Originally Posted by ThirstyTurtle

thanks so much for your help! I called my vet and after telling her the symptoms, she told me to bring him in right away. I did, she gave him some fluids under his skin, and some antibiotics, she also suggested feeding him different food (I was using generic Food Lion food, now I feel like an asshole:0( ). Anyways, he appears to be feeling much better, he LOVES his new food, gave him some fresh water and fresh kitty litter and he's good to go. He's already urinated like 3 times since we got home (i guess he REALLY had to go). She gave me some antibiotics to give him, but other than that, he's fine!

Thanks again!

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Sounds like a UTI to me. My cat was getting this like every 2 weeks on the clock, it stopped as soon as I switched her to all wet food. You need to keep the fluids flowing through the cat. All wet food and I even add water to her food. since I started doing this last year, no more uti's.