Urinary / bladder issue...

Hey everyone... it's been a long time since I've posted but I'm having some issues with one of our newer additions...

A little over a year ago, we added 2 new kitties to our home (they started as ferals, there was a thread on here somewhere)

Recently, I noticed that Penelope, my female tuxie who is about 1 1/2 years old, was having trouble urinating and was squatting outside of the litterbox (in piles of laundry, the bathroom mat, etc.)

I brought her to the vet on Wednesday and he checked her out and took a urine sample. He said she looked fine and her urine was clear and he did not see anything in it but was sending it to the lab to make sure. He told us she had acute sterile cystitis which was just an inflammation of the bladder that could result from stress, diet or other environmental changes and sent us home with some herbal drops to give her 3x a day for 2 weeks and that it should clear up with no problem.

I called the vet yesterday (Thursday) for the urinalysis results and they said everything was fine and to just check in in about a week.

Well, tonight I was studying and noticed her squatting in one of her cubes and when I went to go clean it saw blood Then I saw more blood on the bathroom floor where she must have squatted prior... I cleaned both litterboxes just to make sure and as I was doing it she was going in and out to try and urinate and only a small drop was coming out...

I am very upset right now, what could this be that the vet didn't catch?? The vet is open at 9am tomorrow and I am planning on calling and going to take her in or pick up antibiotics, whatever I have to do...

I would take her to an emergency vet tonight, but we really don't have the money and work with our vet through the safety net program. Do you think it is ok to wait until morning?? If it is dire, I would just go tonight regardless of my financial situation..

Just some background info: We have a petmate fountain which they all drink from, I feed them Nutro Max Cat chicken dry and have recently started adding wet food to their diet again (I had stopped b/c they weren't really eating it more like wasting it but when I noticed the problems she was having and did some online research figured this would be a good reason to start again), we have 2 booda dome w/steps litterboxes and there are 3 cats in the house (2 females, one male)

She has never had any health problems aside from ear mites last year (leftover from when they were feral)

Sorry for such the long post, but I am pretty panicked considering we were just at the vet and he said all was ok... I'm hoping I just caught it early and maybe the infection hadn't developed when we brought her in but that does not seem like the logical answer...

Thanks for any feedback, info and support.

I would call the er clinic ... and tell them what you told us ... If they are honest they will give you a fair assesment of tonight or tomarrow ...

If they got a urine sample thru a needle stick into the bladder, that can cause some bleeding after the stick. But I would not assume that and would call the ER vet for advice tonight.

Inflamation of the bladder is tricky at best. It can lead to crystals and ultimately blockages. Long term you should strongly consider switching over to entirely wet food, and if her PH is off, a prescription diet. For your sake I hope this is not chronic.

I don't think they used a needle... It looked like he massaged her bladder and had a tube to catch the urine... The drops he gave us are called Akutur, which I researched a little online and it is a homeopathic remedy which is supposed to be a fast and powerful therapy for acute and chronic urological infections. It is supposed to eliminate even the toughest urinary tract infections within a few days..

Herbal drops?
I personally wouldn't go to the same vet after the way he dismissed your kitty - IMHO, giving her herbal drops and sending her on her way is dismissing. To say that the tests were ok? I mean... the cat is bleeding and can't urinate... Hello?
Your cat needs antibiotics... and a better vet (sorry, but really??) So, if you go there, make sure to personally get the results for the test, see if there are crystals, what type, what type of bacteria, and get antibiotics, NOT herbal droppings.
And if he says she is ok, fire him and go to another vet. Do not take his word when your baby is going through that...
Just my opinion, for what is worth....

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Herbal drops?
I personally wouldn't go to the same vet after the way he dismissed your kitty - IMHO, giving her herbal drops and sending her on her way is dismissing. To say that the tests were ok? I mean... the cat is bleeding and can't urinate... Hello?
Your cat needs antibiotics... and a better vet (sorry, but really??) So, if you go there, make sure to personally get the results for the test, see if there are crystals, what type, what type of bacteria, and get antibiotics, NOT herbal droppings.
And if he says she is ok, fire him and go to another vet. Do not take his word when your baby is going through that...
Just my opinion, for what is worth....

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Carolinalima, I appreciate your input greatly. When we initially went to the vet, there had been NO blood in her urine, we saw the sample and it was clear, not cloudy and he looked at it under the microscope but sent it to the lab and it came back negative... now 2 days later there is. I agree with you though, I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't have picked up whatever the infection may have been when he got the results back yesterday.

I plan on calling him first thing tomorrow morning and going into the office for a visit, even if it is for peace of mind. She was really stressed about the whole vet experience and maybe that influenced the increased symptoms and made the acute cystitis go from that to something more serious BUT, I am NOT a vet and he should be the one to tell us that.

Again, thank you all for your input. Penelope and I greatly appreciate it

(Keep in mind, I live in NY and when I say tomorrow morning I really mean today, it's 3:15 am here)

Originally Posted by Roxie225

Carolinalima, I appreciate your input greatly. When we initially went to the vet, there had been NO blood in her urine, we saw the sample and it was clear, not cloudy and he looked at it under the microscope but sent it to the lab and it came back negative... now 2 days later there is. I agree with you though, I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't have picked up whatever the infection may have been when he got the results back yesterday.

I plan on calling him first thing tomorrow morning and going into the office for a visit, even if it is for peace of mind. She was really stressed about the whole vet experience and maybe that influenced the increased symptoms and made the acute cystitis go from that to something more serious BUT, I am NOT a vet and he should be the one to tell us that.

Again, thank you all for your input. Penelope and I greatly appreciate it

(Keep in mind, I live in NY and when I say tomorrow morning I really mean today, it's 3:15 am here)

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Oh, ok...
If she was presenting symptoms though, and it escalated to this point, she did have the infection already... Which is why you took her to the vet... He should have caught it. And it probably got worst because they do get worst without treatment (antibiotics).
I have a problem with UTIs because I personally used to have them somewhat often when I was younger, and... all I can tell you is that it HURTS. When you get to the point of bleeding, to which you get there quickly, the pain is so excruciating you want to tear down the walls. I remember having one of them in the middle of the night in a business trip in Chicago, and I wanted to Call Jesus to take me home
So, anyways, that is why I did tell you to not take a no for an answer - If your vet is dismissive, just take her elsewhere - with her symptoms and the bleeding, there is really very little to no chance that she doesn't have an UTI...
The good news is...... ta-da! The same way the pain comes in fast, it goes away fast - so once your girl starts treatment she should start getting better in no time.

I'm really hoping all she needs is some antibiotics and it is nothing more serious.

I too suffer from UTI's and know how painful they are. When I first noticed her behavior, I mentioned it to my bf and he kinda shrugged it off.. Boy did I let him have it b/c I felt so bad for her, I felt her pain literally! LOL...

9 am can't come soon enough for me... I am having a difficult time trying to sleep obviously as I am so worried. Cross your fingers and keep us in your thoughts.

I will keep everyone updated.

Originally Posted by Roxie225

I'm really hoping all she needs is some antibiotics and it is nothing more serious.

I too suffer from UTI's and know how painful they are. When I first noticed her behavior, I mentioned it to my bf and he kinda shrugged it off.. Boy did I let him have it b/c I felt so bad for her, I felt her pain literally! LOL...

9 am can't come soon enough for me... I am having a difficult time trying to sleep obviously as I am so worried. Cross your fingers and keep us in your thoughts.

I will keep everyone updated.

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Will be sending you lots of vibes
Please do keep us updated tomorrow More vibes

Have you made an appointment already this morning? Let us know how it goes.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of docs that don't believe/do anything unless they have a test in front of them to tell them whats wrong. Never mind obvious symptoms that something is not right...
The good thing here is that you knew and were being vigilant!

Originally Posted by carolinalima

...If she was presenting symptoms though, and it escalated to this point, she did have the infection already... Which is why you took her to the vet... He should have caught it. And it probably got worst because they do get worst without treatment (antibiotics)

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I am also puzzled by the vet's course of action. If he thought something was "off" enough to address, why didn't he address it with antibiotics? Your cat's symptoms are classic UTI behaviors and, like Carolinalima said, those things get bad real fast. Throwing an "herbal" remedy at it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Please let us know how today's visit goes!

(And that's good that you're going to increase how much wet food you're feeding. If you can get rid of the dry altogether, even better!)

I'm with the others. The symptoms she is showing clearly say something is wrong. whether it is bacterial or crystals or both she needs treatment and possible prescription diet (if she is forming crystals) I'd start shopping around for a new vet.

I have two FLUTD kitties. When they have a problem my vet gives me a couple doses of pain medication to help them cope while the antibiotics go to work.

Be sure to keep us updated on Penelope!

I was thinking that your cat could possibly be developing crystals or might have an infection when I read your post. Of course, only a vet that exams your cat can tell you for sure.

Sweetie had some problems with crystals before I adopted him. One of the things the vet did when he was having problems was to radiograph his bladder. Maybe this is something you can ask your vet about.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the problem isn't too serious. Please update us.

My boy recently had some bladder issues and was diagnosed with struvite crystals during his follow up visit (during the Evet visit, he had an empty bladder so couldn't get a sample). I don't get the deal about herbal drops rather than initiating treatment with an antibiotic, though. Even if your vet is very holistic, presumably they also practice conventional methods when called for. If your vet for some reason simply won't go with meds, without some damn good reasons, I'd honestly get myself to the nearest vet for a second opinion asap.

My boy got a pain killer, a course of Baytril, and, on my follow up visit with my regular vet post-Baytril, we're using prescription foods for at least a while. So far, pretty darn good as far as peeing, - his poo has been soft, probably due to diet change.

Good luck

Hey all! Thanks for all the posts and great insight!

I called the vet this am as SOON as they opened and he said that her urine results had come back clear, no cystals or any infection forming. He is sure she has acute cystitis (which when you research online is inflammation of the bladder with an unknown cause, most likely stress or diet).

He didn't even see her, he wanted me to go and pickup the antibiotics and start them asap. I have to say, I'm not 100% certain but I gave her one dose so far (along with the homeopathic drops b/c the vet said to keep them going they help with pain as well) and she seems MUCH happier!!

For now, I have her isolated in our spare room with food, water and 2 litterboxes. This way the other cats don't stress her any more than I'm sure she already is. But the good news is, she hasn't been running to the litterbox as frequently and has been holding her tail up high -- I think she is starting to feel better already.

On a side note, our vet really is a great vet -- He is not holistic, he gave us the drops b/c cystitis really doesn't have a cure, it was supposed to ease her pain. He felt really badly this morning and said if she doesn't seem better within a day or so, that we will have to come in for more tests.

I'm crossing my fingers that the antibiotic is the kicker and we won't have to be worried about something more serious.

Thanks again for everything, it was a real comfort to be able to come on here and have everyones help and support

my cat, momo had the same problem i woke up one day and i freaked when i saw drops of blood in the litter box .. rushed to the vet got the tests done and it was all clear.
then i remembered someone telling me that sometimes giving your cat too much dry food can cause this .. it had happened to thier cat as well . so i immediately took momo off the dry food started giving her fresh boiled chicken with a little bit of boiled rice and she got fine no blood in the urine any more i learnt my lesson well i just keep the dry food as a teat once in a while.
i hope your cat gets better soon.

Originally Posted by saraanis

my cat, momo had the same problem i woke up one day and i freaked when i saw drops of blood in the litter box .. rushed to the vet got the tests done and it was all clear.
then i remembered someone telling me that sometimes giving your cat too much dry food can cause this .. it had happened to thier cat as well . so i immediately took momo off the dry food started giving her fresh boiled chicken with a little bit of boiled rice and she got fine no blood in the urine any more

i learnt my lesson well i just keep the dry food as a teat once in a while.
i hope your cat gets better soon.

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That is good advice about the dry food. But I wasn't clear on something, you aren't just feeding your kitty chicken and rice every day, right? You've switched to a canned food? Because plain chicken and rice does not give her all the nutrients she needs to be healthy. It's okay for a day or two, but not as a regular diet.

yes i give canned food as well but i give mostly fresh food chicken fish occasional vegetables as well
but dry food is just as a treat especially after what happened im extra careful about it no matter what top brand they might be i just dont want to risk my cats health at any cost

Saraanis, I can understand if you've decided to feed your cat home-prepared foods rather than commercial, however, the menu you've outlined is very, very incomplete. Cats need organs and bone in addition to meat, and feeding only one meat can (and likely will), lead to an imbalance in nutrients. Taurine, for instance, is present in very low quantities in breast meat, while Niacin is pretty high. In addition, cats have no biological need for grains, veggies or fruit (nor can they properly digest them), and fish is better as a once a week treat than as a main staple of the diet.

Finally, cooking removes/destroys many nutrients (this is why the pet food companies must add so many synthetic vitamins and minerals). Are you giving her any supplements?

It's admirable that you're taking control of your cat's diet, Saraanis! Can you pop over to the Raw fed forum so we can talk about specifics, or create your own thread in the Nutrition forum?

Originally Posted by saraanis

yes i give canned food as well but i give mostly fresh food chicken fish occasional vegetables as well

but dry food is just as a treat especially after what happened im extra careful about it no matter what top brand they might be i just dont want to risk my cats health at any cost

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This is not a healthy diet for your cat. Cats have need of certain things such as taurine, which is very important to their eye health. Lack of taurine causes lesions on the eye, and ultimately blindness (and possibly removal of the eye) Cats do not manufacture their own taurine and must get enough, somehow, daily, in their diet. Commercially prepared foods add it, homemade diets must add supplements, or a certain amount of organ meats, daily.

Fish should not ever be given to a cat prone to crystal formation.

(sorry to go off topic)