What would you do? Vets can't find a problem

Hi there! I am hoping to get some insight on a very frustrating situation with one of my 2 cats. I have a 2 year old tabby boy who about ever 2-3 months has symptoms that no vet has been able to diagnose. It starts off with him rolling around a lot, almost seeming to get comfortable. He starts a howling and crying like meow that lasts for about 5-7 days. He also walks differently--low to the ground and kicks his back legs out. He seems to be restless during this time. He also will rub his chin on EVERYTHING he can and generally seems more needy. He eats about the same as usual. He's on Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry and Wellness grain free canned.

The first time this happened I took him to the vet who thought he may have a problem pooping although he didn't "seem" backed up. She did an x-ray and sure enough the little guy was completely backed up. She did an enema and all better. She also suggested I give a small bit of pumpkin to help him along. The next 4 or 5 times it happened, an enema seemed to do the trick. Then the vet did another x-ray and he was not backed up. Stool sample and urine analysis came back normal too. At this point, the vet suggested I was just misinterpreting his symptoms. She also said the food he's on wasn't worth it, and that Science Diet is good enough.

So the next flare up, I took him to see another vet and recorded his behavior at home to show the vet. That vet seemed to think it was a urine problem. But the urine analysis and blood work again came back normal. The vet said that is sometimes possible and suggested we start a UTI diet (royal canine). By the time we got the prescription diet, "whatever" had passed.

I'm uncomfortable giving him a UTI diet without KNOWING that he has UTI problems. It's so frustrating not knowing what is going on with him, because I can't help him. I've also racked up a pretty penny in vet bills because every time it happens I take him to the vet. I'm so scared something will go wrong, but, the vet has been of no use.

So what would you do? Does this sound familiar to anyone? Anything else I should be looking out for? Should I go ahead with the Royal Canine?

was this cat $exed right!?! sounds like a female in heat.
I would look into hormone testing if this is for sure a boy cat also look into if its both $exes

Originally Posted by catsallaround

was this cat $exed right!?! sounds like a female in heat.
I would look into hormone testing if this is for sure a boy cat also look into if its both $exes

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Pardon as I read fast ... have you done blood work?

What does the cat eat?

Originally Posted by catsallaround

was this cat $exed right!?! sounds like a female in heat.
I would look into hormone testing if this is for sure a boy cat also look into if its both $exes

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You know, when I first got him from the shelter they told me he was a girl. When I took him to the vet they said he was a boy. I will certainly look into that! Thank you.

Originally Posted by sharky

Pardon as I read fast ... have you done blood work?

What does the cat eat?

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Yes both vets did blood work which came back "normal". I feel irresponsible for not learning what "normal" meant to my vet. I've moved to a different state since then but my vet should be able to send me all his lab results and x-rays for me to give to the new vet right?

He eats BB Wilderness dry and Wellness grain free wet. He usually gets dry in the AM and wet in the evening.

During these periods, I also notice he/she poops and pees outside the litter box, maybe about once a day.

It definitely sounds like a female in heat. Did you have "him" neutered? If so, how old was he when he was neutered? Where did you get him, and how old was he when you got him?

If he really is a he, I'd have him tested to see if he has some hormonal imbalance. There are diseases that can cause gender issues.

During this time do you see any new cats hanging around`/smell any male cat pee around house?

Does that matter much?

Originally Posted by petlover3074

Does that matter much?

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Does what matter much? Do you mean the post above yours? If so, yes, that matters because if it is a female in heat or a male with a hormonal problem, that will attract tomcats and they'll spray all over the outside of the house. Could be a good clue.

Originally Posted by Willowy

It definitely sounds like a female in heat. Did you have "him" neutered? If so, how old was he when he was neutered? Where did you get him, and how old was he when you got him?

If he really is a he, I'd have him tested to see if he has some hormonal imbalance. There are diseases that can cause gender issues.

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I got him from a humane society when he was about 6 months old. I started out fostering when he had a kitty cold and the rest was history. At his first vet appt., the doctor said he was already neutered! The vet said the other cat we adopted was also a boy and had not been neutered so THANKFULLY we had him neutered. We could have found this news out a very different way!

Originally Posted by catsallaround

During this time do you see any new cats hanging around`/smell any male cat pee around house?

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A neighbor has a few outdoor cats that my cats watch. In my old place, yes the peeing was bad because Jacky would pee somewhere and then Nicky would pee there too. His "sickness" just happened for the first time in our new house and someone peed or sprayed in a spare room. I attributed it to his sickness or his brother.


Thank you all for the insightful replies! I really do think my boy is a girl!! LOL I spent the rest of the night googling images of cat genitalia and I definitely see a difference between my two cats. I'm now convinced Jackson is a girl. I moved about a month ago and thought I would have more time to research vets in my area to find one I liked. But tomorrow I want to take shim to a vet to get a verdict on gender. I hope this will provide a resolution!

I feel bad for not getting her spayed sooner if this is the case. I'm also pissed my vet let me down. I can understand a mistake maybe early on with the gender when he was still young but she saw him for nearly 2 years. Seems like at some point the licensed doctor would have caught it? I put Jacky through so much unnecessary stress and procedures. Not to mention the $$.

Oh hun its not your fault you did the right things-got the one fixed and brought this one in for vet care

If this turns out to be the case I would call the other dr up and consider complaining to the board. stuff happens but this should have been caught alot sooner by them. you description was so a give away.

The cats may have sprayed as they realized she was about to go into heat.

Was this cat ever put under for anything? or sedated for testing? as I would really be flipping on vet if they had a REAL good chance for a good look.

If this is the case when she gets spayed I would be sure to tell them shes been cycling for this long.

Good luck and remember you did everything right

also interesting point in your post was the enema helping. Breeders will sometimes bring cats out of heat by inserting something in v@gina have seen few other things(i am not writing to say this is good or bad just things I have seen on forums/blogs....) also the other thing they do is use a neutered male whos still looking or a male with the same thing they do to humans(cut cords but not remove testicles so the $ex drive is there just no pregnancys)

This would explain why the cat got "better" it would have been going into a false pregnancy (Normal term for cats being about 9/10 weeks)

Having no experience with anything resembling your kitty's symptoms, I have nothing by way of advice to offer, 2coolCats. I am avidly watching this thread to see where it goes, though, as my very first thought was, "that sure sounds like a female in heat" followed almost immediately by, "don't be silly, the cat's been sexed and it's a boy"!

I do want to add to what Catsallaround said... if Jackson turns out to be a Jackie, it's totally not something you should carry any guilt for. Sexing a cat should be elementary for a vet. *shakes head in amazement* And you are following up on this "unusual" behavior quite persistently - so you have done and are doing everything you should be as an ethical, caring owner.

Hope everything turns out well!

AC

This post is riveting; I hope you'll keep us posted on what's happening!

I don't understand how the vets wouldn't have noticed that if they were poking around that area . But you never know though. My old cat's vet constantly referred to her as "he", even though she'd seen her numerous times. Not to mention her hot pink collar .

I would HOPE that any vet could tell a male cat from a female cat. I mean, I had some baby kittens I couldn't sex right away, their markings kind of looked like small testicles, but now that they're older I can clearly see they're all female.

But since it's such an easy fix, I do hope that's the problem. Better than a hormonal imbalance or whatever.

Wow! This thread is very intriguing!!! I certainly hope its that they mis-$exed your cat! Please keep us updated!!!

Hi all! Thank you so much for the well wishes! This has been a stressful time but I feel hopeful that we are close to finding out what's going on with Jack-son/oline :-)

Over the weekend we took him to two different vets. The vet techs immediately said "oh that's a girl", then when the vet looked, he thought it was a boy. Another vet said they had a kitty who was a little bit of both in just a few weeks ago and wanted to do testing. Tomorrow we are taking him in for hormone testing. The vet wants to test the levels of testosterone. They could also do a surgery to see what he has down there, and if he is in fact a female, they could spay her in the same surgery. That seems like the better option to me.

If he is a little of both that'll make me feel a little less jipped by my previous vet.

Once we have more news I will certainly update you all! I've learned so much from this site and really appreciate everyone's kindness!