Question about UTI?

Frequently trying to pee - straining in the litter box.

Really small pees.. example kitty normally does a golf ball does a quarter pee

The ones mentioned above, and also peeing outside of the litterbox.... Blood in the pee, jumping in and out of the litter box...
If he jumps into the litterbox, make sure he pees... Vising the litterbox with no pee = trouble (unless he is there to poop, of course).

Here's a link to an article about it:
http://ecatbehaviors.blogspot.com/20...me-remedy.html

Basically they are:
Straining in the litter box
Going frequently, with small or nothing pees
Blood in urine
Going outside the box
Crying while trying to pee

Please go see your vet--especially if you have a boy kitty. Male cats have smaller urethras which can become blocked with crystals. If that happens, it's an extreme emergency. And keep us posted, OK? My girl, Sophie, had been battling cystitis for 6 months, but now she's symptom-free and doing great. I'd be happy to share with you what we're doing. But it all depends on what the vet says your kitty's problem is, OK? Keep in touch.

Some not mentioned yet:

Licking genitals excessively
Changed behaviour in litter box (in addition to going often it might be avoidance or a lot of rummaging, spraying etc)
Changed behaviour otherwise (not playing for a kitten would be something of note)
Lethargy

My boy would not cry at first, he would just sit in the box and huff and huff, and I thought he was trying to poop instead of pee. His tail would swish and twitter and his butt would go up and down.

Please take your kitty to vet for any weirdness in litter box or if you suspect bladder issues for any reason. It's nothing to play around with.

Have either of the vets done urine cultures and blood work?

As a layman, the biggest concern from your description to me would be the drinking of tons of water. I think it would def warrant some blood work to be done to make sure everything is Ok. Excessive drinking can be a symptom of many things, not only UTI, and the most common and dangerous causes would come up in blood panel. It's hard for vets to judge when owner says a cat drinks "a lot". One of mine drinks tons more than my others but he is perfectly healthy, and does not pee excessively. He just drinks more. However, he also has had his blood checked and I can rest in peace.

I assume with the hard to clean pee you mean that with same litter this does not happen with your other cats? It's kind of curious but maybe he digs a deeper hole, so he is closer to bottom to start with?Or maybe his pee is chemically slightly different and burns thru the particular litter different than your other cats'. I would not think it's necessary anything but an oddity.

His litter box antics could indicate a problem - or on another hand just be that: Litter box antics. Some cats are fussy eaters, some are fussy pee'ers. I think it's very common, and unless something has recently changed, I would not think your cat is particularly fussy. I've seen some pretty weird toilet-going myself and it had nothing to do with being sick...

Personally, I always try to get my cats checked if I worry - even if I feel it might be "just me" worrying. It's worth to get the reassurance. If I feel the vet is not taking me seriously, I ask another one.

When Wessie had his problem, he was just going more often, and not making much pee. He didn't have any of the other symptoms. Vibes for Midnight.