cat peeing blood -- vets stumped

My cat doopy has been peeing blood for more than a month--lots of it. She has had several ultrasounds, a contrast x-ray, and a cystoscopy, plus tons of blood, urine workups. There are masses on her kidneys, but there is no blood supply to them, so they are probably not cancerous; there is some abnormality in her bladder, but they have no idea what it is; biopsies from her kidneys and bladder have all come back inconclusive, due to small size of samples. Her blood and urine always test normal, and her hematocrit level (for anemia) is about one point below normal. she is on an iron supplement.

Her most recent tests were done at a veterinary teaching hospital, and they're stumped as to what's going on with her, and recommend exploratory surgery. She's 11 years old; my regular vet is hesitant at putting her through this, esp. since no one has any idea what it is--and it being a teaching hospital, they're always amped up to do surgery. AT the same time, it's the only next step. (oral steroids did not work--the only thing that stopped the bleeding was a post-surgery dose of meloximin, which has too many risks to give her on a regular basis)

The blood is really alarming--her urine (she pees in a box with no litter in it) is dark red--there seems to be as much blood as urine. She herself seems to feel ok much of the time (eats, wants to go outside sometimes), but she has bad days.

My main question: has anyone ever experienced this kind of chronic bleeding with your cat?
and/or have people had luck with exploratory abdominal surgery?

(sorry to go on so long but it's a complex situation and I wanted to give all the info I have)

Thanks--

I wish I could offer some helpful advice. All I can do is send vibes and prayers.

I don't have any advice but I'm sending some mighty big vibes.

That sounds like a nightmare. I guess I'd look at it this way - have you exhausted all other options you can think of? If so, I'd go for the surgery.

For what its worth, I had kind of the same problem when I was much younger. Everytime I was very active I'd have bloody urine, (playing tennis, etc.). Most all the other times I was fine, nothing, everything was clear, again when I'd be very very active it would start again. Then stop I only knew I had this when I was very active. All tests were negative. Xrays all negative. The doctor said he'd have to see me while I was bleeding to find out where it was coming from, I finally did, we had to call the doctor to rush to his office to take a look with a scope. He found out what kidney it came from but didn't see the cause, I had to go in for an exploratory, it was a kidney stone that didn't show up on xrays and I guess it was in a spot that was hidden. I hope you find the cause, good luck and Prayers and for doopy.

I had a 12 year old 25lb cat that his started happening to and I took him to two different vets. Nobody could figure out what was wrong with him. All the vets kept telling me is that it was possibly a UTI. Anyway after going through this for some time we finallly found out he was going through slow kidney failure. The vet said we could prolong his life for maybe a year by giving him IV fluids everyday, but I couldnt put him through that and make the last of his life misarable. As much as it killed me I had to put him down. This was last year and to this day I miss him like crazy he was my first baby.
I hope this is not the case with your kitty and they find what is causing it. I myself wouldnt not opt for surgery at a vet school, I would be to worried.
Good Luck. I hope it works out.

Thanks for the replies and good vibes.

Bobbee: I'm so sorry you had to put your cat down. How did you find out he had slow kidney failure? Did the levels just gradually drop?

As for Doopy: The specialist (internist) I've seen is currently treating her condition as bladder inflammation of unclear/unknown cause; he does not recommend exploratory surgery. He's put her on Elmiron and Amitryptiline, and she seems to be showing some improvement -- there is a bit less blood in her urine and most of the time she is acting very much herself--sleeping on the bed instead of hiding in a closet, wanting to go outside, etc, even playing.

It's just been about a week. I will update after she's had more time on these meds--maybe her experience will be helpful to anyone else with mysterious feline bladder issues.

Thanks again.

Hello there

I have been experiencing the same problem now for some time, my 14 yr old cat has had urinary tract infection symptoms on and off for the last 2 years. She has been given all types of antibiotics which helped at the time but the same problem kept coming back worse each time and resulting in blood in her urine. This occurs now most of the time. An ultra sound was performed and it was found she had a thickening of her illium and polyps in her bladder. No one can do a biopsy to confirm if it's cancerous but lesions in the liver seem to confirm it maybe. Anyway the polyps in her bladder are causing the bleeding, I have been advised that there has not been very good results on medications to help this issue however she is currently on a steroid to aid in stimulating her appetite and a antidepressant called endep as an anitinflammitory. It seems to be working. I am also giving her CoQ10 and cranberry capsules to also provide additional antiinflamitory and antibacterial defences. So far so good. I believe I am providing palliative care now though, as long as she is not peeing blood and having pain in going to the toilet it's the best I can hope for.

I hope this may help you

Hi, so glad that you have all posted your experiences

I have been having the same problem with my now 16yo boy and it has been on and off for a couple of years. He is going to the toilet frequently and peeing small amounts of blood. He has recently got extremely fussy with food (he used to be a four legged insinkerator) and now barely eats.

We have done all manner of blood tests, xrays, ultra sounds, given antibiotics, anti-inflamatories, tried msm ... Julsug, I will ask my vet about the steroids to get him eating, and endep as well.

I also feel that I am currently providing palliative care. He spends most of the day sleeping now. He purrs rapturously when i go an hang out with him. He is my *everything*; I just don't want to put him through any more stress and poking and prodding and if it comes down to it, I'll have him put down. The vet is pretty good, she will come here so I don't have to put him through a trip over to the surgery.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone.

xoxox

My Bonaparte was peeing blood in January and had several procedures including having a catheter fitted to try to flush his system out. Eventually his pee was more blood than urine and he was doing it all over the kitchen floor one evening. I rushed him in and he had surgery that found several large stones in his bladder, that hadn't shown up before. Since then he has been absolutely normal. It is such a scary thing to see, and even more when they can't find the cause. Many vibes that you get it sorted successfully.

GeraldineC said:

Hi, so glad that you have all posted your experiences

I have been having the same problem with my now 16yo boy and it has been on and off for a couple of years. He is going to the toilet frequently and peeing small amounts of blood. He has recently got extremely fussy with food (he used to be a four legged insinkerator) and now barely eats.

We have done all manner of blood tests, xrays, ultra sounds, given antibiotics, anti-inflamatories, tried msm ... Julsug, I will ask my vet about the steroids to get him eating, and endep as well.

I also feel that I am currently providing palliative care. He spends most of the day sleeping now. He purrs rapturously when i go an hang out with him. He is my *everything*; I just don't want to put him through any more stress and poking and prodding and if it comes down to it, I'll have him put down. The vet is pretty good, she will come here so I don't have to put him through a trip over to the surgery.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone.

xoxox

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this is going to sound like a stupid and redundant question.... Sorry about that.... But you have tested your boy for crystals, right? The fact that he is going to the pan frequently and peeing small amounts is allarming (not that the other cases aren't) to me.... This sounds to me like your boy can be now dealing with a blockage.... I understand he has been dealing with inflammation for a very long time, but this recent change of symptoms are not to be dismissed.... A Blockage can be lethal.... Let alone excruciatingly painful.... Please take your kitty to the vet asap....

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. It's defintiely not stones, we have checked and checked him over the years. Kidney failure is more of a likelihood for us right now.

I have one small bit of info though that may help others ... My vet suggested Periactin tablets to stimulate his appetite and it worked! He's now eating and drinking again (though we are still moving to the inevitble). Periactin are an over the counter (here in Australia) anti-hystamine (for humans); they are a 4mg cyproheptadine hydrochloride; here is Oz they sell for about $5 for a pack of 100. Anyway, the vet said give him half a tab once a day and it has worked well; he is eating a drinking well. Hopefully this will help someone somewhere

xoxox

GeraldineC said:

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. It's defintiely not stones, we have checked and checked him over the years. Kidney failure is more of a likelihood for us right now.

I have one small bit of info though that may help others ... My vet suggested Periactin tablets to stimulate his appetite and it worked! He's now eating and drinking again (though we are still moving to the inevitble). Periactin are an over the counter (here in Australia) anti-hystamine (for humans); they are a 4mg cyproheptadine hydrochloride; here is Oz they sell for about $5 for a pack of 100. Anyway, the vet said give him half a tab once a day and it has worked well; he is eating a drinking well. Hopefully this will help someone somewhere

xoxox

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Hi Geraldine -
Sorry to bug you with this.... I don't mean stones.... I mean Crystals - it is different. I mean Crystals as in Struvite Crystals. The reason why I am concerned is this:

He is going to the toilet frequently and peeing small amounts of blood. He has recently got extremely fussy with food (he used to be a four legged insinkerator) and now barely eats.

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If this is a recent development, please, please have his urine tested for crystals - it doesn't matter what was done before.... The fact that he is going frequently and not able to pass urine as he should means he could have developed a blockage - that is different than kidney stones - we are talking about the urinary tract here.... This might be related, but might be totally unrelated to what he has had in the past....
All the best to your little one and to you too
(sorry I am being a pain )

Hi, no problem, I understand, but yes, we have had his urine tested for crystals .... many times over the years ... that has always been done, and nothing. As i said, we have run many tests ... he falls into a category of idopathic cystitis ... basically, unknown causes ... some of the other owners above will know about this as well.

thanks

Good morning and I''m sorry you and your cat are having to go through this.  I had a wonderful girl a few years ago who finally died at twenty.  The last year or so, she had something my vet called Feline Urinary Syndrome.  She lost blood when she urinated.  It may not have been as much as you're indicating, but it was pretty bad.  At that point, she was also suffering from kidney failure and asthma, so that was not the biggest problem she had.  My vet, who I think is very good, said that he would not advise doing anything for it and it was not life threatening.

I don't know if that helps or just "muddies the water" for you.  Good luck and a long, healthy life to your baby.

Sorry for sending two messages in a row; but I just got a chance to read all the other items.  Thngs I immediately thought of with my experience with Grizzabella's kidney failure to all of the readers out there.

She was about ten years old when she was diagnosed and she only had about a third of her kidney function left at that time.  She had been acting like she was ravenous and then eating just a little bit and then suddenly not wanting any more; and she vomited quite frequently.  She was also very thirsty.  As it turns out, from talking to a human with kidney problems, it actually hurts to eat; so that makes total sense why she would be really hungry, eat a little and then think, "This doesn't feel very good" so stop..  I started feeding her smaller amounts of food more often and switching flavors very often so she wouldn't associate bad things with any one food.  It seemed to work pretty well.   As the disease progressed, in her later years, we did give her a perscription drug the vet recommended to stimulate her appetite. I'm sorry I don't remember the name of it, but the vet said it made some cats meow excessively.  Thankfully for us, we did not have that problem and it did seem to work.

We also started her on subcutaneous (sp?) fluids as soon as she was diagnosed.  It's like kitty dialysis.  For several years the vet administered them every month or so, then as she needed them more often, we started doing it at home.  At first I was very reluctant to "stick" her, but finally learned and after the first few times, it was really no big deal.  It added so much to the quality of her life (as I said, she lived to be twenty).  She had a violent temper, but never gave us any trouble about this procedure.  I think she knew she felt so much better afterward.  We also did a lot of homeopathic remedies and some acupuncture.  She seemed to have a very good quality of life up until the last few months.  I also never put her on a "special kidney diet", just fed her the highest quality food I could.

Also, one of my male kitties had several experiences with UTIs.  A vet recommended we put him on vitamin C, as a more acidic urine seems to be healthier for them.  Once we started him on that, he never had any other problems with infections.

Anyway, I hope none of you ever have to go through this with your guys, but if you do, I hope you can gain some help from all of my experiences.

I am having the same problem with my 10 year old male cat. He has had urinary blockage one time in the past. I am dealing with the same thing you are right now and getting frustrated. All tested coming back normal. Had a normal xray. Now after reading your story I am hesitant to continue testing and spending thousands of dollars just to find out nothing. I don't know what to do. My questions is since it has been a year since your post, what has been determined. How is your cat?
 

I didn't get into an explanation above. The problem I have is my cat has blood in his urine just like some of you are talking about. Been on antibiotics, steroids have been given, xray done as well as urinalysis. I am waiting on the results of the urinary test. He has been on a special diet food, Hills cd diet. He is on pain medication as he seems to be uncomfortable as he goes in and out of the cat box even though he is not blocked. I am waiting to hear about the urinalysis test. He has had urinary blockages, one recently due to stress from moving and one several years ago. After reading some of your stories I am terrified. I cannot afford big vet bills and am doing the best I can to work with the vet. If he gets blocked again the Vet said he may consider the surgery that opens the urethra. Is that even humane?? The vet said that he wouldn't get blocked but that won't stop him from getting UTI's etc.
 

Terri1 said:

...If he gets blocked again the Vet said he may consider the surgery that opens the urethra. Is that even humane?? The vet said that he wouldn't get blocked but that won't stop him from getting UTI's etc.
 

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Think your vet means PU surgery:

http://www.petplace.com/cats/perineal-urethrostomy-pu/page1.aspx

A friends cat who kept blocking had this and it has saved his life.  The recovery period is critical - the cat must NOT be allowed to lick the operation site.  He would also need pain control and a lot of general looking after as he would have to wear a cone.  However it's specialist surgery, and my view is your average vet probably doesn't have enough experience of them to let lose on one of my cats.  My friend's cat was refer to Glasgow Vet School who did a great job.  Before allowing the vet to operate I'd be asking what experience of doing this he has.

My friend's cat's surgery was expensive as well, but possibly not much more than the total of treating the several blockages he had that year.  He's a very handsome ginger lad and very laid back.

Is it humane?  Yes, if properly done with good aftercare.  The alternative for my friend's cat was euthanasia.