Signs of UTI?

I have a male cat, - Puck - who just turned 1 year, who has started to lick/clean his genitals a lot. Definitely seems to be more than normal. He has no signs of straining, there are no accidents, he drinks normal and his output appears to be normal and has no crystals. I feed a 2/3 dry - 1/3 wet diet. The dry is Taste of the Wild.

I'm taking him in to the vet regardless because his behavior has seemed to change lately. We brought him and his sister in one year ago (we already had 2 resident cats). The female resident cat - Typo - is 4 years old and "tolerates" the new cats, but she definitely is not a fan of them, and lately, she has started to bicker a little more with the new male cat. Sometimes hissing, but mostly 'huffing'. They take turns blocking each other on the stairs and if Puck gets past Typo - she attacks him. If she's in "his" spot, he bugs her, etc.

It seems to be that Puck's obsessive grooming started about the same time the bickering started to escalate. But I'm not sure if this is related or not. Either way, I'm concerned about his obsessive licking.

I'm new to everything related to UTIs, Flutd and Crystals, so if anyone has any suggestions or resources I could check out to learn and be on the lookout, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

I think you're already doing the most important thing - and getting a vet check.

I was thinking that as Puck is maturing, the whole social hierarchy may be changing a bit as the cats are defining who's alpha, etc. With my two, I did end up getting a Feliway diffuser (I get refills via Amazon - much less expensive) and, for me, it really did seem to create a calmer atmosphere for my two cats when I introduced the new boy to the original cat.

BTW, how many litter boxes do you have? Always nice to have at least one per cat, plus an extra, and, if possible, scattered in different locations.

Good luck - I know it's worrisome.

I actually did have a Feliway plugged in last year when I first introduced everybody. I stopped using it when things seemed to have gotten normal. I'll definitely plug it back in, and probably get another, and hopefully that will help.

But what you say makes sense... Puck does seem to want to be the alpha cat. Whereas Typo has always been in charge. She was my first cat, so she has always ruled the house. They are probably struggling to see who's the top cat.

A lot of times it looks like Puck is picking on Typo, but then some times, I'll notice that for no reason, she just bonks him on the head just for looking at her.

I have 3 litterboxes. I'd add a fourth, but I'm almost out of room! But I already have 2 in the one spare bedroom, maybe I could just add another. not sure I could add a fifth!

Thanks for the reply! It's definitely worrisome when these changes start to happen!