Male Cat UTI Help! : [

My baby boy, Baxter, will be three in August. He hasn't been neutered and is an inside cat . He's been meowing loudly and hissing in the litter box. He has a history of chronic UTI's in the past, but I can't seem to get rid of them! He strains to the point where he vomits. : [
 

I've tried changing his wet food to a special diet that helps regulate their urinary tract. We give him Friskies Special Diet wet food and urinary tract regulating dry food. We mix in a teaspoon of water into this mixture so that he gets extra water. He also gets a half tablet of vitamin C as we've been advised to do that as well as a teaspoon of Methigel to acidify his urine. 

I've never found blood in his urine and the last time we went to the vet for this, our vet told us to massage his lower belly to see if we can feel a mass or blockage and I can't feel anything. He's letting me touch it no problem, but wasn't before when he came out of his litter box. He's been peeing on all kinds of things.

I've recently read that dusty litter can have an effect on cats urinary tract health. When cleaning his box, I HAVE noticed that his litter is very dusty. Should I change it to a pine or paper litter? His box is also covered. 

Are there any other factors that I'm not taking in to account? We've brought him to the vet for this three times already with little to no results. What am I missing...?
 

You need to take him to the vet NOW.
A blockage can kill him and can kill him FAST. Please, please do not try to do anything as far as diet, or home remedies before taking to your vet - if your baby is straining to the point of vomiting, he IS very likely BLOCKED.

This is an EMERGENCY. You have NO time to spare trying to do anything. RUSH him to the vet - NOW. Carrier, on the car, VET.

I agree rush him in TODAY. Go to a 24 hour hospital if necessary. Do not wait on this. Make sure the vet does x-rays or ultrasound. Do not just accept antibiotics again without those tests. 

If your vet has not done an urinalysis, then you need to request one or find a vet who will do one. The urinalysis will help identify what is causing the chronic urinary problems. It could be struvite crystals, calcium oxalate stones, a bacterial infection or inflammation. It sounds like you are treating for struvites by lowering the urine pH but I don't see that mentioned in testing or diagnosis. Are you testing his urine pH at home which is generally recommended when usind urine acidifiers to make sure the urine doesn't become too acidic?

If you have the results of the urinalysis, please post them here, and I can give you ideas of standard treatment that you can talk to your vet about.

The vet has not yet done a urinalysis. I have had it to my wits end with this vet because as I said before, I have taken him and recently, but he keeps giving me the same thing over and over and it is absolutely not helping. 

I feel horrible as a vet visit today is not going to be able to happen as we only have one car and my boyfriend is at work. I haven't the slightest of what to do. He just tried peeing again with no luck, hissing and what have you. And we literally JUST got moved in to our new house today and are short on funds. 

I gave him another can of wet food just now to get some fluids in him. I'm at the end of my rope here. 

Hun, get some money from someone..... Your dad, mom, anyone...... Get a cab. Call a friend and get a ride..... Take him to an emergency vet. I can not say enough how much of an emergency this is. If he is blocked, and it sounds like might be...... He can die a horrible death. On the same token, he can be easily saved if you take him in.

Here is a link for you to apply for carecredit - you can use it immediately: http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/

You NEED a different vet. As you have seen, you can't treat without knowing what the problem is.

However, you are in emergency mode now. If he can't pee at all, he is most likely blocked. That can be life threatening in a pretty short period of time. He really needs to see a vet now. Can you call a friend or relative for a ride?

We just went through the same thing with our 4 y.o. boy, Moe.  Fine one day, completely blocked the next.  He had a bladder stone that had to be removed surgically and he is now recovering nicely.  Please get your baby to a vet right away!

Working on finding a ride. If worse comes to worse, we're able to take him first thing tomorrow morning, but I'd rather not wait that long. I thought he was fine for a while as he's been using his box regularly and urinating with no problem, but this morning took a turn for the worse.

Excellent

No matter what you have to do, don't wait until tomorrow..... Blockages act terribly fast
I wouldn't go to the same vet either.
If you have any records with you, take them.

If not, it's alright.
If it is after hours, look up the nearest emergency vet - the easiest way to find is calling the closest vet to your house - they will have the information to the nearest one on their answer machine :nod:

For now, if you know someone you trust who has pets, call them for a referral. In most emergency situations you can just walk in.

I am wishing you luck on finding a ride FAST. 

I'm so glad you're trying to find a ride. And yes, you clearly need a new vet.

Unfortunately, as has already been mentioned, if your kitty can't pee at all, he is most likely blocked. You would not be able to feel a blockage in his urethra, I have no idea why the vet told you this.

A blockage means the urine cannot pass out of him, ,so it backs up into his system, which, simply put, is highly toxic and will cause him to die if not addressed. That is why everyone is telling you to get to an emergency vet - or ANY vet - today, tonight, because he either needs knowledgeable hands to express the blockage in his urethra, or he may need to be catheterized to release the urine from his body. This is a very, very, very painful condition, and a horrible death.

Many, many vibes for your boy.

Oh, believe me, we've been through this before with him. I know exactly how deadly this can be. I've called every vet in town and they're closed, but thankfully there is one emergency animal hospital. I called my boyfriend hysterical only for him to just pretty much tell me that he never wanted the cat to begin with. : [ We'll be on our way to go to the emergency vet as soon as my ride gets here but the visit itself will be $105 and I only have $200 to my name that was supposed to last me two weeks. 

This is gonna be pretty rough, but it's not my cat's fault and I'd empty out my bank account if it means he's gonna feel better.

I'm so sorry about your boyfriend's attitude.

We can help you with how to manage your boy's problems with crystals/cystitis. :heart2: But as mentioned earlier, we need more info about what the actual problem is: results of his urinalysis, the type of crystals, his urine pH, what you've been feeding him, etc. :rub:

More vibes on the way!

I'm so glad you're getting your boy to a vet.

An emergency vet is also very likely to run the urinanalysis so that you can figure out what's causing the issue and will be equipped to immediately handle whatever treatment he'll need to clear up the blockage.

Lots of for you and your boy. Hopefully they can get him sorted out.

Please update us as soon as you can!

Please update as soon as you can about what is going on with your cat.  One of my cats, Angus, had a bad bout with a UTI that lasted six months.  It was crucial that the vet did a urinalysis on him to discover that his pH level was elevated, he had blood in his urine although you could not tell that by purely looking at the urine sample, he had struvite crystals and they found white blood cells in his urine.  All of this information lead to a successful treatment where he was placed on food specific for cats with high pH and struvite crystals.  He was given a shot of antibiotics.  And, I did eveyrthing and anything to increase his fluid intake.  Since his intial urinanlaysis, he has had two more as well as an x-ray to ensure he has overcome the UTI and that the crystals have not turned into stones.  It is really crucial to find a vet willing to do these tests.  Good luck in finding a vet and in finding transportation.  You are in my thoughts and prayers!

Peace,

Kirsten

Well apparently it wasn't a UTI at all but a disease called FLUTD. Egh, $200 later, they used a catheder and he's fine. XD

FLUTD is Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disorder. It is caused by UTIs, crystals in the urine, stones in the bladder, or inflammation, to name a few things.

Self treating with vitamin C and other urine acidifiers is very dangerous. You run a very real risk of causing the urine pH to go too acidic (too low) which creates an environment for oxalate stones to form. These can only be removed by surgery.

Your male cat needs to be on a canned only diet. No dry, not one bit of dry food ever. Feed a food that is high in meat protein, low in carbohydrates.

I recommend you find another vet if this vet has never done a urinalysis. A urine culture would be better. And once he is stabilized, please get him neutered, especially as he is allowed outside.

Here is a website that can help you understand what is going on with your boy

www.catinfo.org

DearAmbellina said:

Well apparently it wasn't a UTI at all but a disease called FLUTD. Egh, $200 later, they used a catheder and he's fine. XD

Click to expand...

That 200 saved his life. If he needed a catheter, he was blocked.
Do you know WHY he was blocked? Was it crystals? Were any tests done?