Wondering if my cat has a blockage

Hello. I am very worried about my cat Alex. He is 4 years old and for the last couple of days he has been a bit lethargic but he was still eating so I didn't think much of it. Last night he would not come out to eat or drink and that was the first sign. I had just added some new dry food into his regular dry food so I thought that might have upset his stomach but today he looks worse and went and hid under my dresser after I went to pet him. He has never done that, not even after I first brought him home after finding him on the street nearly starved to death three years ago. So I coaxed him out with some treats and tried to give him some water but he just jumped off the bed and went to a spot to be alone, not under the dresser this time.
He wouldn't come out to eat either so I brought him some wet food and he ate some of it.  But I am sure he is not drinking. He loves water. He always comes into the bathroom when I go in so I can run the water in the tub for him and he has not done that for at  2 days.  Of course I do have 2 water bowls out but he prefers the running water from the tub. I noticed last night that there wasn't as much in the litter box as usual and then again this morning.  I have 3 other cats that share 2 big litter boxes and one new 4 month old kitten that has his own box in my bedroom.  I am trying to break him of that habit. I hate waking up in the middle of the night to stinking kitten poo. But he was a sick kitten when I got him and he had to be quarantined until about a week ago.
Anyway, back to Alex. I am now wondering if maybe he has crystals in his urine. I know that male cats tend to get this but I have never had one that got it.  This kitten is the 15th cat that I have had in my lifetime so far. I guess I have been lucky.
It is Christmas eve and I am guessing that there won't be any vets open tomorrow either but I will call mine anyway to be sure. I have to say that I love this cat. He has been a great cat for a street rescue. Mr. Mellow, I call him. Nothing bothers this cat. But I read somewhere that it cost someone $1500 to get this problem cleared up and there is no way I can afford that. I just spent $500 on vet bills on the new kitten.
I am very worried. I don't know what I would do if it came down to money or the cat.
It's a good thing I don't celebrate Christmas or I would not be able to enjoy it with him being sick like this.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.  TY

Is he straining to urinate or what is making you think crystals?

My male cat had repeated blockages over a year ago. This is how I knew he was having urinary tract issues. He strained to pee on the litterbox with only dribbles coming out at t ime. Or he would pee on plastic bags etc. that were left out. I learned how to feel an overly full bladder so eventually I could tell that way too but I had to learn how to feel for this. Blocking can become life-threatening pretty quickly so if he is totally blocked (vs. straining but some stuff coming out), then he needs care asap.

I had to have him catheterized to clear him up. Not sure what catheterization is likely to cost these days as this was over a decade for me. Had to catheterize a few times but in the end I had to have a surgery to correct things for him. But lots of people can eventually sorts things out (even if catheterized and when things are working again) with some dietary changes.

I am on and off the computer tonight, so if you have any questions, I can try to help.

If you can monitor his litterbox and it appears that he is urinating but small amounts he may be partially blocked.  When Macy has his issues I can tell they are coming by the size of the urine spots.  If he appears to be having a urine output then he isn't blocked but could have a bad bladder infection that is going to require antibiotics to clear.  I would call your vet if they have an emergency number and discuss it with them.  They may have you bring in a urine sample to check for crystals or infection.  If there is no urine output that is an emergency and he has to be seen right away, since there is a 12 to 24 hour window to treat before death can occur.  I have taken Macy many a time thinking he was blocked only to discover his bladder was empty, but full of crystals or infection that he needed antibiotics for.

I am not sure where you live but in Western NY where I am, when Macy has blocked it has been around 400.00 to have him catherized and hospitalization.

Hi Scarlett and thank you for answering. I really did not expect to hear from anybody tonight.

I was talking with some rescuers that are friends of mine and the were saying it might be a blockage. So maybe not crystals, but I thought they cause the blockages in male cats.
As far as I can tell, he has not gone to the litter box all day.  And this morning there wasn't as much in it as usual. Especially the pee. It usually has a couple of big pee balls in there and they were not there last night nor today. And he won't drink even when I bring the water to him. I have tried to put water on his mouth but after I do, he crawls under the dresser. I did pull up the skin on the back of his neck and it went down pretty quickly but I can hear that his mouth is dry.
 

Hi Macy. As far as I can tell, I don't think he has gone at all today, unless he did it at the exact time I went into the bathroom today. I have been around all day and I have been keeping an eye on him. All  he has done is sleep, except when I brought him the wet food. He did have some of that. I am not sure if I should bring him more or not. At least it is wet.
I just called my vet and there is a recording for an emergency vet but I am disabled and I can't get to them. I have to wait until tomorrow at least if not Thursday.
I just don't know what to do.

Hi Scarlett and thank you for answering. I really did not expect to hear from anybody tonight.

I was talking with some rescuers that are friends of mine and the were saying it might be a blockage. So maybe not crystals, but I thought they cause the blockages in male cats.
As far as I can tell, he has not gone to the litter box all day.  And this morning there wasn't as much in it as usual. Especially the pee. It usually has a couple of big pee balls in there and they were not there last night nor today. And he won't drink even when I bring the water to him. I have tried to put water on his mouth but after I do, he crawls under the dresser. I did pull up the skin on the back of his neck and it went down pretty quickly but I can hear that his mouth is dry.

can you tell if he is licking his privates allot?  I know the one time Macy blocked he could not get comfortable at all and got to the point where he was vomiting.  Has he been running back and forth to the box to go? 

If it will ease your mind at all my vet always asks me if there is even a small amount of urine output.  If there is she know we can wait til morning to get him in, but it wouldn't hurt to at least call the emergency vet and see what they have to say.

I can't be sure if there is any urine output from him or not. I have 4 others here too and I don't have a spare room to put him in with his own litter box. I have not seen him lick himself at all and he doesn't have enough room under the dress to do it. He would have to come out. He is a big boy.
I just found him under the dresser again and coaxed him out but he doesn't want any water and he doesn't want me to pet him. He just keeps going to find a place where he can sleep and not be bothered.
The kitten is up from his evening nap and is running amok in the apt.

I have to preview these before I post them.
I meant to say that when he is under the dresser, there is no room for him to move around to lick himself.

I have not seen any vomiting either. Just sleeping. I did squeeze him up and down and it doesn't seem to hurt him, I guess that is a good sign for now.

When my boy was totally blocked, I could feel what felt like a relatively hard solid peach in his abdomen tummy area. Obviously, you want a vet to do this palpation. But if desperate, you could try feeling around in his belly. At the time, I had never felt a blocked belly before, but when it was full and blocked, it was super obvious to me who had never felt one. It most definitely does not rule out a blockage if you don't feel the peach as you do not really know what to feel for - but if you feel a pretty big solid peach in there, then you'd know to get him in immediately.

signs that may indicate urethral obstruction in cats include…

• frequent trips to the litter box
• lack of urine in the litter box after you know they’ve been in there
• vocalizing or straining while in the litter box (many owners mistake this for a sign of constipation)
• excessively licking their penis
• loss of appetite
• sudden onset excessive drinking
• vomiting
• abdominal pain (often expressed by them trying to bite or scratch you when you try to pick them up)
• hiding
• collapse
• death

I understand totally how you are feeling, so what I would do is this:  try to put a litter box near the dresser he is at and see if he goes to it and try to monitor what his urine output is.If he is under the dresser can you block him off in that room with a litter box?  I know years ago Macy was lethargic and only wanted to sleep and it turned out he had a high grade fever that was treated with antibiotics. 

Try your hardest to see if he urinates at all, but if there is no change by morning I would call the vet emergency number and see what they have to say.  Keep an eye on him, and please let us know how he is doing.

I did give him a good squeezing but if I try that, he will bite me. He is a mellow boy but if you try to force him, he will let you know that he doesn't want you do that again. He hates being brushed and having his nails cut. I have to put on leather work gloves up to my elbows to brush him. And it takes a week of catching him when he is sleeping to get his nails done. When I found him, his nails were worn down to the blood line and they hurt him. I don't know where he was before I found him, but he definitely has issues with being touched too much. Just a nice scratching under the neck and a little head petting is good enough for him.

But nothing seemed to hurt him when I pushed down on his side by his belly when he was sleeping on my bed. He just looked at me like "try that again, I dare you".

Thanks for all the info Macy's mom. Most of the things on that list are not his symptoms. I guess that I should be happy about that. Just the lethargic, not drinking or litter part. I did just give him some healthy treats and he came out and ate them. Now his is laying under the hanging blanket on the floor next to my bed. So he wants to be left alone but he is not hiding.
There is a litter box in the room because Sabastian, the kitten still goes in there sometimes, so I just left it for now. I would see Alex going in there if he went.

When I was pushing on his side on the bed I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary and it didn't seem to hurt at all.
I hope my vet is in tomorrow.

I am wondering that if the new kitten could be the issue also, if this is a new member to the household then Alex could be reacting to that due to stress issues.  Along with the litterbox try putting a bowl of water and some food in there also.  If the kitten is a bit to rambunctious it could be preventing Alex to get to the food and water and he is hiding due to the stress of the kitten.  Still monitor for urine output, but try this also to see if stress could be an issue.

It's not the kitten. Alex was playing with the kitten a couple of days ago. This just started. I do have food and water and litter in the same room where he is. Everything he needs is in there and the kitten will back off if Alex gives off that vibe.

Thanks for all your help ladies. It's time for bed or at least try to get some sleep. I will be getting up at 10 to call the vet and I will let you know what happens.


 

If he still hasn't used the litter box I would definitely recommend trying to get him into the vet today.  If he is blocked it can be life threatening.

This morning Alex was looking pretty bad and luckily the vet was in for a couple of hours so my boyfriend brought him in for me because I couldn't walk today. I talked to the vet about 4 times today explaining what has been going on with him and what to do after he got there. She examined him and told me that all his stats are good and she didn't hear any congestion in his chest. Also, there were no lumps in his abdomen area and it was not tender there either. He was a little dehydrated but not too bad. They did take some blood to check his liver and kidneys and that came back normal too. But he did have a fever of 103.5 which is probably the reason he is breathing with his mouth open, to cool off. She thinks it might be a virus or the beginning of a URI, so she gave him a shot of antibiotics and some fluids and also gave him something to make him hungry so he would eat something to keep his strength up.
He went straight for the food when he got home and he is resting a bit more comfortably on my bed now. And now I am going for a nap because I didn't sleep last night. I was too busy keeping an eye on him every time he moved.
I'll be back to update again in a couple of days.

Thanks again for all your help so late on Christmas Eve.