Cat having urinary problems or bowl problems??

I happened to be down in my basement today doing some laundry, my cats litter boxes are down there. My cat Apollo, likes to have company while he uses his box, he's always bee that way. so when I go down to the basement for anything he follows and does his business... usually talks to me while it's all going on too. He's a trip! Today I noticed he wasn't his happy talkative self while in the box. He was in there for a while, and I heard no pee or poops hitting the litter. He just squated for a few minuted, jumped out, curled up ina ball and started to yowl and cry, put his leg up and started licking. I went over to check him, first checking his anus, making sure there wasn't anything abnormal going on there. That looked normal. So I observed him. He was licking his bird. it was sticking out and he was curled up shaking pretty bad, licking it and crying. there was nothing coming out of it and no pee in the litter. He carried on for a while, wouldn't walk. Eventually he went back upstairs without me but would stop to lick every few minutes. I'm concerned he's having a urinary problem. There's always fresh water and he drinks a pretty healthy amount. I wouldn't say he over drinks or under drinks, since I bought a fountain water bowl, he really enjoys drinking from it. I feed both my cays dry food, they get wet food as a treat once in a while, but I don't give it to them too often because they both get diarrhea from it. 

I did recently switch there food this week, because my other cat Osiris was getting bad gas, so I thought maybe he was allergic to grains or something in the brand i was feeding them and Apollo wasn't too fond of it either. Could it be the food? 

He's never behaved like this before. 

I think he needs to see a vet. It could very well be the food. Dry food is terrible for causing urinary and kidney problems, and the change in brand could have caused a problem as well. If he's shaking and yowling in pain, there's a serious problem, and it sounds like a blockage from what you've shared.

If he is not able to pee at all, you must get him to a vet ASAP. If he is blocked, it can be fatal in less than 24 hours.

If he isn't peeing, he needs to get to the vet NOW, as in EMERGENCY.  It can be fatal really quick.

Ditto get him into a vet advice. My kitty Duncan blocked several times and I managed to catch it each time before it became fatal. But it does not take long for things to get life threatening. It is quite easy for a vet to tell when a cat is blocking, so you probably won't need to pay for a lot of diagnostics before commencing treatment if this is what it is.

I lost my horse to a urinary blockage in 2012. It became fatal for him overnight when no one was with him in the stables where I keep him. It became fatal very quickly for him.

thanks guys. These things always seem to happen on weekends! There aren't any vets near me that are open on the weekends. i've been keeping very close eye on him. He tried to urinate today for me. I watched him, timed for 4 minutes. He did manage to urinate but took way too long and his urine has a fruity smell. It should not smell fruity. He's stlll eating and drinking, and it is coming out, just slowly. I am going to keep monitoring him today and I am calling my vet first thing tomorrow when they open to get him in asap.  i will try some wet food for dinner, instead of the dry, I keep it on hand. i have some science diet and wild blue wet.  As for my other cat, this new dry food seems to be working for him. He no longer has diarrhea and isn't gassy anymore either. i would like to just find something that works for both of them!

the food I just bought this week is "Blackwood". No corn, wheat or soy. I found it at an all natural pet food store and it wasn't cheap since it claims to have better ingredients. anyone else tried this stuff?

If i could take him now, trust me I would, he's my baby. it's the weekend, no vets open.

Most vets have after hour emergency services you just have to call their number and most have a machine with a number to call if it's after hours.  I really think your kitty needs to see the vet today.

Apollo went to the vet. He didn't have a complete blockage, he is still able to urinate, with some straining, and he does have crystals in his urine. They were happy I caught it when I did, (so am I) it's in the early stages. Hes spending the day at the vet so they can evaluate him and I'll pick him up after work. He's going to be on antibiotic and pain relievers and a special diet for a while. I feel so bad for him, I know what UTIs and kidney infections feel like, so I can imagine how much pain he's in. Poor little guy. Lets keep our fingers crossed that his antibiotics work and he gets better soon. I'll keep you all posted. 

Poor little guy, hope he's feeling better soon.  This website has a lot of great information on bladder issues in kitties.  http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth