Cat with urinary troubles (any one have a similar experience?)

Hello everyone,

I am new to the board and I am looking for some advice..

My cat, Jaya, is about 3 years old. In May of 2014, he had a urinary blockage, we took him to the vet, and they cleared the blockage by placing a catheter in him. About a week later, he blocked again. That's when we decided to have his PU surgery. He had his PU surgery on May 19th, and recovered quite well. I mainly fed him wet food throughout the day and left some dry food out at night. He urinated fine, but a lot throughout the day, but he was always playing, running around and just his normal self. He never had any blood in his urine or anything odd.

Now it's been 2 months, and he is sick again. I noticed he wasn't peeing on Thursday. I woke up and he was just squatting, but nothing would come out. He then pooped a few times, and threw up some mucus. I took him to the vet and when he arrived he FINALLY URINATED, and pooped again. It was very smelly, and was smelt like "sickness" is all I can say, and the pee was all over the floor. The vet looked at him again, and did a urine analysis. It came back that he still had some crystals and some bacteria in his urine, his kidneys were fine though. They kept him for a bit, and expressed his bladder, which he did pee again, so it appears he is not blocked or otherwise he wouldn't pee at all. 

I picked up him in the afternoon on Friday and he has been home with me and has been resting most of the time. He is peeing, but it's mostly small clumps or sometimes some blood. His bladder doesn't feel enlarged. He was prescribed some Clavamox, which I have been giving him twice a day. He is also eating a bit. I bought him so prescription wet food at the vet (Hills C/D) just to see if that would help. I am just not sure what else to do. The vet said he would still have issues with crystals and UTI. I also bought him some herbal medicine for his urinary tract, but I am not sure if it is helping or not.

Has anyone else had an issue similar to this? What helped? I know all cats are different. Some feed their cats Evo, Blue Buffalo, Wellness (all wet), which I have tried, but he snubs them.  Some give them herbel remedies. He liked the Purina Urinary, and the Hills C/D wet, and Fancy Feast. He will eat Wellness Chicken sometimes, but most of the time he sniffs it and walks away. I am just really stressed out. I know after pu surgery, UTI's are  quite common, which is what I think he has now. He is peeing, which is better than not peeing at all, but I am still going crazy. He hasn't been growling, or howling out in pain (he did before when he was blocked in May). 

Moreover, I also purchased a water fountain back in April (that's all he will drink from) which I saw him drinking from this morning as well, and he ate a small amount of food, and then went on the bed to rest again.

Any suggestions? Any words of hope?

Thanks

Wow you're cat is in a tough spot.  C/D diet or Royal Canin S/O can definitely help, more wet food than dry, lots of water sources, and time to give the clavamox a chance to work.  I've seen Baytril given for UTI's as well so that might be another choice.

Yeah, he's a pain in the butt haha. He's quite a fighter though. He seems "okay". He's not depressed, but I can tell right now that peeing isn't the most fun thing for him to do right now. I am hoping the C/D works.  I tried all the other brands of wet, evo, buffalo, wellness, he is so damn picky, so the fact he ate the C/D is pretty good. He peed last night a few times, and some this morning, but he did have some blood, but that is expected. He also hacked up a giant hair ball, which alarmed me at first, but it was just a hairball, nothing more.

I just hate the fact that we did the PU surgery, but UTI's, crystals, etc are still a concern in the long run, it's frustrating. I try my best to take care of him, and it seems hopeless. It's even harder now cause I have a newborn, not to mention another cat, and four ferrets I have to watch over and take care of as well. (I love animals).

Also, I am at work most of the day, and my wife is usually with our child, taking care of her. So it's hard to just sit there and watch him 24/7 (but I think he'd rather be alone anyway).

To reduce his stress, I have him in my room, with a nice big blanket, litter box, food, and his water fountain. My other cat is outside (she's always trying to get in there and see him haha). I just hope he is okay. I am glad he is peeing, and not blocked, believe me, that was terrible. He would growl, yell, hiss, and pretty much rip your face off if you got near him. He wouldn't even pee, not even blood, just sit there and howl. 

I just hope it's a UTI and that the C/D helps with the crystals. I remember when I had a UTI, I didn't want to eat, or be bothered, and going to the bathroom...sucked, so I imagine it's just the same for him. It's been about 4 days (Thursday) since he's had his problem, I figured if he had something serious like a blockage or renal failure, he would be long gone by now, plus the urine analysis verified his kidneys were good and he didn't have any toxins in his blood. I just hate knowing he is feeling bad, he's part of our family and it makes my heart heavy to know he is sick. Plus, with the surgery and all the vet trips, my bills are out of hand .

I am so sorry to hear about Jaya's urinary problems. This can be such a painful thing to go through.

I have a young tuxedo male who was found with crystals in his urine, when I had a routine urinalysis done. My guy wasn't blocked, or fortunately having any problems with urinating that were obvious, but I wanted to get a routine urine test done as part of his wellness checkup. In response to the crystals, I elected to put Thomas on RC Urinary SO wet food, to correct the ph and dissolve the crystals, but I new I didn't want to keep him on this food. Its not terribly high in protein for one thing. The important element to these kinds of diets, is that they work to acidify the urine and through elevated sodium levels, encourage water consumption which in turn increases urine output.

Dealing with urinary tract infections can take some trial and error to determine what will work in the long term to prevent future episodes. There are different ways of addressing this, and what works for one cat, may not work for another. The key is to find what works for your particular cat. What is most important is that your cat gets plenty of water, as this is what will ultimately protect him. When urine output is increased, the bladder gets flushed which prevents crystals from accumulating. The addition of the water fountain was a great, first step. You can also add a bit of water to Jaya's wet food. The other important element is diet. A low-carb, high protein diet, preferably wet food, and food that contains acidifiers such as DL-Methionine, of which some premium foods do not contain. So for this reason, it is important to choose foods carefully, to ensure that this ingredient is included.

There are also supportive therapies such as D-Mannose and Corn Silk tea which can help with bacterial infections and inflammation. D-Mannose is a naturally occurring sugar in cranberries, peaches, which bacteria binds to and then gets flushed out in the urine. This can be used as a preventative to bacterial infections without the need to constantly be relying on antibiotics that are not good for cats long-term. You can safely use D-Mannose as this form of sugar is not digestible, and there are no side effects. Corn Silk tea can be used in times of UTI flares to reduce inflammation and help lessen pain and discomfort as the result in lieu of conventional pain killers.

As your kitty is presently on clavamox, I would suggest that you pick up some probiotics which will help to replenish good bacteria that gets killed off when using antibiotics. The one I use is Natural Factors Double Strength Acidophilus and Bifidus : http://www.naturalfactors.com/caen/products/detail/2879/acidophilus-and38-bifidus-. There are other brands as well. The important thing is the concentration of CFU (or active cultures). Look for those that contain 10 billion CFU.

I wish you well, and hope that your kitty can make a complete recovery.

I will definitely look into the D-Mannose and probiotics. He isn't too good with pills (he will fight you till the end), but I have seen some D-Mannose based treats, which I hope he will eat. I tried to find corn silk, but it's not easy to find, or maybe I am just not looking in the right place. Right now I use Tract Ease, http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-Tract-Ease-Herbal-Formula/999017.aspx, which does have Marshmallow Root (which I heard helps). He doesn't mind it either, I usually just put it in a dropper or on his food.

I forgot to mention that my cat is also kind of....fat. He's about 20 pounds, and I heard that also causes problems. We've had him since he was a kitty (found him under an ATM outside, about 2 weeks old). His paws were huge then, so I knew he was going to be big. He can clean himself though, but it takes him quite a bit to reach down to his bum, and his "new" part. Ever since his PU surgery he looks at his opening like "What the???" 

Anyway, I will fill you in if he gets worse. He seems okay right now, and hasn't gotten worse since Thursday evening. He mainly just sits on the bed, pees, goes back to resting, eats a bit, etc.  I have also been giving him some water via syringe just to give him some more fluids. 

On another note, his bladder doesn't seem hard. I felt near his penis, and near hsi legs, belly, nothing feels huge or hard. I remember before when he was blocked it felt like a hard orange, so that kind of gives me some hope. I wish I knew how to express his bladder, but I don't know exactly where it's at, or how to go about doing it. I read online, but it seems harder than it sounds. I guess I should just let him pee when he wants and do his own thing rather than force him..

astrolux said:

 
I will definitely look into the D-Mannose and probiotics. He isn't too good with pills (he will fight you till the end), but I have seen some D-Mannose based treats, which I hope he will eat. I tried to find corn silk, but it's not easy to find, or maybe I am just not looking in the right place. Right now I use Tract Ease, http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-Tract-Ease-Herbal-Formula/999017.aspx, which does have Marshmallow Root (which I heard helps). He doesn't mind it either, I usually just put it in a dropper or on his food.

I forgot to mention that my cat is also kind of....fat. He's about 20 pounds, and I heard that also causes problems. We've had him since he was a kitty (found him under an ATM outside, about 2 weeks old). His paws were huge then, so I knew he was going to be big. He can clean himself though, but it takes him quite a bit to reach down to his bum, and his "new" part. Ever since his PU surgery he looks at his opening like "What the???" 

Anyway, I will fill you in if he gets worse. He seems okay right now, and hasn't gotten worse since Thursday evening. He mainly just sits on the bed, pees, goes back to resting, eats a bit, etc.  I have also been giving him some water via syringe just to give him some more fluids. 

Click to expand...

The D-Mannose that I use, comes in a powder. The brand name is NOW which you should be able to find. I add 1/4 tsp of powder to morning meals, and do this once a month (for a period of 7 days), to prevent bacterial buildup.

The corn silk tea can be difficult to source, as it is not a popular herbal brew. I found a brand called 'Celebrations', which an organic product. I make a cup of tea, using one tea bag and add a couple of teaspoons to wet food. I give this over 2-3 days if I feel Thomas might be experiencing some pain and discomfort. Thomas doesn't seem to mind either the D-Mannose or Tea in his wet food, but each kitty is different.

Corn Silk Tea : http://celebrationherbals.com/products/teas/cornsilk-159.html

NOW D-Mannose : http://www.nowfoods.com/D-Mannose-Powder-3oz.htm

Regarding Jaya's bladder, that is good news that this seems to be getting back to normal. You can ask your vet to show you how to express a bladder, but just a friendly word of caution that bladders are delicate things. Think of a balloon which is very thin-walled. This is a normal bladder. Over time due to repeated bladder infections, bladder walls can become thick. During a bladder infection flare, the bladder becomes ultra-sensitive, so it is important to handle with care.

I am glad to hear that Jaya is feeling good. Rest, quiet are good things for him. Please do let us know how things go.

Thanks for the info/links.

I figured the bladder is sensitive, so I do not want to disturb him. I just kind of pat his belly, near his legs, etc just to see if it feels hard. I may go check on him at lunch, but yesterday I was out from 11-8 or so and when I came back he was just resting (that's when I discovered the hairball too) so leaving him be seems okay. Sometimes staying there with him is more stressful for the both of us...

Update:

Checked on Jaya. He was still resting. Small amount of vomit on the floor (which is from the Clavamox, when he had his surgery sometimes he would vomit after taking it and eating food too fast). I gave him some water, he sat in the litter box for quite a bit, not much came out, but on his sheet there were several urine stains (some large) and it soaked through, to our comforter, and it was still wet, so it seemed new. I had to wash it. I assume he gets upset in the litter box, then goes back to resting, and pees himself. His opening did have urine on it, which obviously means he did pee. He also wasn't hiding, growling or being mean, he even tried to escape the room and go exploring. His bladder didn't feel large, I felt between his legs and it mainly felt soft, but I didn't push too hard (I don't want to hurt him).

I wanted to weigh in on this yesterday but I was too tired to make a coherent post. My cat Theodore has gone through pretty much the same thing is you. He got blocked, couldn't pee took him to the vets, had him unblocked once but then he got basically a lazy bladder. Long story short, he had the PU surgery twice because the first time failed. We  were recommended to put him on Hills S/D wet and dry food and he got better. What I noticed when he was recovering from surgeries and after having an angry bladder is that he became incontinent a fair bit and would often go outside the box on any clothing towels on the floor. This was pretty frustrating.

The Vet showed my hubby how to feel for his bladder and express him when it was needed but it was often a bit painful for the cat.

Anyhow, you can search my profile for my posts if you want to read how it all went down over a two month period. I think it's a case of time to heal it. If you're at all worried take Jaya back to the Vet to make sure everything is ok and keep up with the diet that you're feeding him.

elise1030 said:

 
I wanted to weigh in on this yesterday but I was too tired to make a coherent post. My cat Theodore has gone through pretty much the same thing is you. He got blocked, couldn't pee took him to the vets, had him unblocked once but then he got basically a lazy bladder. Long story short, he had the PU surgery twice because the first time failed. We  were recommended to put him on Hills S/D wet and dry food and he got better. What I noticed when he was recovering from surgeries and after having an angry bladder is that he became incontinent a fair bit and would often go outside the box on any clothing towels on the floor. This was pretty frustrating.

The Vet showed my hubby how to feel for his bladder and express him when it was needed but it was often a bit painful for the cat.

Anyhow, you can search my profile for my posts if you want to read how it all went down over a two month period. I think it's a case of time to heal it. If you're at all worried take Jaya back to the Vet to make sure everything is ok and keep up with the diet that you're feeding him.

Click to expand...

When it comes to PU surgeries and/or multiple catheterizations, I think it is completely normal to see some incontinence as elise1030 mentioned. It sounds as though you have Jaya set up with his own litterbox, away from your other kitties, which will give him some space to get used to using the litterbox regularly again. Watch for straining, pinkish urine and if his trips to the litter box are not productive, which will be signals that he is having difficulties and may need further intervention. It shouldn't cost you anything to be in touch with your vet via telephone to let him/her know how things are going, or if you have questions or are in need of some guidance. 

Update on Jaya:

Last night I came home, he was just laying on his blanket. Small spots of urine were in his litter box and bigger stains on his blanket. and towel. He then walked around a bit, and peed on the tile floor (dark yellow). He then trickled a little bit on the carpet and the kitchen tile floor too. His bladder didn't feel hard, maybe a tiny tiny bit, but when I pat his belly he didn't get angry (like he did when he was blocked). I gave him his antibiotic and some water, and he's mainly just slept. He hasn't eat much, which he usually doesn't. Even after his PU surgery, he barley ate. He's 20 pounds, so he can afford to lose a bit of weight. He ate a tiny bit yesterday, threw up, and he did throw up some mucus like stuff, but he did gag when we gave him the antibiotic, which probably caused it, he doesn't like getting the syringe with that stuff...he hates it. Overall, he hasn't gotten worse, just kind of the same. Walks around, pees a bit, takes in his water, and sleeps. He was at the vet on Friday and now it's Monday, I figured if he was blocked or had kidney issues....well...he would be "gone" that's for sure. I am still beyond stressed, and even though he hasn't gone downhill, it's frustrating. He does pee, but its more like he pees on everything but his litter box, which I hear is normal when cats have UTI, crystals, etc. Most of his pee right now, even though its small amounts is usually all over his fur, and its more yellow than red.

astrolux said:

 
Update on Jaya:

Last night I came home, he was just laying on his blanket. Small spots of urine were in his litter box and bigger stains on his blanket. and towel. He then walked around a bit, and peed on the tile floor (dark yellow). He then trickled a little bit on the carpet and the kitchen tile floor too. His bladder didn't feel hard, maybe a tiny tiny bit, but when I pat his belly he didn't get angry (like he did when he was blocked). I gave him his antibiotic and some water, and he's mainly just slept. He hasn't eat much, which he usually doesn't. Even after his PU surgery, he barley ate. He's 20 pounds, so he can afford to lose a bit of weight. He ate a tiny bit yesterday, threw up, and he did throw up some mucus like stuff, but he did gag when we gave him the antibiotic, which probably caused it, he doesn't like getting the syringe with that stuff...he hates it. Overall, he hasn't gotten worse, just kind of the same. Walks around, pees a bit, takes in his water, and sleeps. He was at the vet on Friday and now it's Monday, I figured if he was blocked or had kidney issues....well...he would be "gone" that's for sure. I am still beyond stressed, and even though he hasn't gone downhill, it's frustrating. He does pee, but its more like he pees on everything but his litter box, which I hear is normal when cats have UTI, crystals, etc. Most of his pee right now, even though its small amounts is usually all over his fur, and its more yellow than red.

Click to expand...

Hi there .. The job of pilling a cat is a common challenge that many of us face. I have a couple who are squirmers, so this needs to be done just right. Most of the time things go well 

A couple of things to note from your comments .. I know Jaya may not feel like eating at times, but it is important to continue encouraging him to eat every day and as much as possible, to prevent fatty liver disease which can be fatal in cats in a short period of time as the result of a lack of nutrients, particularly senior, overweight cats. Even though Jaya could stand to lose some weight, this needs to be done safely as in gradually reducing intake of calories over time. You can try different foods you think he will like, even some meat-based baby food would be okay, provided there are no onions/garlic in the ingredients. Two, are you giving antibiotics in pill form or liquid? If pills and you haven't already gone this route, you might want to look into pill pockets to put the antibiotics in and give this a go, rather than dry-pilling which can create complications when pills are not swallowed properly. Other alternatives would be to hide the pill in a bit of cream cheese or dolop of wet food. 

Pill Pockets : (http://well.ca/products/greenies-pi...s_34341.html?gclid=CPLC2Iv01r8CFWuCMgodnzYA4A)

I know this is a very frustrating journey to be on .. You want Jaya to get better, sooner than later which is completely normal. He's working on it, but it may take some time. In the meantime, you might want to try a little bonding and play-time, which will take your mind (and his) off the situation, and may help Jaya to relax a little. Nothing too strenuous, but get out the toys if you have some and get down on the floor for some one on one. You could use food and make this part of a game, which may be one way to get him to eat more. A bit of time spent grooming and talking to him can also help him to relax. Just some ideas to try.

Sending positive thoughts and well wishes for you both

My cat Blue blocked last year, I was considering that surgery you had done to your cat, but luckily Royal Canine SO works for him. I really didn't want to opt for the surgery as Blue is very stressed and skittish, I was afraid putting him through that would kill him! I had no idea though that the surgery might not work? Every vet I consulted with recommended the surgery if he blocked again on the prescription food and they all told me "if you get the surgery you'll never have to worry about him blocking again"????

This is a very frustrating situation and I know how you feel, lots of wondering what will work and what won't....I hope he gets better!

Well technically, he is not blocked....a blockage is literally no passing of urine at all, maybe just one drop, and a very large bladder. He has been passing urine, sure it's not much, but when he was blocked he just sat there and never urinated at all, just a drop of blood, then he would cry. Right now he just tries to pee, a little comes out, he walks around, and he pees again, then drips it everywhere, which is rough cause I am cleaning up pee all the time. The surgery helped him out, but they said he would be more prone to having UTI's, and the crystals are still there, and usually diet/wet food, water intake, herbal remedies are some of the things that can help fight them off.

I am just upset because he was getting more water, he mainly ate wet food, some dry at night, and played, always had places to sleep, 3 litter boxes, yet he has issues againl

Oh by the way, my wife said he just peed a huge huge puddle on his blanket, which I know it's not in his litter box, but the fact that he passed that much urine is good...

astrolux said:

 
Oh by the way, my wife said he just peed a huge huge puddle on his blanket, which I know it's not in his litter box, but the fact that he passed that much urine is good...

Click to expand...

That IS awesome news! Here's to many more, but, you want to get him peeing in the litterbox. Have you looked into the D-Mannose yet? If not, I would really urge you to make this a priority, as it WILL really help. You can do the antibiotics along with the D-Mannose, or discuss with your vet about stopping the Clavamox in lieu of the D-Mannose, if the antibiotics are causing Jaya to be sick. You don't need this on top of the urinary troubles.

I have the D-Mannose saved in my cart on amazon, I will get it asap. 

This morning Jaya seems better, I saw a clump of pee in his litter, he hasn't thrown up at all, took his antibiotic, had some water, and ate all his C/D dry last night, and had some C/D wet food as well (just a small amount, but that's better than nothing). My wife and I will still be monitoring him throughout the day. Last night I sat with him for a bit, and he started purring and rubbing close to me, which always makes me feel good.  Hopefully he starts getting back to his old self again. I checked him again, and he's sitting there like a sphinx, looking at me like "where's my food?" hahah.

Update on Jaya:

He ate more wet food, and I just scooped out two huge clumps from his litter...it may have been a couple of trips, but overall it was quite large, and took a lot of effort to scoop (even with my DuraScoop scooper). He also peed in the other litter box when I let him out to walk around a bit. He then urinated on his blanket...again, but that is okay. No blood, or anything. Sometimes he goes and he just produces smaller clumps of urine, some are normal. Either way, he seems to be urinating more, eating more, and he also rubbed up against my wife's leg to get some love/pet. 

That is GOOD news!