Crystals/inappropriate urination

Where to start!

About 2 weeks ago, I brought Jinx in for his annual exam + bloodwork. Everything looks fine except he had struvite crystals in his urine, which I at least know weren't present when he had his urine checked for his annual last year. His pH was also high at 8.0, last year it was 6.5. Since he wasn't symptomatic or seeming to have issues, the vet and I just shrugged it off for the moment.

Well. 1 week later, I noticed he peed in my closet. I immediately think great, now we're gonna be symptomatic. The vet of course suggests putting him on Urinary SO, but he has IBD as well and I'm not going to put him on a food that is going to just create another problem. He pees in my bedroom another couple times. I finally get better about keeping my door shut. Switch him back to a raw diet (he's been on various kibble for a couple years). Get some buprenorphine in case he's  uncomfortable or something.

Note, that he's still using his litter box during this, still normal large clumps, no blood etc. The only out of the ordinary thing is him peeing out of the box.

So, for the past 4 days I've been really good about just keeping my bedroom door shut, and there hasn't been any issues. He's eating his food fine, getting buprenorphine twice a day, hasn't had any more accidents. Except this morning I forgot to shut my bedroom door, and lo and behold... he peed in the closet again.

So I guess my question is.... what is going on. The crystals were a completely incidental finding, and I'm only just assuming that they're the cause. He's a 14 year old cat who's seen lots of changes in the house, people come and go, pets come and go, and he has never ever ever responded to anything by urinating outside his box. So I'm really convinced that this is medical vs. behavioral but I guess my confusion is, why is it limited to just my bedroom, why wouldn't he just go find somewhere else to pee these past 4 days when he couldn't get in my room?

I bought a Feliway diffuser today just to try to cover more of my bases but I still intend to keep my door shut now... it's just really hard because my dogs like sleeping in there during the day and are a bit out of sorts when they're shut out. But I'm getting really tired of scrubbing cat pee out of the carpet.

Any thoughts??

As long as he is peeing normally (large clumps, no blood and at least once or twice a day) then I would suggest using Cat Attract Litter for about a month just to get him back on track and using the box religously. That stuff really works. The litter, not the litter additive that you sprinkle on top.

If you do see him straining to pee or if you see smaller clumps more often then you know he needs veterinary assistance. It's also a good idea to keep him off the kibble and water down his wet food to keep him hydrated and keep that bladder flushed.

I can understand not wanting to switch foods due to IBD. Does the brand that you currently use have a wet formula? If the wet doesn't have the ingredient that you believe flares his IBD, I'd give that a try at first. You'll find many on here & also many vets who say that wet food is best for kitties with urinary issues. Even if it's not Rx, it's better than any dry. That might help for now?

Are you making him homemade or using commercial? If homemade, go heavy on turkey breast. This contains a lot of L-methionine, the amino acid that is used as an acidifier in many "urinary health" foods. The struvite crystals are forming due to the high urine pH.

It may take the raw diet a while to bring it down to normal (slightly acidic). But the meat-based diet will be naturally acidifying. You can add extra water to it to help keep him flushed.

My kitty with urinary issues pees outside of the box whenever she's uncomfortable, and also pees only in certain places. No clue why.

Did you clean the areas in your room with an enzyme cleaner? Like REALLY soak them? Another reason is that he may be feeling better already, but the scent of his pee attracts him back there. I usually provide denial-of-access to the same spots while they are drying with the enzyme cleaner by laying aluminum foil down over the spots.

I have had a positive experience using organic corn silk tea. I steep one bag in one cup of water for 20 minutes. I give up to four tablespoons a day during a flare, and for maintenance, I give a tablespoon every few days. Store the tea in the fridge (covered). It smells like grass, I just pour it in her dish with food. Most cats like it. The only caution is that it is a diuretic, so it should not be used in cats with kidney disease, and if using corn silk tea, you do need to add water to the other meals.

Corn silk binds with the minerals that form the crystals (and helps keep them flushed).

This is the tea I buy:
And here is information on corn silk tea:

Sahib et al. 2012. Use of Aqueous Extract of Corn Silk in the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection J Intercult Ethnopharmacol. 2012; 1(2): 93-96 http://www.scopemed.org/?mno=19924

Hasanuden et al. 2012. Corn Silk (Stigma Maydis) in Healthcare: A Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review, Molecules 2012, 17, 9697-9715 http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/17/8/9697/pdf

Recommended at VetInfo: http://www.vetinfo.com/supplements-cat-urinary-tract-health.html

Thank you for the info!

Right now he is eating Bravo turkey. I think I have a few days left of that, and then I have their chicken formula in the freezer. I'm in the habit of adding water to everything he eats - so whether it's raw, canned, or dry, I turn it into runny soup lol so no worries there. I've been cleaning up the spots with Natures Miracle "just for cats urine destroyer" and I feel like I'm getting it cleaned well enough... but man if I walk away for a minute and don't shut the door, I'm almost guaranteed to come back to find a fresh spot I've gone through a whole bottle of that stuff in less than a week!!

I just really hope we can get a handle on this and that it's not a long term thing. I suppose it's "nice" that he's only choosing to pee in one spot but... does it really have to be my bedroom? It's been less than a week since the diet change so I know it might just take time to get it all sorted, but uggghhhh cat pee is the worst!!

Southpaw said:

 
Thank you for the info!

Right now he is eating Bravo turkey. I think I have a few days left of that, and then I have their chicken formula in the freezer.

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Is it this Bravo one? http://bravorawdiet.com/cat_frozen_basics_turkey.html Or this one? http://bravorawdiet.com/cat_frozen_blends_turkey.html

Neither are complete diets for cats on their own. Actually, none of the Bravo frozen raw foods are complete diets. Do you add anything to the Bravo to make it a complete diet?

It's meat, bones, and organs. What's not complete about it?

Southpaw said:

 
It's meat, bones, and organs. What's not complete about it?

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The packages say "Intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only" on them. The Bravo raw lacks the essential vitamins and minerals a cat needs. Here's the info on supplementation from the Bravo web site: http://bravorawdiet.com/aboutsupplements.html I use a pre-mix with the Bravo and other brands of raw meat chubs to make it a complete diet.

If you're also feeding canned food and the Bravo is only a small portion of the diet, then I don't think you need to worry about supplementation unless you want to do it.

I guess to me that's just a labeling requirement, I don't necessarily believe a raw diet needs any added supplements as long as you are getting meat/bones/organs from a variety of protein sources. I am still feeding canned food as well and might not be sticking with Bravo long term anyway so it all might be neither here nor there; I do appreciate the concern though.

Southpaw said:

 
I guess to me that's just a labeling requirement, I don't necessarily believe a raw diet needs any added supplements as long as you are getting meat/bones/organs from a variety of protein sources. I am still feeding canned food as well and might not be sticking with Bravo long term anyway so it all might be neither here nor there; I do appreciate the concern though.

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I'd really really suggest going to the Raw forum on here. They can help explain things better than most. Under most circumstances, that would not be a complete diet. Supplements are almost always added. There are many brands who make supplement powders that have an accompanying list of ingredients (meat, organs & bones) for you to add. That may be a good place to start. But please go there, read all the sticky threads that explain proper raw food. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food

We'll just have to agree to disagree on the diet. I've never added supplements to his raw and am of the belief that the entire point of raw is that it's what they were designed to eat, and nothing extra is needed.

Southpaw said:

We'll just have to agree to disagree on the diet. I've never added supplements to his raw and am of the belief that the entire point of raw is that it's what they were designed to eat, and nothing extra is needed.

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I understand & we all try to do what is best for our cats. I'm not sure if you've read any of the articles on here regarding raw diets & suggestions. There are tons of articles, including the ones I linked below. It really helps explain why certain ingredients are needed & in what proportions. The articles repeatedly state the importance of carefully calculating the proportions in the recipes and supplementing where necessary. No one wants to accidentally do something more harmful than good. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/raw-feeding-for-cats-the-ingredients

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/homemade-food-for-cats-consider-your-recipe

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/raw-feeding-cats-types-of-raw-diets-feeding-options

Bravo is a commercial product that has blends with bone and liver in proper proportions, and additionally include heart, a source of taurine, the main concern with ground. It is incorrect to say "The Bravo raw lacks the essential vitamins and minerals a cat needs." The articles I wrote for TCS take the AAFCO as a guideline for "what a cat needs." But many raw feeders don't have that outlook or use that baseline.

R rlavach , you may be interested in this discussion of supplementation and balancing: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/261571/the-problem-with-home-made-diets-and-how-to-analyze-your-diet

Have you told your vet about the new litterbox problems? There may be something in addition to crystals now. For any number of reasons, the cat may have developed an actual infection. I would at the very least call the vet over the phone and see if they think they cat needs to be brought in, tested, and possibly treated with antibiotics.

@LDG   gave you some good advice on cleaning urine. You're actually in luck, as between today and Monday our e-book about litterbox problems is available for download on Amazon for free. It's a one-time giveaway, so make sure you download it. TONS of info there about how to clean urine and how to re-train cats to use the box. However, as you'll be able to read in the book, you absolutely need to get the all-clear from your vet before applying behavioral techniques.

Good luck! 

If you wish to keep discussing raw, please do start a new thread in the raw forums. Thank you!