Cat Crying When Using Litter Box

My mom has a 2 year old male, silver tabby, Mr. Manners. I visited her yesterday and she said he cries when he uses the litter box. She also said she'd recently seen a white thing in his fur around his neck. I asked her if it looked like a grain of rice. She said yes. So I looked at his bottom and didn't see any worms coming out like I'd seen on my oldest male cat when he was a kitten. She said my sister had given him a flea treatment about a month ago. She had a box of Frontline and Hartz that she'd left for him. I threw the Hartz away immediately. Frontline wouldn't treat worms if that's what it is, so I stopped by tonight and gave him a dose of Revolution. I do plan on helping her take Mr. Manners to the vet later this week because he is overdue for a wellness exam and shot updates anyway.

Just curious what others think could be the issue with his crying when using the litter box. She has mentioned it before, not just recently. Does it sounds like worms or something else like diet or not liking his litter or anything else? Mr. Manners is neutered and indoor only. I think she scoops his box daily. It's a clay litter, uncovered box. He usually eats Iams original dry cat food or Purina cat chow. Not the highest quality food, but it's what my parents can afford. 

Crying usually equals pain (most likely from a UTI/crystals or constipation). It sounds like Mr Manners needs to see a vet ASAP to find out what the problem is. Doing nothing could lead to bigger litterbox issues in the future, such as litterbox avoidance, not to mention seriously putting his health at risk. A blockage from crystals can be fatal if left untreated.

Thanks Columbine! 

I haven't any experience with UTI in a cat. I have some experience with digestive issues, skin problems, fleas, and aggression. Mr. Manners uses the litter box. He's not going outside of it. I think he sprays a little, but I'd say no more than my 2 neutered boys do. He's very playful and friendly. He does well around my sister's dog when she brings her over. Is that still typical of a UTI situation?

My parents are in their 60's and don't have a lot of money and health issues of their own, so the vet is not something they can afford on their own. But I try to help with that as much as possible. I found a mobile low cost vaccine clinic and took my mom to get Mr. Manners' shots last March. A month later we thought he had earmites so I took him to my vet. It wasn't earmites, I don't remember now what it was, but they gave him some drops to clear it up. Then I took him to get neutered that May. I give him Revolution every once in a while. (I'm bad about remembering to give it to my own cats on schedule.) My mom got a mailer for a new low cost vet office that just opened nearby. We'll probably check that out this Thursday or Friday afternoon since I'll be on vacation. If I don't like it, we'll go back to my vet. My Sgt. Pepper is due for his yearly checkup too so it will be a very busy weekend for cats. 

As Columbine said he might be crying because he has crystals in his urine. If that is the case you should treat it as an emergency. Male cats in particular are at risk of dying if their urethra becomes blocked with the crystals.

I'm not saying this to scare you. It truly can be an emergency situation. If I suspected one of my cats might have crystals it would get him to the vet immediately. You should call the vet today and ask that he be seen. The vet should also recognize it as an emergency situation, again, especially in the case of a male cat.

CatMinionJess said:

 
Thanks Columbine! 

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The big question is, after he cries in the box, what is the result? Is there stool? Urine? If urine is it in the normal quantity, or reduced? If stool, if you examine it (gloves, or a tongue depressor etc), is it hard?

If nothing comes out then i would assume urinary blockage and immediate vet visit.  If a little comes out then more likely UTI, vet visit still needed.

If poop comes out, and its hard, then he sounds constipated.

Is he straining at the box, ie spending time in it, hunched over and little or no result?

StephenQ said:

 

CatMinionJess said:

 
Thanks Columbine! 

Click to expand...

The big question is, after he cries in the box, what is the result? Is there stool? Urine? If urine is it in the normal quantity, or reduced? If stool, if you examine it (gloves, or a tongue depressor etc), is it hard?

If nothing comes out then i would assume urinary blockage and immediate vet visit.  If a little comes out then more likely UTI, vet visit still needed.

If poop comes out, and its hard, then he sounds constipated.

Is he straining at the box, ie spending time in it, hunched over and little or no result?

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I don't live with them so I don't know for sure what it looks like every time he goes. My mom says he uses the little box, poops and pees like normal, but she hears him cry when he goes. He plays, sleeps and eats like normal. I know my mom tries to keep it scooped and clean around the outside too.

mschauer said:

 
As Columbine said he might be crying because he has crystals in his urine. If that is the case you should treat it as an emergency. Male cats in particular are at risk of dying if their urethra becomes blocked with the crystals.

I'm not saying this to scare you. It truly can be an emergency situation. If I suspected one of my cats might have crystals it would get him to the vet immediately. You should call the vet today and ask that he be seen. The vet should also recognize it as an emergency situation, again, especially in the case of a male cat.

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I appreciate the advice! If I could take him today, I would. But I can't do anything until at least Thursday afternoon. Mr. Manners wouldn't be seeing a vet period if it weren't for me anyway because my parents unfortunately can't afford to. I was just curious if it sounded like what I thought it might be or something else I had thought of in the mean time.

CatMinionJess said:

 
I don't live with them so I don't know for sure what it looks like every time he goes. My mom says he uses the little box, poops and pees like normal, but she hears him cry when he goes. He plays, sleeps and eats like normal. I know my mom tries to keep it scooped and clean around the outside too.

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The I would pose the same questions to her, or suggest she start an account here.

StephenQ said:

 

CatMinionJess said:

 
I don't live with them so I don't know for sure what it looks like every time he goes. My mom says he uses the little box, poops and pees like normal, but she hears him cry when he goes. He plays, sleeps and eats like normal. I know my mom tries to keep it scooped and clean around the outside too.

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The I would pose the same questions to her, or suggest she start an account here.

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Thanks, I will ask her that. She can't start an account as they don't have internet access. My mom isn't computer savvy at all anyway. Which is why I'm asking to see how I can help. 

CatMinionJess said:

 
Thanks, I will ask her that. She can't start an account as they don't have internet access. My mom isn't computer savvy at all anyway. Which is why I'm asking to see how I can help. 

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OK well i suggest you pose the questions clearly, take written notes as needed and reply here.  A urinary blockage is the most serious of the possible issues.

StephenQ said:

OK well i suggest you pose the questions clearly, take written notes as needed and reply here.  A urinary blockage is the most serious of the possible issues.

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I couldn't agree more. More information about what's going on is the best of determining just how urgent this is. It's vital to try to work out whether Mr Manners is blocked ASAP. Our biggest concern is a blockage, as that's ALWAYS a veterinary emergency.

UPDATE

I took my mom and Mr. Manners to the vet this afternoon. 

First the tech took him back to weigh him. She came back in and showed us a cloth with 3 worms on it. They were tapeworms. A few minutes later, the vet came in and did a wellness exam and administered his 3 year rabies and annual booster shots. He discussed Mr. Manner's bathroom habits with my mom. Since Mr. Manners is using the box (not going outside of it) and my mom hasn't seen any blood in his stool or urine, he was confident the crying was due to the tapeworms or it could also be just an odd bathroom habit he has. He explained that the tapeworms were mostly likely from ingesting a flea at sometime (could've been months ago). He also administered a dewormer, Profender for that. I asked how long should it take to work. He said, it would start working immediately and should clear it up in a couple of days. He said the Revolution was good, but would only treat a little bit of this type. 

I'm relieved that it was not as serious as I think a UTI would have been. But I'm also irritated with my sister right now. Until a couple of months ago, she was living a 6 or 7 hour drive away. But she would come visit and stay with our parents for the weekend once a month and bring her dog, who always has fleas. She'd leave her cat at home, all alone. So I'm pretty certain Mr. Manners got exposed from her dog because he doesn't go outside and hasn't been around any other animals. She came by after we got back from the vet. I told her that's how I think he was exposed. She said, no it had to be from the field by their home. I said, "yeah maybe, just please make sure she doesn't have any fleas when you bring her over." She asked how much the dewormer cost, but didn't even offer to reimburse me for it. She said, "Oh, that's not bad." Well next time you pay the $22.

My sister is going on vacation at the end of the month and leaving her dog with my parents that week. I'm going to be really angry if Mr. Manners gets worms again because she can't be a more responsible pet owner.  ii

Thank you all for the advice!    

Oh my.

Can you apply a months worth of flea meds when the dog gets dropped off?

I feel sorry for your sisters animals. Fleas haven't been "normal" for a long time. How very appalling she would drop off a flea infested animal.

Hopefully your parents house is flea free?

Sorry about Mr Manners. His poor tummy!!! Glad you got him to the vet. Your parents are lucky to have you!!!

I'm glad it was only worms. At least that's easy to sort out.

Why not tell your sister what's happened, and insist the dog gets a flea treatment before she drops him off. As misterwhiskers says, it'd be a good idea to treat Mr Manners at the same time. Frontline and Advantage are the most effective flea treatments that I'm aware of. Not the cheapest, but definitely less than vet visits!

That sister is not one you demand things from. Everything has to be her way or no way at all. You really have to frame things as non-confrontational as possible. When I stopped by Monday night to give Mr. Manners Revolution, she said, "Why are you giving him that? We just gave him a flea treatment a month ago.' I said, "Mom, thinks he has worms. Frontline treats fleas, not worms. Revolution should treat worms." She just said, "Oh". Then proceeded to butt in to my applying it to him so he freaked out halfway through and clawed my hand and ran and hid under a chair in their bedroom. I have applied it to him several times before with no problems.

Yesterday, I told her what happened at the vet and that I thought Mr. Manners got exposed to fleas from her dog, Chi Chi (not her name, just what I call her). She excused it on the field next to their home, that she's gets fleas from going out there to do her business. She even said our dad brings in the fleas. For the sake of not getting into a shouting match, I told her to just please make sure Chi Chi has had a flea treatment and is flea free when she brings her over. If Mr. Manners turns up with worms again, after the dog visits, I will ask her to pay me for the de-worming. Then I will have more "proof". 

I do feel like it's more likely it came from her dog. I think even without regular flea treatments, he wouldn't have gotten worms if the dog hadn't come around. Because my 3 cats are indoor only just like Mr. Manners. No other animals come around them. They haven't had a problem with worms, aside from Sgt. Pepper having worms as a kitten (9 years ago) that were treated with Revolution from the vet. And I'm actually pretty lax about their flea treatments. I only had a flea problem 3 years ago, when I took in the 3rd one from outside. It took a couple of months to clear up, but have had no problems since. 

I also feel bad for her dog and cat. The dog is pretty old now, a chihuahua, dachshund mix, has had a bunch of teeth pulled, very few left. She has a problem with anal glands or something with her bottom area. The cat is 5 years old and weighs 20 pounds or more. I don't think she ever had him neutered because her longtime bf wanted him to be a man. At least she didn't de-claw him. Sadly some pet owners just have pets to have them. They don't always feel like they're a part of their heart like actual pet lovers do.

Ugh. Tough situation. You can at least make sure Mr Manners gets treated before Chi Chi comes to stay, though. That should give him all the protection he needs :cross: Couldn't your parents insist on Chi Chi being treated before coming over, though? It IS their house, after all.

I hate hearing about irresponsible owners. It just isn't fair to the animals. All you can do is your best in difficult circumstances.

It is their house, but unfortunately family dynamics aren't always that simple.

My sister didn't really want her cat in the first place. That's part of why I think she doesn't really care about the cat, she didn't want one to begin with. Someone had dropped a litter of 3 kittens on my parents' porch at their old house sometime in the spring of 2009. So I was wrong earlier, my sister's cat would be 6 by now. My sister had had her dog for several years already. Her bf said they would take one of the kittens. She didn't really want another pet, but took one anyway. I told her it was a boy, but she didn't believe me and named it Chloe. I think Mr. Manners is the son of one of the brothers in that litter. So her cat would be our mom's cat's uncle. See even cat family dynamics are weird.   

I will just have to be more diligent about flea treatments for Mr. Manners. I'll update if anything else comes up with it. But that's all I can do about it for now. 

I also apologize for getting way off the original topic. I guess I just needed to vent about the outcome!

No need to apologise. We all need to vent here sometimes :nod: At least Mr Manners has you to look out for him :bigthumb:

It has been 2 weeks and Mr. Manners is doing well after his vet visit. The dewormer worked. My mom hasn't heard him cry in the litter box since his vet visit. But my mom will babysitting my sister's dog again for a week starting next Friday and it's possible he could get re-exposed to tapeworms from the dog's fleas again. My mom will be paying close attention to his bathroom habits in the coming months. 

I got an email from 1-800-petmeds that Revolution is $20 of right now so I'm going to order more and make sure Mr. Manners has had a flea treatment before the dog comes over. I see that they also sell the de-wormer the vet gave him, Profender. http://www.1800petmeds.com/Profender+Cat+Wormer-prod11220.html  Is it really the same as what you'd get at the vet? If it really is the same, ordering from there if he did need it again would save $6 for the medicine and $50 for the vet visit and save Mr. Manners the stress of the vet visit.