HELP! CAT IS URINATING BLOOD, VET FOUND NOTHING CONCLUSIVE IN THE URINALYSIS

dr cat

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My 3 year old cat has been urinating straight red for weeks now. He is a male tabby who seems relatively healthy. Outside of this bloody urine issue, he eats fine, drinks his water, still spry and active. The way I found out was due to him urinating on the bed (and now couch) for months now. At first, his urine was dark orange. I took him in to our private vet (cat doctor only) and she insisted that it was probably a behavioral issue. A couple months later, the urine eventually got red and now I have to lock him in the room so that he wont urinate on the bed or couch.

Fast forward to last week, he urinated on a white towel that was sitting on the couch and it was so red that I had to take him back in for a urinalysis. I called in the vet on a Wednesday morning and she said she'd only be available on Friday. I took him in Friday and left him there all day for the urinalysis. The vet claimed she needed to sedate him and use a catheter to draw the urine, but this is unusual, as he urinates frequently at home. Either way, The urinalysis was $320, which seemed pretty high to me. I searched online and saw that the average price for a urinalysis was $90-$150....pricing is not my main concern, but I did call in a more widely known vet to confirm how much they charge for a urinalysis and they quoted me at $140. Top priority is still the cat, but honesty is a big part of professionalism IMO.

Despite the high cost, I wanted to be open to her methods, as she seems to really love cats. One thing I found funny is that her main concern has always been that he doesnt eat fish or products with a fish like taste, as cats are "not meant to eat seafood". She literally stresses this every time we go in for a check up...Anyways, so I pick my cat up Friday evening after leaving him with the vet for a urinalysis all day. She said she would have results by Monday and would call me up with them by then, and sent me back home with 2 cans of urinary care wet food. Got no calls on Monday... So I called in myself today and she didn't seem to have an answer. No crystals, no bacteria...only thing she knew for sure was that his urine was very high in acid, but she couldn't tell what was causing the blood. So her suggestion was to keep him on the urinary care wet and dry food diet for 2 weeks and see if that does anything. Now, I don't want to be cynical, but this seems kind of strange for $320. What if this is a serious issue? Is bloody urine really something that should be given the wait-and-see approach?

Now, I want to take him in for a second opinion to a more popular vet, but I'm considering putting him on the diet for these next two weeks and seeing if maybe she's right first..would I be crazy for taking her advice? Is this something that can be serious and needs urgent attention? I don't want to pay again for another urinalysis with a different vet, as I just came out of pocket $320, but I will if I have to.

Any cat experts with some advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Maybe I'm being cynical, but for some strange reason, our vet has really given me a gut feeling that she lacks professionalism, despite specializing in cats. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I just want to be sure.

Thanks!
 

catlover73

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One of my friends had a cat that was peeing blood. Her cat had a severe Urinary Tract Infection that caused Sturvite Crystals. I really have never heard of a cat peeing blood being a behavioral issue. Please get a 2nd opinion from a different vet.
 
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dr cat

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One of my friends had a cat that was peeing blood. Her cat had a severe Urinary Tract Infection that caused Sturvite Crystals. I really have never heard of a cat peeing blood being a behavioral issue. Please get a 2nd opinion from a different vet.
The vet only said it was a behavioral issue before the pee turned completely red, when I initially took the cat in for urinating on the bed...The urine was initially a dark orange, which she claimed was fairly normal in cats.

You said your friends cat had sturvite crystals, but my vet didn't find any crystals in the urinalysis. So shouldn't that rule it out?

I do want to get a second opinion, but that's $320 down the drain? Should I try the diet first or is that ridiculous advice??
 

catlover73

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If it were my cat I would go to a different vet. I would not do any diet changes yet because if your cat has a UTI the change in diet will not get rid of the infection.

One of my own cats peed on a chair in our den. He has never had an accident in the 5+ years he has lived with me. My hubby was sure Sonny was just mad at him and was giving me hell about taking him to the vet. I called on of my friends in tears and she came and took us to the vet. My cat was not peeing blood yet but he was diagnosed with a UTI and had a very small amount of crystals in his urine. The vet felt that the crystals could have been caused by the infection and told me not to change his diet yet. He was given an antibiotic injection which lasts 2 weeks. He will go back in a week for a re-check.

I am not sure why the urinalysis performed by your vet did not show anything. My cat has not peed on the chair or anywhere else since he went to the vet.
 
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dr cat

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Would a UTI not show up in a urinalysis though?
 

catlover73

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I would think it would show up. The only thing I can think of is if the urine sample was too small. I do not know if that is possible.

Hopefully someone with more experience with this issue will know if this is a possibility. I have only dealt with this issue once myself.
 

angels mommy

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It seems like it would show up, if it were bacteria, etc.. causing it. I would also go to another vet. We went to a cat only vet & that sounds high to me too.

Angel had cystitis twice & showed strurvite crystals in the bladder. Did they do an ultrasound? That's how my vet checked the condition of the bladder, along with a urinalysis. At the time his bladder wall looked a little thicker, along w/ the crystals, so he was put on Dasequin for the inflammation. I later found cosequin on line & much cheaper. (same thing)  He was also given amatriptyline to help relax the bladder spasms. 
 
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dr cat

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It seems like it would show up, if it were bacteria, etc.. causing it. I would also go to another vet. We went to a cat only vet & that sounds high to me too.
Angel had cystitis twice & showed strurvite crystals in the bladder. Did they do an ultrasound? That's how my vet checked the condition of the bladder, along with a urinalysis. At the time his bladder wall looked a little thicker, along w/ the crystals, so he was put on Dasequin for the inflammation. I later found cosequin on line & much cheaper. (same thing)  He was also given amatriptyline to help relax the bladder spasms. 
mind if I ask you how much the ultrasound and urinalysis cost you?
 

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Hi @Dr Cat  Welcome to TCS.

If I were you I'd take the cat to another vet as soon as you can. Blood in the urine can be a sign of a UTI, but it can also be caused by cancer, trauma that has led to internal bleeding or bacterial or fungal infections. You say your cat has had blood in his urine for a few weeks now. This is a sign that something is quite wrong with him.

Please take him to another vet to rule out other possible causes before trying him on a new diet.

Keep us updated on how it goes, I hope it's nothing too serious.
 

bird4416

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My female cat was peeing blood. I took in a urine sample and she had a bacterial infection. Vet put her on antibiotics and it cleared up only to come back several months later. My vet took an X-ray of her bladder and found bladder stones. They irritate the bladder lining and make it bleed and also set it up for an infection. She had surgery yesterday to remove them and they will send them off for analysis. Apparently, ere are 2 kinds of stones that can form and different dietary changes can help prevent them depending on what they are composed of. They can also be detected by ultrasound.
Please take your cat to a different vet. If left untreated they can cause blockages, especially in male cats.
 

angels mommy

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mind if I ask you how much the ultrasound and urinalysis cost you?
No, not at all. I looked back at some old invoices, & Ultrasound w/ urinalysis was 45.00. I was thinking the ultrasound was around 40.00 & urinalysis 20.00, but maybe because of doing follow ups, it was that combined.

I wouldn't think it would be more than the separate prices. All places are different, but it can't be too far off from that. Where we went is a cat only hospital so has ALL the equipment they need. (not an ER though). But their prices were always computable.  

I do agree with Norachan, that it's been going on too long, & should be seen for an ultrasound asap. Your kitty is probably in some pain. 
 
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dr cat

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Update:

I've had my cat on a science diet brand urinary care wet food diet for the past couple weeks, stopped feeding him dry food (for the most part), and bought these treats that are supposed to help urinary function and the bloody urine has stopped......maybe my vet wasn't so crazy after all, because he seems to be doing very well. stopped peeing on the couch for those couple of weeks, until i ran out of wet food and had him back on dry food for a couple days. then he urinated on my couch again the other day, but still not bloody....for the most part, he seems back to normal and i'm feeling pretty satisfied with the dietary improvements. thanks for the help folks. 
 

angels mommy

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So glad to hear he is doing better, but yea, very important to keep him on the wet food only.
It seems like the dry irritates his system, & that makes sence. You may want to buy the wet food he is on by the case, most stores give case discounts, even if its just like getting one can for free, its worth it, & then you wont have to worry about running out as often.
 

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I would get to another vet, really as soon as possible.  Something is wrong here and your vet is not picking it up.  

No animal or person pees blood like that consistently unless something is radically wrong.  

My mom used to have bad kidney infections and would get those kind of symptoms.  You need to go to another vet, get a workup and have the kidneys checked too.  I am also thinking that it might be crystals and sturvites.  

My concern is that this has already gone on for a few weeks, if I am reading this right, so time is of the essence. 
 
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dr cat

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I would get to another vet, really as soon as possible.  Something is wrong here and your vet is not picking it up.  

No animal or person pees blood like that consistently unless something is radically wrong.  

My mom used to have bad kidney infections and would get those kind of symptoms.  You need to go to another vet, get a workup and have the kidneys checked too.  I am also thinking that it might be crystals and sturvites.  

My concern is that this has already gone on for a few weeks, if I am reading this right, so time is of the essence. 
blood is gone, i switched his brand to science diet urinary care, and he seems to be back to normal, not even peeing on the couch anymore......................................i wonder if it was the cheap dry food (luvsome) that was messing his system up, because he's been good since I took him off it. 
 
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