Peeing problems

Squash is a 4-year-old orange tabby male. He's having urinary problems and he's peeing nonstop all over the floor. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow, but in the meantime is there anything I can give him to alleviate the pain and prevent him from peeing nonstop? If he is not lying down he is peeing/trying to pee. I have been giving him methigel and canned food but no luck yet. At least I know he is not obstructed. I am considering keeping him in his carrier with some breeze pads as having to clean up pee every few minutes is too much. 

Background info:

A few weeks ago I noticed he was straining to pee so I took him to the vet. The vet got a sample of his pee and said there were crystals in it but not much and he had no infection. The vet said to just give him methigel and keep an eye on him. I had gotten kind of slack about giving him the methigel as he seemed to be getting better, but now it came back worse.  

Hi, my cat got blocked once several years ago and was in the hospital for a few days. Hope Squash is okay.

Are you in the USA? I think it's amazing that you weren't sold a urinary diet. Okay, so methigel means he has struvite crystals and the methionine was dissolving them. Methionine is what many urinary diets put in the food to acidify the urine. Struvite crysals form when the ph is too high, above ~6-7. My cat was on RC Urinary SO for a while, but I finally switched him to canned only and he has been well ever since, years now.

I'm going to link you to some really great information so you can really understand what's going on with Squash. This is a really common problem caused by what we feed our cats and I had to learn all this too when it happened to my cat.

Dr. Pierson's article- http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Dr. Becker's video- http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...-Indicate-Your-Pet-has-a-Bladder-Problem.aspx

Dr. Jason Nicholas also wrote this very informative article http://www.preventivevet.com/cats/help-my-cat-cant-pee-feline-urethral-obstruction-be-aware

Also, in this thread, a member posts a link to Ebay where you can get ph test strips for less than $3. I think he got worse again because you stopped giving the methigel and the crystals weren't dissolved yet. It's best if it's in the range of 6-6.5. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/319080/cystitis-dexamethasone#post_4004316

Now, I mostly feed Canidae (green All Life Stages) or Triumph. I usually buy online from Chewy or recently Pet360 had some really great deals. They are higher quality foods for a good price. I mostly am able to buy a pack of 12 thirteen ounce cans for about $15-$16. Also, fish is bad for cats with crystals, so stay away from anything with fish as the main source of protein.

Hopefully, based on his urinalysis, you can get back on track with the methigel and canned food. Prescription diets really don't have good ingredients for cats and they are very expensive. Good luck!

Also, the ph strips can also help you to make sure that his urine doesn't go below 6, because then a different type of stone can form, hope the vet told you about that.

@FairyCatMom

Thank you for the response! The first time I took him to the vet for peeing problems his stream was still going strong so the vet thought the methigel would clear it up.

So I took him back to the vet and they kept him overnight to catheterize him and flush out his bladder (*shudder* catheters freak me out), but he got his cone off and pulled the catheter out during the night. But he was peeing all over the place so he was not obstructed anymore, and the vet sent him home with Royal Canin SO food and urethra relaxer medication.

I've been giving Squash the rx food with his medication and the methigel. It's been 5 days since I brought him home and while he is not constantly dribbling everywhere like before, he's still not getting a good stream when he pees and he still goes outside the litterbox daily. Do I keep waiting it out to see if he normalizes? I don't know how long it takes.

Also, today, for the first time ever, he sprayed. Normally he will back up against the wall and *try* to spray but nothing comes out. I'm hoping this is just a side effect of his urinary problems and not a new habit Any experience with that? Squash has beef with my other male cat (both neutered) so territory issues are not out of the question.

Thanks again!

Hi there, I don't have experience with this but just wanted to say hi

I wonder if you phoned the vet and asked the questions? I wonder if maybe he needs a pain meds? crystals can be painful. usually they give buprenorphine and its liquid given in the cheek pocket=my female kitty had a urinary kidney infection and she got a shot of antibiotics but the biggest help was pain meds as she kept making small balls in the litter box.\

Hoping you find answers for your boy. she sprays in the catbox because she has arthritis and cant bend the knees but she hasn't done it anywhere else that I have seen. Hoping things get better~

Glad to hear he's doing somewhat better. Okay, the Urinary SO already has methionine in it, did the vet tell you to give the gel along with the food? Don't want his urine to get too acidic because that could cause the other type of crystals. Did they do an ultrasound to see the crystals in his bladder? I wonder if they know if there are any larger ones in there.

The food should be making him thirsty (it has salt in it), does it seem like he's drinking enough? Some people get tuna and put it in water and shake it up and then take the tuna out to help their cats drink more. If you do this, I don't know how long it will be good before it expires. But don't let him eat tuna, it's bad for cats with crystals. Also, it's probably best to get distilled water for him. If you use clumping litter it can help you to monitor how much he's going.

My cat actually stayed in the hospital for a few days, he didn't pull out his catheter, yikes, they make me cringe too. He was on Urinary SO for about a year, the ingredients in it are really bad for cats. I think it's okay to be on until his crystals are dissolved, but hopefully you can safely switch him to a good canned food in the near future.

As long as he's going it's not an emergency, but I would at least call the vet and tell them what's going on. Cause like foxxycat said, he might need pain medicine. Dr. Becker says that they are like little pieces of glass making scrapes in the bladder. My cat also does the spraying thing when no urine comes out. In this article Dr. Hines mentions urine spraying http://www.2ndchance.info/fus.htm.

Something else that might help is slippery elm bark, it will coat the lining of his bladder. I use Vet's Best Hairball Relief Digestive Aid Cat Supplement-you have to break them up a little, but my cat's like them. I've seen it in the pet store and online. Vet's Best also makes something for the urinary tract, but you shouldn't give that to him because he is already on things that help acidify his urine. You might also want to get those ph strips, you could just sneak it in his stream when he's going and it will really help you to know where he's at. Here's the link Red Top Rescue gave http://www.ebay.com/itm/Laboratory-...=item2a461e0484:g:pDoAAOSwirZTxOdv&rmvSB=true

Hope he's all better soon

foxxycat said:

Hi there, I don't have experience with this but just wanted to say hi

I wonder if you phoned the vet and asked the questions? I wonder if maybe he needs a pain meds? crystals can be painful. usually they give buprenorphine and its liquid given in the cheek pocket=my female kitty had a urinary kidney infection and she got a shot of antibiotics but the biggest help was pain meds as she kept making small balls in the litter box

Click to expand...

I wanted to chime in about the pain meds mentioned by foxxycat my female cat had an inflamed bladder due to crystals. She was given RC Urinary SO prescription canned food plus buprenorpine for pain and anti-imflamatory (Onsior I think). The prescription food is to work to dissolve the crystals, the pain med is for the comfort of the cat and the anti inflammatory will resolve the inflammation that the crystals are causing.
Do you have a follow up with your vet scheduled?

I sure hope Squash is feeling better soon [emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️