Cat in a litterbox

elizwithcat

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My cat have been going into his litterbox every 10 minutes, I swear. What does it mean? He does not have diarrea and runs around as usual.
 

pat

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Is he crying at all while in there? Does he look like he's trying to pee with little to nothing coming out - check the box for pee amounts. It could well be that he has a urinary tract infection - so even if he is managing to urinate some, I'd take him in to the vet. If you do NOT see any urine in that box, it is truly an emergency (they can die I believe within 24 hours of blocking, it truly is an emergency), and an er vet is called for.

You'll have to figure out what he's doing while in there...
 
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elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Is he crying at all while in there? Does he look like he's trying to pee with little to nothing coming out - check the box for pee amounts. It could well be that he has a urinary tract infection - so even if he is managing to urinate some, I'd take him in to the vet. If you do NOT see any urine in that box, it is truly an emergency (they can die I believe within 24 hours of blocking, it truly is an emergency), and an er vet is called for.

You'll have to figure out what he's doing while in there...
He is not crying. I have no clue what he is doing in there, as nothing is coming out of him. So, I presume he is trying to either pee or poop, but can't?
The vet is closed now, I will have to take him first thing tomorrow morning.
This cat is driving me insane, there is always something wrong with him, and he is not even a year old yet.
My other cat is always fine, but this one just keeps having problem after problem. He is also very anxious all the time, afraid of everything, and hides under the bed a lot because he always has to go to a vet or take medications.
 

pat

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Keep a close eye on him please? A urinary blockage if he is truly straining, if you see no pee in that box, is worth the money to see whatever emergency clinic is available in your area.

When Tyler was blocking, he got in his box multiple times, squatted, even did some backleg digs like a dog would, and then I'd see a tiny drop on the clumping litter that was it...no sound of urine coming out, and in 30 seconds, he'd be back in again. Tyler ended up completely blocked - to the point the vet could not even manually express any urine out of him, and he was in the hospital for several days, it was not a good time.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by elizwithcat

He is not crying. I have no clue what he is doing in there, as nothing is coming out of him. So, I presume he is trying to either pee or poop, but can't?
The vet is closed now, I will have to take him first thing tomorrow morning.
This cat is driving me insane, there is always something wrong with him, and he is not even a year old yet.
My other cat is always fine, but this one just keeps having problem after problem. He is also very anxious all the time, afraid of everything, and hides under the bed a lot because he always has to go to a vet or take medications.
I am so sorry...it's hard when there are health issues, and even harder when you see them change in response. I will say a prayer you see some urine tonight, enough to feel you can wait until the am...and then, if it is a urinary tract infection, it can be treated, if crystals are found, dietary change can help prevent this from happening again.

wishing for some output!!
 
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elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Keep a close eye on him please? A urinary blockage if he is truly straining, if you see no pee in that box, is worth the money to see whatever emergency clinic is available in your area.

When Tyler was blocking, he got in his box multiple times, squatted, even did some backleg digs like a dog would, and then I'd see a tiny drop on the clumping litter that was it...no sound of urine coming out, and in 30 seconds, he'd be back in again. Tyler ended up completely blocked - to the point the vet could not even manually express any urine out of him, and he was in the hospital for several days, it was not a good time.
How long did you wait to take Tyler to the vet? An emergency vet will absolutely cost a fortune. They charge over a hundred dollars before doing anything at all, just to bring the cat in. I have spend so much money on this cat already, I can't afford all of that. He had all kinds of tests done, x-rays, etc, FIV, Felv, FIP but he doesn't have anything, he is just sickly. As he is eating, drinking, and running around, I hope he can wait until tomorrow morning.
 

pat

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I already had an apt. for him early in the morning, he was 2 weeks post bladder surgery, and had been regressing from becoming more comfortable - peeing more, less often, to the increased frequency and decreased output I described. I wish I had taken him in the afternoon of the day before


It's a judgement call, I'd just watch the box, be sure since he is eating and drinking, that he's managed to pee before you go to bed (if you have to, stick him in the bathroom with a newly cleaned box so you can be sure if he's gone.

Best wishes,
 

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This might sound overly simplistic -- but does the cat want more privacy? If I have her litter box open, Nano will jump in but if I am in the bathroom for a minute she will wait for me to leave before doing anything. Sometimes she hops out of the box and comes back five minutes later when I'm gone.

Another stupid comment -- is it possible she is urinating somewhere else? In a sink or bathtub? You could try isolating her with a litterbox and see if you see urine clumps when she has no alternative but to use the box.

Really banal idea -- does the cat have two litterboxes? It turned out Nano does not like to defecate and urinate in the same litterbox. But Nano wasn't avoiding urination, she was getting constipated...so perhaps not applicable.

Regardless, if it is not some simple thing you've overlooked then I suppose a vet visit is in order. Hope the situation improves!
 
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elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I already had an apt. for him early in the morning, he was 2 weeks post bladder surgery, and had been regressing from becoming more comfortable - peeing more, less often, to the increased frequency and decreased output I described. I wish I had taken him in the afternoon of the day before


It's a judgement call, I'd just watch the box, be sure since he is eating and drinking, that he's managed to pee before you go to bed (if you have to, stick him in the bathroom with a newly cleaned box so you can be sure if he's gone.

Best wishes,
Well, we just came back from the vet. Same old, same old-paid a bunch of money for this cat again. He is not blocked, as he peed on the vet while he was there (good boy!). I think he peed on her because she said she was going to take him to a back room to get a urine sample-and he would have none of that! So she just collected whatever he peed on the examining table, so she didn't have to use a needle to draw his urine, LOL. He doesn't have crystals in his urine, but I could see it was bloody, so they told me he got FIC.
And of course the cure for it all is Prescription Science Diet-Grrr! She didn't know of any other foods I could give him. I know he doesn't like Science Diet, as he already been given some for his sensitive stomach but he would not eat it, so what other foods are there for the urinary tract health in cats?
 

pat

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I am so glad you have an answer...the fact it was bloody means it was a good thing you didn't wait (imo).

I will ask our vet tech advisor to comment...I can say from experience, that when one of my girls was diagnosed with cystitis, I was told simply to feed her nothing but canned food...he didn't even care what quality, just no more dry, and I was advised to give her a dose of glucosamine daily (mixed in her food). She eventually grew out of the problem.

I found one article (a bit graphic) on FIC - click here

Since I am not a vet, I am not qualified to say "feed this instead", but I would ask my vet what other options there are, since you know your fellow does not like science diet, and in fact, would consider (if you can) asking about doing a homecooked diet a la Dr. Strombeck's book on homecooking which has many recipes that address a variety of needs.

As I recall, Hills actually has recipes for home cooked diets that your vet should be able to provide you a copy of (somewhere I have these, and could try to look these up if you wish).

So....Let me ask Dr. Doolittle to comment, and we'll see what she says.

Best wishes with this fellow, once you figure this diet bit out, perhaps it will be smooth sailing, and you two can get back to just enjoying life!
 
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elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I am so glad you have an answer...the fact it was bloody means it was a good thing you didn't wait (imo).

I will ask our vet tech advisor to comment...I can say from experience, that when one of my girls was diagnosed with cystitis, I was told simply to feed her nothing but canned food...he didn't even care what quality, just no more dry, and I was advised to give her a dose of glucosamine daily (mixed in her food). She eventually grew out of the problem.

I found one article (a bit graphic) on FIC - click here

Since I am not a vet, I am not qualified to say "feed this instead", but I would ask my vet what other options there are, since you know your fellow does not like science diet, and in fact, would consider (if you can) asking about doing a homecooked diet a la Dr. Strombeck's book on homecooking which has many recipes that address a variety of needs.

As I recall, Hills actually has recipes for home cooked diets that your vet should be able to provide you a copy of (somewhere I have these, and could try to look these up if you wish).

So....Let me ask Dr. Doolittle to comment, and we'll see what she says.

Best wishes with this fellow, once you figure this diet bit out, perhaps it will be smooth sailing, and you two can get back to just enjoying life!
I did ask the vet what other foods for urinary health are out there, but she said to feed him Science Diet. Which is not surprising, since that's all vets do recommend around here. I know it's not the best food by any means, and would like to know what else is out there for urinary health, if anybody knows?
She dis say something about Purina one urinary health, but I am not sure if that is a good food either. Does he need to be put on bottled water? Or distilled?
 

pat

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I'll look forward to what Dr. Doolittle (our vet tech advisor) has to say. I'll see if I can find the Hills Science Diet home-cooked diets for you (my vet xeroxed them for me recently) and pm them to you later today.

I would go for filtered water - just a Brita would do, I would not use distilled.

I would specifically ask this vet re using glucosamine - and maybe consider a second vet's opinion.

I have to zip and get packing and shipping, but later today, I'll see what I can find re Purina One.
 

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My little boy had blockage and crystals and all that. The vet recommended science diet but as I do not have a fortune to spend on cat food I used Purina One Urinary Tract Health formula. It's been 2 years and I haven't fed him anything other then that and there have been no more problems. Science Diet is the best, but when you are on a budget I really recommend Purina One.
 

dr. doolittle

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FIC-Feline Interstitial Cystitis?
All of the veterinary diets make foods appropriate for your cat. Hills is only one brand. I like Medi-Cal (VMD) Preventive. All of the Hills and Medi-Cal foods are formulated for urinary tract health. If your kitty has a sensitive tummy then I might even try the Hypo-Gastro. Like Pat said- wet food is better because it increases water intake. Walthams/Royal Canin also makes a urinary S/O diet. Purina has one too. So as you can see their are many options. If your vet doesn't carry a product you would like to try, just ask and they should be willing to order it in for you.
We also do regular cartrophen injections in our cystitis kitties and it seems to help. Good luck
 

pat

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I checked, what I have from my vet is a copy of the ingredients, and stats on some of Hills prescription diets. Here is a link to read over - though I'm not sure that any of these would be appropriate, and would run it by your vet first...in fact, I'd specifically ask your vet for the recipes that Hills provides for cats that will not eat their prescription foods (as noted in this link): click here
 
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elizwithcat

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Cat started doing the same thing again. Took it to the vet again. This time they did x-rays and didn't find anything-as ususal with this cat. This cat is driving me absolutely bonkers.
I am going to try glucosamine on him and see if it helps.
I am actually thinking of giving back to the breeder, but if she won't take him, I am not sure what to do. All his tests are negative but he is just a sickly animal.
 
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elizwithcat

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Now I caught him peeing in the sink. Oh, what do I do?
 

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get an ensyme cleaner and clean the sink .. go to pet store by attract and place it in the littler box with the freshly changed litter...
 

pat

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At least if he peed in the sink, you could see if there was any blood. I don't a single reputable breeder who wouldn't take back a cat with a chronic problem, please give them a call and just talk with them.

In the meantime, try a nice new litter box, and yes, the litter called Cat Attract is a good one...whatever he's eating best in wet food get that into him, soupy with extra water if he'll eat it that way. Has your vet prescribed anything besides a change of diet re the FIC?

I am so sorry your fellow isn't feeling well..it took Lyra over a year to get past this.
 

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I don't know what to say but to encourage you in your efforts!
You seem like you are doing everything right when everything seems wrong.

Good wishes and hope coming your way!!
Stay strong!
 
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