...and just as a sidebar comment, we didn't actually "run" to the litter boxes when we went to listen to the boys pee.
We did walk calmly and quietly over there so as not to disturb them. But yes, we kept an eye on it for quite some time.
I will say, we did figure out that if they're straining in the litter box to pee, their bladders were empty, and if they were straining OUT of the box and dribbling, they were blocked. But that was our boys, and since it's literally been years, hopefully it's all behind us now.
Beeba's over the hump now, and the meds will do their work for the short-term, and the diet will do the trick long term.
Each cat will react differently to the pain of UTI. Some cats will look for soft things to pee on. Some cats will come up and pee right in front of you, in an effort to say "Hey, something is wrong".
Baby (rb 1/98 ) did that. Jumped right up on my desk where I was writing and peed on the page.
On the other hand, Ootay (rb 5/09) and Jennie and Mazy all just ran frantically from box to box straining.