Cat Holding in Wee

[Katielizabeth1996]

My 1 year and 6 month old British Shorthair Male had a urinary blockage around 5 months ago, he had bladder stones and needed surgery. He has since been diagnosed with stress related cystitis.

The past few days he has been urinating once every 24/30 hours a massive amount and then nothing for hours, he has also started digging frantically and yarling when trying to poo and going between both litter trays before he actually poos.

He went to the vets today because he didn’t wee for 30 hours, he made no attempt to wee and when he does he could go just fine. He was assessed for a blockage but there was no blockage and I have no idea why he won’t wee.

He is neutered, he has two litter trays which are cleared 2/3 times a day. He has recently been on steroids but I have taken him off these and he is still eating but not as much (I add water to his food) and he is drinking from his fountain

 

[silent meowlook]

If he was blocked before, do you know how how blocked? If you aren’t already, he should see an internal medicine veterinarian.

Do you know what the stones came back as? Was a full bladder surgery done where they go in surgically?

In the meantime I would add a litter box, uncovered, different litter to another area of the house.

 

[IndyJones]

Does he go outdoors at all? Could be going outdoors as well.

I would also go around the house and look for any accidents, they may not be right out in the opened either.

When Indy had a bladder infection she started peeing in a rubbermaid bin and I didn't notice it till a month after she was better. It was really crusty and dry.

 

[FeralHearts]

K Katielizabeth1996 Welcome to the cat site! So sorry that your boy is not doing well. *hugs*

Pain can cause litterbox aversion.

My boy has idiopathic cystitis. One thing I learned early on (thankfully) was that if he hurt to go pee he would end up constipated. That caused a second layer of issues.

They avoid the litterbox as they associate it with pain. If yours is having a bout of inflammation, they may not be blocked - but in pain.

Did the vet address the trying to poop and crying? That is something you might want to talk to them about.

Edit to add: The constipation comes from avoiding the litterbox because it hurts. So they hold the poop.

 

[MoMoMeow]

Hi!

My kitty has struggled with idiopathic cystitis and sometimes crystals/debris in the bladder for almost two years now.

Litterbox avoidance is definitely a thing. I had to add an extra box and move them around for him to be comfortable continuing to use it instead of holding it in, but I got lucky in the fact even though he was in a lot of pain he wouldn't go in inappropriate areas. It'd be worth seeing if adding more or changing their location could help your kitty. Feliway calming plug in could also possibly help with this.

For stress, I'd recommend making a plan with your vet to see what's best for your cat. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly can be a trigger, even if it seems like they're not stressed over anything and the environment hasn't changed. I will say this, though, to be careful of medicines like prozac and of the same type, as some cats can get a symptom of urinary retention from them. My boy had this, but i caught it in time before it could lead to a blockage. Work closely with your vet if you go that route, and watch kitty closely until they're more used to the meds to make sure they're doing okay.

Now, idiopathic cystitis is rough. My kitty gets so inflamed that he can't pass urine, and the more he tried to pee without getting anything out, the more inflamed and irritated he'd get - to the point where he'd start to bleed. It would go in an endless loop, and not even antiinflammatories i was prescribed could help sometimes.

Before I say this, I recommend consulting your vet about supplements as not every cat can benefit from them, but the only thing that seemed to help my boy (after stressing nearly all simple medical options, and getting the drastic PU surgery as a last resort), is a daily routine of supplements for urinary support. I give him D-mannose, cornsilk, cystease, and cantharis ( which i found out helps humans with this IC, so I tried a pet version from the UK) so far it seems to be working for him, as he hasn't relapsed in months now. The mannose helped him urinate and pass extremely large chunks of mucus before he got the surgery, so that i had more time to get him to my regular vet instead of the emergency one.

I also have him on a urinary prescription food (wet only, cats with bladder issues need extra, extra water! Cannot stress this enough. It can also help with the constipation.)

My boy also happens to get constipated constantly (chronic stomach issues, flip flops between soft and solid constantly). I recently got a cat laxative that's for hairballs, and most say they're for that but it also helps with constipation too, so far it works. But before that my vet recommended miralax as it can be given for long periods of time and is tasteless. It doesn't give them completely unformed stool, just softens it. I still use it if his constipation lasts more than a few days. You could ask your vet about it, possibly.