Straining to pee and poop?

[Cupcakecrazy]

My 13 year old male cat has a tumor on his pancreas that my vet thinks is benign. He's started to go to the litterbox and not produce urine off and on over the weekend so I thought he had a UTI. Now he is straining to poop and not going as well.

It's the weekend and everywhere near me is closed. There is one emergency vet in the area that I'm very likely not able to afford after thousands of dollars in vet bills since August. Is there another reason he would be going to the litterbox and not producing pee or poop other than a UTI?

He's not really showing signs of a struggle, he just attempts to go and seems confused that he's not. He isn't vocalizing and he's still eating, drinking, and playing.

I'm not sure if this could be related to his tumor or not, if it could be pushing on something that is giving him mixed signals about needing to use the bathroom?

His last pee was 5 hours ago, his last poop 13. He tried to pee and poop again 2 hours ago and wasn't successful. Thank you for any help!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't see any correlation between this pancreatic tumor and him not peeing/pooping, but I am also not a vet.

How often does he pee and poop normally? Tbh, 5 hours from the last pee and 13 hours from the last poop doesn't seem to warrant a high level of concern, given that it doesn't really sound like he is actually straining. And I believe he recently had diarrhea, so his poops may be less frequent if you are comparing now to then. What was done to stop the diarrhea?

Maybe some more information about why you find this concerning would be helpful.

 

[Cupcakecrazy]

He usually pees at least three times a day, sometimes 5. He usually poops every 24 hours but sometimes he goes twice a day.

I stopped giving him the probiotic that was causing the diarrhea and it went away on its own. He's been going to the litterbox frequently and not actually going since Wednesday. On Wednesday he peed six times, but attempted to go four times between those successes and didn't produce anything.

On Thursday he peed six times and pooped twice without any issues. Friday he peed five times, tried to go a sixth time and didn't, then successfully peed a sixth time before bed. He didn't try to poop on Friday.

Today he peed at 1 am, tried to pee at 6 am and didn't, peed and pooped at 6:15 am, peed a small amount at 9 am, peed at 2 pm, and tried to pee again at 7 and didnt.

I'm concerned that he keeps periodically attempting to go and is unsuccessful.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Again, I am not a vet, but I don't perceive this to be of the magnitude of an ER trip. He is producing urine and feces, just in a manner you find unsettling. I would continue to monitor his output, and if he still pees/poops, it may be something to contact the vet about when they are open.

If he stops either, and/or really appears to strain, that might be another matter. Or, if he stops drinking, eating, and playing, along with that.

There is probably something behind it, since he is increasing his trips to the litter box without fruition, and because you sense a change, but to what degree - if any - of an issue it could be is not anything anyone here can determine. You have to go with your gut.

 

[Joxer]

My 13 year old male cat has a tumor on his pancreas that my vet thinks is benign. He's started to go to the litterbox and not produce urine off and on over the weekend so I thought he had a UTI. Now he is straining to poop and not going as well.

It's the weekend and everywhere near me is closed. There is one emergency vet in the area that I'm very likely not able to afford after thousands of dollars in vet bills since August. Is there another reason he would be going to the litterbox and not producing pee or poop other than a UTI?

He's not really showing signs of a struggle, he just attempts to go and seems confused that he's not. He isn't vocalizing and he's still eating, drinking, and playing.

I'm not sure if this could be related to his tumor or not, if it could be pushing on something that is giving him mixed signals about needing to use the bathroom?

His last pee was 5 hours ago, his last poop 13. He tried to pee and poop again 2 hours ago and wasn't successful. Thank you for any help!

Usually with a UTI, the cat is able to urinate, but does it in odd places -- on the floor, on beds, chairs, couches, that sort of thing. They will often make unhappy sounds while urinating, and urinate a little bit in several places rather than a lot in one place. Sometimes there will also be blood in the urine.

One of my cats, Casper, goes outside a lot and rolls in the dirt when the weather is warm. During the winter, he does not want to go outside as much, and rolls around in the litter box instead. This seems to make him very happy, and he likes to let me know when he is doing it (I do not punish him for this, even though it is not that appealing to have a cat covered in kitty litter dust jump up into your lap). Which is just to say that sometimes a cat visits the litter box for "entertainment" rather to do his business.

 

[Joxer]

He usually pees at least three times a day, sometimes 5. He usually poops every 24 hours but sometimes he goes twice a day.

I stopped giving him the probiotic that was causing the diarrhea and it went away on its own. He's been going to the litterbox frequently and not actually going since Wednesday. On Wednesday he peed six times, but attempted to go four times between those successes and didn't produce anything.

On Thursday he peed six times and pooped twice without any issues. Friday he peed five times, tried to go a sixth time and didn't, then successfully peed a sixth time before bed. He didn't try to poop on Friday.

Today he peed at 1 am, tried to pee at 6 am and didn't, peed and pooped at 6:15 am, peed a small amount at 9 am, peed at 2 pm, and tried to pee again at 7 and didnt.

I'm concerned that he keeps periodically attempting to go and is unsuccessful.

Rereading your posts, the information that is missing is how much your cat is urinating or pooping. Especially if you are worried about a possible UTI, there is a big difference between urinating five times in one day, a few drops each time, and urinating the same number of times, but a normal volume each time.

With constipation, you might see what you are describing -- entering the litter box and leaving without actually pooping -- and importantly, with constipation you would probably see at least a few attempts made in which only a very small amount of poop was left behind. It is also likely that you would see bits of poop in odd places, outside of the litter box.

I have a cat who used to have chronic UTI's, which I cured forever by adding water to all her food. She is one of those cats who will not drink water out of a bowl, so she became very dehydrated on a mostly dry food diet before I figured out what was happening. Inadequate water consumption is a big contributor to UTI's.

 

[Cupcakecrazy]

Rereading your posts, the information that is missing is how much your cat is urinating or pooping. Especially if you are worried about a possible UTI, there is a big difference between urinating five times in one day, a few drops each time, and urinating the same number of times, but a normal volume each time.

With constipation, you might see what you are describing -- entering the litter box and leaving without actually pooping -- and importantly, with constipation you would probably see at least a few attempts made in which only a very small amount of poop was left behind. It is also likely that you would see bits of poop in odd places, outside of the litter box.

I have a cat who used to have chronic UTI's, which I cured forever by adding water to all her food. She is one of those cats who will not drink water out of a bowl, so she became very dehydrated on a mostly dry food diet before I figured out what was happening. Inadequate water consumption is a big contributor to UTI's.

Thank you. He's definitely not playing, I have a camera on his litterbox and he's attempting to go. I've tried to increase his water with extra bowls, fountains, wet food, and adding water to his kibble but he refuses all of it. He tried to poop a few times and just successfully went a good amount that didn't look too dry or loose. His previous pees have been a little smaller than usual but not just drops. He tried to pee about eight times a few minutes ago before going. When I cleaned it it was a lot of little balls of pee in a single spot that was a good amount all together. I'm unsure if he passed little bits of pee at a time resulting in the odd shapes, or if I cleaned it so soon after his pee it didn't really have time to clump.

 

[Cupcakecrazy]

Update: He tried a few times before pooping at 10 pm. He went a good amount and it wasn't too hard, nor was it diarrhea. He tried to pee before and after uncessessfully. He tried a few more times before going, but when I cleaned it it was a bunch of small lumps of pee broken up. I'm not sure if he was only able to get little bits out at a time or if I just cleaned it up so soon after the litter didn't have time to clump. All the little bits of pee together probably made up what was a normal size pee for him.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. If there is any question as to if he is able to urinate, he needs to see a vet right away.

 

[Cupcakecrazy]

Does anyone have any experience with their cat and yeast infections? Could that be a possibility?

 

[Joxer]

Update: He tried a few times before pooping at 10 pm. He went a good amount and it wasn't too hard, nor was it diarrhea. He tried to pee before and after uncessessfully. He tried a few more times before going, but when I cleaned it it was a bunch of small lumps of pee broken up. I'm not sure if he was only able to get little bits out at a time or if I just cleaned it up so soon after the litter didn't have time to clump. All the little bits of pee together probably made up what was a normal size pee for him.

What you are describing about difficulty urinating sounds like something that warrants a visit to the vet.

 

[Cupcakecrazy]

Update: After struggling all day Saturday off and on to pee he started going like normal Sunday and Monday morning. He had a urinalysis Monday afternoon that came back clear so they sent us home assuming whatever was wrong cleared up.

Of course, the second we got home he went to the litterbox, tried to pee, and was unproductive. He's been struggling to go ever since. I called the vet back and they said it could be stress cystitis and prescribed him a few days of gabapentin.

I gave him his first dose a few hours ago and he hasn't tried to go yet. He's gotten up once to eat and drink but was very wobbly while doing so. Does this sound like an accurate diagnosis? A good medication to treat it? Any side effects I should be watching for? (Besides the wobbles)