Strange urine pattern

[F+V]

I personaly wouldn't introduce another cat -let alone a kitten- at this point. Get the medical problems under control before you upset the apple cart so to speak.

That's sensible. I hadn't really thought about the additional stress. Local volunteer group told me kittens wouldn't be available till summer anyway.

 

[F+V]

We went to university hospital and my poor boy went through all kinds of testing on an empty stomach: x-ray, echocardiogram, urinary catheter, urinalysis, blood pressure and even talked to a behaviorist.
They didn't find any cause that might be causing him to frequent toilets but discovered an abnormal heart, which is congenital and could progress to HCM as well as mucosal thickening in the small bowel and one of jejunal lymph nodes was enlarged. For HCM we need an echo bi annually to monitor. His total cholesterol level was high but it has always been high, and it is partially due to urinary s/o diet he's been on for the last month.
I will implement a couple things that the behaviorist suggested such as not getting out of bed to clean the toilets in the morning. She also suggested that I use his favorite litter (boxiecat pro) in the conventional litter box to see if he will start using the box. I will also keep him locked up till 7am because when he's locked up till 7am, he only pees once.
Vet doesn't suspect his nerve system is damaged, but we will make an appointment for MRI if the aforementioned changes that we make prove futile.
All in all, we haven't found a solution to the problem yet but I'm glad to have discovered early that he has an abnormal heart. I will also take his twin sister to have an echo and x-ray because they share the same genetic traits after all.

 

[F+V]

Yet another update:
At 5am he got up and went straight to litter and *I think* he passed urine. I'm not 100% sure because there was another clump in the box, and his sister used the litter around 3am. It's unlikely she peed twice, so I'd like to think he peed.

Then for the next 18 mins, he litter hopped 8 times and each time left blood droplets. I could tell he was straining but wasn't crying in pain. I called ER and was about to take him there but he stopped for the next hour and 20 mins before he repeated the same thing 5 times in 11 mins' time. I called my regular vet and made an appointment to get a Cartrophen injection because he's likely in pain.

Just two days ago at the university hospital the vet ran all kinds of test and didn't find anything. Not even blood in his urine. He was doing fine, eating and peeing, and playing the following day.

I'm really at my wits' end. What is this mysterious condition? Even experienced vets don't know what this is. What else can I do in terms of testing?

 

[Alldara]

He was at the vet two days ago. That causes stress. The stress causes inflammation in the bladder, hence, the current situation.

I'm sorry this is your experience. Is he on anxiety medication? He might need to have anxiety medication for a few days post vet trips.

FIC is a stress disease. They won't find anything in bloodwork or urinalysis. Most cats with urinary issues also have FIC as they are more prone to develop FIC.

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) | International Cat Care

 

[Alldara]

Fear Free for Cats | VCA Animal Hospitals

Reducing the Stress of Veterinary Visits for Cats | VCA | VCA Animal Hospitals

 

[F+V]

He was at the vet two days ago. That causes stress. The stress causes inflammation in the bladder, hence, the current situation.

I'm sorry this is your experience. Is he on anxiety medication? He might need to have anxiety medication for a few days post vet trips.

FIC is a stress disease. They won't find anything in bloodwork or urinalysis. Most cats with urinary issues also have FIC as they are more prone to develop FIC.

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals

Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) | International Cat Care

Thank you for the links I have gabapentin and should have given it to him before the hospital visit. He doesn't like going to the vet but didn't think his anxiety problem was that bad compared to other cats I know. It occurred to me that the blood was a delayed response to the hospital visit two days ago but wasn't convinced because he was perfectly normal yesterday. It's good to find out the source of the stress, so I can manage this appropriately going forward. His bladder was almost empty when he had a Cartrophen injection.
I had been mixing Cystease (gag replacer?) for over a month but didn't seem like it was doing anything, so I discontinued it. I will start using it again and also look into cornsilk and D Mannose.

 

[Alldara]

Nobel was perfectly normal before and directly after many of his flare ups. Even his first. Cats hide things well.

 

[F+V]

How long would it take for the blood in urine to clear typically? He was doing fine yesterday but today (day 4) he had been to all litter boxes 23 times, almost nonstop between 5:20 and 7:20am. He had his first Cartrophen injection 3 days ago.

 

[Margot Lane]

23 times is a lot. I feel for you both. Did you ask your vet the above questions? How many injections is he supposed to have of Cartophen? I do know sometimes when I’d give my cat a new medication, it could take a long time for it to kick in.

 

[F+V]

23 times is a lot. I feel for you both. Did you ask your vet the above questions? How many injections is he supposed to have of Cartophen? I do know sometimes when I’d give my cat a new medication, it could take a long time for it to kick in.

I forgot to ask It's a long weekend here and they won't be back till Tuesday..
Cartrophen has a course of 4 weekly injections, but the vet said to come back only if he didn't get better. Maybe I should've opted for a Metacam injection and 5-day oral suspension.

I just read about a mesenchymal stem cell therapy for cats with chronic FIC. I will ask the vets if Figaro can participate in this trial. Chronic Feline Idiopathic Cystitis Study

About the FIC Study

 

[F+V]

An expected turn of events happened.
I gave him gabapentin, drove 45 mins and we stayed one night in a hotel room. He was quiet in the car but started peeing blood from 1AM. I expected this to happen.... I just gave him cornsilk since I didn't have any pain killer. Then the following day we drove 4 hours to a holiday house in the countryside and it was their first time to visit there, but from Day 1 his weird toilet pattern stopped and he only peed once or twice a day, large clumps. For 5 days he didn't pee blood.
We got home on Sunday night and he was ok the following day but on Tuesday started peeing blood again while I was at a university hospital with his sister. I gave him a dose of buprenorphine when I got home, and he's been fine for the last two days. I've been giving him cornsilk daily and he's so far peeing normally.
It seems like this was a behavioral problem. He looked really happy at the country house, watching birdies and squirrels on the trees

 

[Alldara]

I'm glad he enjoyed the country house. That sounds like FIC though, which is not behavioural..it's a stress condition with physical manifestations.

You might consider some glucosamine chondroitin suppliments to lower the amount of inflammation in his body.

 

[F+V]

That's yet another supplement I haven't heard of unless that's the same as GAG replacement.
We have used Zylkene, Cystaid/Cystease and I can't see them making any noticeable improvement. Will order some glucosamine chondroitin today

 

[Alldara]

I'm not familiar with those other suppliments.

Here's the sheet on FIC. Feline Idiopathic Cystitis | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals

 

[F+V]

Thanks. By now I've probably read all FIC related research and websites available online