Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have 2 cats, but my male cat, Cricket, recently started urinating outside the litterbox. I have caught him in the act several times and when I pick him up to take him to the litterbox, he meows loudly (which is uncommon). His urine has an off smell (some got on my hand while transporting him), and he has been lcking his genitals quite often. I called the vet about this problem and he suspected it was a UTI (I suspected as well since i used to work at the vet). So, tomorrow morning I will be picking up some clavamox for him. Is there anything that I need to worry about tonight? Are there any urinary analgesics that I can give him to help out. How about some Baytril?
I noticed that he is still urinating, but VERY little. I hope this is not an early sign of obstruction. Do you think I have anything to worry about until I pick his antibiotic up and it kicks in? It is saturday and the vet is not open on sundays, but is will to do after hours care. Should I take him in for an emergency urine sample? Will they have to give Cricket anesthesia to do a cysto if they cannot get a sample, or will the anesthetize him and do a cath?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
My female cat Willow had a bout with a UTI over Christmas of 06. She started having accidents, same as your cat. The vet didn't need to anesthetize her to get a sample, they just gave her a subcutaneous fluid injection and kept her at the office for an afternoon while waiting for her to go pee.
Baytril and Clavamox was what the vet prescribed, which we mixed into her food. It took about two weeks for the infection to clear up, and thankfully it hasn't returned.
It's not that unusual for very little actual urine to come out. As someone who suffered quite frequently from UTIs as a kid, I can tell you that they make you feel like you have to go ALL THE TIME. Since your kidneys only work so fast, when you go 20 times a day, not much gets produced before the next one.
UTI's in male cats can be life threatening. Please watch him. The easiest thing to do is to lock him in the bathroom (granted you have more than one cat) to monitor his output. If there's nothing more than little squirts, or nothing at all, rush him as soon as you can to the nearest kitty emergency hospital. A blockage in male cats can turn deadly in as little as 24 hours. I don't want to scare you, but it is a really serious thing. It's not as big of a deal in female cats, from what i've been told by the vet (still a problem, just not as big of one). However, in a male cat, it's not something to do a wait and see with.
Our male cat was obstructed and we got him to the vet ASAP. Lucky that I monitored him. He still needed a catheter and to be unblocked. The poor beast. However, the vet (and this isn't his first UTI. he's prone) said that we were lucky. The obstruction backs up the kidneys forcing toxins into kitties blood stream. This is where the life-threatening part comes in. The kidneys work over time and eventually start to fail and kitty basically gets poisoned. I'm not trying to scare you. I just want you to know what you're up against and how important it is that you monitor his condition/output. Oh and p.s., i would take him at this point since he isn't producing very much. he'll still have to be on antibiotics, but they take a lil' to kick in and if he's obstructed, depending on what's obstructing him (crystals, stones, etc) he might need to be unobstructed before the antibiotics would even help anything.
oh yeah and i forgot to add. . . once the uti is taken care of by the vet, you'll want to up his water intake. more wet food, putting a little water in his dry food, more water in general.
cats are weird with water. they don't have a really high sense of thirst, so getting them to drink can be darn near impossible. I've found that cats really like things that are "new." Notice how kitty has a lot of interest in something if you move it across the room. Haha. So, to trick them, I put the water bowl in a new spot everyday. It peaks their interest and then they end up drinking. Haha. Love them to pieces :-)
Thanks for all the input guys...I really appreciated it!
We have some new developments, though...I noticed there were some crystals in cricket's urine this morning...called the vet and he advised that I should get a urine sample if possible. This shouldn't be too hard since cricket is urinating on hard surfaces (well, he tries to go). I am a bit worried still since he is barely urinating at all. He is not meowing or yelping in pain when he goes, so that is a good sign. I started him on clavamox this morning, but no baytril. We are admitting him to the hospital tomorrow morning since the vet is closed on weekends. We have been in close contact by phone, so it think everything will work out. Cricket is not running a fever, but he is rubbing his butt along floor like a dog trying to express his anal glands....I just wish I could make him more comfortable until he can get a pain injection tomorrow.Any suggestions?
We already upped his liquid by watering down some wet food, which he seems to like. Does anyone here supplement dry food with Merrick? I am thinking royal canin (is there anything better???) SO with merrick mixed in...I am totally against Hills bc of the ash content, so I am not sure what to do at this point.
i feed mine wellness wet food with extra water. i'm glad he is getting admitted tomorrow because if there are crystals and he is blocked (even partially), he will need to be unblocked before the anti-biotics will even work. Poor darling. Give him extra kissies :-)
I'm not sure what UTI is. ??? I have several cats. My Buddy I've had almost 10 years. I've lost several cats too. That's always hard! I've greived for each and every one of them, some more than others, some I've greived over for a very long time. Most of mine were feral and I've domesticated them. Butler took 8 years for me to domesticate. Today, we're the very best of friends! He looks like a butler to me, black tux, white whiskers, French cuffs and white trousers, with a little bow tie under his white go-tee on his chin.
What bothers me most is people who declaw their cats! I don't agree with declawing a cat! Many people have their opinions. Opinions I don't share with them! But, that's the way it is sometimes.
Very recently I lost one of my closest little friends, little Bo-Jo, a black and white short haired former feral cat who was a world traveler, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma, which I feel makes him very traveled for a kitty cat! I went to fix a turkey one night. He jumped up on my kitchen counter top and pulled something inside of himself, which blocked his urinary tract. I took him to my vet. There I learned he needed more intensive care than they could provide. They recommended a 24/7 intensive care veterinary hospital. I took him to a second hospital.., 24/7 care. The vet there wanted $1,000.00 up front for his care and she said his prognosis wasn't good at all! Hence, regretfully, I had him put to sleep. I hated doing it, but; that's the dark side of being a cat guardian. I sure wish I could have saved him! He may have had crystals in his bladder, blocking his eurethra.
Last edited by in_the_gloaming; 07-21-2008 at 06:05 PM..
Reason: aditional info.
first of all, thanks so much for all the kind words!
Last night, we ended up rushing cricket to the vet bc he had not peed all day long. He would sit in his litterbox (and other places around the house) for hours and just strain, but to no avail. So, we called the vet and he saked us to come in immediately. Much to our surprise, after he was in the car for a few minutes, he peed everywhere, and I was elated!!! I guess stressing him out worked to our advantage! Who would have thought I would be so excited for my cat to pee outside the litterbox!!
They got a urine sample (via a collection box) and saw NO crystals!!! On the bright side of things, Cricket did get 2 pain injections, so he is feeling pretty good right now, and has been sleeping for a while. I am just glad to get my boy home!!! And don't worry, I have been giving him lots of extra kisses!!!
Thanks for the support, and if any of you ever need anything, just let me know!
aww. . .. i'm so glad your little biscuit is ok :-) it's funny about him peeing outside the box. That's how me and my husband were. we were all: "GOOOD BROOKYLN!! YAY!" Haha. . and when he actually pee'd in the box for the first time after the incident, we were elated. Haha. I'm happy the baby feels better.
I have posted here before about getting my cats to increase their water intake. One day I dumped a bunch of ice cubes in the metal water dish, with the water, and ever since they have been drinking like they'd never seen water before. I don't think it is the actual ice that they like but rather the cold temperature of the water. But getting them to drink is no longer a problem so you might try it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
thanks...new development
he's okay!!!
