male cat with blood in urine - update

my cat had a small accident today and his urine was red. i took him to the emergency vet at LIVS b/c my vet was "completely booked up."

after doing an exam, the vet didn't have a definitely diagnoses and wanted to keep him overnight to observe him, give him meds and fluids, and possible catheterize him (which would have been an extra $800 - $100).

so instead i took him home with meds and he has a vet appointment first thing in the morning. the good thing is that other than straining to pee he seems comfortable.

did anyone every experience this with their cat and have a positive outcome? the vet seemed to think it was stress related but nothing in our home has changed in the past 3 months. he didn't notice a full blockage either.

i can't even take him myself because i have to work.

update 9/26:

so Alfie is home with a cone on his head

it wasn't a UTI, although he is on anti-biotics as a precaution. he's also on prednisone for the swelling and a muscle relaxer. they found a few crystals in his urine and a high level of phosphates which i think causes the crystals.

he's on special food now and the lid is off his litterbox (as per the vet that's better for them).

i know crystals as common in some males (i had another male cat with the same issues, although later in life) and other than the food, is there anything else that i can do to prevent them? any experience/advice would be much appreciated!

Message edited 9/26/2009 12:39:54 PM.

Re: male cat with blood in urine

awww poor alfie! i wish i had some advice, but i don't have cats. i hope he's going to be ok!

Re: male cat with blood in urine

My cat had blood in her urine when she had a UTI.
Did they rule that out?

Re: male cat with blood in urine

Re: male cat with blood in urine

Re: male cat with blood in urine

welcome to my world

i adopted 2 shelter kittens in March...one of them has had recurrent blood in his urine. he has been on antibiotics, and has had a few urinalysis and there are no crystals. next week he is having an ultrasound

my husband, the researcher, did some internet reading, for what its worth - when all else fails, stress can cause blood in urine - stress can be as simple as a change in cat food.

or it could also be an embrionic problem, there is a flap or something covering an opening from the bladder that was used for waste products when the cat was in utero, and sometimes that does not close over like it sholuld

lastly, apparently the #1 reason for cat visits to a vet is a uti

gl - hope your kitty is ok

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

Our cat has this problem. Is your kitty on the Hill's C/D formula now? Just a warning, that makes them gain weight. Hades is now on W/D, a diet food that is also okay for the crystals. But I would keep him on whatever food was prescribed until it clears up. You can always change the food later to prevent a recurrence. The only other thing we do is cut out all people food and snacks. Occasionally we will give him a liver treat or tiny piece of plain chicken (if we are eating it). His only snack now is the hairball gel since that tastes like fish but doesn't have anything in it really. At first we felt so bad for Hades but he got used to it and in 2 months he have gone a year with no recurrence.

ETA: how old is your cat? Our vet says that cats between 5 and 7 tend to get the crystals and after they sort of outgrow it.

Message edited 9/28/2009 4:55:01 PM.

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

Posted by glinda-goodwitch

Our cat has this problem. Is your kitty on the Hill's C/D formula now? Just a warning, that makes them gain weight. Hades is now on W/D, a diet food that is also okay for the crystals. But I would keep him on whatever food was prescribed until it clears up. You can always change the food later to prevent a recurrence. The only other thing we do is cut out all people food and snacks. Occasionally we will give him a liver treat or tiny piece of plain chicken (if we are eating it). His only snack now is the hairball gel since that tastes like fish but doesn't have anything in it really. At first we felt so bad for Hades but he got used to it and in 2 months he have gone a year with no recurrence.

ETA: how old is your cat? Our vet says that cats between 5 and 7 tend to get the crystals and after they sort of outgrow it.

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

I would definitely keep him on a little dry because that is better for his teeth. We do 1/2 cup dry in the morning and 1/2 cup dry in the evening with one spoonful of wet food at night time only.

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

My male cat had blood in his urine and unfortunately, his problem was a growth in his bladder which we had removed - but he is doing great now.

As far as the food, we were told to give him only wet b/c it causes less crystals - especially with male cats. We have spoken to our vet about the food we give the cats and he said wet is generally better and the dry food really doesn't do anything for the teeth. That being said, we still give our girl cat mostly dry b/c I feel like it is better, but since the boy had the problem, we mostly give him wet with just a few dry crunchies (so he doesn't get jealous - the girl gets bits of wet with hers for the same reason. )

Hope your kitty is doing better!

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

my Persian Male developed this about a year ago...he was 8...much later then he should have developed them

I feed him the RX food from the vet - and he did a reoccurance after 2 weeks...but it wasn't enough time for him to be on the food

ever since then..he has been fine

I feed him the wet and dry food and I got a water fountain to make sure he always has fresh water

good luck!

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

Posted by headoverheels

Posted by glinda-goodwitch

I would definitely keep him on a little dry because that is better for his teeth. We do 1/2 cup dry in the morning and 1/2 cup dry in the evening with one spoonful of wet food at night time only.

that's exactly what i was thinking. i'm going to use more wet food for now because he will not take his medicine any other way (other suggestions are welcome ) and then switch back to dry. thanks!

Re: male cat with blood in urine - update

Posted by glinda-goodwitch

Posted by headoverheels

Posted by glinda-goodwitch

I would definitely keep him on a little dry because that is better for his teeth. We do 1/2 cup dry in the morning and 1/2 cup dry in the evening with one spoonful of wet food at night time only.

that's exactly what i was thinking. i'm going to use more wet food for now because he will not take his medicine any other way (other suggestions are welcome ) and then switch back to dry. thanks!

Oh, haha, giving the medication was a b!tch! DH held Hades down, and I shot the liquid into his mouth. That way we knew he ate it and didn't have to worry if he didn't eat his food (he HATED the wet food at first).