Does this sound like a bladder thing?

[ChuffingHeck]

BoyCat is 9 months old, neutered and on a diet of dry food purely because he turns his nose up at wet food, bizarrely. He always has fresh water which he seems to drink and also enjoys a drink from a dripping tap or the toilet when he has the opportunity (not envy)

Since yesterday he has seemed unusually skittish. He is usual king of the house and knows it but he’s been behaving totally uncharacteristically, seems to be avoiding any kind of contact and just generally not very happy. I picked him up this morning to move him away from our fish tank and he started yowling horrifically. I initially thought he’d hurt his leg on his adventures outside but he is walking fine and has been jumping up and down to my sons top bunk.

I phoned the vet this afternoon who talked me through a quick examination of him and he didn’t seem to be bothered when I gave his abdomen a gentle squeeze. The vet thinks he may have just bumped his back leg and advised to keep an eye on him and if he’s not improved in a day or two to bring him in.

But I’ve read about urinary blockage in cats and apart from the fact he is so young it just seems to fit exactly. The litter in the tray was wet when I cleaned it today so vet advised to monitor that over the next 24 hours.

What do you guys think?

Anybody?

From my experience working at a vets, a blocked bladder can present very similarly to cystitis. You might see him going in and out of his litter tray and producing very little. It might be tinged with blood. He might be licking himself down below. You would usually see these symptoms first, and then if left untreated can very quickly become serious - we had one client say her cat was rolling on the floor yowling in pain.

If he’s skittish as well, could it be that something has scared him as well as hurt him? E.g. a fight with another cat, or a clip by a car?

I’ve just brought him down from my son’s bed and he’s absolutely howling when being carried. He doesn’t want to be touched at all. He’s walking absolutely fine and not limping at all but something is obviously hurting him. I’ve called the vets and he’s being seen first thing in the morning

The main signs for a blockage are going in/out of the tray and not toileting, trying to pee elsewhere, lots of small pees, and not being able to urinate at all.

I hope your boy is okay!

Do you have any painkiller for cats, Loxicom or other? If so, give him some, just to ease his pain. Hope all goes well at vets.

My cat had a blockage a couple of months ago.

His symptoms were:

• Excessive (even by his usual standards!) cleaning in that area.
• Increasingly uncomfortable when trying to sit down.
• Increasingly listless and then hiding under the bed.

The vet said that we'd caught it early. The cat was catheterised, given antibiotics, and monitored overnight.

Whatever the cause, I hope your cat is feeling better soon.

Just an update, he was seen at the vets today and vet thinks either fracture at the very base of the tail or possibly an abscess

She couldn’t tell as it was too painful for her to examine properly. He is back tomorrow for sedation and X-ray but did get some painkillers and was started on antibiotics today.

He’s insured thankfully but I’ve been worrying myself sick reading about tail breaks and fractures, it seems when they’re at the end of the back/base of the tail they’re usually more severe. He’s managed to use the litter tray for both a wee and a poo in the last 24 hours so hoping this won’t be the case. He seems ok in himself but I’m just worried about the outcome and if he’ll be ok. We really couldn’t bare to lose him

My poor boy