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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Concerned re male cat and UTI

30 replies

Trendytrousers · 20/12/2021 21:29

Today my male cat seemed to be having issues going to the toilet for a wee. He was fine all day but this afternoon I caught him straining for a wee in his litter tray and spending 5-10 mins in there without weeing.

When he finally got out he was still crouching in the toilet position and did tiny dribble wees on my kitchen floor which is totally unusual for him.

I immediately called my vet and they asked me to bring him in. After various tests they told me there was blood and crystals in his urine, suggested he might be overweight (he is a bit!) and gave him various drugs to help relax his muscles, an antibiotic and sent me on my way.

I got home and he’s still unhappy. Crying and going in his tray and squatting but not passing urine. He’s eating as normal but can’t settle- he’s purring but seems anxious wandering around.

I called the vet back and asked about what to expect this evening and they said to keep an eye on him and to expect a wee in 6-12 hours. 3 hours in and there’s been nothing and he’s not right.

Has anyone had this issue before and does anyone have any advice on how to help him? He has fresh water down in various places and only ever has wet food. I am due to travel with him to family for Xmas tomorrow but worried about going if he’s poorly. Thanks!

OP posts:
wheresmymojo · 20/12/2021 21:37

Yes...TBH I wouldn't leave it more than 8-12 hours without you seeing him have a wee.

They can die quite quickly from a blocked bladder via kidney failure.

If he is still blocked they will take him in and catheterise him to remove the blockage and run fluids through via an IV.

Mine had the same issue a few times and in the end we had to pay for (very) expensive surgery to basically remove his penis and re-route his urethra through the back like a female cat.

Hopefully it won't come to that!

Original poster
Trendytrousers · 20/12/2021 21:44

Thank you for your reply @wheresmymojo how old was your cat do you mind me asking?

Mine is 14, insured thankfully but a fairly high excess. Already £250 down today!

Going to set an alarm to check on him 4am so I can see if he’s had a wee- that will be 12 hours since I last saw him go and hope for the best….

OP posts:
wheresmymojo · 20/12/2021 21:46

Personally, and this isn't what you want to hear, I wouldn't leave my cat over Xmas with this issue because if it re-occurs while you're not there can you be sure that someone will definitely know and take him to the vet within a few hours of it re-occurring?

Hopefully it wouldn't re-occur so soon but before surgery ours had the same thing happen within 24 hours of being released by the vet and if we hadn't been there he could have died Sad

Billiesmovingout · 20/12/2021 21:48

Go to a different vet or to an emergency vet.

wheresmymojo · 20/12/2021 21:50

Mine was only 4 years old (it happened in June/July).

TBH I wouldn't have put him through such an extensive surgery if he'd been an older cat but knowing that other than having this surgery he was healthy and probably had 10-15 years still ahead of him we couldn't put him to sleep which was the only alternative.

We only had a £3.5k limit on our insurance and the three catheterisations plus the surgery and aftercare came to £8k in total. We had zero savings after a very difficult pandemic financially so had to borrow from various family members.

CatChant · 20/12/2021 21:52

@Billiesmovingout

Go to a different vet or to an emergency vet.
Second this.

Our lovely boy nearly died.;

Good luck OP.

Original poster
Trendytrousers · 20/12/2021 22:01

@wheresmymojo thank you for this. The cat is due to come with me for Xmas to my families home (I wouldn’t want to leave him alone anyway) but I definitely want to keep a close eye on him.

I’ve set an alarm and if no wee by 4am I’ll call emergency vet, as then it’s been 12 hours without seeing him wee. I’m disappointed in original vet as they gave me no guidance originally on when to call back if concerned and it’s only after I followed up they helped.

Really worried, hoping we get some movement tonight.

OP posts:
icedcoffees · 20/12/2021 22:02

I think he needs to see another vet.

I've had two male cats with this issue - one had a blockage that nearly killed him (he was only three) and he needed surgery and ended up spending three nights at the vet, who said it was the worst case she'd ever seen. After the surgery we switched him to urinary food and thankfully he never has any further problems.

Our youngest cat also suffers from UTI's but thankfully not as badly. He's been at the vets twice - once for antibiotics and painkillers and the second time just for painkillers and a urine analysis. He has crystals but we switched his food to a urinary food (Smilla from ZooPlus) and he gets two cystease tablets a day. He hasn't had any further issues since we did this and that was three or four months ago now.

Cecillie · 20/12/2021 22:23

I'm a vet here
Go to an emergency vet tonight
Don't wait till 4 am
I always tell clients that make cats with cystitis that can't wee and are very unhappy is one of the few real medical emergencies.
It's very easy for the urethra to get blocked, it's really narrow in a cat. If that happens the bladder gets fuller and fuller and back flow starts affecting the kidneys
It doesn't mean a big op necessarily but often unblocking with a catheter , fluids and monitoring will do the job.
If I was on call and you called me , I would ask you to come straight in
Better to go in and they say, it's fine, his bladder is not too full, than to take a chance.

Original poster
Trendytrousers · 20/12/2021 22:26

@icedcoffees my vet did a urine analysis too and said there were crystals and blood in urine. Just don’t know how long to wait before properly panicking if no wee.

OP posts:
Original poster
Trendytrousers · 20/12/2021 22:27

@Cecillie thank you I’ve been on phone to emergency vet and am taking him back in.

OP posts:
CHEM20 · 20/12/2021 22:29

Our cat had a blocked bladder 3 weeks ago.

The vet advised if we’d left it until the next day, that he wouldn’t have made it.

I’d be really unhappy about being asked to leave it that long

CHEM20 · 20/12/2021 22:29

[quote Trendytrousers]@Cecillie thank you I’ve been on phone to emergency vet and am taking him back in.[/quote]
Crossed posts. Really glad to hear it. Hope he gets better soon.

SanFranBear · 20/12/2021 22:31

Definitely emergency vet... I ended up at ours with our old boy (6 at the time) for the exact same thing on NYE and he had to have surgery to clear his pipes. He was then put on urinary food and went on to be a happy boy for many more years but this can be incredibly serious! He sounds pretty distressed, poor puss Flowers

SanFranBear · 20/12/2021 22:32

Oh - another cross post! Good luck OP - he's lucky to have you.

Bovrilly · 20/12/2021 22:39

Ours has had this, it was a nightmare, he had to have his bladder emptied with a syringe and be catheterised a couple of times (apparently not easy as he has the smallest penis our vet has ever seen Blush). Something then went into spasm, it went on for ages and he was getting sicker and sicker and kept having to go back and be catheterised. One of the vets at our practice was from Eastern Europe and ended up getting a friend in Russia to send her some drugs to relax the spasm that aren't available here any more. (This sounds so implausible now, it's like it was a dream almost.) In the end the Russian drugs worked and he finally wee'd in the garden. We were all crying with relief, I phoned the vets to tell them and could hear them all cheering in the background when the receptionist passed on the news. Since then he has been on a urinary care diet (Hills) and has had no more problems. It did mean our holiday that year was swiftly changed from an Italian villa to a week in Devon, but worth every penny. And our vets were fantastic, one of them started taking him home overnight because he pulled out his catheter at the place they use for overnight stays and she was cross that they weren't looking after him properly. They really helped us out with the cost too. Sorry bit of a long story but yes, get it sorted out ASAP as we were very lucky that ours came through it.

Bovrilly · 20/12/2021 22:41

And another crossed post - you are doing the right thing, OP. Good luck 🐱

Original poster
Trendytrousers · 21/12/2021 00:03

Sitting waiting outside emergency vets as can’t go in due to COVID, had to drive 40 mins to get here. He was very quiet in journey over (unlike him!) and sothink I’ve made right decision. Thanks for your support and advice!

OP posts:
Toddlerteaplease · 21/12/2021 04:43

Hope is doing better. Definitely the right decision to get him seen tonight.

icedcoffees · 21/12/2021 06:38

How is he this morning OP?

kikipie · 21/12/2021 06:42

Hope he’s ok. I also know someone whose cat has had his penis removed due to recurring blockages. It’s probably ten years ago now and he’s been fine since

Mumdiva99 · 21/12/2021 07:13

How's he doing? Sounds very scary. I hope he's OK.

Original poster
Trendytrousers · 21/12/2021 08:50

Thank you for all your messages. Unfortunately he was very very poorly and the options presented to fix the issue were both very risky at his age and very, very costly (even with insurance) and so I had to put him to sleep. Broken doesn’t even come close to how I feel right now and I was at the emergency vet until 3am trying all options to save him. Thanks for your support.

OP posts:
singingstones · 21/12/2021 09:06

I'm so sorry to hear that OP. We lost our Dcat last month and it's so tough Thanks

Mumdiva99 · 21/12/2021 09:18

So sorry to hear that. He's no longer in pain. Take care.

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