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The litter tray

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

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Original poster

Worried about my cat

55 replies

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 08:22

We will take him to the vet but just wanted to speak to all you cat lovers.

Merlin is our first cat and is 3, he's always been a flat cat with small space to roam on the balcony.

Anyway, he's always been really healthy and happy until Jul this year where we found blood in his wee. It was put down to stress as we had been away a lot as my partners mum died. The vet gave him antibiotics and it cleared up and there's been no issues since.

I woke up yesterday to find 3 piles of sick, looked like u digested food. He hasn't been for a pooh yesterday or so far today and I think he's struggling to urinate. I think he's had a few weds on the carpet and on the bed. His litter tray is clean, he's been hovering over it for ages and nothing comes out.

I noticed a week or so ago some more blood in his wee and on his pooh but was advised to keep an eye on it and it happened to clear up so the vet said not to worry about taking him in as sometimes that happens.

Thinking he must have a urine infection and be constipated but as this is my first cat I don't have much experience.

What's your thoughts?

OP posts:

bravotango · 14/11/2022 08:36

If he's not passing urine easily/at all then he needs to go into the vet as a matter of urgency, so it's good you're taking him in!

bravotango · 14/11/2022 08:39

Meant to say once he's been given the all clear from the vet, you could try a feliway and some toys to de-stress his environment a bit if you think that might be affecting him

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 14/11/2022 08:41

Vet now.
If he can't pass water properly this can be fatal very quickly (and painfully).

Original poster

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 08:47

Ok thank you both, I really hope it's not serious 😪

I put it down to stress as we have quite a noisy household with 2 toddlers, thanks for the tip about that.

OP posts:

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 14/11/2022 09:05

Let us know how you get on. We had a very expensive set of treatment for one of our cats who had a blocked urethra. The good news is that there has been no recurrence. 👍

Igotthegoose · 14/11/2022 09:09

I’m really sorry my boy had ongoing problems with this. He ended up having life saving surgery with sediment and stones in his bladder and was hospitalised for a week but that was further down the line.

Please get your baby seen again as a matter of urgency, if males don’t urinate for over 24 hours it can be fatal so I’d keep an eye on his pee times. It’s common in make cats too I have heard.

I hope it clears up for him. Stress can cause this too in cats. If you notice that your cat has frequent utis there is specialised food that you can give him which helps urinary tract health and can dissolve nasty stuff that can form in the bladder. We also give our boy cystease on his food which has been brilliant he ready has been a different cat since. Good luck!

Igotthegoose · 14/11/2022 09:10

the cystease is also good for anxiety too, my boy is a very anxious cat and it seems to really chill him out!

CatChant · 14/11/2022 09:11

Please take him to a vet urgently.

helpfulperson · 14/11/2022 09:11

I don't know if you have a vet appointment yet but make sure the receptionist knows about the difficulty urinating. That's the symptom that makes it an emergency.

Original poster

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 11:35

Thank you all so much. He has an appointment at 4.30.

He did have a tiny bit of wee in his litter today so at least he's passing something.

I'll update you all later.

OP posts:

Original poster

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 17:01

Just getting updated from BF who took him.

His bladder has gone in to spasm so he needs to stay in a few nights to get it drained. We can't afford the £2,000 so they are contacting blue cross.

OP posts:

Ludo19 · 14/11/2022 17:56

Oh I'm really sorry to hear that. My cat went through that 3 times. I hope he gets better soon xx

Original poster

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 18:10

Ludo19 · 14/11/2022 17:56

Oh I'm really sorry to hear that. My cat went through that 3 times. I hope he gets better soon xx

God really? Do you know why it happens? We're so stupid for not getting pet insurance, we didn't think he'd need it until he was a bit older.

We've given them all we have which is £500 and for that they will drain it and we pick him up.

Do you think that's enough and we get pet insurance and if it happens again we will be covered?

They said he should be in a few nights really and they need to investigate but that's another £1100 which we don't have.

Blue cross doesn't cover our area and it seems you have to be on benefits for other charities to consider you.

Crying walking home and don't know what to do. They don't offer a payment plan either.

OP posts:

Gemmanorthdevon · 14/11/2022 18:47

Have a look at...

Animal trust

PDSA

Cats Protection

Can you travel? There are a few charities that will help, especially if he is in pain! But you might have to go to them to a welfare clinic.

I'm so sorry you are going through this, I hope you find the help for Merlin he needs.

WyldeSwan · 14/11/2022 19:04

I hope you manage to get Merlin sorted. As you mentioned getting insurance, just be aware, most insurance policies don't cover for pre existing conditions as standard - you will need to make sure you find one that does if you want cover for any future urinary conditions/problems

JustBkind · 14/11/2022 19:08

This happened to our male cat. Going forward make sure he has wet food and not dry food. Put extra water into his wet food and make a runny gravy, that way he is getting plenty of fluids. We were advised to do this by a vet and he never had a problem again…(until someone poisoned him but that’s another story!!)

Ludo19 · 14/11/2022 19:12

In my case it happened because Jago was

A male
Black and white

Apparently it's more prevalent in male cats who are black and white? Luckily I work in a vets so I got it at a discount. His last episode was when he was about 5 and he's 14 now. Stress is a main factor (according to the vets) his bladder seized so I'm guessing it's the same with poor Merlin. In Jagos case he was catheterised but I was warned if it happened again they would need to basically have an operation where he would have a more feminine anatomy in that area so it was widened. It's extremely dangerous my neighbour lost his cat while waiting on this operation due to sepsis and Cornelius was only 4. Pet insurance don't cover pre existing conditions. Can't you maybe make a case with the vets and come to some arrangement? I wish there was more I could help you with. If you want you can pm me. Don't beat yourself up, we're all wiser after the event, I've got all the young ones insured now because my older cats all have health issues and it's costing a fortune. I'm really so very sorry xx

Ludo19 · 14/11/2022 19:15

Jago was in for maybe 3 nights each time. Catheter inserted to ensure urine flowed out. Collected samples to check for crystals. If they've only drained it and he's still got the blockage, the urine may back up again. Has he been given pain meds?

Original poster

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 20:26

Thank you everyone. He is black and white too.

He's coke back and they removed the blockage said there was a lot of blood. Hopefully the antibiotics will do the job and he will be ok.

We do give him some dry food at night so we will stop that, do we give him an extra pouch instead? We currently give him one pouch in the morn and one in the early eve.

I really do feel this is a stressful environment for him. We got him a few months before I fell pregnant and then we quickly had another so it's chaos with the 2 kids running around. They often chase him which Merlin seems to like up to a point but will then lash out and hit them. I've felt this is so unfair on him but people say they will grow out of it but I can't stand the thought of it making him
Ill

OP posts:

Original poster

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 20:27

JustBkind · 14/11/2022 19:08

Oh my goodness, someone poisoned your cat? WTF?!

OP posts:

Original poster

trampoline123 · 14/11/2022 20:28

Ludo19 · 14/11/2022 19:15

He's home now and has tucked in to some food which is good. They gave us pain medication too which we've managed to give him.

OP posts:

Ludo19 · 14/11/2022 20:36

Yip he sounds a bit stressed. Try and get the kids to give him some peace. Cystease or cystaid are good for the short term. Jago was on them. Tablets that are given daily.Try a water fountain, constant running water is a good stimulant to get them to drink more. Royal canin do specific urinary food and petdrugsonline are probably around the cheapest they offer wet and dry. If he likes dry I'd tend not to change it too much as that alone can stress him out but Try and up his water intake. Is he on metacam? Keep me posted, if I can help with anything else, let me know.

JustBkind · 14/11/2022 20:57

We had the special urinary dry food too which cost a fortune and didn’t help one bit. The best advice was like I said earlier, switch to wet food all round and add extra water to it. Made that world of difference. He was black and white too and my absolute world. He came home one evening and couldn’t breathe properly, so we took him straight to the emergency vet. He was put on oxygen and they drained fluid from his lungs but sadly he didn’t make it. They showed us the X-ray they took of several small balls of poison he had eaten and said it was most likely something that had been put down in a garden. 😢😢😢

Original poster

trampoline123 · 15/11/2022 08:07

He's been ok and eating alright but he is trying so hard to wee and nothing comes out. We're taking him back this morning and will try and find a different vet that may be cheaper or offer a payment plan.

He should have stayed in and had a catheter but we didn't have any more money to give. I feel so guilty and awful

OP posts:

thelobsterquadrille · 15/11/2022 08:23

I'm so sorry your boy isn't well.

Urinary blockages can be fatal so you must get him seen as an emergency case today. Once they get to the point of being unable to pee, medication often isn't enough (as you've seen) and they require surgery.

My old cat had this problem and the surgery saved his life - basically if they can't urinate, toxins build up inside and it kills them. Catheterisation is fine to an extent but it won't solve the long term problem of crystals and/or a blockage.

My current cat also has crystals (it's very common in neutered males) but we've managed to handle his with diet changes and supplements as he never got to the point of requiring surgery.

Best of luck.

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