Bloody pee

[picklesmom]

Hi - it’s late at night and my cat just peed in my bed and it was bloody. There’s also blood in the litter box. This has never happened before. I’m feeding him only fancy feast pate. Is it a uti? Should I take him to emergency vet? He’s meowing a lot and keeps going to the litter box.

 

[Scott & Buster]

I am sorry to hear this is happening.

If it's never happened before I would take to the emergency vet just to be safe. With the meowing and blood and urgency there could be a crystal or partial blockage. Or it could just be a bad UTI. But I would play it safe.

 

[Raiye]

I would contact an ER vet ASAP. I agree with Scott. Urinary issues, especially in male cats, are an emergency. My vet told me that sugarcats are more prone to UTI's as well.

 

[picklesmom]

I would contact an ER vet ASAP. I agree with Scott. Urinary issues, especially in male cats, are an emergency. My vet told me that sugarcats are more prone to UTI's as well.

@Scott & Elmsley

thank you - he’s with the er vet now. Im waiting in my car what is the difference between uti and crystals? How do they diagnose? How do they treat? This is all new to me. Past few days his poops were hard and I saw some blood on his butt so I started adding water to his food. I don’t think he was getting enough water the past few days. He was only diagnosed 2 weeks ago, so he went from tons of water to not much at all from what I could tell. Could that be the cause?

 

[Scott & Buster]

@Scott & Elmsley

thank you - he’s with the er vet now. Im waiting in my car what is the difference between uti and crystals? How do they diagnose? How do they treat? This is all new to me. Past few days his poops were hard and I saw some blood on his butt so I started adding water to his food. I don’t think he was getting enough water the past few days. He was only diagnosed 2 weeks ago, so he went from tons of water to not much at all from what I could tell. Could that be the cause?

I don't think that's a cause, though it's probably a symptom. It sounds like he definitely needs a vet, I'm sorry it's just late at night at emergency prices.

UTI is an infection that can usually be cleared up with antibiotics, crystals are physical obstructions. Think tiny, sharp, bladder stones.

 

[Scott & Buster]

@Scott & Elmsley

thank you - he’s with the er vet now. Im waiting in my car what is the difference between uti and crystals? How do they diagnose? How do they treat? This is all new to me. Past few days his poops were hard and I saw some blood on his butt so I started adding water to his food. I don’t think he was getting enough water the past few days. He was only diagnosed 2 weeks ago, so he went from tons of water to not much at all from what I could tell. Could that be the cause?

Sorry, as for diagnosing, it could be a urinalysis, imaging, or he could pass one. Treatment depends on severity... I had my Jingles be completely blocked and that required emergency surgery.

 

[Raiye]

They'll need to do a urinalysis to diagnose an URI. Typically they will do a procedure called a cystocentesis, which is where they collect urine directly from the bladder. Do not worry! It is safe and painless! We are currently treating a URI and thats actually how my guy was diagnosed with diabetes!

A sharp decline in water intake could cause a URI or irritation of the bladder due to more concentrate urine. Though, if you are feeding wet food, cats will get the majority of their water from their food. I blend my wet food with a little bit of water to make a paste like consistency. It encourages more liquid intake and helps Poopy eat because hes down to only his front canines left!

Crystals/stones form in the bladder for a few different reasons. Treatment is based on the cause of the stones, and they can diagnose the stones with a urinalysis too. I am not familiar enough with stones to be able to be of much help there.

Keep us updated, hope its something easily treatable! <3

 

[picklesmom]

They'll need to do a urinalysis to diagnose an URI. Typically they will do a procedure called a cystocentesis, which is where they collect urine directly from the bladder. Do not worry! It is safe and painless! We are currently treating a URI and thats actually how my guy was diagnosed with diabetes!

A sharp decline in water intake could cause a URI or irritation of the bladder due to more concentrate urine. Though, if you are feeding wet food, cats will get the majority of their water from their food. I blend my wet food with a little bit of water to make a paste like consistency. It encourages more liquid intake and helps Poopy eat because hes down to only his front canines left!

Crystals/stones form in the bladder for a few different reasons. Treatment is based on the cause of the stones, and they can diagnose the stones with a urinalysis too. I am not familiar enough with stones to be able to be of much help there.

Keep us updated, hope its something easily treatable! <3

This is helpful!! Thank you. Hoping it’s easily treated as well. Poor guy. And I gave him his Lantus and he ate a bit of food but then I had to whisk him away to the vet so I’m worried he doesn’t have enough food in him.

 

[Scott & Buster]

This is helpful!! Thank you. Hoping it’s easily treated as well. Poor guy. And I gave him his Lantus and he ate a bit of food but then I had to whisk him away to the vet so I’m worried he doesn’t have enough food in him.

Please be sure to tell the vet that he did not have a full meal but he has insulin on board.

 

[picklesmom]

@Scott & Elmsley @Raiye
Update - most likely a FLUTED. No obstruction, his bladder is “tiny” (good thing apparently). He had a low grade fever. They send urine to a lab but she’s giving him an injectable antibiotic and sending us home with pain meds. Plus she gave him some fluids. Thank you both for your help.

 

[Scott & Buster]

@Scott & Elmsley @Raiye
Update - most likely a FLUTED. No obstruction, his bladder is “tiny” (good thing apparently). He had a low grade fever. They send urine to a lab but she’s giving him an injectable antibiotic and sending us home with pain meds. Plus she gave him some fluids. Thank you both for your help.

Glad to hear.

Please update the thread title to not include 911 anymore since emergency has passed.

 

[JL and Chip]

Glad to hear you have some likely answers. Blood in the litter box and/or the bed is always scary. Here’s a little bit of background to get you started.

FLUTD stands for Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. You can google and read a bit more about it.

UTI stands for Urinary Tract Infection. (I think autocorrect got the best of @Raiye — URI stands for Upper Respiratory Infection). The vet probably took a sterile sample of urine so they can run what’s called a urine “culture and sensitivity” (C&S). The urine is cultured on a petri dish to see what bacteria (if any) grows, and then the sensitivity part allows them to determine what drugs are effective in treating it.

You might also hear the term “sterile cystitis” which is an inflammation of the bladder with no infection.

Sometimes crystals are found incidentally, sometimes they’re an issue. There are also things such as stones (kidney or bladder) sometimes.

Male cats have lousy “plumbing” and are more likely to block than females, but both can block. if in doubt, it’s always a good idea to go to the ER. Blockages in particular can become life threatening quite quickly.

I encourage you to take time to read the info on Dr. Lisa Pierson’s website www.catinfo.org . It’s very educational. The direct link to the Urinary Tract Disease page is:
https://catinfo.org/feline-urinary-tract-diseases/