5/9 Jersey's Civie Brother - UT Issue?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Shelly & Jersey (GA)

Shelly & Jersey (GA)

Member Since 2014
Jersey has temporarily handed over her plotting duties to civie Chappy, who is now plotting my demise. ohmygod_smile We are dealing with some type of UT issue. Several vet visits later, we still have no answers. I’m hoping someone here can shed some light on it for us.

Chappy, a 4-year-old neutered male with no history of UT or behavioral problems, started “spraying” the walls a couple of weeks after we made the switch to canned food in January. (This is also about a month after we adopted two outdoor civies. Chappy is an indoor kitty with outdoor privileges. He loves the kitties. They groom each other, play, cuddle together, etc.) We took him to the “country” vet, who put him on amoxy. Two weeks later, doxy was added to the mix. X-rays were taken at a follow-up visit to the “city” vet, which came back clear. His bladder was too small/empty to draw a urine sample at the time. They told me that it was a behavioral issue. Feliway did not help.

For a while, I thought we had it licked, but I think I just wasn't home enough to catch Chappy in "the act." He went to the city vet again last week for a blood panel and urinalysis. The vet said that everything came back normal (although his cholesterol was a bit high). Chappy was given a steroid shot for possible inflammation (which I’m not happy about). DH said he forgot to get a copy of the records on the way out but did say that he got a glimpse of a ph of 7.0 on the chart. I’m hoping to get a copy of all the records tomorrow.

Chappy is using the litter box but isn’t always squatting fully so urine ends up outside the box. His coat also looks rough. Appy is good, no signs of dehydration, activity level is okay, etc……

I put him on UT treats (PetNaturals of Vermont) and a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement two days ago. We also switched to Friskies Special Diet yesterday.

At this point, we’ve exhausted our vet options locally. I’m currently trying to locate a good vet regionally and have some feelers out.

You guys all helped me save Jersey, so now the pressure is on you all to help me fix Chappy, too! ;-) When I do locate a good vet, what kinds of tests should I be asking for? Are there certain meds we need to consider? Are the steps I can take in the interim? I really appreciate any thoughts/recommendations you have. I should have asked you all earlier. I just know how overwhelmed you all are with your own kitties, and I didn't want to "add to the load."

I'm sending out extra-special prayers to Rich and Rex, Amy and Trixie, and Tricia’s Sasha tonight. I'm also sending out healing vines to all the kitties and beans!

Shelly
 
If the problem is sterile cystitis (now called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis), the urine cultures will come back negative as it's not a bacterial infection. The link I included has info on treatment.

My first thought about the spraying is whether this was a territorial behavior. Chappy may like the outdoor family but spraying is often a territory issue.
 
Sorry to hear about Chappy's "issue". My civie has idiopathic cystitis and stones appear just some of the times in his urine samples. It's pretty obvious when he is having flair ups or episodes. Lot of trips back and forth to the LB's, small pee clumps, licking his bits. When he has a flair, Theo gets cerenia for inflammation, usually something as a muscle relaxant (it can cause urethral spasms), cartrophen (Canadian equivalent to Adequan), bupe for pain and fluids. Does Chappy drink much water? My Theo does not so I make sure he gets lots of water added to his raw food. The goal is to make sure the urine specific gravity is on the low side of the scale. I also give daily glucosamine, but it can take a while to take effect. I also have Feliway diffusers in the areas he spends most of his time. I'm using the same UT treats too. I figured it can't hurt and he likes them.

For not squatting completely, have you tried higher sided LB's? If kitties are having a hard time squatting then you can get "overflow". Some people here use taller sided storage bins with an access way cut out.
 
Hi Shelly:

I had a problem with Cinco peeing over the edge of the litterbox, as he just climbs in, and once all four feet are in, he goes. I solved it by switching to a bigger box with taller sides. He still goes up against the edge, but the pee stays in the box. I hope you figure out what is going on with Chappy, and that you are able to find a solution.

Thanks for the prayers. I'm taking all I can get right now. Sending some back to you and Chappy. :YMHUG:
 
Hi Shelly, I'm definitely not an expert here but the spraying does sound like a territorial issue and not a UTI. About the peeing on the side of the box and not squating inside of the litter box-- I have a few cats that do that too. They especially start to do it if they believe their litter box is not clean enough for them. They also do it if they are feeling challenged by any of the other cats.

Dr. Pierson calls them "elevator peers." These are the cats, male or female, that for whatever reason, start to raise their rump up while they are peeing and so it goes over the side of a regular sized litter box and onto the floor. I replaced all of my short sided litter boxes with the "Jumbo Litterbox" from Petco. It is 24" L X 18" W X 10" H.

http://www.petco.com/product/121241/Pet ... r-Pan.aspx

Another option is to also add a few of these jumbo hooded litter boxes:
http://www.petco.com/product/14405/Petm ... r-Pan.aspx

I have three of the jumbo types with no hoods, and I have three of these jumbo ones with the hood.

When you added the new cats to your family, did you also remember to add an equal amount of litter boxes? Dr. P suggests at least one boxes per cat. I think if you increase the amount of litter boxes you have in your house, and then make sure that there is at least one that is always clean, the peeing problem will be reduced. I think you should add these litter boxes even if there are some of the cats that are both indoor-outdoor.

Oh, when you say that the Feliway didn't work, what exactly did you try? I have many, many cats at my house so I have multiple Feliway plug-ins all over the house.

Your Chappy is definitely the boss of your household whether you believe he is or not. HE thinks he is, or at least he feels that he should be. ;-)
 
Thanks for your help Sienne, Wendy, Tricia, and Cinco. I sincerely appreciate it.

Due to the rough coat (a definite change) and the way Chappy started his "spraying," I'm really inclined to think it's something medical. My gut just tells me that it's not behavioral. Of course, I may just have my head in the sand, too! Thanks for the link on cystitis, Sienne. I also greatly appreciate the meds list, Wendy. It will help as we take the next step here. Chappy drinks no water from the water bowl (none of them do anymore), so I do try to mix extra water (bottled only) into their food.

Tricia and Tina - We do use deep-sided garden "tubs" as lbs. If we go any taller, I think I'm going to have to put in a ladder for the kitties. :lol: Tina - the new kitties are outdoor only, so we didn't have to add any lbs when they arrived. We used the Feliway plug-in, not the spray. I had read that it was better (although the reviews were still mixed).

Thanks again, everyone!
 
I hope you can figure out what is going on with Chappy and it's nothing serious. Sending prayers to you and Chappy.
 
So sorry to hear that Chappy i shaving some issues and I hope that you can figure it out as soon as possible and get your buddy back to normal. I'm glad Sienne gave you another perspective.

Thanks for visiting Spot's condo today! It's nice to have company :-D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top