Toilet Trouble

[Victoria]

I was about to take my cat to the vet but it is a bank holiday here and it is shut! I will ask your advice instead (but still take her at the earliest opportunity).

My cat's name is Cleo, she is a 4 year old neutered female and yesterday I noticed that she was pooping in strange places, rather than her litter tray. She went in the bathtub, on the bathmat and in the sink. Her poops looked normal, perhaps slightly soft but normal in colour and texture. Late last night I noticed blood in the bathroom sink. She had been squatting over that. I am keeping an eye on her. She is eating, drinking and playful as ever. She is not in obvious pain. She keeps squatting down like she needs the toilet but cannot go but she is not making a sound or seeming distressed.

I tried gently palpating her but she did not seem in any pain when I pressed her stomach or sides. Her nether regions appear normal and I cannot see blood or swelling.

I will definitely take her to the vet asap (or maybe find another one up the coast - this is a small Spanish island and since it is Catholic it has about 30 bank holidays a year which can be very inconvenient). There must be an emergency vet on the island somewhere but I don't have the number or address.

Right now, Cleo is dashing around the room, playing with a stuffed toy mouse but obviously I am very concerned. I was wondering if this could be constipation but... obviously taking her to the vet is best.

Until I can actually get there, can anyone offer me some advice? Thank you so much in advance.

[mamabear]

Vitoria, I am Catholic and went to a Catholic school and yes i certainly understand the many holidays. LOL

I saw your other post about her eye tearing. I think she needs to be seen asap. Call them and them she has blood in her stool and you would like the earliest appt.

There is nothing that I can say about what might be the problem but I think a vet visit immediately is in order. Make sure she is drinking and eating.

And write down everything that you have noticed

Bowel movements outside of normal litterbox
Blood in sink where you saw her squatting.
Tearing eye and which one it is.

I know she is bouncing about but cats will do that even if not feeling well. LEt us know what vet says.

[Traci]

Also don't dismiss the potential for urinary tract infection. Even though she is eliminating in the sink, etc, she could be straining to urinate as well and may have an infection.

Also check the home, could she have gotten into something, like string, thread, etc?

Vet visit promptly.

[Victoria]

Thanks for the replies The vet thinks it is a bladder infection like cystitis since she had a big, healthy dump in the vet office! She has had 2 shots of antibiotics and I have to go back in 3 days to check her. He said if she isn't showing improvement it might be kidney stones and we have to get a urine sample to check for crystals. He also said if she is still the same in 2 days, to take her back.

He weighed her too since I thought she might be overweight. She weighs 4.1kg which he said is normal or slightly over. She does have a slight hanging tum but that might be the result of 2 litters of kittens. She wasn't very impressed with having her temperature taken or being injected and made her usual annoyed "hmfffff" sound at the vet, which she does if she is unimpressed with something! She was injected 10 hours ago and still seems to be straining over the toilet but hopefully will show signs of improving tomorrow. I will keep a close eye on her and thank you again for your replies.

[mamabear]

Wait i dont get it. She had a big bowel movement in the vets office(snickering over that one) and he says becuase of that he thinks its a UTI? Yet he didnt check her for crystals? Did he give you a special diet for her to be on and how to transistion her to it? Did he talk to you the future that seh might get another UTI and what she shoudl be staying away from so she doesnt get another?

[Traci]

If he thought she had a urinary infection whether urethral or bladder, he should have done a complete urinalysis right then and there to confirm WBC counts, inflammation and pH levels and evidence for sediment or crystals.

Two shots of antibiotics? On the same day? Why didn't he give oral antibiotics, like clavamox if he thought this was a urinary infection? Are you certain both shots were antibiotics, or was one an anti-inflammatory injection? If the latter, please see a new vet promptly, you need to rule out urinary tract infection and crystal formation promptly. Crystals can block urethras and cause scar tissue, pain, blood, inability to produce urine and further worsen the infection!

Do you have another vet availble to you? One who's more comitted to your cats?

[Victoria]

Hi both and thanks for your quick replies again Mamabear - he didn't mention anything about diet or tell me anything about the chances of recurral or how to prevent it. Traci - he asked if I wanted oral antibiotics or shots so I assumed both were the same kind of thing. I chose shots because if a shot is the same as a pill, surely it is easier to give her. On my receipt it says "2 x injecciones" so I assumed both were antibiotics.

We have to go back on Friday for a check, even if she is peeing normally and seems better. There are other vets here but quite far up the coast. This isn't a large island and all the vets seem to be trained at the same place. She seems slightly better today but is still squatting for up to a minute before anything happens (it was longer before) and sometimes the amount of pee is hardly anything. How long do antibiotics take to clear a UTI normally?

[mamabear]

If these were antibiotics then I would suggest you do see another vet. Cleo is in distress and for him tell you to wait till Friday is absurd. If Cleo could talk she would agree I am sure.

Call him TODAY (your morning time, i'm not sure of) and tell that Dr. or the receptionist that Cleo is still squatting and you would like to know exactly what those shots were that he gave her. The receptionist can look at the records to see what it was if the vet is too busy for you. Does it show anything that they sent any urine to an outside lab on your receipt?

Also either way make sure you speak to him or another vet if it is confirmed that this is a UTI about food. the type of food Cleo is eating is crucial when they have UTI and to help keep them away as well.

Good luck and let us know. And you are welcome dear.

[Traci]

Injectable antibiotics are relatively fast-acting (within 24 hours), and oral antibiotics usually start kicking in between 24-48 hours. Oral antibiotics are better for UTI's, as they target an infection over a period of time (like 7-10 days, whereas an injectable will peak but level off.

BUT, the problem is choosing the antibiotic for the particular infection. If he didn't do a urinalysis, he doesn't know IF or WHAT the infection is, or IF there may be crystals present. As mentioned above, all urine markers should be checked in a urinalysis (WBC, blood, glucose, sediment or evidence of crystals, etc), otherwise he is treating blindly.

I'd be concerned about the "two" injections, there was no need for two antibiotic injections, so call him and find out what exactly the two injections were. Ask him why he didn't do a urinalysis when the chief complaint was straining and evidence of blood, and since she CONTINUES to be straining and NOT producing urine.

What are you feeding her? Yes, the diet is important to help prevent urinary tract infections from reoccuring. It is the pH level in the urine that needs to be maintained, the diet must be properly formulated with low ash and magnesium content. Prescription diets are formulated for this purpose. If crystals are present, the prescription diets are the best choice for dissolution and prevention/management.

I'm really appalled your vet didn't do a urinalysis when you took her in. It's not good practice to simply give an antibiotic injection without knowing what you're treating. Take her back in and demand a urinalysis, and discuss oral antibiotics instead (i.e., clavamox).....I find it easier to give the liquid suspension form of clavamox to cats as opposed to pill forms. Since he already gave one or two injections of "whatever" already, you need to find out what those injections were, since they will need to clear from the body before initiating new oral antibiotics. Since she continues to be straining and is producing NO urine, this is an emergency, regardless of the injection(s) he gave earlier.

[Victoria]

Thanks again for your replies. She is fine now. The injections seemed to do the trick. I took her for a check up and... no problems.