A bit worried about my puss cat

[Dollydealer]

Last night I happened to be in the vicinity when puss cat #1 used the litter tray. Without going into huge detail it became apparent that her urine was the colour of red wine, and I have no idea why :no:

She is happy, lively, eats like a horse :teehee: and didnt show any signs of pain or distress while using the tray. I've had a bit of a prod around her abdomen and she didn't mind me doing that either.

I haven't taken her to the v-e-t yet, was going to monitor how she does but typically, I haven't seen her use it today (we have been out) and each time I put her in it, she just sits down :rolleyes:

I have Googled her symptoms and it comes up with Feline Cystitis or Urinary Tract Infection which apparently can be sorted with antibiotics, but she gets really skitsy (sp?) if I try to give her tablets (seems to cause a LOT of anxiety for her) and she already has some form of neurological condition that I really don't want to inflame by stressing her out too much.

Another part of me doesn't want to take her to the v-e-t incase it is something more serious :cry: but I know I should, just to be sure. She is insured, so there would be no problem with paying for any investigations into it.

Sorry for rambling, and sorry for troubling people when I know that she is only a cat and there are some ladies on here with far more worries than me.

She is my first proper pet though, and I love her.

[Skerry Berry]

My cat has had uti's in the past, although she gets quite miserable with them, and also messes outside her litter tray when she has them.

They soon clear up with anti-b's though. I hid mine in dairylee triangles - that way they get eaten no bother :smile:

Don't apologise for rambling, she is not just a cat, she is your cat and part of your family :higgies:

[Shoppie]

suonds exactly like cystitis to me - my cat has had it about three times. If she's at the blood in urine stage, you need to get her to the v-e-t.

But can be fixed relatively quickly with antibiotics :grin:

[Puddser]

:higgies: To you hon. I have two puddy twats myself so I know what its like. I cant offer any medical advice but just do as you say and keep an eye on her litter tray and make sure she is eating and getting plenty of water. My female Trinnie will not take tablets. There is no way of getting them into her and believe me we have tried everything. I hope she is ok and it could be just something she ate has not agreed with her and ran through her. Fingers crossed its nothing serious.

[Dollydealer]

See, I haven't noticed her messing anywhere else, and although I don't tend to watch her while she wees :teehee: I certainly haven't noticed any discolouration in the litter when I have changed it in recent days - can it just happen?

She doesn't go outside, so I don't think she's been hit or anything to cause it, I'm really stumped at how she could have picked one up?

I'm on Operation Wee Watch! :teehee:

[Princess Fiona]

I'd take her to the vets to get checked out, just to be sure!!

[Em29]

I'd take her to the vet, it's most probably cystitis, I've seen some cat's urine go that colour with it. It may be sorted with antibiotics, they may be able to give you some you can sprinkle on her food and they may also give you something called cystaid which calms the lining of the bladder. I know how difficult it is to give some cats AB's I've got one of them and the scars to prove it!!!

Don't leave it too long, cystitis is horribly uncomfortable(cats seem to have a high pain threshold) and if left untreated could lead to a kidney infection.

The other thing it might be is crystals in the urine.

Oh, and if you can take a urine sample in with you, best way is to empty the litter tray and wash it and try and get her to wee in there empty then tip the wee into a clean jar, if she won't go in an empty tray get some fish gravel and wash it and put that in, it won't absorb the wee and you should be able to pour it off.

HTH

[Shoppie]

When my cat had cystitis, she didn't mess outside the tray, it just got increasingly bloody and she was going more and more often.

I don't think you can get rid of it without the antibs..

[Dollydealer]

Thank you for the replies so far, I think I ought to get to the v-e-t tomorrow if poss and see if there is an alternative to tablets for her!

[Fantasseee]

My cat has cystitis as well at the moment. He is 13 years of age now and so is at the age where they start showing problems. My friend advised me to stop giving him dried food as it is very concentrated and often cats don't drink enough to dilute the concentrates they form.

So we have tried the anti-bs and now we are going to try changing his diet. Might be worth considering if yr cat has a high proportion of dry to wet food in her diet.

[Dollydealer]

She eats mainly wet food and to be honest I very rarely see her drink!

They both have the odd little portion of dry food, but it certainly doesn't make the majority of their diet.

Thank you everyone for your help :flowers:

[Shoppie]

Have you tried turning a tap on very low? My cat drinks much more if she can get running water. If it works, you can actually buy fountains that pump the water round form pet shops.

[Fantasseee]

They do recommend keeping their diet very bland and moving away from preprepared foods and instead giving them plain chicken etc. Might be worth trying if you can afford it and have the time.

[Dollydealer]

:cry:

Been to the v-e-t ........ it might not be as simple as just cystitis or UTI.

They have kept her in to hopefully get a urine sample (I did try, but she wasn't peeing to demand!) and see whether it is actual blood in her wee (cystitis) or pigment in her wee (problem with red blood cells).

As she is jaundiced too, the Vet thinks that it is likely to be the non-cystitis route, but until she has had tests he can't be sure.

It's too long and complicated to go into, but it also could be linked to a previous neurological episode she had in Jan 05.

I'm SO glad I decided to take her today, but am now even more worried than I was before :cry:

Got to call tomorrow afternoon to see what the story is, and then I'm not sure what happens.

:cry:

[Fantasseee]

Aww Dolly youve done exactly the right thing and she's in the right hands now. I know its horrid waiting for test results but they can do so much nowadays that even if its something more serious it doesn't have to mean you will lose her. Is she insured?

[Dollydealer]

Yes, thank goodness. Although there is an exclusion on any treatment related to the neurological condition, but the Vet has assured us that at the moment, that isn't what is being assessed/treated so we should be able to claim.

I learnt the pet insurance lesson the hard way - with the Jan 05 problem I was with Tesco insurance, but didn't realised that they only covered conditions for 12 months, she had a mild recurrence of the problem in Aug this year and they wouldn't pay out. I have now changed to Pet Plan for both of them (I have another puss too) with their lifetime cover thingy.

The Vet was worried, but also 'pleased' that it is probably something that he can treat, and without reciting War & Peace on my mental cat :teehee: it is possibly something she was born with that has been bubbling under and causing the other issues she has had problems with :rolleyes:

We always said she was defective!

But I do hate the waiting and wondering :cry:

[Fantasseee]

We have a mentally impaired puss as well, he has never been diagnosed but my god something isn't right in there :loco:

Great that youre insured! We have one with Direct Line and the other two with E&L and although E&L gave me a bit of strife they paid out over £1.5k when one of my cats was run over and he is now a very well boy, if it had been down to us we could never have afforded to have put him back together again.

Fingers crossed that her results are treatable xx

[Gemiloch]

:higgies: Dolly, I hope your wee cat gets better soon

Gemx

[Matilde]

I am so glad to see you went to the vet, because thats exactlyy what I was going to suggest!.

My kitty has been sick for a few days and we have left it thinking it was just hairballs making her sick food up etc but the poor things has gastroenteritis and has had to be given antibiotics.

At the first sign of something worrying it's best to go to see the vet, always.

Hope she gets better very very soon!

[Hungry Hippo]

:higgies: Dollydealer. You really have sympathy. I hope the vets call back soon with the results and your pussycat is back home with you soon.

We've had a lot of problems with one of our cats and feline lower urinary tract problems. A lot of it has been put down to his nervous disposition as well. He had a couple of episodes of blockages (which had to be surgically removed) and we really thought we were going to lose him. He recovered though and we haven't had any episodes for a while touch wood.

We have to give the cats a special urinary diet (both wet and dry food) and we also have a Feliway vaporiser thingy which pumps out cat pheromones to chill him out. They couldn't put him on ADs as he's a bit of a chubby cat :oops:.

[Em29]

Dolly, glad you went to the vets and sorry to hear it isn't as straightforward as cystitis. I'm a vet nurse with 13 years experience and would be glad to answer any questions you may have as well as my baby mushed brain will allow me.

Insurance can be a minefield and as you have found out you really do get what you pay for. Fants well done for getting that money out of E&L, we used to have terrible trouble, theyseem to try everything they can not to pay out.

Hope your pussycat gets better soon :hug:

[Dollydealer]

Thank you everyone :flowers:

HH, the Vet was thinking that it probably isn't cystitis/UTI as we also have a male cat and he hasn't been affected by any crystals or blockages that we are aware of. Vet was talking as though it is common for Leeds too :huh:

I must admit, a lot of what he said is now a bit of a blur :oops:, I was listening, but I was getting upset too :oops: ! However, if it is the other problem, she will probably need steroid injections to sort it. She is also a REALLY anxious cat, gets very stressed - I was more worried about attempting to give her antibiotic tablets once home than anything!

I have to ring tomorrow at about 2.30pm to find out the results.

[Hungry Hippo]

Do let us know what they say tomorrow. I'm sending lots of get well vibes for your puss cat in the meantime. I'm not surprised you found it hard to take in the info when they called, it takes a lot of effort not to get chocked up.

If she needs antibiotics and you think it might be difficult to manage maybe you could ask if the could give an injection instead? Always worth a try.

:higgies:

[Dollydealer]

Well, the Vet rang back this evening. They had managed to get a urine sample which did indeed confirm that it is not cystitis. Something is happening to her red blood cells, but I'm not sure what.

OH took the call and apparently they wanted to let us know this evening as the test results showed that her red blood count was 10% (or something ??) and if she deteriorates she will need a blood transfusion :eek:. Vet did say that someone would be at the practice all night, so she isn't alone, which I am pleased about.

I am SO glad I took her to the Vet, but wished I had done it sooner now. This has all happened so suddenly, I'm spinning!

And to top it all, we went to see Russell Brand tonight, who was excellent, but all the way through I felt on edge cos I was thinking about her.