Male cat struggling to pee no blockage

[emgo89]

Hello,
I'm very worried about my male cat, Buddy. A couple days ago when I got home from work I realized Buddy wasn't there to greet me as he normally is. I searched all over the house and found him in one of the litter boxes. He was hunched over in a strange position. I let him do his business but realized he had not come out for 3 minutes or so. I went back into to check on him and he looked like he was trying to come out of the litter box but was just stagnant with his tail end still in the box. I tried to persuade him out the rest of the way and when I got his back end out I noticed him contracting a little with tiny drops of urine coming out. At this point I was convinced he probably had a UTI. I called the vet to try and set up an appointment as soon as possible, and they informed me to go to the ER vet because he could have a blockage and need immediate assistance. I took him to the nearest ER right away and they checked his vitals and ran a urinalysis. From this they found him to be relatively healthy. There were only trace amounts of white cells, a small amount of proteins found, but no crystallization. They gave him a muscle relaxer and opiate for the pain and to help his urethra relax so he might be able to urinate easier. He urinated quite a large amount on the vets table after they administered these medications. I took him home and he was acting completely fine went straight to his food bowl, drank some water, but still proceeded to go to the litter box several times with only small amounts of urine coming out each time. I took him to his regular vet the following morning where they ran xrays to insure he didn't have any bladder stones. No bladder stones finding there. They sent the xrays to a radiologists to see if there might be smaller stones the xrays couldn't pick up. They found nothing as well. They ran some blood work to make sure his kidneys were functioning properly and all of his blood work returned normal. Upon picking him up the vet explained that he was very confused by Buddy's condition because he's obviously not blocked, doesn't seem to have an infection, he can produce urine and it's healthy (no blood and a clear yellow color) It just seems as if his urethra is not allowing the right amount of urine to come out when he has the need to go. He's said he would speak to the neurologist he knows to see if he might know the reason behind his strange condition. He also prescribed buddy some valium in attempts to to relax him once again so he might pee normally. As of today he is still exhibiting the same litter box behavior. His mood is the same as it always is for the most part he has a great appetite, drinks well, loving, playful, and alert. I gave him his second dose of valium this morning and noticed he's now almost laying down in the litter box with an even smaller amount of urine coming out. I'm scheduled to take him into the vet again today at 4:30 so hopefully he'll have some more answers for me. At this point I've spent an extortionate amount of money. I can't imagine how much more I'll have to spend for giving him some kind of surgery. So naturally I'm hoping this will just go away on its own. I'm sorry this is so lengthy. I know its a bizarre problem I was just hoping there might be someone out there who may know what's going on, or maybe had the same problem with their cat. Thanks for reading.

-Emily

[yodameister]

Again an update for anyone out there who comes across this forum. Yesterday we brought the cat again to the vet, he hadn't really gone to the toilet at all (except for a few drops each time he tried) but the vet was able to push on his bladder to get the urine out, this he was able to do very easily which he said definitely indicated that the cat was not blocked, he probably has pain when trying to urninate himself.
This morning we noticed some larger clumps in the kitty litter, indicating that he had urinated a bit more than just the few drops he has been doing. The vet checked his bladder again this morning and said it was empty! we are cautiously optimistic!
BTW we put out 4 or 5 little tupperware containers throughout the house with water on his usual walking routes, and he does tend to drink from them so thats a good tip to get your cat drinking more. We have also bought some wet food which he has only licked at but we will persevere!

[yodameister]

This is hopefully my last update here. Our cat is doing fine now. Our vet checked his bladder on Saturday and it was again empty. Even though our cat is only producing a few drops on each urination, he is going so often that he is emptying his bladder himself, so he's on the road to recovery. This morning (Tuesday) again his bladder was empty (even though he's drinking and eating plenty) We've noticed that our cat tends to stop off at many of the extra water containers we placed around the house, this is a great tip to get your cat to drink more. Thanks everyone.

[opus88]

Good news glad to hear thx for letting us know, stop by anytime:))

[Heavnlyharmony]

Thank you SO very much for posting all this wonderful info on FLUTD.  My baby kitty, Tod (well he is actually 13 years old, but still my baby!) started walking with little drops of urine behind him last night.  It immediately followed him vomiting. It had no blood, but still very much concerned me. He was very distressed about not being able to control his urine and would just stop all dazed and have a little puddle behind him.  After reading about the possibbilty of a blockage online, I rushed him to the vet at 1am.  They thankfully said, no blockage after an x-ray, urine, blood test and exam where they hand-expressed urine.  No blood, but they said the test showed he did have an infection.  He got pain meds and antibiotics.

He's still not happy or comfortable, but I am grateful it wasn't the blockage.  He still has little drops of urine everywhere this morning and I am regretting turning down the spasm medication that they recommended last night as well. However, it is one that we could pick up easily today and I just didn't want to spend money that wasn't necessary.  

I again, very much appreciate all these resources and will arm myself with them when I go back to pick up the spasm meds today.

[opus88]

Hi welcome sorry to hear of kitties issues but you'll be happy to know it's all very treatable. I do hope the Vet checked for crystals????
Be sure an read the very important info on the site I listed above, good luck and keep us updated
Copy:

thanks for the update....sorry I missed your first post, emgo89 hasn't posted on our forum for 2 years so very likely you won't get a response...

I am happy your kitty has finally gotten a diagnosis....now you can take it a step further and know how to help this poor little fella out...
first of all no matter what your Vet tells you PLEASE STOP ALL DRY FOOD, that is the root of his problems without a doubt!!!!!

I urge you to read this site...this Vet is so very knowledgeable abt diets and diseases following her site has totally transformed how I think about cat food...and has made a huge difference in the health of my own cats...I too had one with bladder issues..I beg you to read her site and learn it and you will have a healthy kitty once again...keep us updated. best to you both♥

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

[CML2014]

Hi Heavnly,

I wish everyone would be as diligent in taking their kits to the vet when problems like this arise. I know the cost can be prohibitive, but there are always ways to pay, that your vet can set up.

Could you please give us an update  on TOD.!

Hope he is feeling much better and peeing like a champ!

CML