Cat having trouble peeing - HELP

[PamR]

• 13 yr old female cat Mortie
• Neutering status - spayed
• Vaccination history - only once as kitten in shelter
• Breed - domestic short hair
• Approximate weight - 6.5-7 lbs - thin
• Indoor cat but goes out on deck in catio
• Woke me up at 4am tonight hearing her going repeatedly into the litter pan but seemingly not peeing. She stands in there, but walks out, keeps returning. She walks around from room to room and returns to the box.
• Earlier tonight she was nauseated after dinner and was about to vomit. I observed her swallowing a lot, trying to fight it back. Normally she can easily vomit. Only a small amount came up, like a teaspoon full of food and another of saliva.
• Diet: She eats all raw, packaged frozen. One is beef tripe mixture (ingredients: Beef heart, Beef Green Tripe, Beef Bone, Beef Kidney, Beef Liver) another is chicken w/ bone and liver, another is pork.
• She has treats: dried heart, or dried shrimp treats (the culprit??).
• She drinks water pretty freely, sometimes after meals or treats. Doesn't seem an excessive amount.
• Gets Adored Beast gut smooth and probiotic, though hasn't had in the last few days. I forgot to add Taurine in last several days.

- Shortly after I heard her struggling in the litter I gave her a dose of Arsenicum Album 30c, from an aged mixture I've kept.
- I just observed that she did leave pee drops here and there around the litter pan and did release some pee in the pan.
- She is now just sitting in loaf position. She just came up on my lap for brief cuddling and purring.
- Crisis temporarily over, but plan of action?? Can take her to standard care vet in the morning but he'll prob prescribe antibiotics...?

 

[PamR]

Note: She just ate some food. Her beef+tripe mix with added VitC, taurine and feline beast gut soothe.
But she is still making repeated trips to the litter. Sometimes actually peeing a bit.
And thinking back, the beginnings of this might have started a few weeks ago when I noticed her taking a bit longer in the litter while peeing than usual.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Pam!

I'm sorry to hear about Mortie's urinary challenges.

Has she had any of her pancreatitis episodes since we spoke last?

What time was her dose of Ars? It might be time for a redose...

Also, spend the next few days (or forever!) visualizing how happy and joyous you both are together. And do as many fun things together as possible. Even if it's just lovingly gazing, petting, or playing with her for a few minutes every hour or two.

The more often you do this, the faster she will heal. Don't worry about length of time for these sessions, it's the frequency that matters the most to help her heal.

 

[PamR]

Thanks for your response, Dr. Jeff.
No recent pancreatitis episodes.

She got the ARS this morning.
Then I took her to the vet to see if maybe he could diagnose or take blood.
Her bladder was empty by the time we got there and I couldn't leave her for hours to wait.
He said it's either a UTI, inflammation, or crystals. Since he couldn't determine, he gave her buprenorphine for pain relief. She took just one dose of that at the vets office.

After that she seemed good and ate a generous meal. We had lots of cuddling.
I left for several hours and came back to her in good spirits, and hungry, but now making several visits to the litter pan.

I gave her the second ARS dose.
Is there anything natural I can give for bladder comfort? Or should I just wait and see how ARS resolves this?

Pam

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Or should I just wait and see how ARS resolves this?

How is she today Pam?

You might try this along with increasing her fluid consumption (chicken broth, goats milk, etc.):

Urinary Gold - for Cat Urinary Tract Health

Veterinarian-formulated herbal supplement supports urinary tract health in cats, including maintenance of normal bladder pH. Helps maintain normal immunity against bacteria ascending into the bladder; supports comfortable urinary excretion, normal frequency, and healthy tone of delicate tissues...

petwellbeing.com

@Dr. Jean Hofve any other thoughts?

 

[PamR]

Dr. Jeff, it resolved.

I will get that Urinary Gold just to have on hand. And I'll make broth from some chicken legs I got her (that she didn't know quite what to do with!).

In re: your last email and Dr. Pitcairn's discussion of mindset -- I feel that, once again, she was picking up stress from me, as I'm dealing with my own new & frustrating health challenge.

Ever thankful for your help,
Pam

 

[Dr. Jeff]

You're welcome Pam!

Maybe do a few Happy Dances a day with her. And there's always the free Laughter Yoga online session at 7pm PT which many of us use to improve our mindsets and the energy flow we and our pets have and share:

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board...

us02web.zoom.us

 

[PamR]

You're welcome Pam!

Maybe do a few Happy Dances a day with her. And there's always the free Laughter Yoga online session at 7pm PT which many of us use to improve our mindsets and the energy flow we and our pets have and share:

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board...

us02web.zoom.us

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Hi Pam,

Did the vet do any bloodwork by chance? (Though it would be better to get blood and urine at the same time and that may have been the thought.)

In older cats, I find that there is often involvement of a kidney stone, usually calcium oxalate, and little bitty pieces of it flake off and irritate the ureters and bladder, banging around and causing the symptoms.

The irritation causes the nerves in the bladder to fire off. These include the stretch receptors, which send the message to the brain "The bladder is full!" Therefore they try and try to pee, even though they're essentially empty. I remember having a UTI on a camping trip (what fun!)... I didn't get 50 feet from the restroom before I felt like I had to pee again. Intellectually I knew it was a false alarm, but your cat can only go by what she feels.

Increasing fluid intake is very important. If it's possible to get her some subcutaneous fluids, that would help flush her out. It's a handy skill to have to give fluids at home when you have an older cat, since there are so many occasions that fluids will help.

The other thing that she needs is pain relief. Anti-inflammatory herbs like boswellia and turmeric, or other antioxidant supplements. Also, slippery elm (if you can get a whole capsule into her that would be excellent, otherwise make a slurry from the contents). Marshmallow is another alternative. The mucilage found in those herbs is very soothing to mucous membranes. But getting the pain under control ASAP is critical, otherwise it just compounds her stress.

Flower essences can be very helpful for the stress and pain as well. You can start with Rescue Remedy, which you can get at any health food store, but for longer term, Senior Support from Jackson Galaxy would be a good one for her.

 

[PamR]

Hi Pam,

Did the vet do any bloodwork by chance? (Though it would be better to get blood and urine at the same time and that may have been the thought.)

In older cats, I find that there is often involvement of a kidney stone, usually calcium oxalate, and little bitty pieces of it flake off and irritate the ureters and bladder, banging around and causing the symptoms.

The irritation causes the nerves in the bladder to fire off. These include the stretch receptors, which send the message to the brain "The bladder is full!" Therefore they try and try to pee, even though they're essentially empty. I remember having a UTI on a camping trip (what fun!)... I didn't get 50 feet from the restroom before I felt like I had to pee again. Intellectually I knew it was a false alarm, but your cat can only go by what she feels.

Increasing fluid intake is very important. If it's possible to get her some subcutaneous fluids, that would help flush her out. It's a handy skill to have to give fluids at home when you have an older cat, since there are so many occasions that fluids will help.

The other thing that she needs is pain relief. Anti-inflammatory herbs like boswellia and turmeric, or other antioxidant supplements. Also, slippery elm (if you can get a whole capsule into her that would be excellent, otherwise make a slurry from the contents). Marshmallow is another alternative. The mucilage found in those herbs is very soothing to mucous membranes. But getting the pain under control ASAP is critical, otherwise it just compounds her stress.

Flower essences can be very helpful for the stress and pain as well. You can start with Rescue Remedy, which you can get at any health food store, but for longer term, Senior Support from Jackson Galaxy would be a good one for her.

Thank you, Dr. Jean, for all this great info!

The vet didn't do blood or urine that visit.

Do you think this kidney stone could have been caused by eating salmon and dried shrimp treats? Or eating dried treats in general, like chicken hearts? These have been her daily treats.
Do you think VitC powder in her food (which she has been tolerating) is helpful?

I'm so grateful to have a game plan, so thank you again.
Pam

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

No, it’s not from that… stones take years to develop. More likely a chronic overage of calcium.

Vit C is not necessary but it won’t hurt anything.

I am a little concerned and the diet, which looks like it may actually be dog food. That’s not appropriate for cats. They have much narrower tolerances and specific needs. Let’s try to get her onto a more balanced, species appropriate diet. I like Stella and Chewy myself, also Smalls is really good.

 

[PamR]

Dr. Jean, you're absolutely right, it IS dog food.

Raw Food

USDA approved-for-human-consumption meats. Whole fruits & veggies. Sourced responsibly and 100% traceable. 100% all natural ingredients. No artificial flavors or coloring, no preservatives, and no harmful processing. AAFCO and NRC balanced, expertly formulated recipes.

marinraw.com

The store has one blend for cats.

I was so happy to find a raw pet food store near me here in northern CA using locally sourced meats, so I just went with it, with the help of the store owner. The ingredients are just meats, organs and bone.

I used to feed Stella and Chewy but thought I was giving something better with this stuff. I will look into Smalls.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Aha!!

Yeah, not sure that is a balanced diet even for dogs. Smalls is really good. Ships right to your door.