Important advice regarding UTI's in male cats. **PLEASE READ**

Sequeena

Hello everyone, I'd like to raise awareness for UTI's in male cats x

On the weekend we noticed our loveable friendly cat Nemo had stopped defecating. He was his usual friendly self but did not want to eat. We tempted him with smelly food but he did not want it so we gave him some lactol milk for nutrients on minerals. We have 2 other cats so we popped him into our dogs crate overnight so he could get some peace and quiet from them.

Monday morning we came down and realised that he had not defecated OR urinated. He was still a very happy cat but was lethargic. We rushed him to our vet straight away who checked him over and found that his bladder had swollen to the size of a tennis ball. He needed a catheter inserted into his penis immediately to drain the urine.

We were told this was a rare case as this is most common in overweight cats and neutered cats - Nemo was neither.

He was still purring and very loving in the vets room. He showed NO SIGNS of any discomfort.

We were told it was a standard procedure. There were risks with GA but the vet thought he would be absolutely fine. He would have the catheter inserted, his urine drained and he would stay at the vets for about 3-4 days. He would not come home until he was able to pass urine himself.

Two hours later we had the devastating phonecall that our precious cat had died. The procedure had gone fine but when it came to waking him up he just never responded. His little heart had given up

We spent all day Monday torturing ourselves for not recognising the signs earlier. It was awful. I have never seen my OH cry so much. He just could not stop blaming himself for our cats death.

Yesterday we had to pick up our empty cat box from the vet. The vet said that after Nemo died he'd run blood tests to find the cause (which we have not been charge for). He did infact have a UTI but it was an extreme case. Keratin levels (toxins) in cats kidneys are meant to be around 100 - in Nemo the levels were 1500. The vet was extremely shocked at the results, even he did not realise how ill our cat was. He said he'd treated cats with levels of 300 who had been fitting.

Not once had our cat ever shown any signs of having a UTI. He was never sick, he only stopped urinating right at the end and he never urinated any blood.

Please please if you have not had your male cat checked over by the vet for a while take them as soon as you can. I cannot stop thinking about how much pain he must have been in and he did not cry once. He was lovely right up to the end and was even purring at the vet and trying to jump off the examination table.

Nemo would have been one year old today. We are devastated he had to leave us so soon but our vet told us that he would use Nemo as a case with trainee vets and if his passing saves just one cats life then his death is not in vain.

Run free at the bridge beautiful boy xxx

lapetiteanglaise

Really sorry to hear that.

Please don't beat yourself up over it - I'm sure Nemo had a very happy life with you and he was obviously much loved.

RIP Nemo.

Sequeena

Thank you. He did have a very good life with us and I'm glad we were able to give him that

rising_from_the_ashes

OMG I'm so, so sorry to read this.

What a beautiful boy he was - I'm now in tears as he's so like my old boy Smudge who also suffered from UTI and who I eventually (many years later) lost to kidney failure.

I was about to post some tips that I thought might help you spot any signs again having lived with a cat who suffered UTIs for 9 years, but realise now that they won't be any help at all.:(

I can't believe one so young has been taken so soon.

RIP Nemo xx

Sequeena

Thank you. It's absolutely awful that we could not catch this sooner but by the time he showed any signs his kidneys had already shut down

I too am very sorry for your loss it is absolutely awful when they go.

I will be taking my remaining male cat for check ups more often and will be taking more interest in the litter trays.

I wish there was a universal symptom that all cats displayed when they have UTI's

tankgirl1

Oh I am so sorry to hear that - how awful!

It is very rare for them to go downhill quite so quickly, and from reading your post, you obviously picked up on the signs as soon as was humanly possible, and did everything right.

Please don't feel bad - you gave him lots of love & a wonderful life - Run free little one xxx

rising_from_the_ashes

After a couple of years, I could usually tell when things were starting to flare up - sometimes there were the obvious ones like a bit of blood in the tray but this was very unusual.

He used to wander around looking a bit "lost" (don't really know how to explain it) and used to spend ages in the bath and shower tray - obviously trying to get comfy to try to wee.

He also (excuse this, but if it happens, it may help someone recognise that there may be a problem) had been licking his "bits" and lying on his back with them on show - obviously very out of character for a cat.

He also went off his food and stopped drinking as much - I was lucky that at that time he was an indoor cat (had always been indoors when I rehomed him) so it was much easier to spot. For the last couple of years I moved onto a farm and he pottered around outside (lovely to see), never venturing far but being able to enjoy the sun outside.

It's much harder to spot when your cat doesn't use a tray and IMHO I would always recommend that people have one as it's usually the first sign of trouble. Also, if they have access to the outside, it's difficult to know how much they're drinking and whether this has changed.

Smudge was also prone to crystals (very painful).

Diet can also help as neutered males are quite prone to such problems. Royal Canin do a "special" food for them http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/Product-2665/Royal-Canin-Cat-Food/Royal-Canin-cat-neutered-young-male-S/O and I'm sure there are a couple of others too.

I've also posted a link to a website which has some useful tips on how to spot and treat this http://www.cat.menswatchusa.com/uncategorized/male-cat-urinary-tract-infection-a-look-at-the-common-symptoms-and-the-treatment-options-available


Please don't beat yourself up (I know that's easy to say) but animals are masters at disguising discomfort and things have often "taken hold" by the time we notice things.:grouphug:

Unfortunately, as you say, there is no "universal" symptom as all cats are different but the best advice I can give (hoping others may read this and remember for the future) is to know your cat's habits and if they seem off colour, please get them checked out.

Sequeena

Thank you both, and thank you for posting what to generally look out for. I will keep it all in mind and will be switching my cats diet straight away (or rather over a few days so he doesn't get an exploding bum :rotfl:) as I did not know this could have an impact.

I'm trying to think now if Nemo gave off any signs in the past... but I just can't think of any. Poor boy, I really wish we had noticed sooner but I guess it was just not meant to be.

Fire_Fox

So sorry to hear of your loss. Bear in mind there are a number of bladder/ kidney conditions which respond to diet - but NOT the same diet, so it's not wise to try a prescription type diet unless for a specific diagnosed condition.

laurz

so sorry to hear that, it's such a difficult time to go through.

whenever my mums cat has been starved and and not allowed water before an op he always ends up with bladder or kidney stones and UTIs. he was a rescue and very skinny when she got him. he still ocassionally suffers them he's only 5 now and only 1 when she got him. if he has a flare up he wanders round the house crying and pees anywhere he can (the beds are a favourite) in the house even though he's an outdoor cat.

Sequeena

Thanks for commenting everyone. Firefox thanks for the advice, I'm still researching the diet thing at the minute.