Cat with Urinary Problems, Advice Please

Is your cat urinating easily or is he sitting in the box for five minutes or more before urinating or not urinating very much? For something like this vigilance is the key to eliminating this problem and preventing its recurrence. Every time your cat goes to the litter box it should be noted if he is urinating easily or not and how much time it takes him to urinate. If you are giving him fluids it is of tantamount importance that fifty percent or more is being urinated and not retained. So it is important to note how much he is urinating in relation to the amount of fluids you give him. It is also important to note how many times a day he is urinating. A cat who is not urinating or who has difficult urinating may have crystals that can eventually block the urinary tract making urination impossible and can be life-threatening as toxins back up into the system. Veterinary intervention is needed if it has reached this stage. Crystals can form from too much dry cat food, if the cat does not drink enough water to offset the dry cat food, or commercial cat fod that has a high magnesium content(higher than 2 percent).Crystals feel like sand and scratch the lining of the bladder and urinary tract and can leave a burning sensation. Cats, in an attempt to alleviate the discomfort think, with their own special logic, that if they urinate in unacceptable places that the urination will come easier and there will be less discomfort, also that the litter box is, is some way, the cause of the discomfort, hence, urinating on towels, and other areas.

The combination of Vitamin C and cranberry is doubly acidic and can lead to burning urine. Consider trying the cranberry only. Cranberry capsules(cran-actin is good for this) or cranberry juice, two tablespoons(pure, not from a concentrate), mixed with a little canned milk(one teaspoon) for palatability given every eight hours to start. This provides fluids for flushing the urinary tract and the cranberry will cause the bacteria causing the crystals to slough off the bladder walls. Once this is well under control, cutting back on the amount of dry food given, giving wet cat food that has no by-products and has a low magnesium count, as well as increasing the amount of water consumed by adding water to the canned cat food to the proportion that it is gloppy(not loads. Loads of water can overload the kidneys) can prevent this problem from recurring. Cranberry given periodically is also beneficial.

Although you mention a history of your cat having a history of bladder infections, it sounds like he,after being outside for perhaps a considerable period of time before these episodes occur, or even overnight and he may be developing bladder infections from a chill or from sitting on or sleeping on cold or damp ground. This can also result is a feeling of urgency to urinate as there is a burning sensation that the cat mistakes for the urge to urinate. Cranberry and Vitamin C will not help for this, they only help for crystals. It is possible that your cat has now developed a tendency towards bladder infections because of the frequency of their occurrence. That is to say, the more they occur the more the bladder and urinary tract have a tendency to infections.It takes less and less each time to trigger one. You might want to consider keeping your cat inside until this is well under control and even perhaps seriously consider making him an indoor cat.Or at the very least only allowing him outside on the warmest days and never leaving him outside overnight or for long periods. Because your cat has had repeated bladder infections, special care and extra vigilance is now required to restore him to health.