I have two adult cats, one about 13 and the other about six or seven. I have read lots about cats having difficulty urinating, urinating in odd places, etc. and crystals in their urine. During the past few months I have found small yellowish deposits which strike me as being what a mixture of water and brown sugar would look like after the water has evaporated.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
Hi Don, Urinary blockages are a painful life threatening Problem for male cats. My young male had a lot of problems. We would buy the low ash food from the vet and would have to pay to get him unblocked every so often. It was painful for him and a drain of money for us. We decided to opt for the surgery to in essence, get him a sex change. He was already newtered. The doc removed the remaining penis and enlarged the urinary tract. It has been over five years now, No problems I am glad to say. The surgery ran about $1200. You should make sure that they are drinking plenty of fresh clean water.
The crystals block the tract and the cat cannot urinate, the bladder enlarges, can explode, The cat is in agony in the mean time. A low ash diet can help. I found that in our case it did not help enough. There is a lot of info out there on the "net" But the best advice I can give is Take them to the vet. It is a horrible way to die. The substance you are finding is concentrated urine and blood. The cat will urinate in odd places because they are so uncomfortable, They are trying anything to get it out. Your cat is in pain. A lot of pain. One trip to the vet will not cost you that much, At least you will get the best answer for you. Best of luck to you all. Barb
Hi Don, Do you see your cats having any kind of difficulty urinating, or do you see any changes at all in their urinary or drinking habits? Do your cats seem to be experiencing any discomfort? If you have any doubts or are simply uncertain, a vet visit is in order. This is another possible problem you should NOT be trying to self-diagnose.
However, what you describe could also be some urine left behind by mice or something similar. The places where you're finding the urine are the places mice or other pests would go. Keep an eye out for rodent feces as you're scoping out the cabinets and counters. Good luck.
If your cat is having urinary problems, you will definitely know it. He will be urinating in unusual places and there will be more blood than anything else. He will be in severe pain and there will be no mistaking it. I too, have a male cat that was neutered and then had to have a complete sex change due to uric acid crystals in his bladder and urethra. The crystals stop up the urethra and the cat can't void or will be voiding very little urine.
hi
tnx for your comments. cats are perfectly normal in all respects. eat, sleep, eat some more, sleep, etc. crab to go out but these days (-30 to -35) they're pretty quick to change their minds when I open the outside door. have been reducing the amount of dry food they get and giving more snacks of wet cat food (and their tuna treat at night - like clockwork, starting at 10 - 10:30, they're wandering around the kitchen, crabbing and rubbing against the fridge.)
All cats have crystals in their urine. The problem comes in if their urine is too alkaline, they produce struvite crystals and this can cause a life threatening blockage. If the urine is too acidic, they can produce a different kind of crystal. Cats must have a urine PH between 6.00 and 6.50.
Get some PH strips at the drug store, the longer they are, the better, then try to capture some urine and take a reading. If the urine is to alkaline, adding 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar daily to their food for 3 days should help dissolve the crystals.
Never feed a cat dry kibble! This is the worst food for them and it can make them too alkaline. Also, it only contains 10% moisture, far too little. You should feed a high quality canned food, high in meats, no grains. You can not buy this kind of food in the supermarket. Go to petfooddirect.com and take a look at Eagle, EVO, of Felidae. Eagle foods have a PH of 6.00 - 6.50.
Join this cat support group
WholeCatHealth@yahoogroups.com
Rosemary the group owner is so very knowledgeable about cats, their foods and health problems like struvite crystals.
Take care, Jim in Jax
If you pick up those crystals and sniff them, you will be dead sure whether they are cat urine or not, by the obvious smell. They could be pitch oozing from pine, they could be insect deposits, they could be brown sugar or whatever.
That sounds to me like plain old scent marking done by cats. You have only found it after it has dried.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
