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My kitty got this twice too. She was going in the litter box a lot and meowing like it hurt. It was sad. My vet basically said there isn't much you can do - it just clears up on its own since it's not an infection. And my kitty HATES the vet so bringing her in only makes it worse. It's really stressful for everyone.

our cat otis had this as well, the vet said he definitely needed to drink more water (which he rarely does), so we mix a tiny bit of canned food with water every morning and he slurps it up happily...we haven't had any more instances yet (fingers crossed)

(if it goes untreated they can get into medical trouble very quickly as they'll go septic after about 24 hours)

I don't have a kitty, but I do have two dogs, one of whom has a serious auto immune blood disease and is on a lot of medications that can damage the bladder and cause UTI's. We put a small handful (5-10 for a 60lb dog) of dried cranberries in his food twice a day to coat and protect the bladder- we learned this from a vet that specializes in blood diseases and holistic care. Not sure if it would work for kitties, but it's worth asking your vet about!

I had a cat that had this and almost died from it. His urinary tract was completely blocked. After that he was constantly having issues. Sometimes they were real, other times the vet thought that maybe he was just afraid to urinate in the box because he associated it with pain. Eventually I put out those puppy training pads in the places he would urinate. That did the trick. From that point on I maintained two boxes, one with cat litter and one with a puppy training pad lining the bottom. I did this for the rest of his life until I had to put him down due to cancer. It was worth it to not have to worry about having him go on the bed or furniture again. I bought the pads in bulk to save money.

I had to put my cat down because if this several years ago. Definitely avoid cheap dry food.

It's not about the price or quality of the food. Dietary magnesium is the villain that forms irritating crystals in the urinary tract. You need a specially formulated low magnesium food. They come at all price points. Beware that many "wet" foods have high magnesium levels. Look for "urinary health" or something similar on the label.

Hope this helps.

This site has been lousy with pet posts, as of late.

And, the pet posts always elicit a ton of comments-- are your bloggers paid PER comment, or something?

My kitty had this too. Something else helpful are those pet fountains. They encourage cats to drink more water.

Can I just say that I love that it's pet month? I usually try not to seem like the crazy cat lady, but it's nice to let loose every once and a while :)

My cat Hank has always urinated outside of the box, generally on whatever absorbent material is lying on the bathroom floor (vinegar in the wash works with getting the smell out). I don't know if I should worry about it or not (healthwise), since he's always done it but I'm going to give some of these a try and see if it changes things or not...

i have to say.. the name p. kitty made me laugh. i love it.

Mr. J.J. Cat went thru this a few years ago, and the vet told me it was because I was buying the cheapest dry cat food. He recommended a low ash kibble, and wet food more than once a week. Mr. J.J. now get the (much) higher priced food and 1/2 a small can 3 times a week. He's not had a reoccurance yet, but I'm also looking into one of those recirculating water dishes.
Yes, for those of us who love them, they aren't just pets, and the posts for pet month are extremely helpful. Thank you, everyone, for all the helpful advise and hints.

I agree with everyone about buying quality cat food ESPECIALLY if you have a male cat, because his urethra is really tiny, and crystals can block it easily. High quality cat food has a low ash content and will help crystals from forming (there are two types... struvite and oxalate, oxalate is the worst type, your vet should be able to know which type your cat has) If you cat does get crystals than you have to first have him/her on a diet that has the ability to dissolve the crystals. These pet foods are very expensive and you can only get them at the vet clinic, they are low ash, have a specific pH, and contain more salt to increase thirst. Another thing to look into is food that is 100% meat, its perfect for their health because cats can't digest plants at all, and because it is so nutritious they don't have to eat as much. You can get this stuff wet, dry, or raw.

When my Salvador got crystals one night at the emergency vet cost $1000!

My boy cats had a good quality dry food, a water fountain and a bi-daily scooped litter box. Nevertheless, they were both just diagnosed with Struvite crystals. The first was yelling in pain in the litter box which sent us to the vet at midnight. He was very close to being blocked which would have cost us $1600. Fortunately, we got away with spending $300 for a night at the vet and a couple of meds. Now they get the Hills cd prescription food and wet food mixed with water.

Interestingly enough, if crystals continue to be a problem, male cats are often given a surgery which is a veritable sex change that widens the urethra and makes boy kitties pee like girls.

Same problem also. Unfortunately my cat loves kibble. I have switched him to Royal Canin Urinary SO dry food, he loves it ans so does my other guy. I limit their intake and also feed them dry.
No problems in two years!

http://hare-today.com/
go raw !
...also consider kitties need to be acidic not balanced like us. so a 1/2 or 1/4 tab of cranberry can nip a recent problem but diet change is very important and lower stress.

poor kitties :(

love the name, biggie smalls.

the pet entries are interesting, now and then. i'll bookmark this one for my own kitties.

Thanks for posting this article! I've just recently been looking into this topic for my main man, Oliver the cat!

Oddly enough, I feel like this article on it is better than any other one that I've read by a medical professional, etc -- the author's and members' personal experiences all were way more informative - so a big THANKS!

RE: Going 'RAW' - can anyone give a rundown as to what that entails/what you feed your cat? Thanks :o)

Be careful relying just on cranberry tabs. Zoe ended up with a bladder full of crystals that required surgery. We're now forever on Hill's s/d kibble. I also occasionally give her some water mixed with tuna juice because I know she'll get water that way. We've even had fewer furballs since switching to Hill's.

UTI's and kidney problems are extremely prevalent in cats, particularly fixed cats who are fed a dry diet. Raw food is expensive to feed, and somewhat difficult to manage if you don't have a lot of time. I am not a huge fan of the raw diet for many reasons, but what works for your cat works for your cat. I've seen cats that do extremely well on the raw diet, and cats that don't.

For prevention, I recommend feeding a mixture of a high-quality, holistic dry food, and a good quality wet food. To entice your cat to drink more, get a shallow, wide ceramic bowl. The ceramic keeps the water cool, and they're usually more attracted to shallow pools to drink from. Some cats just aren't interested - I bought my cat a lovely bowl to drink from and he's far more interested in the dog's drooly water.

If your cat doesn't drink a lot, consider getting a running fountain. Petmate makes one that's quite affordable.

those cats are so adorable.. this makes me cry. I am not really a cat person but I did have two cats in my life that I loved dearly and one of them had this condition and it was from dry commercial cat food. I was a college student and did not know any better this was way before the internet and having no time to educated myself on this condition. Dry commercial cat food is high in ash and ash is one of the reasons this happens.

I think adding water to the highest quality wet food is important.

Here are several more opinions-
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/forums/?SQ=Lower Urinary Tract Disease&act=RSR&searchAID=&forumID=26