My poor kitty :(

wild_wild_life

I got Chester to the vet today AS SOON AS it opened. They said he has a fever but physically is ok. I got antibiotics and have started giving it to him. They are doing a urinalysis and are going to tell me tomorrow what the results are.

Just FYI, I have had cats all of my life. I have NEVER had ANY issue with any of them that wasn't resolved by a squirt bottle and time. Yes, I was stupid for not seeing it earlier but he's going through kitty puberty (says the vet) and that stuff happens. I didn't realize it was anything more serious. I didn't want him thinking it was ok. ALSO "pouring a glass of water" on him: I should have been more specific. I had less than 1/2 an oz of water in my glass that I happened to be carrying at the time and I caught him in the act. It was no more than two squirts from a squirt bottle. Honestly, since I have never had a dog or a cat with a pee problem, I had heard that the nose thing worked on dogs so I assumed why not cats? STUPID. I know that now. Call me horrible, call me a bad person, call me what you want. I already feel like **** and I have learned my lesson. I'm not an animal abuser --I love him dearly-- Chester is the closest thing that I have to a child and (I'm probably going to get crap for this too but) I am a believer in hand taps for children who repeatedly misbehave (which I thought he was doing). I was just so frustrated of a two weeks (I was corrected by my roommates, I was just so upset it seemed like longer) of clapping and shouting I didn't know what to do. EVERYTHING smelled like pee. I'm sorry (not like I have to apologize to the internet, I'm sorry to my cat) and now I know to go directly to the vet.

So in conclusion,
Chester is getting help and so far he is doing great, and I'm an idiot. I know it and you don't have to keep telling me.

Yay, glad he is OK! Thanks for the update.

xombiebite

Take him to the vets RIGHT NOW. Don't treat him yourself and don't ask for suggestions online. He needs help from professionals as soon as possible.

this exactly. this happened to my friends cat and we thought it was because we got a new kitten but really it was UTI so of course we scolded her when really we waited to long and her kidneys failed

recoveryjunky

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Please read the link I posted earlier. Please. At least to educate yourself in the future. Cats are completely different species than dogs, if you can take anything from the posts in this thread at least let it be knowledge of how to care for Chester!
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I did earlier today. I want to be the best parent I can be to him. I just can't stand people accusing me of something without understanding what actually happened. Parents who do things wrong with their kids at least have a grace period with CPS before the kids are taken away. There is therapy, parenting classes, there is a learning curve. I have never had to discipline a cat beyond my voice and a squirt bottle. I've never even had to take any of my cats to the vet beyond shots.

I have only done it once and will never do it again. They were the actions of a stupid person who DID use google (Why is my cat peeing on things? Most likely because you have another cat in the house.---I googled this on probably the third time he peed on things) but I didn't look hard enough. I know it is my fault that it got this far. Again, I'm learning.

ldrosophila

To the vet ASAP!

Also, he is neutered correct? I ask this because I had a kitten who was very good about using the box until he reached sexual maturity, and I was an idiot and waited to long to have him neutered and after that he was spraying the house even after the surgery. It also makes things worse because outside male cats can smell and they will mark the house creating a marking war.

recoveryjunky

To the vet ASAP!

Also, he is neutered correct? I ask this because I had a kitten who was very good about using the box until he reached sexual maturity, and I was an idiot and waited to long to have him neutered and after that he was spraying the house even after the surgery. It also makes things worse because outside male cats can smell and they will mark the house creating a marking war.

Yes, he's neutered, but he was neutered at about 3 months old, when I adopted him. My aunt watched me when I was little and she had a cat who did what yours did. It was a PAIN! He did it from maturity till he died 12 years later. He was actually the reason why I didn't think it was a big deal.

Eeyeore

So glad chester is getting the treatment he needs....dont be too hard on urself.
While some of these posts were meant to be helpful....including mine....quite a few were just down right over the top and on the verge of being abusive to another human being. It was obvious that u were trying to do right by chester even if ur method needed some adjusting and knowledge expanded......I would like to know one thing...since when were any of us perfect?
We are created in HIS image .... that by far does not mean perfect.....just strive to be the best we can...and I for one honestly feel that is what u were trying to do with the knowledge u had. If u ever need any help with animals...please dont hesitate to message me straight....for help or just support...good luck to u and chester.

recoveryjunky

So glad chester is getting the treatment he needs....dont be too hard on urself.
While some of these posts were meant to be helpful....including mine....quite a few were just down right over the top and on the verge of being abusive to another human being. It was obvious that u were trying to do right by chester even if ur method needed some adjusting and knowledge expanded......I would like to know one thing...since when were any of us perfect?
We are created in HIS image .... that by far does not mean perfect.....just strive to be the best we can...and I for one honestly feel that is what u were trying to do with the knowledge u had. If u ever need any help with animals...please dont hesitate to message me straight....for help or just support...good luck to u and chester.

Trust me, I don't mind CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Reading some of the things other people wrote made me physically shake because I was so upset. Anyone questioning how much I love him needs to come and see what I do for him. I'm literally not going to be able to buy food for a week because of the vet bills for this. I only make $700 a month... And I really appreciate your posts, which were trying to help.

Live2GlorifyHim

Glad to hear Chester is OK!

glovepuppet

it's been known for decades that rubbing faces in pee doesn't work on dogs and is abusive.

if I posted ''I hit my child with a belt because I heard it made horses behave'', would that be reasonable?

abusive behaviour is more about the inability of the abuser to contain their own frustrations than it is about the victim's misbehaviour. stop playing ostrich and confront your own issues.

being kind and loving most of the time doesn't change this.

Contrarian

I'm glad your cat is going to be okay, and I am also glad you have taken some advice from this thread.

recoveryjunky

Now that I'm 99% sure he will be ok and I'm not freaking out and crying all over the place, maybe I can use better words to describe my discipline as my meaning was OBVIOUSLY misconstrued.

--rubbing his face in it: I picked him up, put his face NEXT to the spot (I would never actually rub him in it, that's disgusting) and I gave him a firm "NO." Also, I felt so bad about it, I only did it once.

--pouring water on him: it wasn't like I deliberately picked up a gig gulp and dunked him in it. I was walking past him and had the very end of a glass of water in my hand. I was in the middle of the last gulp when I saw him. In a previous post, I corrected myself saying 1/2 an oz of water in there. Thinking about how much that actually is, it was less than that. Literally, nothing more than a squirt bottle--which has worked through the close to 20 cats I've had in my lifetime. I had no reason to believe that it wouldn't work with this cat too.

Nothing I did hurt my cat and obviously it didn't scar him as he is curled up in a ball on my lap purring right now.

Also, an update: Chester's meds make him sleepy (and yes I called the vet-- it is a normal side effect of his medicine). He drools sometimes when he's in the middle of an intense cuddle session but with this stuff, there are just PUDDLES! It's way too cute

rml_16

He has been peeing on everything for like a month and, obviously, I've been scolding him and spraying him with water, ect. He's just over a year old so I thought it was some kind of dominance thing as we have another male cat in the house. He went to pee on the floor last night and all that came out was three drops... of blood I did some research and I guess peeing out of the litterbox is the number one sign for a urinary tract infection in cats. I have had these before--they SUCK--and now I feel like the worst kitty mamma ever. Instead of getting him medicine, I was yelling at him. Instead of getting him to a doctor, I rubbed his face in it. Instead of comforting him, I grabbed him by the scruff and poured a glass of water on him.

anyone ever deal with UTI's in cats? I need to find something to make him feel better till I can get him to the vet later today.

If it's just a UTI, an antibiotic will clear it up. But in a male cat, it could be a urinary block and that can be fatal, so get him to the vet ASAP.

rml_16

I've lost a male kitty to this. The Ash in cat food crystalizes in their bladders, it's very common for this to happen in male kitties.

This is very painful for them.

Get him to a vet, it may not be too late. I hope it's not too late.

My vet told me that seafood flavored dry cat food has the highest amount of Ash in it. I avoid it like the plague, and am a label reader for my kitties as well as myself.

I hope he gets better soon.

It's a bit more pricey, but PetSmart sells a urinary health cat food specifically to prevent this condition. I almost lost a cat to it years ago and we switched to that and never had another problem.

Leannek74

Take him to the vets RIGHT NOW. Don't treat him yourself and don't ask for suggestions online. He needs help from professionals as soon as possible.

THIS!!! My cat died from a UTI. He was otherwise healthy and I noticed one day he was lethargic and meowed sharply when he was in the litter box. No accidents outside of the box. I decided I would take him to the vet in the morning... he passed away during the night while he was sleeping on my bed.

He was only 9 years old. UTI's can progress VERY quickly... GO TO YOUR VET!!!!

SoDamnHungry

One sentence in I knew that was your problem. For the most part, cats hate peeing places that aren't their litterbox. Get him well and vow never to make such a terrible mistake again. I feel very bad for your cat, but am glad you've realized the errors of your ways and will make it up to him and be a better pet owner.

And next time there's any behavioral change, call the vet immediately. My cat was having problems and it turned out he was forming stones in his bladder. If we had tried to discipline him like that we would have 1. Been bad people and 2. Had a dead cat before we'd talked to a vet.

rml_16

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FeedingYourCat11pages8-10.pdf

Please read this entire link.

I gave my cat diabetes by feeding him dry food and by the time I found out he was beyond help. Please for the love of god don't make the mistakes I made.

I couldn't even tell you how many cats I've had in my life. They all ate dry food. Not one ever got diabetes.

recoveryjunky

Thanks for the responses guys but he's already been to the vet now. His physical showed no blockage and they his urinalysis is coming back today. The vet was positive it was a UTI so he started him on the meds.

rml_16

I'd like to also add that sometimes perfectly healthy cats will pee outside the litter box, and even sometimes when it's new behavior it isn't due to illness.

I've had cats who have done that and I have had cats who clearly were sick and usually you can tell the difference.

One of my cats randomly started peeing on my bed. She won't go downstairs during the day because of the dog. We'd gotten a new kitten and SHE peed on the bed once and I think that made the other one think it was OK. I put a small litterbox upstairs. Problem solved.

Thanks for the responses guys but he's already been to the vet now. His physical showed no blockage and they his urinalysis is coming back today. The vet was positive it was a UTI so he started him on the meds.

That is good news. I'm glad he's going to be OK. But now you know for the future. :-)

recoveryjunky

I'd like to also add that sometimes perfectly healthy cats will pee outside the litter box, and even sometimes when it's new behavior it isn't due to illness.

I've had cats who have done that and I have had cats who clearly were sick and usually you can tell the difference.

One of my cats randomly started peeing on my bed. She won't go downstairs during the day because of the dog. We'd gotten a new kitten and SHE peed on the bed once and I think that made the other one think it was OK. I put a small litterbox upstairs. Problem solved.

Thanks for the responses guys but he's already been to the vet now. His physical showed no blockage and they his urinalysis is coming back today. The vet was positive it was a UTI so he started him on the meds.

That is good news. I'm glad he's going to be OK. But now you know for the future. :-)

THANK YOU. God, I know I was stupid but cats pee on things from time to time. People are treating me like cat hitler for not taking him to the vet the first time he peed on a towel. It's not like he was doing it every five minutes, or even every day. It was probably once every couple days so I didn't think it was anything more than "I'm the man of this house, Trevor."

Jordanad79

Glad to hear your kitty is on the mend. Something similar happened to my cat, except he had stones. He was peeing outside the litter box, but always in the spare bedroom and we didn't know because we rarely went in there. (He was still peeing inside his litter box too.) It was only when he stopped eating that we realized something was wrong. By then it was too late, but he was also really old (he was 18...) and had to be put down. The vet reassured us that even if we had brought him in sooner, he probably would not have survived. Your kitty is very lucky.

Regarding the disciplinary action: I'm assuming you feel terrible enough. Cats are not dogs and if you're new to owning a cat, then how would you know to discipline him differently? I just want to point out that when my cat was little and went places he wasn't supposed to or bit us, we were told by the vet to spray him with water. (It turned out he really liked being sprayed with water, so he would bite us in order to be sprayed!) You clearly weren't doing it on purpose or to be mean to your cat. Now you know for next time, but don't feel bad about it!!