First of all, keep calm and look for a veterinarian as there are many reasons that a cat urines blood. The medical term is Hematuria which means blood in the urine.
In most cases, it could be related to urinary illness and the veterinarian will be the best person to help you with it.
When you arrive at the consultation, the veterinary technician or veterinarian will ask you many questions in order to get a better understanding. then is the time to recall if other symptoms were present, such as:
increase drinking
increase urination
vocalizing when near to the litter box
accidents in the house ( urinating in different areas of the house).
If your cat is not urinating, it is considered an emergency as it could be a urinary blockage.
A sample of urine would be really necessary to confirm red blood cells, bacteria, crystals, or white blood cells. A blood test also would be a good idea to find if there is any underlying condition going on.
After the findings, your veterinarian may suggest other tests like blood clotting, urine culture if bacteria are found, or x-rays if uroliths ( stones) are suspected.
Also, there is the Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) which I will write about next week.
The treatment goes according to the cause of the condition, if bacteria is found antibiotics will be prescribed, in case of bladder stones, depending on what type of uroliths are, they can be dissolved with a specific diet or they will need to be removed by surgery.
But what can we do as owners to prevent this situation?
According to Royal Canin we can:
Meets their environmental needs: places to hide, places to climb, scratching posts, saved outside areas ( you can use a harness and leash), stimulating smells, separate food areas for each cat, and interactive toys.
Care for the box: clean the litter box at least scoop it once daily and complete cleaning once a week, have always one litter box more than your number of cats ( if you have 2 cats then have 3 litter boxes), put litter boxes in quiet areas, open litter boxes are preferrable for cats and consider many entries or exits to the litter boxes.
Nutrition: how?. First, encourage your kitty to drink more water ( which helps the urine be less concentrated and, they will urinate more preventing the formation of crystals or stones); get veterinary therapeutic diets that help to keep a balance of the minerals and Ph in the body and encourage dissolve some crystals!
Something also very important, keep a healthy weight on your cart, it seems pretty obvious but I have seen so many patients in denial that their cats have a weight problem that is really worrisome.
Which cats are prone to urinary tract infections?
Spayed or neuter cats
Obese cats
Stressed cats or anxious
Multi-cat household
Indoor cats
Sedentary cats
Or household changes (moving or a new baby)
Keeping an eye on your kitties, meeting their needs, care of the litter box, and following a good nutrition plan will help you to keep your cats away from the Vet's appointment.
Sources:
Schaible, DVM, L. (2020, 5 mayo). Why Is My Cat Peeing Blood? Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Recuperado 6 de noviembre de 2021, de https://www.hillspet.ca/en-ca/cat-care/healthcare/blood-in-cat-urine