Cat has large blood clot in bladder

In My Humble Opinion
1

My 16-year old Bengal Cat, Zubin, on Friday, had some blood show up in the litter box It was only a tiny amount, so waited to see what happened.

Yesterday (Saturday) there was more. Not sure whether it was rectal or urinary, so took him down to the vet. He had a complete physical with blood and urine sample tests only a month ago.

After checking everything, they did a scan of the bladder, and saw a large lump. They excised some and found it to be a blood clot.

As the kidneys and everything else tested OK, they were baffled by this. The vet called an emergency vet she knew with years of experience, and he said he had never seen such a thing.

This seems strange to me, but as it is a weekend, and this was the only emergency place open, we waited to see what happened. Today he seems to be feeling better, but still when he urinates, it is only small dribbles, and very bloody. They said this was a good thing, showing the clot was dissolving.

I will probably take him back Monday for further evaluation. The only thing they said could be done was to have surgery to have the clot removed, but as they did not know the cause, there was no guarantee it might not return.

Google failed to turn up anything except for cysts or stones in the bladder.

Anybody got any idea what might have caused this, and if there is any other treatment?

2

This is probably better placed in IMHO, but whatever, I’ll report it after my post.

Instead of stones, think tiny crystals. They block things up and cause irritation that will cause bleeding when the cat strains to try to pee. “The solution for the pollution is dilution.” (I read that phrase from an expert somewhere while researching this for my own cat.)

First of all, you need to encourage the cat to drink, drink, and drink some more. You should have multiple bowls of fresh water where ever the cat might find them convenient to sip on frequently. Consider getting one of those kitty fountains with moving water to encourage more drinking, or maybe just leave some water dribbling out of a faucet that the cat might conceivably drink from.

If the cat likes wet food, give it more of that, and much less of the dry. If you’re gonna keep giving the cat any dry, it should probably be a “Urinary” formula of some sort that has less minerals (particularly magnesium) and an acidic pH. (At least until symptoms subside.)

Did your vet(s) not recommend any diet changes/prescription diets? No meds/antibiotics, either? Did they run tests on the urine pH? I hope they at least recommended increased fluids, as that can only help.

Along the lines of stuff that can’t hurt, a lot of people swear by glucosamine/chondroitan supplements for cats. As your cat is getting old, it will at least help its joint and arthritis, but some research and experiences have shown it to help with urinary issues by improving the lining in the urinary tract. You can get a good price on Amazon for Cosequin supplements made especially for cats.

Hope this helps.

3

Oh yeah, and stress is also a biggy. You should do whatever you can to reduce and/or eliminate all forms of stress, at least while symptoms persist.

4

Thanks, voltaire for the interesting information.

Zubin has been drinking quite a bit of water, but good idea about putting bowls elsewhere. I’ll do that. And he has been eating a very wet food for a long time. In fact, that is the only food I’ve ever been able to get him to eat since we moved from the kibble.

The vet did discuss glucosamine, and really appreciate the link to the Amazon site. I have used the stuff for a long time, as my 86-year old bones got a bit creaky a long time ago. The vet told me this helps put a lining in the bladder, but wanted to hold off until we got some more info about his condition.

He did get a time-release antibiotic shot yesterday, which she said will last for about three days.

And as to stress, he is a very laid back cat, and is not showing any signs of stress so far. I am the one who is getting stressed out!

Your discussion of the possible crystals makes sense, except it does not seem to explain the large size of the blood clot, filling almost half of the bladder.

I called the vet office again today and explained things. They said to bring him down any time and they will put him on an IV for hydration, and a catheter. They agreed that as long as he seems to be getting along, it would be OK to wait until Monday when my regular vet will be back.

So, we are dong “watchful waiting” and if things get worse, will rush him right down, but hate to subject him to the stress. He is one of those cats, easygoing as I said, who goes completely nuts when we have to take him there, worse than any cat we have had. It takes my wife and I together just to drop him into the cat carrier.

BTW, for any of those who remember about our two Bengals from earlier posts, Zubin and Mehta, poor Mehta suddenly got very sick one day a couple of months ago. We rushed him down, but he was on his last legs, so I agreed that it would be kindest to euthanize him. I though I was a tough guy, but I cried a bucked of tears as I petted him while they put in the needle. It was mercifully quick, but I still tear up just thinking about him. We had them both since they were four months old.

5

The crystals cause irritation and bleeding when the cat strains to pee, then the bleeding causes the clots which then combine with the crystals as well as any pus from possible infections, and what you get is a urinary tract blocked up with gunk the consistency of tooth paste. Obviously, trying to push all that out of the narrow urethral opening is going to cause issues. Which is why increased hydration is absolutely the key.

As long as the cat can still pee/eat/drink, hopefully things are slowly improving, but if it gets any worse and the cat can’t pee at all, or stops eating and/or drinking at all, it’s absolutely a four-alarm emergency, and you should go to a vet immediately.

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And BTW, if the cat has been drinking plenty and has been eating almost exclusively wet food, you should probably look for a wet food that is as low as possible in magnesium and “ash”. Some foods don’t provide a separate listing for magnesium and other minerals, but those are included under “ash” - the lower the ash, the better - that’s a major factor in the formation of the crystals.

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You are correct. Thread moved!
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I’m hoping since there’s no news yet today that things are going well.

Another way to get more fluid into your kitty is to simply add water to the canned food. I add four tablespoons of water to each 6oz. can of food (pate style) I use at home. It makes for a runny gruel, but they don’t seem to care.

The only time I’ve seen something that looked like a blood clot in a cat’s bladder on ultrasound, it ended up being a tumor. Not to alarm you, but you’re asking for possibilities and that’s unfortunately one of them. Usually a kitty with urinary problems happens earlier in life than 16. I am worried that with his age and no prior history of crystals/stones/blockage, that he’s got something else going on.

If it really is only a large clot, hopefully he can continue being able to urinate while it dissolves, and getting more fluids into him, including subcutaneous fluids (which some people can do at home) for a while, will help. If his urine tested clear for crystals and they don’t see stones on x-ray then go ahead and look up “feline idiopathic cystitis”, it’s probably that barring other issues. Here’s one to get you started, it’s a lot to take in.

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Thanks, SeaDragon, I wish that were the case, but the poor guy is not much better yet. He has been voiding more urine (I can tell by the bigger clumps), but still having some bleeding. The vet saw him again, but opines that that may be the lump disolving. We hope so.

I know it is difficult to tell if cats are in pain, but he is vocal enough that we could easily tell the first day he was complaining, but since then he is sleeping his usual 23.5 hours a day. :smiley: He is also eating well after the first two days, so the vet thinks watchful waiting for a few more days may be worthwhile. I am starting him on glucosamine, but it apparently takes 4-8 weeks for that to begin to help.

Thanks for the link, which is interesting. The first time when the ultra-sound scan showed the big clump, they excised some with a needle and it did turn out to be mostly blood.

We are doing the usual agonizing over what to do. The vet agrees that at his age, surgery might cause other problems and cause too much stress.

Another vet in the office told me that exotic cats seldom last much more than his 16 years. So, as horrible as the prospect may be, we can’t help wonder if euthanasia might be the kindest thing for him. I asked him, but he remains mute on the subject. Otherwise he is a non-top talker. He even makes strange noises when he sleeps.

God, I wish we knew what to do.

10

He’s eating, sleeping comfortably, not visibly in pain and still able to void urine. I think he’s telling you what to do- wait and watch a while longer and give him a chance to heal.

Hugs to kitty.