Expert: Jessica - 8/3/2011

Question
We have a cat that has, for about a month and half, been urinating in the bathtub, occasionally on the bath rug in front of the tub. In the last week or so there has been blood in the urine. It has the consistency of what I would guess a similar trail of V-8 juice might look like. My problem is that I cann ot figure out which cat is doing it.
I've done some internet searching and understand that we are probably dealing with a cat that has a urinary tract infection. I originally searched for, "Do cats in heat have blood in their urine. Virtually all the answers said, "Cats do not have noticable blood," though a couple people countered that their cat did bleed during a heat cycle. The reason I bring this up relates to my question. How can I figure out which cat has the problem and how might I rule other cats out.
We have four inside cats, barn cats (we live on a farm) and occasionally a rescue cat or kitten. Two of our inside cats are neutered males, about two years old. The third is a spayed female that is six years old. The fourth is recent "rescue", an unspayed female that came here with a litter of kittens. She showed up as a stray several years ago at a friend's cattle ranch in South Dakota. The kittens are about 14 weeks, only two left to find homes for and the mamma cat IS in heat. All four cats appear very healthy, have a good quality cat food, and usually do not do their business outside the litterbox-we have four.
With you having so much experience I was hoping you might have a thought about whether it might be a UTI or heat related and some insight on which cat is more likely to have the problem or even some ideas on how to identify the culprit and get them a vet appointment. The unspayed female is scheduled for a spay in the next two weeks.
Isolating may prove to be difficult! We are two plus my daughter and grandkids, 9 and 1 1/2. If that is your answer then if we could decide on the most likely I could start there!
Thank you so very much for your time.

Answer
Hi Rachel,

Poor kitty! I can assure you that, while the mama kitty could still be the kitty with the affliction, this is not heat-related. Estrus will never cause this amount of blood. The cat with this problem definitely has something that's causing his or her bladder to bleed.

As difficult as it is, isolation is going to be your best way to try to find the culprit. I would try to start with the males, and this is for a couple of reasons. One is because males are slightly more prone to bladder conditions such as urinary tract crystals, infections and a condition called interstitial cystitis than females are. The other is that urinary tract crystals and blood clots can be fatal to males, while they are typically just extremely uncomfortable to females. This is due to the narrow urethra of males, which can lead to the formation of a blood clot or crystal blockage. If you can isolate in the bathroom and see if the cat uses the tub, or isolate in another room with a completely empty litter box, this is a good way to tell if the urine is bloody.

If, at any time, you notice one of the cats is spending a lot of time going back and forth to the litter box, sits in the litter box for a long time, squints its eyes when using the box, ripples its back a lot while using the box, or licks its genital area a lot, then you may want to try isolating that one right away. These are all signs of urinary discomfort.

Best wishes!

Jessica