So, last night, my neutered, 5 year old boy cat just started howling and acting weird. I have 0 idea why. Other than, maybe he saw/smelled another cat last night that set him off? Idk. Has anyone else had this kind of a problem? Should I take him to a vet? He doesn’t seem to have a problem with me touching him anywhere but he’s definitely on edge and being weird/howling. He’s never done anything like this before. Thoughts?
Edit: I have taken him to a vet. We’ll see. Thanks everyone.
Edit 2: urinary blockage. Removing that and getting X-rays. Thanks everyone. Going to be an expensive visit I think.
I would definitely take him to a vet as soon as possible. Also make sure he’s using the litterbox and able to pee. Or if there’s blood or reddish pee in the litter. Our cat, at about the same age, ended up with bladder stones and a blockage that caused him to yowl and scream, and he acted very on edge. Blockages are very serious and are much more common in neutered male cats.
That’s what it is. Thank you for the help. Getting the blockage removed and antibiotics and the like.
So glad you were able to catch it when you did! We have some prescription food (Hills Science C/D multistress) for our orange boy now and switched to mainly wet food. Fluids are really important especially after one blockage because they’ll be more prone to them of they have it once. But we haven’t had any problems since! In case they didn’t, have the vet show you how to check your cats bladder. You can check and see how full it is and that can give you a good indication of how the recovery is going or if there seem to be any problems later on.
Oh awesome! I’m so glad your cat is doing better. Yeah, they also said I had to put him on a special diet for the rest of his life.
I didn’t get the info on how to check his bladder, but, I may end up back there again. He hasn’t quite used his litter box quite yet. He came home at 5 yesterday, so I’ll watch through the rest of the day today.
I’m also glad I caught it quickly, cause the vet said it went very smoothly but it isn’t uncommon that my bill could have been 2-3x more. So, I’m glad I was as nervous about him as I was. Hopefully it saves me and him down the line.
It took a few weeks for our boy to return to normal completely. He was on gabapentin and other meds for a bit. And he ended up having to go back to the emergency vet a couple times due to getting blocked again within the couple weeks as the first one. Hopefully getting it caught early on means yours will have a smoother recovery! The best thing to do long term along with the special diet is minimizing stress. I wish you and your cat the best!
I concur with most everyone else on going to a vet. It’s usually a sign of being in pain. Possibly from a urinary tract infection or the like. Hopefully resolved by something simple like antibiotics.
Of course it’s good to take him to a vet if you can, just in case.
But my 1.5yo cat does the same and is also neutered. Before neutering this was everyday and night. After neutering it is sporadic and I think it has to do with my building having two female cats. And this got more intense after I switched him to neutered cat food.
Also, his brother never had this issue before or after neutering. So I guess he just has a lot of testosterone maybe.
Wow holy shit I’m glad you went to the vet, urinary blockages are a life or death emergency. I’m a senior veterinary student and your description just screames blockage, but I was worried I was late to comment since your post is already a day old!
I’m glad I went too. The vet said it went surprisingly well so I must have caught it quickly. I love them too much so I’m glad he’s okay.
Might be in pain. Would definantly take him to a vet!
Erring on the side of caution is usually good policy.
Cats hide pain instinctually, and things can go wrong quickly if not treated. There’s a decent chance he’s fine, but not worth the risk imo.
- Is he peeing normally? If you suspect he’s not peeing, or is having trouble peeing, take him to the vet immediately.
- Is he drinking water normally? If he’s not drinking water, take him to the vet immediately.
- Is he eating normally?
If he’s doing those three things, it’s probably OK to observe him for a couple of days and see how it develops. If he keeps it up, I’d take him to the vet.
We once had a cat that inexplicably started yowling in the middle of the night. Did not appear to be in any distress, but would not stop. In the morning, we discovered that a water heater had burst and we had 6" of water in the basement - where her litter box was. We’ve had them begin yowling at night, because they’d “caught” their toy and were letting everyone know how great a hunter they were. We’ve certainly had them yell when they caught scent of another cat through the window. Once, we had once start every night, the same time… turns out we had racoons visiting the porch, and our cat did not like the looks of them at all, even through the glass sliders. But, once, we had one take up yowling and prowling at night, and that turned out to be lukemia.
The peeing thing is super important; beyond that, most things that have no obvious injury, you can observe for a couple of days.
Sounds like hes in pain
