Accepted Answer

Okay...it sounds like he is having two separate, unrelated problems. I do not think that his problem with the sores is likely to be one of food allergy. Animals with food allergy will generally have alot of sores on their head, nose, mouth and ears and will constantly scratch and tear at their face. Also, it does not come and go. Unless they are put on a hypoallergenic diet such as Hill's z/d, they will constantly have the sores. Food allergy sores also do not respond to antibioitcs, as your cat's did.
The most common reason that a cat is going to have sores in their fur is flea infestation. Your veterinarian should thoroughly evaluate your cat for the presence of fleas, and the kitty should be on a monthly safe and effective flea preventative such as Advantage, Frontline, or Revolution. Even if you do not see any fleas on him grossly, if he is allergic to flea saliva, the presence of just one flea can drive him crazy. This is why he should be on an effective flea control product every month throughout the year. In some cases, cats can cause themselves a secondary bacterial infection in their skin (pyoderma) which needs to be treated with oral antibiotics for several weeks. For some animlas, pyoderma can be the primary problem, and this is also treated with several weeks of oral antibiotics.
Other common causes of this behavior in cats are feline scabies and cheyletiella. Scabies and cheyletiella are both mite infections that can be diagnosed with a test at the veterinarian called a skin scraping. This is treated with oral or injected ivermectin given over the course of several weeks.


As for the urinary problem, that is actually the problem of immediate concern for your cat. What you are describing is consistent with FUS, Feline Urologic Syndrome, also sometimes called FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease). This is a chronic inflammation and sometimes obstruction of the outflow of urine from the cat's penis through it's urethra. It is fairly common in male cats. Obstruction of the bladder is very dangerous and quite painful and needs immediate medical attention. I must recommend that you bring your cat to an animal hospital as soon as possible. The vet will be able to determine if he is obstructed by palpating his belly to see how large his bladder is. If he is obstructed, he will need to have catheter passed into him to relieve this obstruction.
If he is not obstructed, the doctor will want to take a sample of his urine to send in for analysis. Depending on the results, a special diet will be recommended to decrease the likelihood of your cat obstructing. In some cases of repeated bouts of the problem, surgery is necessary to correct the problem.
I hope that this information is of help to you, and I wish you and your kitty the best of luck. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.


Dr. K

Expert:	Dr. K
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Accepts:	343
Answered:	3/27/2008

Veterinarian

8 years experience as Veterinarian