My cat is stressed. Can stress cause a UTI or bladder infection?

A true urinary infection with bacteria is much less common in cats then dogs, and less common in males then females. Unless there is a disease process predisposing to infection like diabetes or kidney disease. I would not expect a link between allergies and urinary issues unless as you say it is stress related. There is a syndrome in cats (many names) called feline lower urinary tract disorder (FLUTD). Basically it causes symptoms of a uti but there is no infection. In can be more problematic in males. It could be triggered by stress (changes in the house, change in litter, new food, not enough litterboxes, etc.). The Ohio State University has a good web site for indoor cat owners called the indoor pet initiative. There are other causes of urinary tract issues as well but it would be quite odd for both your kids to be affected. It is very important to make sure cats are able to urinate though because obstruction of the urinary tract can occur, more common in males, and this is an emergency if this happens. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCaoch!

I would talk to your veterinarian about medication for anxiety for Teddy. Sometimes cats that are very stressed cats can have urination issues and it could all be stress related. Sometimes these cats doing great with medication for a few months to help with anxiety. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry to hear about what is happening. In terms of your cat, felines definitely can have a physiologic response to stress resulting in what you are seeing. The one thing that you would definitely want to be sure about is whether or not Shadow is refusing to urinate or is unable to urinate. One is obviously an emergency while the other is a waiting game. If she has refused to urinate for any more than a day, I would start to be somewhat concerned. I would be much more concerned if you start to see any straining in the litterbox or indications of pain / discomfort. This condition is something we are more likely to diagnose in male cats, but can occur less frequently in females. I think keeping her somewhere quiet for now is great provided she has free access to water and a litterbox. I would also make sure you are checking frequently for any changed in urination status or Shadow's behavior / demeanor. If you come to believe there may be an inability to urinate, take Shadow to the veterinarian immediately. Hope this helps.

I would recommend to complete your question describing the signs to receive a specific answer from us Stress related (idiopathic type of inflammation), infection and presence of crystals are the most common causes of UTI (urinary tract infection). In absence of more detailed information of the signs, a clinical examination at your local veterinarian would be essential to confirm this suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Poor girl. Crystals in the urine don't come from stress typically. This is a metabolic issue that is causing her to not break down her food properly, which causes crystals to form in the bladder. Stress in cats only causes hematuria (bloody urine) without infection or stones. This is called Stress cystitis. Therefore, if your pets "symptoms" have returned, I would be best to have Kiki rechecked. In particular, I would consider getting her bladder checked for urinary stones by having an x-ray done. She also could have developed a UTI, so a urinalysis should be done first. Adding water is good, but it does not help resolve any of these possible issues. She needs to be seen unfortunately to get to the bottom of things, since this is a bit complex in nature. I hope that your pet Kiki has some resolve to her urinary issues soon! Best wishes and take care.

Cats normally don't have an infection associated with cystitis (bladder inflammation), so it's definitely possible that she would resolve the inflammation on her own. They actually tend to get cystitis that is related to stress, so it would be good to see if there is something new and potentially stressful in the environment. One big thing I worry about with cystitis is blockage of the urethra (the tube that takes urine from the bladder to the outside world). If you all-of-a-sudden notice that she's not urinating and she is acting abnormally sleepy, then I would definitely advise a visit to the vet to make sure she's not blocked. If she is still urinating, but not as frequent, then it is less of an emergency. However, it is still a good idea to have her evaluated by a veterinarian, because there could be something else going on that you are not aware of.

She probably has cystitis and not a UTI. It is not impossible that she has a UTI concurrently but I think cystitis is more likely. Antibiotics will not help that. She needs to be on pain meds and you need to de-stress the environment. This article has more in-depth information: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951488 I strongly recommend you put some Feliway diffusers in your house and do some environmental enrichment for her. Usually these two things help too. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=117324 thedrakecenter.com/materials/environmental-enrichment-indoor-cats  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejmrLa_Cs4