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My cat has urine crystals and stress. How to treat his urinary issues?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | British Shorthair | Male | neutered | 7 years and 10 months old

My 8yo male cat is suffering with urine crystals, he has been on 2 lots of medicine and seemed ok but now the meds have finished he is back to constant cleaning his privates. He also is under stress due to not getting along with one of our other cats. Can you please help and recommend anything I can do to help him! Thanks

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Amy Poole, DVM

Answered By Amy Poole, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 26th, 2017

Poor Dylan! I would recommend you keep him on a canned prescription diet for urinary crystals. Your veterinarian can recommend one that should work. I usually recommend rechecking the urine after at least 2 weeks of this diet to make sure the crystals are no longer present and the diet is working. You also can try environmental enrichment to see if that helps with his stress level. For example, you can use shelves to make space so he can perch up high away from the other cats and have his space. I would also make sure you have multiple litter boxes and they are cleaned regularly. We want to encourage him to use the litter box often and not hold his urine. Feliway is a product you can purchase either through your vet or at a pet store that sometimes helps with stress. It is a synthetic cat pheromone that is sometimes effective to help with stress and urinary issues with cats. It will not impact the crystals, but hopefully help calm him and make him more relaxed and use the litter box more readily. Some vets also will add in glucosamine to the cats diet. It won't hurt and could possibly help with his cystitis. Some cats needs other medications, like anti-depressants, if they are still having problems. Hopefully a few changes will improve Dylan's overall situation. Good luck!
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Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

    Veterinarian

    I would simply get him on the prescription cat food Royal Canin urinary SO or Hills C/D multistress. These diets are formulated to dissolve crystals in the urine and help cats with symptoms of Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD). Ask your veterinarian for a prescription card and make the transition (over the course of a week to avoid stomach upset) from Dylan's current diet to his new prescription diet. If he is still symptomatic after a week or two then I would highly recommend making sure he doesn't already have stones by having your vet do a abdominal radiograph, if not done already. If stones are already present then he will likely need surgery to remove these as these are a constant source of stress and discomfort. I wish you the best and I hope that Dylan is back to his normal self in no time.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Laura Johnson VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 7th, 2018

    Sorry!

    I’d suggest the S/O calm for stress relief. I’d also recommend starting Prozac and confining Gordon for 3 weeks. Clean all soiled areas with Nature’s Miracle and throw away rugs. Use Feliway diffusers in the room he’s confined in and his favorite spot. Use aluminum foil in previously soiled areas or prevent him from going in those rooms. Medical causes can become behavioral problems if they go on long enough.

    I hope this helps and good luck!

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Smart Picks for Smart Questions

Health & Wellness
My cat's struvite crystals returned. Is a vet visit necessary?
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.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Health & Wellness
What can I do to prevent my cat from getting urinary problems?
Urinary issues are quite common in cats. Different issues can include urinary tract infections, crystals in the urine, bladder stones, feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) that is often related to stress, among many other conditions. As with most health-related issues, prevention is the name of the game. Offer your cat ample quantities of water to assure that they are drinking appropriate volumes. Some cats prefer running water sources, so a water fountain designed for cats may be helpful. Water can also be mixed in with canned foods or added to dry food. Monitoring your cat at home for changes is another critical step. Always be sure that your cat is using the litter box appropriately by urinating normal volumes several times per day and is not straining excessively in the box. Too much or too little urine volume can indicate changes that warrant veterinary attention, as can straining to urinate, vocalizing while urinating, or blood in the urine. If a cat has been previously diagnosed with bladder stones or crystals, your veterinarian may recommend a prescription diet to regulate the pH of the urine and mineral content of the diet to prevent the recurrence of these issues. Cats with previously diagnosed FLUTD may also benefit from calming pheromone collars or diffusers to keep their stress levels at bay.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Food & Nutrition
My cat has stress cystitis. Will renal food prevent it from returning?
Renal food should not promote crystal formation and he should do well on this especially the wet version. Be sure to keep with the feliway diffuser and a calming supplement such as kalm aid may also help
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Vet Q & A
How to help a cat with recurring urine crystals and painful urination?
I'm sorry to hear that Sammy is having this problem! Recurrent urinary crystals (along with urethral blockages, causing difficulty urinating) can be very frustrating to deal with in many cats. There are some things that can be done to help manage this problem medically, such as putting Sammy on a prescription urinary diet and feeding a canned food only diet to help increase his water intake. If he has had a urinary obstruction more than once before in the past, you could also consider a surgical procedure called a perineal urethrostomy - essentially, this opens up the narrow urethra at the tip of the penis and gives him a larger opening to urinate through, which should prevent future blockages from occurring. I would recommend discussing these options with your veterinarian to see what would be the best course of action for Sammy at this time.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Health & Wellness
What else can I do for my cat's bladder crystals and urinary issues?
Sounds like you all are doing quite a bit already. If you feel that pain is not well controlled the addition of something like buprenorphine may be beneficial. Also, there is a surgical procedure that is commonly performed on cats that get urinary blockages. Essentially the urinary tract is changed from a male to a female shape, thereby widening the urethra and making it much less likely to allow for obstruction in the future. Whether or not your vet is comfortable performing this procedure is another thing altogether. I know many vets that can perform it perfectly well while I know others that have never had to perform it a single time. It is a delicate procedure because the urethra of the cat is so small so finding a doctor that is comfortable with it is of utmost importance. If your cat is not a repeat offender or has not yet blocked completely, surgical change may not be the best option at this time. Continue following the directions of the doctor and be patient with waiting for dissolution. You can also consider lithotripsy to break apart stones if there are any instead of bladder surgery. Hope this helps.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Food & Nutrition
My cat has bladder crystals. Can I give him urinary care treats?
I would not feed him anything except for the prescription diet. You can take the can version of the diet and put it in ice trays and freeze it to make treats for him. You could also look at the brand of prescription food and see if that have a compatible treat. You could even call the company and ask - most are more than willing to help. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Food & Nutrition
My cat had a UTI. What diet and care prevent future infections?
Stress related (idiopathic type of inflammation) infection and presence of crystals are the most common causes of it. Struvite crystals are very common and usually comes from alkaline urine. Specific diets can be given to acidify urine like s/d by Hill's. I would recommend to have a look at this link to have more informations about FLUTD (feline-lower-urinary-tract-disease): https://www2.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-lower-urinary-tract-disease. Hope this answer was helpful, but 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. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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