Cat owners: Urinary Tract Infection?

My poor cat. She came down with an Urinary Tract Infection about a month ago and it's been really hard on me. I have been giving her antibiotics and she gets better for a few days then it comes back. I have taken her to the vet three times; she has gotten x-rayed for kidney stones, but nothing. I have to give her pills all the time and she is starting to get really pissed off at me.

Anyone have a cat that had this? If so what did you do and how soon did it clear up. Did it come back? I heard it does 40% of the time

 

[Fausto]

It can be pretty common in cats since their urethra is so short it's easy for bacteria to run rampant.

Are you being diligent about giving the cat the entire course of antibiotics each time? There are still bacteria present even after the symptoms die down so it's really important to give the cat the full course of pills.

Also: there are "prescription" foods on the market that are supposed to help with urinary tract health. Maybe ask your vet about these?

 

[AreaCode707]

My roommate's cat had that (stopped using the frigging litterbox, took her forever to figure out why) and it cleared up in 2-4 weeks when treated, IIRC.

 

[deerslayer]

If so what did you do and how soon did it clear up.

Bucket of water.

Did it come back?

Certainly not!

I heard it does 40% of the time

Oh, this is foolproof



















































j/k, hope your cat gets better

 

[fonzinator]

Your cat should be on a special diet for cats prone to urinary tract infections. Ask your vet about this. There are plenty of prescription and non-prescription feeds avaliable. They can be expensive though. I feed my cat a mix of urinary tract feed and regular cat feed to help keep the cost down.

 

Originally posted by: Fausto1
It can be pretty common in cats since their urethra is so short it's easy for bacteria to run rampant.

Are you being diligent about giving the cat the entire course of antibiotics each time? There are still bacteria present even after the symptoms die down so it's really important to give the cat the full course of pills.

Also: there are "prescription" foods on the market that are supposed to help with urinary tract health. Maybe ask your vet about these?

I am being pretty diligent but I did miss one pill on Saturday and the symptons came back last night

I just picked up a case of prescription from my vet. I hope it helps. Thanks for the info.

 

[phreakah]

I've had my cat for about 15 years and it has been in great health the whole time, until 2 years ago when it got a urinary track infection. i guess it was really bad, because all he did was go hide in a closet and lay down and vomited pretty frequently. we took him to the vet and he said that if we had taken him any later he probably would have died

so they did some stuff to him, kept him for like 3 days, etc..

He hasnt had any problems since then, which is good.. but he's getting old..

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: dwell

Originally posted by: Fausto1
It can be pretty common in cats since their urethra is so short it's easy for bacteria to run rampant.

Are you being diligent about giving the cat the entire course of antibiotics each time? There are still bacteria present even after the symptoms die down so it's really important to give the cat the full course of pills.

Also: there are "prescription" foods on the market that are supposed to help with urinary tract health. Maybe ask your vet about these?

I am being pretty diligent but I did miss one pill on Saturday and the symptons came back last night

I just picked up a case of prescription from my vet. I hope it helps. Thanks for the info.

One of my dogs had major problems with a UTI a while back. We finally figured out that the bugs were semi-resistant to the antibiotics we were using. We switched to a different kind for a two-week course and that finally did the trick.

You can try grinding up the pills and mixing them in wet food or something if your cat hates being pilled (most do).

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Never had a problem like you have but make sure its not something called FUS (think thats it) Its when they get stones in the bladder. Can kill them in less than 24 hours.

 

[Chompman]

Was your cat fixed recently? Might had gotton the infection from infected tools. Slim change but all other ideas been suggested.

 

Originally posted by: Chompman
Was your cat fixed recently? Might had gotton the infection from infected tools. Slim change but all other ideas been suggested.

Not recently. She just turned seven and was fixed at like 9 months.

Thanks again everyone for your help and suggestions. I know it's silly to worry so much about a cat but this really got me upset to the point I didn't sleep last night because I heard her going in and out of the litter all night

 

[Chompman]

Dude, worrying about a cat is just like worring about kids but kids are more annoying and more expensive. Screw dogs and get some cats. At least they don't eat their own crap and then lick your face

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Originally posted by: dwell

Originally posted by: Chompman
Was your cat fixed recently? Might had gotton the infection from infected tools. Slim change but all other ideas been suggested.

Not recently. She just turned seven and was fixed at like 9 months.

Thanks again everyone for your help and suggestions. I know it's silly to worry so much about a cat but this really got me upset to the point I didn't sleep last night because I heard her going in and out of the litter all night

Better make sure its not this.
http://www.healthypet.com/Library/cat_dog_health-5.html
Our vet did not mention it till we did some research (and $240 later) and antibiotics do no good for it. They had to inject our cat with enough water to make him flop like a bag of water like 3 times. We switched to Science Diet c/d-s and some other stuff that you put on his food and he seems better now.

 

Originally posted by: Chompman
Dude, worrying about a cat is just like worring about kids but kids are more annoying and more expensive. Screw dogs and get some cats. At least they don't eat their own crap and then lick your face

Ok, that totally made me laugh and cheered me up

 

[spidey07]

So you're on special food - thats good. Only feed him this...only this. No treats, no nothing.

Monitor his tinkling. If he strains or cries in pain that's not good. Blood in the urine, not good.

If he strains or cries and is unable to urinate then he's blocked and needs to be taken to the emergency vet. he could die very quickly if he's blocked.

-edit- reread your note. If he's pissed off put him in a room all alone with a litter pan. If he doesn't tinkle in a few hours or gets more lethargic and pissy then please take him to the vet immediately.

<----has dealt with many blocked cats and UTIs.

 

[MonkeyK]

My cat had nonspecific UTIs. Every now and (6-8 times per year) then she would strain to pee, she would howl loudly, and it would come out blood. Since it was so hard for her to pee, she would not bother with the litterbox. We had her on antibiotics, but it did not help. We had her on special food, also did no good. After 6 visits to the University Vet hospital, with nothing ever diagnosed, we gave up on Vets and just kept her on the special food.
Then I put a cat door in the window. Since she has been going outside, she went from 16lbs to 12lbs (my other cat went from 12 to 9), is more energetic, and has not had a single problem peeing. It has been about a year. I took her off of the special food about a month ago and still see no signs of trouble.

 

[madthumbs]

I don't even care for cats but happen to know some stuff;

Magnesium (sometimes referred to as ash but ash can encompass more than just magnesium) can crystalize in their urinary tract causing infection. "Ash" is said to be a byproduct. Avoid cat foods with high magnesium content.

Fresh water! Cats will drink more water "if" it's fresh. Water could probably contain magnesium as well, but a common problem with indoor cats is not getting enough water because stagnant water is gross even to them!