Cat Urinary Track Infection

Hello. I adopted a cat about a year and a half ago. He was 9 months old when I got him. He NEVER peed anywhere in my house, not even the first day we brought him home. Only in his litter box, until about a week ago. he started acting strange, whining alot and peeing (well more like spotting, since it was only a little coming out) everywhere he could. I took him to the vet yesterday and they said he has a urinary track infection and gave me clavamox to give to him. 1 pill twice a day. So my question is how long does it take for him to get better? I have enough pills to last 7 days. But after one day of being on them he peed on my couch and a few other places which he hadn't done before. Before it was limited to carpet , now my couches!!! Please help!!

 

I am wondering, since you say there was not much urine coming out, if your vet checked him thoroughly for blockage? Cats, especially males, who are neutered, can get blockages in their urinary tract, and it can be life threatening. If the urine flow does not increase, please consult your vet again.

Ok, it will really depend upon the type of antibiotics that your vet gave you as to how long it will take for him to get better. It could be as little as a few days, or as long as the whole course of meds. With the Clavamox, I would think that your kitty will get relief within just a couple of days, and will probably stop his other area wetting soon.

Part of the problem is that he is very uncomfortable using the litter box right now, and is looking for soft places, that will not irritate his genitals. Be sure he has lots of fresh water around.

Until then, you might want to try perhaps limiting the areas in the house where he is allowed, until he gets to using the litter box solidly again.

Keep us posted!

Just a tip on cleaning the areas he urinated on, use vinegar to kill the urine smell and clean thoroughly to discourage him from soiling there again.

 

Yes last night we blocked him off from half of the house and kept him on the floors with no carpets. The doctor did check him for blockage and said he has one. I think I will give the vet a call today just to ask a few more questions. But he did good last night, no urine anywhere. We will see how the work day goes today!

 

If you have the time, you may want to do some research on Feline Urological Syndrome, or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, as it is now called. Here is a link about this disorder:

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/resou...e/urinary.html

I am sure that your vet, if he mentioned the blockage is aware of the situation, but it is always best to be knowledgable about the situation, as a pet owner. And be sure if the flow decreases that you get your cat back to the vet ASAP as mentioned before.

Please keep us posted.

 

Yesterday when I was at work he did pee on my couch and a few other places but it didn't smell like normal cat pee so i think it's because of the infection. Today he did good though, i kept him locked out of the living room though. Only had access to the bathroom, kitchen and dining room and that's seeming to work good. What are your thoughts about wet cat food? I've heard it's good for them and i heard it was bad for them. I normally give him one can of friskies every day at dinner time and he LOVES it. But today I didn't give it to him because I don't know if it's ok or not. THanks for you help.

 

Generally, neutered male cats benefit from food that is low in chemicals that exacerbate the urinary tract blockage and its subsequent infection. Ask your vet for a recommendation on which food to feed him.

 

Yes there are foods that are formulated to feed cats, especially altered males, as Chris mentioned. Double check with your vet on the specific criteria that he suggests you follow.

There are many minerals and additives that will irritate the situation further, so the best bet is to stick with the food suggested by your vet. Do ask if there is a canned food he recommends, so that your cat can still have his *treat* of wet food.

Just FYI, we feed our altered males a Urinary Tract Health food, and give cans as a treat a couple of times a week.

Do keep us posted on your cat's progress.

 

I'm not sure if he is getting better or not! Someone told me that friskies is the mcdonalds of cat food so I'm going to get him a better quality wet food. I'm also going to call my vet tomorrow and ask what he suggests. I didn't realize friskies was so bad. Also today when I came home I noticed he has not gone to the bathroom, one or two, since yesterday afternoon. And today he has some draining from one of his eyes and he can't stop sneezing. I don't know what is causing this now!

 

I would strongly suggest you call your vet ASAP in the morning and get him back in to see him right away. I don't like the sounds of the fact that he has not had any bowel movement or urination.

It is also possible that your cat might _Possibly_ be allergic to the Clavamox, so you should be certain you advise your vet of the sneezing and eye discharge as well.

If it is the urinary blockage, it may have gotten critical and can be a life threatening situation.

As for foods, check with your vet on what they suggest. I would also do some research yourself and learn more about the ingredients that cause the trouble, and then you will be better able to find appropriate foods for your cat.

Please keep us posted as to how he is doing.

 

I made him an appt for this afternoon so i'll keep you posted on what the vet says. He did finally have a bowel movement and some urine late last night but it's only been about once a day and normally he goes more than that.

 

I am glad things finally Ummm, Moved...

Do let me know how things go, as I am concerned that he is not passing more urine. I myself have lost cats to this disease and understand how quickly it can happen.

 

Yeah I don't know what's happening with him. He seemed good this weekend. And this this morning he went and had a bowel movement in the litter box and then urinated on the kitchen floor. The vet is going to give me a new antiobiotic and we are going to buy a new box today. Hopefully things get better. because if my landlord starts to smell him I'll have to get rid of him and I don't want to do that.

 

Well, he passed urine, so that is good. How much did he pass though? That is the question. If his output is not getting larger, then the meds are not working for him. I am glad that you are taking him to the vet again. Also, what food did the vet suggest? With the change in diet, and the new meds, you should begin to see an increase in output fairly soon.

Do keep us posted.

 

He requested I put him on food for a urinary tract infections. So I got the Dad's brand. He seems to like it and I switched his wet food to Iams, he said Friskies was ok but I felt better going with a better brand. He seemed to be doing good for days. He had been urinating about once a day but Monday he went 4 times! I was so happy. Then this morning he tried to urinate on my bed! I just don't get it. This is the 2nd day on the new antibiotic. Hopefully it gets better.

 

So glad to hear he is doing so much better. Once the condition clears up, I will venture to guess he will stop trying to wet on other surfaces, but you will still want to keep an eye on him.

As for canned foods, I agree Friskies is fine, and personally, for personal reasons would not feed Iams anything, to my cats or dogs. As for the dry foods, many companies make Urinary Tract friendly foods, and my fixed boys have done well on almost all of them for many years.

Do keep us posted so we know how things are going.

 

I think it may finally be getting better. He urinated twice yesterday and the first was a large amount, in his litter box. No more accidents that I know of and we have medicine to last until next Thursday. If it starts looking bad again I'm going to take him to a different vet, a very good one in my city. He's suppose to be alittle pricey but at this point I don't have a choice. If it doesn't get better I think he needs some testing done to find out what is really going on..


So I'm just curious why you don't like Iams? I'm not going to buy it anymore because he didn't seem to like it. He likes his friskies much better

 

I am glad to hear that he is doing so much better. I also am glad you plan on trying a different vet. I do not like to gainsay what vets have to say, but personally prefer a much more aggressive approach to urinary blockage problems. The vets I have worked for in the past also feel the same way. I personally have lost one cat, and nearly lost another due to lack of aggressive treatment, which I didn't know about back then.

As for the reason I do not feed Iams any more...without going into much detail here, so as not to cause a problem, if you do some research online, you will find that their testing and research practises leave a lot to be desired. I won't say more than that, but you can do a web search yourself and find the information. That way you can make your own decision about feeding Iams.

Hope to hear your kitty is continuing to do well and keeping to the box.

 

Well he didn't really like the iams, my vet said to give him any kind I can buy at the grocery store so I bought the small cans of fancy feast and he loves those. he's been eating it all at once, usually he would nibble and come back later and finish. He had been doing good about using the litter box too a few times a day, except yesterday morning he went and peed on my bed! I just don't understand. Tomorrow is his last day of medicine so I'll probably take him to a different vet my friend goes to on Saturday.

 

Sorry to hear about the bed!

You didn't mention what the volume of urine was though. Hopefully the flow is getting to be more?

As for the foods, I am really disappointed in your vet's attitude and not giving you a specific suggestion on foods. Many things cause the PH balance in a pet's urine to change, thus forming the crystals. Off hand I recall Ash, and magnesium being culprits here.

I would definitely agree with going to a different vet, as the one you have been using is not, In _MY_ opinion, being very aggressive in treating this issue.

Do keep us posted.

 

I was kinda upset when he said that too but he said he doesn't want me to have to spend alot of money for food at the pet store when ones at the grocery store are just as good. He did say to stay away from whiskas which I have. But the volume of his urine is increasing and he has been using his box a few times a day. I did call another Vet and she suggested tomorrow when I go to work I lock him in the bathroom with his box to try and retrain him and if that doesn't work to bring him in to see her. So I will try that again tomorrow. I have been feeding him dry food that is low ash and is made for urinary tract infections so the vet was saying that would help balance the wet food. And also I heard that they get alot of their water from the wet food, and he does love it so thats why i didn't want to stop giving it to him. But I am disapointed in my vet too, so hopefully i can retrain him and everything will be fine! Thanks for your help!

 

how's he doing?

my fixed male cat, Goober, went thru the same series of events as you've been through. then he "recovered" and was back to normal for a week or so. then, out of the blue, one night he began meowing in a strange crying/screaming way, and writhing around on the floor, tongue hanging out, unable to walk, and some sort of mystery pink liquid blood/pee/spit stuff on the floor (don't know where it came from). we called our vet, but got the answering service, so we left an emergency message. no one EVER called us back. so we called another vet whom we'd never dealt with & he agreed to meet us (this was at midnight). we raced him to the vet, but he didn't even make it there - he died on the way. never did find out what he actually died of. and our regular NEVER did ever call us back.

i hope to God your cat doesn't meet with same fate that my beloved Goober did. it was the most heartbreaking thing i'd ever seen.

 

I was also hoping to hear how your cat was doing???

Annette, I have lost two to this rotten problem, one suddenly with no warning, and he had the same symptoms your Goober did. The other was after several attempts by our vet, who is Awesome, to cure the problem. He was an older cat and would not have withstood the surgery to put the tube that sometime has to be placed to cure the problem.

 

My cat was NOT happy today, turns out that he may have this problem..I love my cat...i have had him all 15 years of my life and i dont know what id do if he died, i cry at the thought of it!
we got him home from the vets and now hes in alot of pain, everytime he moves he crys in pain. I was told if he doesnt pee tonight i need to bring him in... only thing is hes never used a litter tray before and im not too sure if he will know what to do.
I would quite happily pay any amount of money to make sure he doesnt die. I took him to the vets at first signs, hopefully he will be alright.

 

Hi James,

I'm sooo sorry to hear this about your cat. It is most important to get him back to the vet if he can't urinate. You don't say what the vet recommended. This site has some good ideas on how to help train your cat to use a litter box.
http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-an...-your-cat.html

If that isn't helpful you can try a google search with something like:
train older cat + litter box

Please let us know how he's doing. You will be in my thoughts tonight.

Newt

 

Your post has nagged me all day. I am so sorry. I no longer have pets because I live alone and travel and do good to take care of myself. I know what it's like to lose pets and family members. It's never easy. I can't say that I feel 'your' pain, but I have lived through lots of pain and still doing so. My heart goes out to you!

Please keep in constant touch with your vet. I hope that he/she is close by. What hurts me is the cat is in pain. I hope the vet prescribed something for that. You do not mention what the vet said or what he prescribed.

Keep us posted. We can provide emotional support. Let's pray your cat recuperates. Pets, like us humans, as we age, we develop health issues. So, be prepared for the unexpected. You have your cat and the cat has you.

For folks who live alone, we have no one. Like Samuel Clemens (author of Mark Twain) said, he read the obituaries every morning to assure that he was still alive. I do not say that to belittle your situation, just an old mountain mamma saying, "Hang Tuff!"

BTW, I don't subscribe to the local small town newspaper and I am located in such a remote area that the only person who knows that I live here is the person who collects my annual property taxes.

If I died of something, my neighbor might get concerned after a few days if they saw no life at my mountain cabin. And, I mean DAYS because I may not surface for days if I get into a good book. My neighbor is used to me not opening curtains or going outside. I guess you could call me a hermit or a house cat.

My problem is that my neighbor has a new dog. She is a preschool teacher and she treats the dog like a child. Guess who's the alpha? The dog!

I rambled on purpose to distract you from your pain and concerns about potential loss. Please know you have friends here who will be here for you if needed. Just keep in touch with the vet. I lost a cat to liver disease. The darling's tummy was yellow with jaundice and I had to have it put down. My kids cried their eyes out.

 

Twelvepole, well said. And we would notice you aren't here!

Newt

 

Poor cats! Seriously! I had my own problem with my little Jasper. He would scream and cry then just pee onthe floor. I couldn't quite figure it out. He was very young at the time and very naughty. So I thought it was him just being...well...evil. He did have a tendency to do such things (like breaking candle holders, figurines, biting people...there were so many other instances). But I took him to our vet and he was having some bladder problems. At first the vet did think it was an infection. It wasn't...it was a blockage. But as long as I keep him on his prescription food, he's fine. I tried some other brands for similar problems, but they just didn't work. I don't entirely like Science Diet, but it helps him. I don't want to see him suffer any more. Just so everyone knows...he's turned into a very well adjusted cat. He's no longer going through a naughty phase. Thank goodness!
I hope everyone can find out what's going on with their cats and get them well. It's sad when animals are hurting. They can't really complain and tell us what's wrong.
I'm sorry to hear about your cat twelvepole and Annette! Very sorry indeed.
James and Chickhitscar, if you don't feel your vet is doing what they can...get a new one. I did the same thing. My new vet is outstanding! Good luck!