Obtaining a sterile urine sample

I dropped my kitty off at the vet this morning, so that they could obtain a urine sample to run a urine culture. I called after a few hours and they still haven't been able to get a sample. My question is, how do they know if her bladder is full or not?
I believe the method used to obtain a sample is called "cystocentesis". They collect the sample by inserting a needle in her bladder. How often do they stick a needle in her, hoping for a sample??

I feel awful thinking about her getting stuck over and over.

They will usually feel the cat's bladder and by it's size, they know if there is enough urine to go after. I don't think they will continuously stick your cat.

Well, that's good to know. What are the chances that they won't be able to get one? I can't imagine having to take her back there again tomorrow!

We will usually give the kitty some subcutaneous fluids if the bladder is not big enough, then wait a few hours and check again. The bladder is usually pretty easy to palpate, so they won't stick her until they know that it has a decent amount of urine.

I dropped her off at 8 AM, I called around 1 PM and they still hadn't been able to get a sample. Does that sound about right?

I leave work at 3 and hope to pick her then!

If they didn't inject her with subQ fluids, it might be awhile before her bladder gets nice and full. If they injected her with fluids, it should be filling up soon.

I just called again.... success! I'm picking her up and taking her home now !
Yippee! Thanks for the info, guys!

Let us know what they find! I hope it's good results.

I will, thanks....

They said they won't have the results until Monday...
gonna be a looooong weekend

Originally Posted by italysa

I will, thanks....

They said they won't have the results until Monday...
gonna be a looooong weekend

Click to expand...

Cultures take a couple of days at least. They are trying to see if any bacteria will grow from the urine sample they took. So it takes a couple days to see if they are growing.

I hope it's good results though.

I just called for the results. They have them, but Tinkers doctor isn't in until tomorrow, so I have to wait until she calls me in the morning. GRRRRR

The urine culture does show a bacterial. E. Coli., which should respond with no problem to antibiotics. But with Tinker, it hasn't. So the vet tends to think the bacteria may be hiding, possibly in stones.

She suggest, rather than wasting time with a bunch of antibiotics again, in case they don't work again... take her for an X-ray ( $100) or an
ultra sound ( $225). The problem is, an x-ray doesn't always show everything and I would then have to have an ultra sound done anyway!

I'm thinking just go straight for the ultra sound. Then, if it is kidney stones, she would have to have surgery to remove them! I didn't even ask how much that would be. If it doesn't show anything, they would try putting her on about a months worth of anitibiotics.

Would you go straight for the ultra sound or take a chance with a simple x-ray?

Does anyone have a guess as to how much surgery would be???? I really don't want this to run into thousands$$$ !

Talk to your vet very frankly and ask how much they would estimate the surgery to be if the x-ray/ultrasound show stones. My vet has started doing up estimates with a high/low total which has been very helpful to me.
I have been in your situation before, where I have to determine if I want to go with less expense versus greater accuracy. I would PROBABLY go for the test that shows greater accuracy, simply because I don't like to waste my money on the less accurate procedures, only to have to spring for the more accurate ones later. It's so frustrating though, isn't it? Best of luck!

Thanks! My vet does up estimates also... I was just afraid to ask the cost, ... I was still adjusting to the $225 ultra sound!

I work in a feline exclusive hospital and for a cystotomy here it runs b/t $650-750 which includes the stone analysis. An x-ray would be a conservative first step, which is how our last two patients were diagnosed.

With ultrasounds, make sure that the doctor has been fully trained and educated in ultrasonagraphy. A lot of doctors have the equipment, but it takes a lot of additional CE and training to be efficient at it.

Good luck!

I expected it to be around $700... thanks for the info! Do they usually come home the same day after the surgery? That's another worry of mine. I hate leaving her there for the day, never mind overnight!

I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow, for the ultrasound. They have a specialist that comes in once a week, specifically for that. He travels around the state. So, I guess he knows what he's doing ( I hope)

Are you saying an x-ray would be good enough to show the stones, or am I better off with the ultrasound ?

Lisa

We kept our patient the same day because she was also passing some small stones along with the one that we removed, so we wanted to make sure that she urinated ok overnight. However, if she hadn't passed any others, she would have probably went home that day, but it is all up to whatever the vet is comfortable with.

If they bring a specialist in for the ultrasound, I would say go for it. In most cases (not all) the stones would be evident in a radiograph, but an ultrasound would also be able to tell if there is any inflammation of the bladder wall and other soft tissue changes.

Good luck, hope it goes ok!

Great.... Thank you!!

One more question..... have you ever had experience with a bacteria that wouldn't respond to antibiotics because it was hiding within the stones??

Not in my experience, but it isn't very common for cats to have stones. Sorry.