My baby's UTI is back!

Hi All - I'm so discouraged.... after 2 rounds of antibiotics, Simba had about 10 good days and then last night he started showing symptoms of a UTI again. This morning he was no better. This has been ongoing for 1 month now. I have an appt. tonight with the vet. I know they will want to do a urinalysis. Is there anything specific I should ask the vet to check? When he was in a month ago they did a urinalysis and said there were no crystals, just a mild UTI. They also did an x-ray and said there were no stones of any kind. He's already been on Clavamox and then Zenequin. Any idea what the vet will do for him from here? More antibiotics? It just puzzles me how he can be fine for 10 days and then revert back.

My cat had recurring UTIs for several months before we finally got it beat. With him, it was a matter of sticking religously to his new diet to get some weight off and up his urine ph.
Is your cat on a c/d diet? Even if there's no crystals, it might be helpful. Sometimes there are crystals that don't show up clearly in the test.

I don't want to discourage you further, but we fought the UTI monster on and off for about a year.

We also used C/D food. It kept Beandip's pH where it needed to be, however he still relapsed almost monthly (6-8 weeks on average) despite that. We ended up putting him on Prednisone for inflammation. It has long term risks but the benefits have been good. Diet + the steroid wasn't enough...we are covering the anxiety angle with Prozac. I'm elimitating dry food altogether now, and I believe that is making a big difference. I also have water ALL OVER the house, I mean cups and bowls in at least 10 places.

I didn't mean to scare you. I don't think your boy needs all of those other drugs just yet....sorry. But diet and water intake are critical.

We haven't needed any antibiotics for almost 5 months now! My vet prefers Baytril (antibiotic) for UTI's...I think Baytril might be somewhat similar to Zenequin, though. She said things like Clavamox are hard to "get into" the bladder...not literally, but I think you know what I mean. Clavamox is better for respiratory infections.

How long have the courses of antibiotics been? He might need a longer course...like at least 14 days if not more. I would ask about a follow up urinalysis too, after the antibiotics are finished. Relasping after 10 days makes me think the bacteria wasn't completely eliminated. A truly bacterial urinary infection is actually fairly rare in a young cat. It's more common in humans, dogs, and older cats. But it does sound like bacteria in your boy's case.

How old is Simba? I can't remember.

If SImba is over seven it may be time to run a senior blood panel ... Kandie got utis connected with CRF for the first time at age 17... the solution a raw /canned/homeade diet very low in fish ...

Simba is 8 years old. This is his first UTI. I asked the vet last time about changing his diet and she said it wasn't necessary at this time since this was his first one. I'm going to ask her about it again tonight. Simba's problem is he won't eat wet food. He will only eat dry. He does drink tons of water though. He was on Clavamox for the first 7 days until it made him sick. She then switched him to Zenequin which he was on for 14 days.

Wow Beandip... you have been thru the ringer.

what dry is Simba eating now????

Originally Posted by 2furbabies

Simba is 8 years old. This is his first UTI. I asked the vet last time about changing his diet and she said it wasn't necessary at this time since this was his first one. I'm going to ask her about it again tonight. Simba's problem is he won't eat wet food. He will only eat dry. He does drink tons of water though. He was on Clavamox for the first 7 days until it made him sick. She then switched him to Zenequin which he was on for 14 days.

Wow Beandip... you have been thru the ringer.

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Yeah, we've been through it alright. Things are looking up these days.

I was thinking that Simba was a little younger, more like 2-3 yrs. like Bean...so some of my experiences may not be so relevant after all. The type of problem Beandip has is something that cats often "outgrow" by 7-8 yrs old...so I'd say you're likely dealing with something different...sorry.

I think there is a special xray, "contrast" I think that they do with a dye, because some bladder stones don't show up on a regular xray. You might google that or ask the vet, or both. I'm not sure what the proper term is, maybe "contrast radiograph".

Originally Posted by beandip

My vet prefers Baytril (antibiotic) for UTI's...I think Baytril might be somewhat similar to Zenequin, though. She said things like Clavamox are hard to "get into" the bladder...not literally, but I think you know what I mean. Clavamox is better for respiratory infections.

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Zoey was put on Baytril for her UTI (she vomits and has diarrhea on Clavamox) and it cleared it right up, even though I HATE those pills, they are HUGE but they worked.

Maybe you need to try a different antibiotic for Simba?

Originally Posted by Sicycat

Zoey was put on Baytril for her UTI (she vomits and has diarrhea on Clavamox) and it cleared it right up, even though I HATE those pills, they are HUGE

but they worked.

Maybe you need to try a different antibiotic for Simba?

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Yeah, they are big but I'm a believer in those too. The brown kind is supposed to be chewable, "beef" flavor, but that's a joke.

I forgot to say that a couple of times when Beandip's UTI was pretty bad, she gave him an injection of the Baytril to "jump start" things. Costs as much as 2 wks worth of pills, but I think it helped.

He eats the dry prescription IVD Green Peas & Duck. The only reason he is eating this is because my other cat has food allergies and this was what the vet recommended. It was just easier to feed them both the same thing. I may need to find something that will help with his UTI that she will be able to eat also. It's extremely difficult to try to feed them each something different.

I'm really hoping the vet can offer some advice tonight.

I would review the label on the food with the vet as I have yet to see a UTI food with venison

Thanks Sharky. I will definitely do that. I really wish she would have changed his food a month ago when I asked about it.

Well... Simba is at the vet all day today so they can try to get a urine sample. Last night they weren't able to get one. They want to do a more detailed urinalysis by sending it out to a lab. And I'm thinking to myself.... "ok, what was it you did a month ago when he was in for a urinalysis". Apparently that was just a screening.??? If they get a sample today I should have the results by Thursday or Friday. In the meantime, she switched his food to Hill's Science Diet C/D. She also gave me Cosequin and told me to get him started on that. She said it has been proven to help with urinary tract/bladder problems in cats. Has anybody heard to this? I'm going to do some research this morning and see what I can find out.

Originally Posted by 2furbabies

Well... Simba is at the vet all day today so they can try to get a urine sample. Last night they weren't able to get one. They want to do a more detailed urinalysis by sending it out to a lab. And I'm thinking to myself.... "ok, what was it you did a month ago when he was in for a urinalysis". Apparently that was just a screening.??? If they get a sample today I should have the results by Thursday or Friday. In the meantime, she switched his food to Hill's Science Diet C/D. She also gave me Cosequin and told me to get him started on that. She said it has been proven to help with urinary tract/bladder problems in cats. Has anybody heard to this? I'm going to do some research this morning and see what I can find out.

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The more detailed test is probably a culture & sensitivity test so they can treat it with the right antibiotic. There's a pretty good article here explaining it...

http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=993

The Cosequin is basically a glucosamine supplement. I don't have any experience with that. They've had some success helping human cystitis w/glucosamine, so they're treating some cats w/ it too. I think the purpose is to help the lining of the bladder.

I hope Simba will be on the road to recovery soon!

ahh... good article, makes sense. From the research I've done on the Cosequin, seems that it can't hurt, and is definitely worth a try. The only thing is you have to give the pill every day forever more! It says after the first initial 6 weeks you can give it every other day. Simba is sooo good with taking pills, but these things are HUGE! I'm always afraid he's going to choke.