UTI - how long til it clears up?

Well, it's 3:30AM EST, and, after spending $200, I just got home from the emergency vet. I took Vinny in because he had been making frequent trips to the litter box between 11PM and 1:30AM -- about 10 trips altogether -- and nothing was coming out. So, after calling the emergency vet (with Easter coming up, and my having to work tomorrow, I wasn't taking any chances of prolonging this more than it needed to be), it was recommended we show up to rule anything out.

No blockage (thank goodness), just a long undiagnosed UTI. Apparently, from the amount of blood she noticed in his pee, the discoloration of his penis, and my information that he had been pooping on the bathroom rug frequently since last May (but not since I changed his food 3 weeks ago) and that he'd gone to the vet last May for the same problem, but they told me "No blockage, no problems" so I let it go...now I know better.

Sooo, she catheterized him to get a urine sample, gave him a few antibiotic shots of Penicillan and something else, sent me home with Amoxicillan, and pumped fluids into him so that he would be able to pee normally by morning since his bladder was empty. I was instructed to give him water only for 12 hours, and confine him to a room until morning -- she thought he'd pee normally by then, but didn't want him having accidents in the house. She said if there's no pee but he's still straining by tomorrow night, to call them again. But...she did give me the 7 days worth of antibiotic...so shouldn't it take 7 days to clear up?

I guess the question is, how long do I wait to figure out if he's all better?

I'm sorry that you and Vinny are going through this. To answer your question, the time required to clear up a UTI really varies. If it is only bacteria causing the problem (meaning no "crystals" in the urine) then I would say you can expect a pretty good improvement within a couple of days. But regardless of anything, do finish the medicine. It can easily come back even worse if you cut the antibiotic course short.

7 days of antibiotics does not sound like enough to me for a UTI...typically at least 10, sometimes 14...but see how it goes. Just keep a close eye on him. They often improve a lot at first but the rest of the medicine is needed.

I think what your vet meant was this....it is critical that Vinny continue to be able to pee. He was in such pain that he was straining, but the shots and the pills should help him out of that pretty soon. If not, call them back asap. It may be small amounts in multiple trips at first but you should continue to see an improvement in the volume, with less trips to the box. A male cat that cannot pee is a life threatening emergency. I don't want to scare you but do keep a close eye on him to make sure he continues to pee on a regular basis.

You did the right thing rushing him in when you noticed his problem.

When my Callie had a UTI, she was on meds for 2 weeks, then I had to take her back for a urinalysis. Then, they put her on a different antibiotic for a week. We then went back for another urinalysis (1 mo after initial visit) and she was cleared and no more meds. She was about 10 yo when she had it, so due to her age, it might've taken a bit longer to clear up.

Stephanie

The update for today:
This morning when I fetched him from the bathroom, he had passed the fluid the vet pumped into him and no longer had this awkward bulge on his side where the fluid had been injected. I allowed him free roam of the house, and he only made 3 trips to the litter box in 2 hours -- nothing came out any of the times, but the frequency was much less than it had been 9 hours prior. I also gave him his first dose of antibiotic without a problem. After coming home from work about an hour ago, I checked the boxes and noticed he had peed again, and it was a rather decent amount. He's gone to the box only one time since I came home, and he did pee a little bit when he went. Yay!

Beandip -- there were no crystals in his pee, just blood, so maybe that's why she didn't give me a hefty amount of antibiotic, because it's "only" bacteria? I am going to give him the full amount of the antibiotic for the full 7 days, I just wonder if everything will be back to normal after that. At least from what he's been doing so far today, it looks like so far, so good...I hope! And trust me, his litter box habits are going to be on high alert for the next week or so!

My biggest fear was that he had an actual blockage as opposed to a UTI, and that without rushing him in I would essentially lose him. The 2 hours of sleep, $200 and 45 min round trip drive were well worth finding out that it's nothing of epic proportions.

Stephanie -- the vet said nothing to be about bringing Vinny in for another urninalysis, just that if i didn't hear anything from her, she found nothing serious in his initial one. But...now I'm wondering if I should ask if I should bring him in for one? Especially because you said your Callie was older and maybe that's why it took a while to clear -- my Vinny's almost 9, so he could be in the same boat.

My Henry was on 2 weeks of Baytril, finishd that and almost immediately starting peeing blood again. He has 5 days left of a month of Baytril, and so far so good. He has been peeing and eating his special wet food. Did your vet mention anything about putting him on special food? Mine has Henry on Hill's C/D, even though the ingredients are terrible.

Originally Posted by kmkelly127

Beandip -- there were no crystals in his pee, just blood, so maybe that's why she didn't give me a hefty amount of antibiotic, because it's "only" bacteria? I am going to give him the full amount of the antibiotic for the full 7 days, I just wonder if everything will be back to normal after that. At least from what he's been doing so far today, it looks like so far, so good...I hope! And trust me, his litter box habits are going to be on high alert for the next week or so!

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That's very good to hear that things are already looking up for you and Vinny.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to minimize bacteria ...it's just that oftentimes there are crystals AND bacteria, which is double trouble...but in a cat Vinny's age, a UTI popping up like this (w/o crystals) isn't all that uncommon. I would suggest doing a follow up urinalysis on the last day of Vinny's meds, so that if he needs more you won't even miss a day's dosage. I hope he continues to show improvement.

You can always call the vet and ask if they should do another urinalysis. I did it because I wanted to make sure she was in the clear, more than anything else.

One other thing I noticed for about a day or so after she got home from the vet the first time, she went to the box more often, but had smaller amounts of urine than normal. In about 2-3 days or so she was back to her normal routine.

Stephanie

I will probably call the vet in a few days to ask about a follow-up urinalysis now, just to be on the safe side. I'd hate for Vinny to have to go through everything all over again if his UTI came back within a few weeks or so.

One thing I didn't mention, but am probably going to do, is switch vets. I've been taking Vinny to the same one that his former owner took him to, and his owner before her as well, and had liked him a lot. BUT -- I started to question things in my mind in January when I took my other cat, Sherman, for his annual exam. I mention to the vet about Vinny's pooping on the carpet, and he immediately trivialized it into being behavioral (even though it'd gone on for 7 months) and sent me home with Feliway. That didn't work, so when I took Vinny in for his checkup 2 weeks later, the vet was like "oh, well, maybe change his litter" even though I'd been using the same litter the whole time, and the same that his former owner used. I was feeding him Purina One at the time, and he told me that was "good enough" and what he fed his cats at home.

Wouldn't you think a vet would want to rule out anything being medically wrong with an animal before immediately assuming it's behavioral? I mean, how much longer would this have gone on untreated? Plus, he's the same vet who told me last year that Vinny had no blockage and was in the clear. And the last time we were in, he only gave him one shot (I think it was FIV or FeLV or something, I don't remember), but didn't give him his distemper or rabies because "he's not an outside cat." Well...what if he got outside by accident? He told me not to worry about it. Something's just not clicking for me with this guy...nice guy, but I'm just not so sure. The lady at the emergency vet, even the vet tech, were much more informative than my regular vet ever is, so I'm thinking of switching to their practice. It's just a 24 hour vet pretty much, but they have an actual pet hospital also and everything "after hours" is considered emergency.

Oh, and she told me Vinny has a heart murmer. That was news to me!