bladder infections

One of our little kitties who is turning 1 tomorrow has been having trouble peeing for about a week now. We took her to the vet and they said it was most likely a bladder infection, so we were given some antibiotics and some painkillers which we give her every night. We've also upped her wet food consumption in the hopes that we can up her water intake and flush some stuff out of her system. Even tonight though, almost a week later, she's still peeing in odd places, and there's still some blood in her pee. Otherwise she still acts quite normal and frisky, with no apparent loss of appetite.

Does anybody have any experience with this? How long do the symptoms usually last? We'll have to take her back to the vet within the week regardless, but I'd like to know that she might be making progress, even if it's not completely obvious...

Thanks.

She is young, but not too young, to be passing some crystals in her urine. That would cause the same symptoms, and can occur with or without an accompanying infection. The way to know is to have the vet do a urinalysis. Did they do one, to diagnose the bladder infection?

Bladder/Urinary tract infections can be difficult to get rid of, but the trouble is usually w/relapses, after completing the antibiotics...that's been my experience anyway. Once the meds are started, I would expect a good improvement usually within a few days.

The wet food is a very good idea for this.

The vet said if there were stones, a lot of the time you could feel them through the bladder, and she couldn't. She also said it was relatively uncommon for such a young cat to develop stones, so I think she used process of elimination. I was actually reading online that in young cats sometimes it's near impossible to diagnose the actual problem, so maybe she was just using her best judgement? She also said the most likely cause, since the cat's a girl, is that it was contracted externally through her bum, and then it ascended into her system.

When our antibiotics run out we were instructed to bring her back to the vet for a urinalysis. I can't say I haven't seen ANY improvement, but it seems to be more a "fine one day, not so fine the next" type of thing.

Thanks for the responses!

I do think the urinalysis will be a good idea.

That is true, females are prone to infections because their urethra has little to protect it from outside bacteria. Males can get them too, but females are slightly more vulnerable. But....

No offense meant to your vet, but I disagree with her. Crystals do not always form into a "stone". The crystals themselves can be quite small, small enough for at least some of them to pass through a female's urethra. They are not large enough to palpate from the outside.

Yes, a real "stone" would be uncommon in a 1 year old cat. A very significant "stone" could probably be felt from the outside, although I suspect a stone THAT large would be uncommon, in any cat younger than middle age. The only way, IMO to definitively diagnose a stone would be with an xray...but like I said, more common in an older cat. So no need IMO to xray your cat...just mentioned for the sake of clarification. I tend to ramble, sorry.

My cat first was diagnosed with crystals when he was 18 months old. I suspect he suffered with some discomfort before I noticed the problem.

I hope she feels better soon. Please let us know how it goes.

ETA...

Sorry I forgot to say, you are correct that these bladder problems can be difficult to pinpoint in a cat. However, the most important tool is urinalysis. From there, process of elimination is often used to determine the best treatment.

So is there a different plan of attack whether it is an infection or crystals? How big are these crystals? Are they big enough to cause a blockage in a 1 year old female cat?

I assume the antibiotics are for the infection. If there are crystals present, what else would she need to clear that up?

Originally Posted by wmarcello

So is there a different plan of attack whether it is an infection or crystals? How big are these crystals? Are they big enough to cause a blockage in a 1 year old female cat?

I assume the antibiotics are for the infection. If there are crystals present, what else would she need to clear that up?

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Jean has given you some good info already, I'll just add a bit...

Male cats get "blocked" much more easily than a female, because their urethra is much smaller and somewhat funnel shaped. However, males and females are equally prone to crystals, and both sexes have the same symptoms. Hope that makes sense.

The crystals are large enough to obstruct the urethra of a male cat, but too small to see with the naked eye in urine. They are big enough to cause a great deal of discomfort in any age or sex of cat.

As Jean said, crystals are treated by managing the diet, for the most part.

Thanks.

I've read on some sites that a diet high in meat protein naturally promotes higher acidity in the urine. I've also read that foods with low magnesium and ash also are important to have. Any thoughts on that?

Right now the two kitties' main food is Felidae (dry, regular formula), free fed. The ingredients imply that most of the protein is meat-derived, but the ash and magnesium content is high when compared to the wet stuff.

Every day or two they share about 3oz of the wet stuff. I know that's not much, but we also have a budget to stick to. It's usually either Fancy Feast, Techni-cal Natural Blend, or most recently Eagle Pack Holistic. Good meat content, low ash and magnesium, and increased water intake. I can see now how wet food helps a cat with UTI. Is chicken better than fish, or vice versa?

On top of that we bought them a water fountain a few months back when they were on sale. They seem to take very well to it, and I see them lapping at it often enough.

Anyways, I haven't asked many questions here, but any general thoughts, suggestions and criticisms are appreciated. I'd hate for any of our kitties to have to be on a prescription diet, so we try to feed them as best we can. And of course, we're always up for improving as parents!

I have read the same about meat protein. In theory it makes sense. I don't have any reason to believe otherwise. ...meaning I believe it helps, but may not be the whole solution. My crystal prone boy is on a diet very high in meat protein...but does still need the help of an acidifier to get his pH in the right range. It's better than it's ever been, but still not quite there.

Ash and magnesium are something to be watchful of for cats w/urinary issues. The reason the numbers look so different on dry vs. wet is because they are not expressed in the same terms. They both need to be compared on a "dry matter" basis in order to get a fair / accurate comparison. This post may help further explain dry matter

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...2dry+matter%22

Wet food is better for this issue, and very good for overall health. I do understand the budget. I feed 8 cats an entirely "wet" diet, so I feel your pain on the $$$. I feed primarily from the large (13oz) cans, though...so it saves me a considerable amount per serving. A 13oz can of the premium food normally doesn't cost me much more than 2 3oz cans of the same brand. It's a big budget saver.

The thing to consider is that your cat doesn't necessarily have crystals. A urinalysis is essential to diagnose and treat urinary problems...so I would just do that next and go from there. She may just have a very resistant infection.

I completely agree with all that's been said..........you probably don't need to worry about her "blocking" as this is rare in females due to their physical differences in the urethral opening. Much more of a concern in males.

That being said, my Nala had issues with recurrent bladder infections when she was around a year old and they're not easy to get rid of......Nala was on antibiotics for weeks.

You're definitely doing the right thing by increasing her water intake, but you might want to give the vet a call--if they haven't done a UA, they should.....and they may want to add some additional meds to help reduce the bladder inflammation to make her more comfortable.

Good Luck.........hope she's feeling better soon!

I would definitely suggest a "complete" urinalysis when you go back to the vet. I went thru this with Simba and was told he had a UTI. After 3 weeks and 2 different rounds of antibiotics, he was still no better. Apparently the urinalysis they did at my vet's office wasn't as detailed as the ones they send out to the lab, so I had another one done. This urinalysis was more detailed and showed no bacteria, which meant it wasn't a UTI. In his case it turns out he has chronic cystitis which antibiotics will do nothing for. Do have this done... it will tell you alot more.

The reason a urinalysis wasn't done might have been because we brought her in after regular hours on Easter weekend (and of course it cost us a pretty penny). There's a chance that a lab wouldn't have been open to perform to required tests. Regardless, we'll be taking her to her regular vet in a few days, and I'll definitely keep you guys posted. Thanks!

Is she eating food with fish in it???

Originally Posted by sharky

Is she eating food with fish in it???

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Some days. Her dry doesn't have much fish in it, but sometimes the wet does. We usually just pick up a mix... sometimes it's chicken, sometimes it's fish. I think the Eagle Pack stuff we tried today had lamb in it too. Also, we just picked up some dried salmon treats for their birthday today. They're not very picky.

Is the fish good? Bad?

Fish isnt bad... BUT often is a the culprit in Uti and crystal issues ... This is partially do to fish being ground up whole ie cartilage and meat ... Whereas meat is separated from the bone and only a portion of bone is allowed in meal ...

I limit fish to the fourth or fifth ingrediant and only serve it once or twice a week... Kandie hasnt had any uti issues since...

Best meats for UTIs is beef , chicken and rabbit as they are neutral to cooling in heat leval:_)... lamb is HOT and thus can cause inflamation issues

Originally Posted by sharky

Fish isnt bad... BUT often is a the culprit in Uti and crystal issues ... This is partially do to fish being ground up whole ie cartilage and meat ... Whereas meat is separated from the bone and only a portion of bone is allowed in meal

...

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So you're saying there is more bone in fishy foods? And bone leads to higher ash content right? I'm just trying to make the connection from fish to UTI.

Originally Posted by sharky

Best meats for UTIs is beef , chicken and rabbit as they are neutral to cooling in heat leval:_)... lamb is HOT and thus can cause inflamation issues

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Can you explain this more? I didn't completely understand this part.

Originally Posted by wmarcello

So you're saying there is more bone in fishy foods? And bone leads to higher ash content right? I'm just trying to make the connection from fish to UTI.



Can you explain this more? I didn't completely understand this part.

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I will try

Fish has no BONES ... it has cartilage which contains magnesium , calcium and phosphorus... Ash is simply the TOTAL mineral content, not a great gauge anymore as 99% of foods out there have a safe level... yes some fish is HIGH in magnesium naturally , lower NOT low magnesium can be a great help in UTI health .... Since no one "debones" fish it is MUCH higher and thus messes with total PH which is another key in U T I health issues

Many food s that use chicken have corn or corn gluten meal to assist in making chicken more balanced ... hence it is a nesessary evil in many foods ...

The heat or coolness of a food is a oriental medicine principal...

Lamb is hot because even RAW it needs alot of heat to be digested and it gives off heat

Chicken is neutral( ie not needing heat or giving it off ) and if cooked in traditional extrution manner of commercial dry it stays that way as the food s are essentially steam cooked for 12-15 minutes on ave ( about 250-350 degrees) ...

Beef is neutral to cool depending on chart

Salmon is cold but as previously explained not a great option

By giving off and needing heat it is the more likely cause of inflammation and thus can contribute to urinary issues

I hope that helps you some

Originally Posted by sharky

The heat or coolness of a food is a oriental medicine principal...

Lamb is hot because even RAW it needs alot of heat to be digested and it gives off heat

Chicken is neutral( ie not needing heat or giving it off ) and if cooked in traditional extrution manner of commercial dry it stays that way as the food s are essentially steam cooked for 12-15 minutes on ave ( about 250-350 degrees) ...

Beef is neutral to cool depending on chart

Salmon is cold but as previously explained not a great option

By giving off and needing heat it is the more likely cause of inflammation and thus can contribute to urinary issues

I hope that helps you some

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Do you have any links to some sites about this?

Give me some time on that ... one of the vets I see practices oriental medicine so I learned from her and a chart... the amount of jt meds around her went way down with the elimination of lamb and other HOt meats...