Back from vet, not good news

Just got my boy back from the vet for his UTI checkup and it's not cleared up at all. So he is on stronger antibiotics for another 2 weeks, and then back again. I got him x-rayed and no stones.....so that's good, his glucose levels are normal so hopefully the drinking and peeing a lot are just part of this nasty UTI. I think he must have had it already when I adopted him.....it just sucks to get a new cat and have to take him to the vet so much already.

I just feel sick about it though, knowing he must still be in pain, and I am worried that something else is wrong, I think I should get bloodwork when I go back in a week and a half if he still has blood in his urine and a bad pH level. I had to leave him there all day and I hated it and I"ll have to do it again.

This is more of a vent then a post......I'm just really worried and sad

: : I am so sorry! I'd be so stressed if I were in your position. Hang in there ok? Give him loads of love and hugs tonight. Hopefully that will help both of you feel a little better on the heart & soul end of things.

Where did you get your kitty from? I know some shelters give away free first vet checks, or may even help defer your cost if it's with in a certain amount of time.

it was a private shelter and I don't think they work that way. The costs really suck especially because i'm a university student and don't have a car, but the worst part is that he is not getting any better and I just don't know what else to do

Unfortunately your right, generally the smaller shelters don't have the funding to help with that type of thing. I understand how expensive vets can be (I've got a cat that was at the vets almost every week for 3 months). I really hope this new antibiotic works, and your kitty is better fast. I don't know if it would help, but I have seen cranberry treats for urinary health sold at the pet store.

'll look into the cranberry and other holisitic alternative to boost his immune system, i just thought of trying to give him yogurt to get the positive bacteria growing again since he'll be on antibiotics for 4 weeks Just going to put some on his paws and hope he licks it off.....

The probiotics in yogurt should be avoided till the end of treatment.. as the anitbiotics dont differentiate good from bad ... How old is your kitty >>>/??

are you feeding wet or dry food or both

if the antibiotics don't distinguish good from bad shouldn't i be giving him probiotics to get the good ones back?? Or does that mean they will fight the good INSTEAD of the bad prolonging his sickness....

He is on dry wellness low calorie and orijens as well as wet wellness, a variety of flavours. I feed both because much to my dismay I can't get other kitty eating wet.

Catberry treats for cats. My cats love them and they smell good enough to eat that I want to eat them LOLCatberry Treats

Also one of the things that I like about Chicken Soup for cats is that it has cranberry powder in it.


There are also some tuna treats for cats that promote urinary tract health.

Uri-Ease

I use Uri-Ease treats.- These are great for hiding pills!!
I use catberry treats, although the ingredients dont seem that great at all
I do add distilled water to any canned, like 1 tsp each time, mix in, and
add a little more on top, more water the better. I also syringe water into my cat 1 time per day, just for good measure you got to keep the cat flushed out. You could try some Nutro uninary tract (orange bag) dry, or purina uninary tract. There is no good answer, I have fighting this battle with my 4 yr old female for 1 year, although her bouts which are 1 per month are not overally severe and are gone with 5-7 days each time. Still trying
to find that miracle combination to solve forever.
The vet will have to just try different antibiotics to see which one works.
I have been there.
I always, try to get the antibotic shot and sometimes a pain killer, if it is severe, and take meds home, it works much faster. I think the more stress and this time on your cat the harder it is for them to get better. Good Luck. I am sorry about all the bills. It is tough.
Brenda

Originally Posted by lmunsie

if the antibiotics don't distinguish good from bad shouldn't i be giving him probiotics to get the good ones back?? Or does that mean they will fight the good INSTEAD of the bad prolonging his sickness....

He is on dry wellness low calorie and orijens as well as wet wellness, a variety of flavours. I feed both because much to my dismay I can't get other kitty eating wet.

Click to expand...

you can but the likely hood is the antibiotic will kill off the good going in ... basically antibiotics ( broad spectrum) kill off ALL BACTERIA in there path..

well he is eating good foods.. BUT neither of the drys is exactly UTI prone friendly

I talked to the Vet about the food and she said he is on a good diet, but if it isn't gone after this bout then we will switch foods for sure. I will look into all those treats thanks everyone. Luckily he is a big eater so I can hide his pills in a little chunk of wetfood though.

As for this, I am hoping it is just really bad because he did have it pretty much right when I got him so who knows how long he had it at the shelter, there were 14 cats so I doubt they woul dhave noticed his actions, or if they did, notice who it was.......so maybe it's just a bad one because he's had it for so long.....does that make sense?

Awww, I am sorry about your little guy.. Sending many vibes for him

Sorry to hear you are going through this. Please see my post on the main board: Cat with chronic UTI infection.

My kitty has had a UTI issue since August. From what I am reading, UTIs can be really hard to get rid of. My baby's problem is that he cannot keep the newest prescribed antibiotics down.

Have they done a urine culture in your kitty's case? I have heard these can be invasive, but if your cat isn't respoding to the medicine it may be worth asking about. Maybe someone else here knows more about urine cultures in felines and can share.

I will be sending good vibes your way. I am going through much the same thing right now.

Thanks so much, I never thought about urine culture, but they are taking the urine which is the invasive part so I hope they did a culture! If not I'll be really annoyed......going to call my vet now. If they know what the bacteria is you think it would be easier to treat!

I thought this would be easier to treat as well since he didn't have any crystals (or stones.....I gave in and got the X-ray)

I just posted about my Lola finally being cured of her UTI. She started out with 4+ cocci in her urine, as well as lots of crystals. My vet put her on 14 days of Zeniquin and Cosequin sprinkles (the Cosequin is supposed to help with the bladder inflammation), then we did a cystocentesis. Still 4+ cocci and crystals. Then she was on 3 weeks of Clavamox and Cosequin. The next cystocentesis showed 1+ cocci, but more crystals than the first two times. Next she was put on a month of Amoxicillin and continued with the Cosequin. Her cystocentesis this morning finally came back clear and NO crystals!!! Yay!!! I still have a couple of weeks of Cosequin sprinkles to give her, but I'm SO glad the UTI has finally been vanquished!

Hang in there. Sometimes it's just a matter of figuring out the right antibiotic for the bacteria. I had asked my vet about having a culture and sensitivity done on the urine, but she said that in our small town, there isn't a lab that could expedite the testing, so it wouldn't be very accurate....so we just had to do 'hit and miss' with the antibiotics.

Good luck to you and your kitty. You're doing the best you can, and he knows it and is grateful for it!

I know that there are reasons my vet has said as to why he hasn't done a culture in the past. And it had something to do with the invasiveness of it. But it's definitely worth talking to your vet.

I am struck by how primitive veternarian medicine seems sometimes. Things that can be done with people do not seem to be done with animals and it's very frustrating.

Hope you get some resolution soon.

Pookie...I am very happy to hear about Lola. I sometimes read more than I post here, but recall having read about Lola's illness. Atticus doesn't have crystals, for which I am very glad. We just can't seem to find a medicine his stomach can tolerate.

Shell

I found the following just now about urine cultures:

"Bacterial culture and sensitivity of urine is performed to identify the offending organism (usually E. coli, Proteus, Staph or Strep) if a bacterial cystitis is suspected. To assure proper interpretation of results, urine for culture must be obtained by cystocentesis, which is a collection of urine by a sterile needle passed through the abdominal wall and into the bladder, or catheterization, a collection of urine via a catheter passed by sterile technique through the urethra and into the bladder."

This is what is meant by invasive I guess.

Originally Posted by ShellBell

I found the following just now about urine cultures:

"Bacterial culture and sensitivity of urine is performed to identify the offending organism (usually E. coli, Proteus, Staph or Strep) if a bacterial cystitis is suspected. To assure proper interpretation of results, urine for culture must be obtained by cystocentesis, which is a collection of urine by a sterile needle passed through the abdominal wall and into the bladder, or catheterization, a collection of urine via a catheter passed by sterile technique through the urethra and into the bladder."

This is what is meant by invasive I guess.

Click to expand...

Actually, most feline urinalysis is done by cystocentesis. Pretty much the only time they catheterize a male cat is when they have a blockage, and a female cat's urethra is far too small for just about any catheter (it's also very difficult to locate!) All of Lola's U/A's were done via cystocentesis, she never needed any kind of sedation and never appeared particularly traumatized by the proceedure. If you and your vet are unable to figure out what is causing the UTI, I imagine you will need to have a cystocentesis done on Atticus.

Part of what causes his UTI, which is bacterial in nature, is the Manx syndrome. He is incontinent and doesn't move the urine out as quick, though he does go by himself.

For the first couple of years of his life, he has not had to be on a lot of antibiotics. It's just been since August.

I am writing all suggestions down. Thanks all.

Imunsie...keep us updated on your kitty.