Please Pray For Omar!

My wonderful Tuxedo boy, Omar, has just been diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, and I'm so worried about him! We took him to the vet's to have his teeth cleaned, and I mentioned to Dr. Maria that he'd been using spots around the house as his litterbox a few times recently. After running some tests, she diagnosed his UTI. According to her, it's a mild one, but I'm so worried about him and feel like a horrible cat mama!

O is now on a week's worth of liquid antibiotic. He's never gone off his food or water and seems ok to me--but I did miss his illness. He's 12 years old (will be 13 in April) and was neutured at six months. Does anyone have any suggestions that will help him avoid getting sick again? I guess I'm so worried because he's never really been ill before, and he's getting up in age. He's our beloved little boy kitty. I'm selfish and want him with me forever. Thanks so much!

Is he on clavamox?
I can try to help but my cat has had bladder infections on and off for over 2 yeas.
Hers is e coli.
Do you know what kind of infection he has?

Does he eat dry cat food? I read an article on the net that this can be a common problem if cats eat only dry food. You would need to introduce him to wet food to try & keep it from recurring.
http://cats.about.com/gi/dynamic/off...rg%2Findex.htm
Scroll down to My cat is fine on dry food, & Cats need water with their food.

Hi all,
Thanks for responding to my posting. It's nice to know that you all took the time to read about my precious O. To answer your questions, O is on Clavamox. He's taken it before when he had his teeth cleaned, with good results. His infection is not ecoli--it's a typical "human-type" UTI, excessive white cells, a little blood, etc.

To answer question 2, his diet is comprised mostly of wet food. We started mixing a little more water in with the "juice" around 9 mos or so ago, so as to increase his fluid intake even more. He does drink his "regular" water, but not nearly as much as his little Siamese sister, who LOVES it. He loves dry food, but he gets a small amount each day to help clean his teeth--it's more of a treat.

Do you think a cat fountain might help?

Thanks so much, again--I sure to appreciate your concern.

I hope he feels better.
Coco drinks alot of water but still gets the infections.
You can try a fountain and see if it helps.

Any time your kitty changes his bathroom habits is a red flag. Inappropriate peeing is usually the first sign that something is not right with the kidneys/bladder/urinary tract.

Anything that will increase his water intake is a good thing. Cutting out the dry food should help as well (it really doesn't help clean the teeth.)

The antibiotics should make him feel better soon

Thanks, you all--O will probably be getting a fountain for Christmas this year! I'm going to monitor his box habits/lack thereof like a hawk from now on. On occasion he's peed outside of the box when stressed--like when the new neighbors' free-range kitty liked to come to our Florida room and stare in at the cat trees for what seemed like days at a time--but I'm going to err on the side of caution and take him to the vet's from now on. It can't hurt!

Thanks again! O appreciates it, too.

I hope Omar gets better. Don't think of yourself as a bad mama, because you're not. UTI's are a common problem, and Omar is in good hands. He has a mama who loves him to pieces.

My cat Pooch is going through a UTI right now too. He is also on Clavamox.

to a fast recovery for Omar and Pooch!

Naia, thank you so much for your kind words and good thoughts--you are so sweet to post a response! O is feeling better and is about halfway through his antibiotics. So far, (cross fingers) he doesn't mind taking them and is drinking more water. You are obviously a loving and devoted cat (and dog!) mama, and your furry children are in great hands themselves. Have a great weekend, and take care!

Lots of healthy coming for Omar

I bought my three babies a fountain and it does encourage them to drink more. It was money well spent

You're not a bad meowmy - UTI's are pretty common, and you did get him to the vet and are doing everything she told you to do. Omar is a lucky guy! I got a Platinum Drinkwell for my babies last Christmas - it was one of the best investments I've made all in the last twelve months. Mine were pretty good at drinking, but definitely seem to enjoy drinking more from the fountain. Good luck!

Ooo, that's exactly what I am thinking of getting... a Platinum Drinkwell Fountain! Since Pooch's first UTI, we got a Cat-it water fountain, and although drinking has increased, I wouldn't say they went crazy over it. They all love drinking from the faucet, so I am thinking the stream from the Drinkwell one will interest them more.

You're welcome, Miss Purrypot. I only spoke the truth. We are all here to encourage, discourage, and support each other and our kitties.

*Crosses fingers for Omar*

Hi Everybody,
Thanks for keeping the good thoughts and prayers coming Omar's way--they are definitely working! We put up our Christmas tree this morning, and he was VERY interesting in the whole procedure--supervising, you know. He lay on the skirt and watched us intently, occasionally offering commentary, advice, etc. He loves to lie on his back and bat at the ornaments with his paws, also removing the stick-on bows from the packages! His Siamese sister, Clementine, wasn't too into the whole thing, but she did give the tree a cursory sniff after it was "done."

Thanks for the advice re. the fountain--O is definitely getting one for Christmas! I'm taking your advice on make and model, too--we have two big pet stores in town that seem to have everything--surely one or the other will have one. Anything to entice him into drinking more. Putting a tiny spoonful of the "juice" from his wet food into some water seems to help somewhat--he does seem to enjoy that. Of course, that can't be left out all day long due to spoilage--the fountain will be a better way to go.

Hope you all are having a great weekend. O and Clem send warmest purrs to you and all of the kitties!

One thing that doesn't seem to have been covered is fish - cats with urinary issues should have any fish, as the magnesium is thought to increase the issue, so if he gets fishy flavoured wet food, i would cut it out completely.

I am reading your thread for the first time and am so relieved to know that Omar is doing well.

Sending healing vibes to your sweetie pie.
Omar

Thanks, everybody, for the healing vibes, good thoughts, and prayers--they've definitely worked! O had his last dose of medicine today, and all of us are very happy! He seems to know that Human Mama wants him to drink a little more and is obliging. I'm going out tomorrow to get his fountain for a Santa Claws gift--of course, he'll get it early!

I appreciate the tip re. the fish-flavored cat food. Just goes to show that, no matter how long you've been a cat lover, there's still a lot out there to learn. Must be what being a "human parent" is like!

Thanks, everyone--Omar and his little Siamese sister, Clementine, send warmest purrs your way!

This is really good news....
keep on drinking lots of water Omar.

Omar, you clever boy for your mummy, keep drinking!

Check the return policy at the store - my Petsmart is terrific at returns in case the gift doesn't go over well - just hang on to the receipt. Glad Omar and his little sister are doing their holiday supervisory jobs so well!

With the Platinum drinkwell, you can adjust how strongly the stream flows - my girl loves to poke at it with her paw. I've been using distilled water and changing it up every week when I clean the fountain and all has been going well. If you go with the drinkwell, remember to clean the little motor - it's easy and apparently really helps with a long life for the whole mechanism.

Yay, go Omar!!

Also, do you use filtered water? It might be safer to go with filtered water since tap water has all these minerals in it that could add to the cause of a UTI occurrence.

Continued ~