Urinary Tract Infection..please help

kittiesx2

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I haven't posted in quite awhile.
Tucker, my Ragdoll, has a UTI and started peeing outside of the litterbox...mainly on clothes or blankets.
We've been to the vet and he was placed on antibiotics for 3 weeks and finished his last dose 2 weeks ago.
I thought that it had gotten better but he peed in the dogs toy box this morning.
My Husband is starting to lose patience with him and said that we need to fix this or we need to find Tuck a new home.
I love my cat and I'm trying to make this work.
Right now he's eating Chicken Soup dry food. I'd like to switch him to a high quality (hopefully lower priced) canned food.
We've tried RAW but he doesn't tolerate it well..he vomits all over the house on it.
I'm taking him back to the vet next week for a re-check on the UTI to be sure that is the problem.
If not I need to know if he can be re-trained to the litterbox.
Please help me! Thanks
 

sharky

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Did you throw out the old litter box and get a completely new onewith fresh litter??

have you tried cat attract litter or the additive ..

Did the vet suggest a food or % ages of items for a OTC food???

canned food is MORE expensive than dry by about 50% ... but it is often very helpful with uti issues ... was a culture done ?>?? has anyone checked for crystals??

a 16-18 lb bag of chicken soup around here is about 20$ ... the canned is 99 cents to 1.29 and a 8-12 lb cat would likely eat 1 -2 cans per day ....

chicken soup is the lowest $$ premium in most areas ...
 

maxy24

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I'm sorry your poor boy has been sick

I would get him off dry and onto wet as son as possible, please remind your husband that he is ill and it will take some time for him to get better.
I would however confine him to a room (a spare bedroom or bathroom) with a litter box and everything else he needs so that he cannot pee all over the house. Also get an enzymatic cleaner (make sure it contains enzymes) and clean everything he has peed on with it thoroughly so that he will not be tempted to go there again.

I'm sure he can be re-trained to use the box. If it is not a UTI or other medical problem you will need to find out what is causing it as I'm sure something is. Think about recent changes in the house or things that could be causing him stress. Make sure the boxes are cleaned every day and that there are enough of them, be sure the boxes are in quiet out of the way locations. Make sure no other cat is bullying him or getting on his nerves etc.
 

mews2much

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I have a cat with a uti right now again.
She has a Ecoli infection again.
Did your vet do a culture?
What antibiotics was he on.
Sometimes Coco has to be on antibiotucs for 2 months before she is neg.
She is on Baytril now.
Has he ever had crystals?
The infection could be back.
 
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kittiesx2

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Originally Posted by sharky

Did you throw out the old litter box and get a completely new onewith fresh litter??

have you tried cat attract litter or the additive ..

Did the vet suggest a food or % ages of items for a OTC food???

canned food is MORE expensive than dry by about 50% ... but it is often very helpful with uti issues ... was a culture done ?>?? has anyone checked for crystals??

a 16-18 lb bag of chicken soup around here is about 20$ ... the canned is 99 cents to 1.29 and a 8-12 lb cat would likely eat 1 -2 cans per day ....

chicken soup is the lowest $$ premium in most areas ...
Thanks for the advice. I'm using "Cat Attract" litter but I didn't start with a new litterbox so I'll try replacing his old one and see if it helps.
The Vet didn't reccomend an OTC food. She said to make sure to always have clean drinking water available.
Tucker went to the vet and had Urine removed directly from his bladder with a needle because he wouldn't pee for them. They didn't say which bacteria were present but did say that it was pretty nasty and becoming Cystic.
He was on Clavamox for 3 weeks.
I know that canned is more expensive but from what I've read it's the best thing to help cats prone to UTI's (other than Raw)
Is CS wet a good choice for UTI cats?


Originally Posted by Maxy24

I'm sorry your poor boy has been sick

I would get him off dry and onto wet as son as possible, please remind your husband that he is ill and it will take some time for him to get better.
I would however confine him to a room (a spare bedroom or bathroom) with a litter box and everything else he needs so that he cannot pee all over the house. Also get an enzymatic cleaner (make sure it contains enzymes) and clean everything he has peed on with it thoroughly so that he will not be tempted to go there again.
I'm sure he can be re-trained to use the box. If it is not a UTI or other medical problem you will need to find out what is causing it as I'm sure something is. Think about recent changes in the house or things that could be causing him stress. Make sure the boxes are cleaned every day and that there are enough of them, be sure the boxes are in quiet out of the way locations. Make sure no other cat is bullying him or getting on his nerves etc.
I'd love to confine him but we live in a small house and only have one bathroom. Each bedroom is also occupied.
I've cleaned the house using a UV pee finder light and Enzyme cleanser (Natures Miracle and Simple Solution)
I've actually been in contact with Ragdoll Rescue to help in re-training him and re-homing him, if needed.
Our house is small and we have three kids, the youngest is 4 and VERY active.
Tucker is a sweet loving cat but he is spooked easily and I think that all of the activity isn't helping him.
We also brought a puppy home this Summer.
He and Tucker play together all of the time and get along great but it seems like he pee's on the puppies blankets and bed(the bed several times, we threw it away) and our clothes and blankets more than anything so I wonder if the house is too crowded for him.




Originally Posted by mews2much

I have a cat with a uti right now again.
She has a Ecoli infection again.
Did your vet do a culture?
What antibiotics was he on.
Sometimes Coco has to be on antibiotucs for 2 months before she is neg.
She is on Baytril now.
Has he ever had crystals?
The infection could be back.
I answered most of the questions above but no, he's never had crystals...I think that he probably needs a stronger antibiotic.
Thanks again for the help.
 

goldenkitty45

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I would confine him to one room with the litter box till he is using it again 100%. We have Charlie on Royal Canin for Urinary and selected canned foods (Natural Balance, Wellness, Max Cat, and Iams Beef). He has not had a problem since his UTI last November.
 

mews2much

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Coco has used the Royal Canin Urinary also.
You should ask the vet about it.
She is on k/d now because she has kidney problems which makes it more complicated.
Can you have the vet do a culture to see if he needs stronger antibiotic?
I am glad he has not had crytsals.
Clavamox is a good antibiotic but sometimes you need a stronger one.
It did not work for Coco but she got sick from it.
 

lmunsie

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Have you had him rechecked since he's been off the antibiotics?
With Cellos UTI's it has taken up to 2 courses of different antibiotics to get rid of it.
I always get his urine re-checked the last day of the antibiotics, if the bacteria are not completely gone the UTI will come back with avengence.
He has been on antibiotics for 3 weeks with no change, and we had to try a new antibiotic before it went away.

I switched him to 80% wet and 20% dry (wellness and california natural respectively) and I don't feed him any foods with fish in it. Since this change he has been UTI free.
 
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kittiesx2

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Originally Posted by lmunsie

Have you had him rechecked since he's been off the antibiotics?
With Cellos UTI's it has taken up to 2 courses of different antibiotics to get rid of it.
I always get his urine re-checked the last day of the antibiotics, if the bacteria are not completely gone the UTI will come back with avengence.
He has been on antibiotics for 3 weeks with no change, and we had to try a new antibiotic before it went away.

I switched him to 80% wet and 20% dry (wellness and california natural respectively) and I don't feed him any foods with fish in it. Since this change he has been UTI free.
I'm getting him re-checked this coming week.
We were hit with a snowstorm and have been stuck at home for almost two weeks or I would have taken him in sooner. If they put him on more antibiotics I'll be sure to take him in for his re-check as soon as he's had his last dose.
What kind of Wellness canned do you feed?
 

sharky

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I would recommend avoiding fish... If memory serves CS is okay for uti ... just not certified ..
 

lmunsie

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Originally Posted by kittiesx2

I'm getting him re-checked this coming week.
We were hit with a snowstorm and have been stuck at home for almost two weeks or I would have taken him in sooner. If they put him on more antibiotics I'll be sure to take him in for his re-check as soon as he's had his last dose.
What kind of Wellness canned do you feed?
My guess is that your kitty might need another course of antibiotics and that is probably you're problem.

I feed any variety of the wellness canned that has no fish in it.
He is 17 lbs (big cat, not overweight) and he eats a 12.5 oz can every 3 days, and gets 1/4-1/2 cup california natural each day.
I pay ~$2.50/can so it doesn't end up being THAT expensive. He has maintaned his weight on this diet for the past 6 months (I weight him once a week)
 
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kittiesx2

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thanks for all of the advice.

I've never dealt with a UTI before and so when the Vet said 3 weeks of antibiotics I thought that they might have overdone it a little.
It's encouraging to know that another course or kind of antibiotics are sometimes needed.
I'll pick up a few kinds of canned and see which he prefers. He's a picky little bugger and the last time I fed him canned the only kind that he would touch was Merrick and of course he preferred the fish flavors

So, No fish, should I use a cranberry supplement in his food for urinary tract health or is it worth doing?
 

sharky

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cranberry powder may help ... methionine( spelling) is the one my vet recommends over the cranberry ... ASK your vet
 
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kittiesx2

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Originally Posted by sharky

cranberry powder may help ... methionine( spelling) is the one my vet recommends over the cranberry ... ASK your vet
Thanks...yep, I'll ask the Vet to be certain before I give any supplements.
 

mews2much

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Your Welcome
They have helped me with Coco and my sisters cat Midnight when he had bladder surgery a few months ago.
They told us what to ask the vet and they were right.
The vet did all the tests they wanted us to ask about with out asking.
 
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kittiesx2

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I called the vet and we have an appointment at 1:45 today, I'll update when I have more info.. thanks
 
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