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Excessive thirst and soft stools

post #1 of 14
2/6/11 at 6:01am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys/gals,
I'm a first time poster, and I need some advice on my kitty. She's about 8 years old, and a few weeks ago developed a urinary tract infection. I tool her to the vet, and they put her on a course of Amoxidrops. I gave her the entire two week dosage, and she seemed to have gotten better, but she seems sick again this week. She's been drinking a lot more water than normal, and her stools are soft and pale. Could this be related to the UTI she recently had? Or is this a new issue?


Thanks!
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post #2 of 14
2/6/11 at 7:25am
Pale stools suggest some sort of absorption issue, maybe from the antibiotic, maybe not.

Did your vet not tell you that your cat needed a follow up appointment and another urinalysis after treatment finished to check whether it worked? Your cat needs to go back. With the excessive thirst there's a pretty good chance that she's not better yet.

Now, are you also aware that at 8 years old your kitty is considered a senior? Has she had full blood work to check for common illness that older cats get? She needs her liver, thyroid, and kidneys checked specifically. Have this done in case the pale stools are from something else.
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post #3 of 14
2/6/11 at 7:45am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your reply. No, the vet didn't say anything about a follow up visit or tests. She just said to call if I had any concerns or if she wasn't getting better. My vet is closed today, so I have to wait til tomorrow to call and make another appointment. She hasn't had any blood work done, but I'll make sure kitty gets a full check up and blood test done. Thanks!
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post #4 of 14
2/6/11 at 7:51am
Did the vet ever do a urinanalysis the first time? Or was kitty treated on symptoms alone?

I really hope the vet checked and that it was definitely a UTI. I also hope that her blood work looks good. She'll need full bloodwork 1-2 times a year to be on the look out for things like renal failure or thyroid problems.

Good luck to you and your kitty tomorrow. :vibes;
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post #5 of 14
2/6/11 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
The vet did do a urinalysis the first time, and she seemed to have responded well to the antibiotics. I really hope this is related and not a sign of something more serious, but I guess I'll find out soon enough.
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post #6 of 14
2/6/11 at 8:17am
It doesn't hurt anything to have a full senior panel done - if nothing else, youll have a nice baseline as your kitty enters her more mature years. I know some practices have a hard time broaching the tests to clients - they're not the cheapest tests in all the world (by me, the panel runs around $100 or so) and some clients will think the vet is just trying to pad the bill. It can be a balancing act for a vet at times.

Now, if your vet is reluctant to run a panel even after you've said you'd like to be proactive about testing, time to find a new vet. Oh, just thought - they can also use the senior panel tests if your cat needs a dental cleaning, for example (always good to have blood work done prior to any procedure) - at my vet, you have 45 days to use the bloodwork as prep for a dental, for example.
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post #7 of 14
2/6/11 at 9:12am
I would definitely run another urinalysis to ensure the UTI is gone.....sometimes the antibiotics work & sometimes they don't.

If she has soft/loose stools, that may be causing her to drink more water. Sometimes antibiotics throw off the digestive tract causing poop issues
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post #8 of 14
2/6/11 at 11:48am
It could be a reaction to the medicine. But you should call your vet and tell them what's happening.
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post #9 of 14
2/6/11 at 11:58am
It is possible too, that the antibiotic wasn't strong enough, amoxi is the weakest to use, but the easiest to tolerate. You need to have another urinalysis done, and quickly. Also a full senior blood panel. When did you finish the amoxi? It would be unlikely that the soft stools are from the amoxi, unless you just gave the last dose yesterday. Antibiotics do effect the good bacteria in their gut, cause some loose stools and your kitty might need some Probiotics (you can use the people capsules from the grocery store). The excessive thirst could mean a number of things, so it would be best to go back to the vet for further tests. Good luck and hope your kitty is feeling better very soon.
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post #10 of 14
2/8/11 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 
Here's an update...Bailey just returned from her vet visit. The vet did another urinalysis and a blood panel on her. The full blood panel results won't be in until tomorrow, but she was diagnosed diabetic. We have a follow up appointment tomorrow to go over the full results and to re-check her glucose level.
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post #11 of 14
2/8/11 at 10:55am
Poor girl. I'm glad that you got her in promptly! Hopefully you and the vet can get that under control.
I hope her other bloodwork looks fine and that her kidneys are ok.

Thank you for updating.
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post #12 of 14
2/10/11 at 7:31am
Thread Starter 
Another update...as mentioned, we had another vet visit yesterday. The rest of her blood work was perfect. The vet said she was one of the healthiest diabetics she's seen. lol. Apparently, I caught this very early, and it didn't have a chance to affect her organs yet. I thought they were going to check her glucose level yesterday, but that will be tomorrow, and then she'll go in for a curve next week.

She's been on 1 unit of PZI insulin, twice daily, since our fist visit on Tuesday. She does show improvement...less thirst and urination...but she's not quite back to normal levels yet. They want to get her body used to the 1 unit for now, and then once she has the curve done they'll adjust the dosage. She's been very good about getting her shots too. I can tell she's not fond of it, but she lets me do it without any hassle or resistance...so far. lol
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post #13 of 14
2/10/11 at 5:48pm
Good on you for catching it early! Oftentimes "simple" things are overlooked until a health issue has wreaked havoc on our babies bodies. Keep us updated on her progress.
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post #14 of 14
2/11/11 at 3:00am
I have had two diabetic cats. Don't get discouraged. It can be easily controlled with good care.

My cat, Goofy knows when its time for his shot. He jumps up on the table, and hangs his head over the side so it is easy for me to grab his scruff and inject.

My other one, FarleyV did the same thing. They are better than humans sometimes when it comes to meds!
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