UTI & Problems w/diet change

Hello! My best friend is my kitty Ollie. She's 2 1/2 years old. Over this last year she's begun to have to urinary tract infections. As soon as the first one started, off to the vet we went. They gave her a shot, told me to watch her carefully... and away we went. All was good, all summer! Until a few weeks ago, I noticed blood in her urine again! Immediately I called the vet. They said lock her up away from the litter all day and then bring her in at 5pm. She hated it... her eyes were all red, so sad until I would open the door to play. She pee'd on the floor, which was full of blood, so I sucked it up in a syringe and brought it with us to the vet. It was enough for them to test it, they said she had an UTI... no biggie they say. Until they start feeling her tummy... they requested x-rays, I said absolutely.... the results came back that she had a huuuuge stone in her bladder. So, they gave me pills (2xday), liquid pain killer (1xday) and canned prescription food (2 kinds). I told them that Ollie hates wet food... only likes crunchies. She doesn't like any human food... only broccoli, plain angel food cake and sometimes bits of chicken. No milk or any other proteins like tuna, or even tuna juice. They said she would definitely like one of the two foods. Well... she hated them both. She was on hunger strike. So, they ordered me another one... a chunky one with gravy. Now, she'll lick up the gravy but won't eat the chunks. She will eat her cookies (temptations) but they're also a no-go because they're dry. Some of the pet store wet food she will eat.. not much, but some. But the vet said the food in pet stores is garbage. I'm worried because she's not eating nearly enough... especially being on these medications and she's losing weight. I would also really like to break this stone down with the meds and wet food, if I don't figure this out we'll have a $1200 vet bill for the stone removal just before Christmas. I'll do it, but would like to try alternative measures first!

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated! I will even make my own special food if anyone knows a recipe geared towards this sort of situation (I already make my 18yr old iguana a special diet... why not Ollie too?!). She's my world, please help!!!

Thanks,

Ollie's Mom

What are the 2 pills/day that she's taking? Are they antibiotics, and if so, what kind? Antibiotics can often make cats nauseous so that might also be a factor in her not wanting to eat much.

It's most important that she eat right now, so feed her what she wants. I would get some canned food from a pet food store that you know she likes and periodically sprinkle a tsp of her crunchies (pulverized) on top to get her to eat more. You can leave the canned out for many hours, it doesn't go bad like you think it would. Add a tbsp or 2 of warm water to keep it moist.

As for the stones, do you know what kind they are (ie struvite, calcium oxalate)? My guess would be struvite, as cats eating a dry food diet tend to have alkaline urine, a favourable environment for them to form. Struvite can sometimes be dissolved by increasing the acidity of the urine, which is why the vet wants her to eat the prescription food. You don't need to feed it though, you can get some L-methionine powder from a health food store and add a pinch to her wet food. You'll need to monitor her urine ph at home to make sure it doesn't swing too far the other way and become TOO acidic (which can result in calcium oxalate stones, much harder to deal with).

Some more info for you: http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Thank you so much Sugarcatmom! The pills Ollie is taking are called Clavaseptin 50mg 2xdaily. When I google it, the only usage I can find with cats is for skin conditions. I did, however, find that it can cause loss of appetite. Seems like I have a double edged sword... can't eat from the meds... must eat to break down the stone. I didn't know there were different types of stones until we came home from the vet and read a little about the situation. I hope that you are right though... struvite makes total sense since Ollie has always eaten dry food. All the vet said to me was that there were no crystals in her urine and I did find something on the internet that said oxalate stones usually have no crystals in the urine. It also said that they usually start after age 5... Ollie is only 2.5... I'm so confused. I think I will try the L-methionine method you've mentioned... once I find something she'll eat. If she has the oxalate stones, will the L-methionine still be helpful? Also, how would I start monitoring her ph levels? Is there a 'kit' I can buy? Thanks again... so very much!

Adding L-methionine wouldn't be a good idea if the stones are calcium oxalate based as they may make the problem worse. Can you get the results of the urinalysis from the vet? They hopefully tested Ollie's urine ph, which would be a clue (normal is about 6.0-6.5. Struvite forms when urine is consistently above 7.0, and calcium oxalate is a risk below 5.5).  I would get the ph test strips first before the methionine to see if Ollie even needs it. You can usually find some at a health food store, like these: http://www.ph-ion.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=205

To get a urine sample, I just slide a shallow jar lid (like for peanut butter) under the cat's butt after they start to pee. A ladle or large spoon might also work. If that doesn't work, I've got a bunch of other techniques that you could try....

Good luck!