Questions regarding UTI's

My cat lucky has already had antibiotics for a UTI.  She was peeing in small amounts.  The vet prescribed antibiotics, and she finished those.  But she was still peeing frequently and the urine spots were still smaller than normal.  The vet gave me another set of antibiotics to try and put her on a UT treat that would acidify the urine.  

Just wondering when I should see improvement?  She's been on the treats for 3 days and she gets them 2x a day.  The vet said that if there is no improvement then he wants an x-ray done to see if she has stones in her bladder.   She's been on the new antibiotics for two days.  I'm going to call the vet in the morning to see if he can prescribe a different type of antibiotic.  Pilling her has been a nightmare.  Stressful for her and me.  Hoping a liquid would work better.  We don't know how long she's had the infection.  All the cats went through a bought of UTI's during the summer, and she could have had it since then. We're not sure.  The only way I found it was I saw her pee in a tiny amount.

When should I see results if the stuff to acidify her urine works?  She doesn't seem to be in pain, but that doesn't mean she isn't.  Usually after a stressful pilling she will then within about 4-5 minutes go to the litter box.  She's eating and drinking and playful.  Hoping that the treats work.

The vet had mentioned putting her on a special diet. Which I could do, but it would be extremely tricky to do. I have another elderly cat who is borderline underweight. Right now she's at a weight where she really shouldn't loose any more.  She needs access to food whenever she wants it.  She has been to the vet and had a full senior panel done, and she's in good health.   So I'd have to find a way so she could get her food whenever she wanted, but my cat with the urinary problems would not have access to the other food only her own.  We only have so many rooms to put them in during feeding times.  We're putting new doors in because the others were in bad condition.  So upstairs we have no doors on any of the rooms.  Then we a room that has a family members furniture that we're storing for them.  So no cat's can go in there.  There's really only 1 room and that's a tiny bathroom in the basement.   I'd hate to  keep her cooped in there all day while I'm at work. No room to play, or any windows.  I can't put all the cats on the food because I have one that would break out in scabs within 48 hours because she's allergic to corn.  So really right now the only easy solution is hoping that the UT treats work.

Any advice would be appreciated.  Is there another treat that I can give that helps with dissolving the Crystals?because I'm not sure what to do from here.


Thanks!
 

mizmelzy said:

My cat lucky has already had antibiotics for a UTI.  

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How old is Lucky, and how was the UTI diagnosed? Was a urine sample acquired by cystocentisis and sent out to a lab for culture? If not, she may not actually have a true urinary tract infection and the antibiotics are useless. Running a sensitivity test on the cultured urine would help determine what antibiotic would be most effective, if she really does need them. Do you know the results of the urinalysis (ie ph, specific gravity, etc)? 

Another member, Carolina, made a feeding station for one of her cats from products she bought on Amazon: Lucky's feeding station If you scroll down a little in that thread she explains further how she put it together. I'm sure if you PMed her she would be pleased to advise you.

Lucky gave a urine sample when he was checking her out.  He then took some of the urine and tested it. Not sure how he does the testing.  But he said that there was blood in the urine, white blood cells, and some crystals.  Lucky is 10 years old. She's already had one set of antibiotics but she was still peeing in small amounts, so he gave her another round and something to acidify her urine.  

For Lucky.... since there are crystal's in the urine along with the blood - the vet will most likely suggest the Prescription diet. That diet will be important, at least for now, to help eliminate the crystal's. Most vet's agree in that is is alright for the other cat's in the household to eat the prescription diet if you cannot separate them during feeding's. Unless, the other cat's has some health issues that would contraindicate the diet... Tricky, I know. I hope Lucky feel's better very soon. :rub:

Well he gave me UT treats which acidify the urine and help prevent UTI's.  He said that we could try this, it would help get rid of crystals in the urine too.   As of today I'm happy to report while in isolation she only went to the bathroom twice! One was a nice size and the other was a little smaller. However, it was MUCH better than the dime size amounts she was peeing 4-6 times a day! So the treats seem to be doing a good job.  I called the vet to let him know about the improvement!  He said that we can try her on just the treats right now and see how that goes.  That would be MUCH easier than trying to isolate Lucky and feeding her seperate food.  I can't feed them all the same thing because I have one cat who is allergic to corn which ALL prescription diets have.  The wet is WAY too expensive for me to buy with 5 cats.  So this is the easy thing that I can do for now. If the treats don't work, then we'll have to put lucky on a prescription diet only.  Crossing all fingers and paws here that it works!