I have a very sick kitty and am looking for some advice. My cat (2.5 years old, male, neutered) is having quite a battle with a uti. Two weekends ago, we noticed he was having some trouble with his pee, so last Wednesday we took him to the vet. After doing a urineanalysis and ultrasound, the vet concluded that he had a nasty UTI. She gave him a metacam injection and antibiotics. Over the weekend he seemed to be better, but last night he wasn't himself again. Today when my husband came home from work, he caught him peeing on the bathroom mat. Not only had the cat never used the bathroom outside his box before, but it was red and full of blood (this is the seventh day on antibiotics) so back to the vet we went. We didn't see his usual vet, but the vet who was on call said to continue the antibiotics until they're done (which would bring us to next Wednesday) and gave him another metacam injection, as well as metacam to give him for the next week. He also suggested trying the urinary s/o diet (he currently eats a combo of wet/dry food, wet is tiki cat and wellness core, dry wellness core as well) Anyone have any experience with this? Hate seeing my baby in pain. Also the ingredients in the urinary food don't seem very healthy. I think this is related to stress, I'm almost 30 weeks pregnant with our first baby and our cat has never coped with change well, we have been doing renovations etc. I sat in the vets office waiting room today and cried, can't even contemplate him being so uncomfortable and unhappy. What do we do to help him?
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UTI urgent help!
- Thread starter musicnl12
- Start Date
So, he has been on the current antibiotic for a week and his symptoms are either not improving or are getting worse, is this correct?
Was a urine culture done? This will tell the vet what type of bacterial infection there is and which antibiotics will clear it up. THIS would be my next step if it hasn't been done. You should most definitely see results after being on antibiotics for a week IF they are going to work.
As for stress...
Feliway diffusers (can buy off Amazon or in most pet stores), Composure Liquid Max (Amazon), and Rescue Remedy (Amazon/some health food stores like Whole Foods) can help. They are not sedatives and many of us here have used them with varying degrees of success.
Also, with renovations going on, does kitty have a safe, quite place of his own with all his belongings (litter box, food/water, bed, toys)?
As for food...
I have personal issues with veterinary diets; however, others on here have used them with success.
My take is that a wet-only diet with added water is the first thing I would try. The canned foods you are currently feeding should be fine.
Was a urine culture done? This will tell the vet what type of bacterial infection there is and which antibiotics will clear it up. THIS would be my next step if it hasn't been done. You should most definitely see results after being on antibiotics for a week IF they are going to work.
As for stress...
Feliway diffusers (can buy off Amazon or in most pet stores), Composure Liquid Max (Amazon), and Rescue Remedy (Amazon/some health food stores like Whole Foods) can help. They are not sedatives and many of us here have used them with varying degrees of success.
Also, with renovations going on, does kitty have a safe, quite place of his own with all his belongings (litter box, food/water, bed, toys)?
As for food...
I have personal issues with veterinary diets; however, others on here have used them with success.
My take is that a wet-only diet with added water is the first thing I would try. The canned foods you are currently feeding should be fine.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
They didn't do a culture I don't think, but the vet did say she looked at the sample under a microscope and saw that there was infection present. I'm not sure if it's the infection that's now causing the issue or the crystals/inflammation in his urinary track. Maybe I should try eliminating the dry food all together and give more wet?
Did they actually diagnose him with crystals or not? I didn't see that in your first post? If they dId, then did they not give him anything for pain?
I definitely would stop all dry food, if THAT won't stress him out, DO give him a sanctuary while renovations are going on, DO use some calming aids like Rescue Remedy for Pets (we just used that for our renovations and it worked very well) We just put the drops on their favorite treats and gave it to them that way so we didn't stress them out trying to get it IN them
. Maybe have some soft harp music playing on a CD in the background. Cats find harp music soothing...who'd have known?
In, indeed, he DOES have crystals, then the prescription food absolutely does have it's place. Ingredients don't sound all that good,but they work
I definitely would stop all dry food, if THAT won't stress him out, DO give him a sanctuary while renovations are going on, DO use some calming aids like Rescue Remedy for Pets (we just used that for our renovations and it worked very well) We just put the drops on their favorite treats and gave it to them that way so we didn't stress them out trying to get it IN them
In, indeed, he DOES have crystals, then the prescription food absolutely does have it's place. Ingredients don't sound all that good,but they work
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
He does have crystals, yes. They've given us metacam for pain/inflammation. So I picked up some of the urinary s/o food yesterday at the vet, tried him with it twice and he's not eaten it. The first time he licked it a bit, second time he flat out walked away. He's still pretty lethargic too. Very worried about my baby.
So, I believe the s/o is Royal Canin, correct? Does that just come in one flavor? Can you get Hills C/D or S/D (also requires a prescription). The C/D has more than one flavor, which might work better.
Since he DOES have crystals, be sure to keep a sharp eye out that he doesn't block, poor baby. I wouldn't feel good either
If I were you I'd give his regular Vet a call just to discuss that's he's no better and she what they say
Since he DOES have crystals, be sure to keep a sharp eye out that he doesn't block, poor baby. I wouldn't feel good either
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I agree, if he has crystals, he should eat a urinary tract food. Carmine got FLUTD when he was only 4. We tried him on Hill's prescription c/d dry and wet first. He didn't like the c/d wet, so I went and found another urinary tract canned food. He has since switched to Royal Canin SO for his kibble (and still eats wet food daily).
I rotate Carmine's wet food so he doesn't get sick of one flavor/kind (because he does if I feed him the same thing for a long time).
Urinary tract wet food choices I've found:
-Hill's prescription c/d - comes in two flavors.
-Royal Canin prescription SO.
-Purina prescription UR (can get online at Pet360.com).
-Friskies Special Diet urinary tract formula - comes in five flavors.
-ProPlan urinary tract chicken canned food.
-Iams also has one but I can't remember what it's called as we haven't tried it.
Friskies and ProPlan urinary tract canned can be purchased at PetSmart without a prescription. Not sure about the Iams one. Carmine has liked all of the ones we've tried except for the c/d canned.
Water consumption is very important for kitties with urinary tract issues. Try adding just a bit of water to your kitty's canned food as well. When I was caring for my Jewel who had kidney disease, I purchased a fountain, and found that Carmine will drink a lot more water from a fountain than he ever would from a water bowl. Maybe try that, too.
I also agree that the antibiotic should have done something by now. I would have your vet culture the urine as someone else also suggested.
As for the stress component... Make sure your kitty has a safe space to go. I've found that Sentry calming collars are really helpful for stress. You can buy those on Amazon for much cheaper than you can at pet stores. I've also had good results with Feliway Comfort Zone diffusers. With the diffusers, though, you have to have enough for the square footage of your home, so be sure to check the back of the box to see how many you'll need to cover your home.
I really hope he is on the mend soon. Please keep us posted, okay?
I rotate Carmine's wet food so he doesn't get sick of one flavor/kind (because he does if I feed him the same thing for a long time).
Urinary tract wet food choices I've found:
-Hill's prescription c/d - comes in two flavors.
-Royal Canin prescription SO.
-Purina prescription UR (can get online at Pet360.com).
-Friskies Special Diet urinary tract formula - comes in five flavors.
-ProPlan urinary tract chicken canned food.
-Iams also has one but I can't remember what it's called as we haven't tried it.
Friskies and ProPlan urinary tract canned can be purchased at PetSmart without a prescription. Not sure about the Iams one. Carmine has liked all of the ones we've tried except for the c/d canned.
Water consumption is very important for kitties with urinary tract issues. Try adding just a bit of water to your kitty's canned food as well. When I was caring for my Jewel who had kidney disease, I purchased a fountain, and found that Carmine will drink a lot more water from a fountain than he ever would from a water bowl. Maybe try that, too.
I also agree that the antibiotic should have done something by now. I would have your vet culture the urine as someone else also suggested.
As for the stress component... Make sure your kitty has a safe space to go. I've found that Sentry calming collars are really helpful for stress. You can buy those on Amazon for much cheaper than you can at pet stores. I've also had good results with Feliway Comfort Zone diffusers. With the diffusers, though, you have to have enough for the square footage of your home, so be sure to check the back of the box to see how many you'll need to cover your home.
I really hope he is on the mend soon. Please keep us posted, okay?
