Ways to soothe UTI/cystitis pain while waiting for vet appt time to arrive?

Poor Annabelle has bloody pee and is obviously uncomfortable. We have an appointment tomorrow at 4 for a urine culture and I am wondering if anyone knows of some effective ways to help make her more comfortable until then. Warm water bottle to the belly, maybe? That's the only thing I can think of, but it probably won't go over very well.

I'm syringing a little extra water into her every few hours to help flush her out and so she'll have a semi-full bladder to draw from at her appt, so hopefully that will help her feel a little better, too? I'd think being able to actually pee out some volume would be a relief compared to the straining and dribbles. Hopefully it won't make her feel even worse. Sigh. Poor baby.

Any other ideas? She (and I) would really appreciate any ideas for some relief.

Sweet Miss Loveybelle

You're probably at the vet.

But I'm interested in sweet girl Annabelle.  My gal Chestnut is prone to crystals, and I'm beginning to think brought on by stress, so I'm curious what caused Annabelle's condition.

Please let us know how you made out.  

I too give Chess lot's of extra water.  But when she had her last flare up it was a weekend when vet was already closed until Monday, and I happened to have pain meds  left over from my boy, so I gave her one dose of Buprenex and then gave her water, she was able to urinate without too much pain but did wince quietly I'm confident it passed.  I called the vet that Monday and he said that was okay to do, but she'll be going back soon for a full exam.

So far no other flare up's.  I think she was confused because her brother passed away, and then my hubby was gone for 3 weeks, this was week 2 of hubby's departure, then I let her hear him on the phone and all was well.  I have to watch her carefully though.

I'll be thinking of you and your gal.

For people looking for answers....   Let me add, do not do what I did.  Call your vets first before administering any drugs.  XO

How is she doing today?
My advice would actually be to Not give any water because if it hurts to pee and she has a full bladder, or worse if she's blocked, more water = more pee = more discomfort.

She's high as a billygoat on her bupenorphine right now, so she's been wandering around the house with giant eyes and inspecting everything. She'll take a break from wandering every 10 minutes or so to sit next to me or my husband for some petting, purring, and a little drooling. She's pretty darn happy right now. :lol3:

There were no crystals in her urine, but it did test positive for an infection. I was surprised, was totally expecting it to be crystals. She got some sub-q fluids, Clavamox, and a handful of real fur toys as a special treat for when she's feeling better. The first sample they took was very small, so she hung out for a few hours after the fluids so they could take a second, larger sample and double check everything. The vet gave us sterile supplies so we can do a free catch to take in when her meds are done to make sure she's all cleared up. I love our vet- she's awesome (and cats-only).

I'm just so happy she's not in pain anymore. It was very stressful for all of us, which I'm sure didn't do her any favors. Her poor brother Leo kept trying to check on her and Annabelle was hurting and grumpy, so she kept smacking at him. The little guy was really worried about her. Thankfully, she's got enough painkillers for two more days, so by the time they run out she should be feeling much, much better.

2Cats4EverLoved, I hope your Chestnut is feeling better.
My oldest cat Wheezie used to have UTI flare-ups every time I moved house. She's since grown out of it, thankfully. She was a shelter cat and pretty insecure. I think once she finally realized she was stuck with me and I wasn't going to leave her behind, moving stopped stressing her out as much. But, it was awful and I'm 100% positive it was brought on by stress. I was honestly glad Annabelle's problem turned out to be an infection since that's easier to treat.

I'm so glad your girl is on the mend.  It's awful knowing they're in pain and not being able to do anything about it.