Help-bladder infection

My five year old cat has been healthy all his life until recently. About three months ago I noticed little red droplets on my carpet. I followed both cats around until I figured out which one was doing it. I took him (Max) to the vet and they gave him antibiotics which cleared everything up for about a week or so and then it stared happening again. The vet gave me more antibiotics and Max seemed to get better. A couple of weeks ago it started again, only seemed to get better in a couple of days with no treatment, then on the day after Christmas I noticed he was growling when he tried to pee. I tried to find an open vet and was unable to, but on Mon my vet agreed to see him. They did some Xrays and thought maybe there was a bladder stone so they catheterized him and did some more Xrays. There was no bladder stone, but a very inflamed bladder with some blood clots. So, they put him back on the antibiotic and I took him home. After a couple of days he just got worse. He was still growling when he tried to pee, but not only then, he also started growling in his sleep. So, I called the vet back and they said to bring him back in. They gave him a steriod for the inflamation and put him on a special diet. They kept him for two days so they could watch for blockage and told me to come get him today. When I went to get him they told me the diet was helping and that he was not blocked and was urinating fine, which he is. My question is he is still passing blood. I put down puppy training pads where he was peeing on the carpet so I could clean the mess easier and he's been home for a few hours and there is blood where he has peed. Also, I just heard him growl while trying to pee. He's eating and drinking and generally seems to be in a much better mood since returning from the vet. I was just wondering if anyone has been through this and how long until the urine is normal again?

I would seriously consider a surgery to correct this problem if he were mine. He has to be in so much misery right now, and is likely associating the litter pan with pain and peeing on the carpet. Getting rid of the old pan and putting in a new one will more than likely stop the peeing outside the box, but again, I would consider a surgery to help him

I have considered surgery, but my vet seems to think that he is just stressed and causing himself to be sick. Maybe I should get a second opinion. I hate knowing that he is in pain.

The fact that he is still in pain and has blood in his urine indicates that the infection is not gone. What antibiotic are they treating him with? Hissy is right, surgery would be a good thing. But, I strongly recommend either going back to the vet or getting a second opinion. He needs to be treated with a more aggressive antibiotic. If he is being treated with a good antibiotic, like Baytril (not AmoxiDrops (aka amoxicillin) or Clavamox Drops- some cats just don't respond well to them), then surgery is probably your best bet. Most likely they will want to keep him for a while and catheterize him to monitor urine output and quality. I also recommend that you have the vet send a sample of his urine off to the lab for analysis ASAP. They could find something that is not being treated by the medications he is on. Good luck and keep us posted.

I don't know what surgery would help, since he isn't blocking and he doesn't have stones. A pain medication like Metacam might help with the pain and inflammation, but needs to be carefully followed by your vet. And in some cats Elavil seems to help interstitial cystitis, which it sounds like your cat may have. A 100% canned food diet would help keep his urine diluted, which may help. Some people swear by giving only distilled water to drink, although I don't know how that helps. Keep working with your vet or get a second opinion. He may benefit from a feline specialist. AAFP site
Becky

Not to mention that he may be infected with a resistant bug. He should really have a culture performed to rule that out.

I was typing the reply when you posted the last post. If there is blood in his urine...he's not just stressing out. He's most likely got an infection. It can be a cycle though...cat stresses out, immune system weakens, gets urinary infection, urinary infection caused stress, etc. And around and around it goes. He needs an agressive treatment to break this cycle. Now I strongly recommend that you get a second opinion! Ugh, I cringe thinking about the pain he must be in. My parents cat used to do this exact thing to herself. She is resistant to several of the meds used to treat the infection and has to have heavy duty antibiotics to get rid of it. There is also a pill that she gets daily now to help prevent future occurances. It's called GlycoFlex For Cats. So far it's really helped.

Well, the vet has him on an all canned food diet of Hills's c/d and Clavamox drops. Something seems to be helping because he's not in nearly the pain he was in the other day. On a happier note, he's been so sweet since he got home. He's talking and always wants to be around me. I just want to get this cleared up once and for all, but I don't know if there is a surgery that would help since the problem is just an inflammed bladder with no stones or anything. The vet did a urine culture and found nothing.

I'm so glad to hear that he's feeling better! What a relief that must be. Hopefully, he will get over this once and for all and there will be no relapse this time. It's good to know that your vet has him on canned c/d and Clavamox drops. If he does relapse, there are still several other options of diet and antibiotic combinations that will help out. You can also try a natural remedy called Rescue Remedy. It really helps out with stress during times of illness. It is also used for humans so you can find it at a local health store.

My Nathan had a chronic recurring UTI this summer (lasted about a month), with inflammation of the bladder. Sometimes they do get themselves into a vicious cycle--their bladder is inflamed, so they are in pain as soon as a few drops of urine hit the bladder wall, so they go immediately, which requires them to strain since there's so little urine, which further inflames the bladder, and so on. What got Nathan out of the cycle was when the vet gave him a prednisone (sp?) shot to reduce the inflammation and a small amount of subcutaneous fluids. He wasn't dehydrated, so she didn't give him a ton of fluids, but it was enough to fill his bladder up so he was able to start going normally rather than a few drops at a time, which eased the strain on his urinary tract and bladder. You may want to see another vet (make sure you give the complete history of the infection) to see if there is some sort of alternative to the current treatment.

Thanks for all the help. The vet did give him a steriod shot which seems to be helping. Since he won't currently go in the litter box I have given him some puppy training pads so he'll quit going on the carpet. This also helps me monitor his output so to speak. There seems to be a lot more urine than a few days ago, but it is still pink. I haven't heard him growl while urinating in a while, so hopefully he feels better. The only problem is neither of my cats seem really thrilled with the food. They are eating but they aren't eating as much. I did read somewhere that cats don't needs as much of the premium food as they eat when they are eating crap. Something about fillers? I hope that's what the problem is, they don't seem hungry.

Mine weren't wild about the c/d either, but they got used to it. But after Asa was over his episode I changed them to canned Wellness and Merrick and they like that. But with premium food the only eat one 5.5 ounce can a day and no dry. They are really very active and they maintain their weight on that amount. They don't eat nearly as much as my 3 1/2 lb kitten did, but I had to cut her back to 6 ounces a day since she was getting chubby, even at her tiny weight. Maybe after he is cleared up you can change him to canned of some other food, but it would be wise to get a urine test done a couple of weeks after he is on another diet to make sure he is OK. That is what I did with Asa and his pH was perfect and no crystals or bacteria or blood. Becky

I was thinking of putting him back on Nutro after this is over. That is what they both grew up on and I kinda got away from it because it's expensive. Of course, now I wish I had just stuck with it. I hope that's not what caused this to happen.

I have never heard of Merrick or Wellness. Where do you get that? Petsmart?

No, you usually have to get them at small pet stores. Of Petsmart foods the only one I like is Natural Balance. Actually, I have only seen that at Petco. Nutro pouches are OK. I like the ones with human grade and organic food. But they are expensive.
Merrick
Wellness
Natural Balance
Becky

I'm so glad to hear he's doing good! It's a very good thing that he is producing more urine. This means his little UT is starting to get back on tract. You will probably notice that he is not going as often either. The steroid reduces the inflammation, which reduces his urge to go all the time. His urine will probably still have a little bit of a pinkish tinge to it for the next few days, while his system finishes moving all the gunck through. As long as he doesn't seem to be in pain and his urine is improving-that's very good news. Keep us updated!

Well, just an update. The vet put Max on c/d and after a few days he suddenly turned back to his normal self. Just started going in the litter box again, that was a surprise as I thought he would avoid it. But, he's all better, and I couldn't be happier.