E. coli infection in my cat!

Has anyone had any experience with their cat having an E. coli infection?! I just brought my girl home from the vet yesterday, and the vet called today to say that she found a lot of E. coli in the urinalysis! She says that it is very rare in cats, and that she's not sure how she would have contracted it. She said it was possible that she has a kidney stone due to her previous FLUTD issues, but that it's not likely in a cat her age (7). She said it could also be that there were feces that ended up traveling from her anus through her vulva (sorry if this is TMI), and that could have caused it. She is a very clean cat however, and licks herself after every "movement", so I don't know if that's the answer either. Has anyone experienced this before? I'm worried, because if I don't know what caused it, how do I know how to prevent it from spreading to my other cat (or me?), and also prevent it from happening again? She is on antibiotics right now, and has had a change of diet, but if that doesn't work, they will have to X-ray to rule out a kidney stone .

Any advice/experience with this would be very much appreciated!! I'm scared for my baby girl!

As far as e-coli goes, I imagine it's the same for animals as it is humans. She could have contracted it from a food source or contaiminated water as well (as was my case). Do you get your water from the town or a well or somewhere else???, possible that she contracted it from another animal as well.... It's really hard to chase the cause down many times because the incubation period can be anywhere from 12 hours to 10 days depending on the strain.

Just some thoughts anyways??. I hope your furbaby feels better soon!

Thanks for the info. I get my water from the town water source. The vet didn't even mention this, so I assumed she believed that the water wouldn't have been the source. I have a Bearded Dragon, so am on those forums too to see if they can be carriers... Thanks for the well wishes!

I hope your cat feels better soon. BTW, what is a bearded dragon.

Bearded Dragons are cute omnivorous agamid lizards from Australia.
When they feel threatened (or during mating display)they have a spiney jaw pouch they flare out, looks kinda like a beard.

Thanks for the well wishes! And yes, Arlyn's got it right. They are very mild-tempered reptiles, and very cute. Arlyn, your Vash looks almost exactly like my Isis, and your Shadow looks eerily like my dad's kitty Fritter! Weird!

Vash is a nutcase, and Shadow is just a grumpy old man

I hope your baby is feeling better soon.

My Isis is very cuddly and demanding (attention-wise), and my dad's Fritter is a surly old beeeyatch. I was talking elsewhere on the boards about how I found her in the bush as a feral kitten when I lived in the country. She has been a scrapper, and an ingrate ever since (she's 13 now)!