Hi, My name is Cindy and I am new to this forum. I stumbled across it while searching feline UTI's.
I have 3 cats with various issues I need to solve but right now the most urgent is a UTI in my little Pixie Bob, Phoenix.
We named this guy Phoenix Faulks because it signifies a bird rising from ashes. The reason we (I really mean my heart broken daughter) named him this was because a breeder gave him to us to replace our Pixie Bob who died of complications from chronic, misdiagnosed (malpractice) UTI's which resulted in a complete blockage and a collapsed urethra. I did not have the $5000.00 requested to ship him to a State University to have him rebuilt. Needless to say it was one of the most awful things I have ever had to endure.
With all that said, needless to say, I can't bare to see this happen to Phoenix. Also I feel a need to say that I DO NOT trust vet's, with good reason.
Phoenix is 3 1/2 years old and weighs about 10 pounds. He is little for his breed.
3 weeks ago while I was in the middle of a dramatic IBS episode with one of my Main Coons I noticed Phoenix licking himself for about the 4th time that evening. Suddenly I remembered that someone had peed on the floor next to a litter pan and it hit me. UGH! I immediately went for the D-mannose which in case you are not familiar, is a simple sugar that has no glycymic effect and is non-toxic with no side effects. It binds with e-coli and drags it out of the body in the urine. Most UTI's in humans are e-coli and this stuff works like magic in myself and my daughters so I hoped it would work for him until I could get him to the vet. I dissolved this in water and fed it to him with an eye dropper.
I was flying to CA the next morning to visit my daughter. My younger daughter came home from school the next day and took both cats to the vet. A vet that we hadn't seen before because our vet was not in that day. (same clinic) Sure enough he had some crystals in his urine and elevated white blood cells but no blockage.
He was given an antibiotic shot and sent home with Vetri-Science UT treats. Thats it. I talked to this vet while they were in the exam room together. I explained to him what I had done with the D-mannose and asked him if he had heard of it, he hadn't. (Turns out it is in those treats!) My daughter later told me he rolled his eyes and made faces while he was talking to me. He wanted to start running all kinds of tests on my Main Coon. (Like liver enzymes, etc…) He had been told to check his records which he didn't. I had to tell him NO and tell him what to do. He is fine now. I run into this kind of disregard and incompetence with vet's all the time which is why I don't trust them.
That shot was supposedly a 2 week shot. I had my girl do a intensive D-mannose treatment. 1 t dissolved in water every hour for 4 hours and then put it in his food after that. Wet food only. I got home a week later and switched him to a D-mannose blend, U.T. Vibrance by Vibrant health. This is great stuff and has cranberry, blueberry, Dandelion root, goldenrod etc…I dissolved it, gave it to him and put it in his food. I also continued the UT treats. After 2 weeks I took him to see our usual vet. She did a urinalysis again. Same thing. No improvement which shocked me! I couldn't believe it! She gave him another antibiotic shot, a steroid shot, more treats and put him on Royal Canin SO dry food which surprised me. When I said as much she said maybe I could take a few cans as well. I've given him the dry food 2x in the last week and wet food the rest of the time. I have continued the mannose blend and add water to the wet food.
I had the idea to check the ph levels in my home water and it was like 7.6 or higher. I tested my cooler water and a bottle of distilled water I had. The distilled water came in at about 6.4. I read that their urine should be 6 to 6.5, there seems to be differing opinions on this. Tonight I noticed him licking himself obsessively again and he hadn't moved much all day. So I took that water and added the U.T. vibrance, gave him that and then just feed him that water with a dropper for awhile. He is now tearing through the house playing with the main coons. I don't know if this is why or if it helped and I have learned that this spurt of energy could mean nothing.
I don't fully understand all of this but I am trying to figure it out. I think he is still in a chronic state. Apparently the antibiotics are not working. I am beside myself and do not know what else to do. He was not real keen on the SO wet food so I went and bought the Science diet and purina brands version of UT food. He wouldn't touch the SD but after I shoved some some of the purina brand in his mouth he ate all of that. Sometimes you gotta do what cha gotta do. He simply won't eat raw food which I do try to feed and 1 of my main coons eats.
I have seen other UT threads here and have read through some of them but I still feel like I don't know which way to turn. I just don't know what to do next. So if any of you could offer knowledge and input I would be eternally grateful.
I need all the help I can get. Sorry this is so long but I wanted to give all the background I could.
Thank you in advance….
I have 3 cats with various issues I need to solve but right now the most urgent is a UTI in my little Pixie Bob, Phoenix.
We named this guy Phoenix Faulks because it signifies a bird rising from ashes. The reason we (I really mean my heart broken daughter) named him this was because a breeder gave him to us to replace our Pixie Bob who died of complications from chronic, misdiagnosed (malpractice) UTI's which resulted in a complete blockage and a collapsed urethra. I did not have the $5000.00 requested to ship him to a State University to have him rebuilt. Needless to say it was one of the most awful things I have ever had to endure.
With all that said, needless to say, I can't bare to see this happen to Phoenix. Also I feel a need to say that I DO NOT trust vet's, with good reason.
Phoenix is 3 1/2 years old and weighs about 10 pounds. He is little for his breed.
3 weeks ago while I was in the middle of a dramatic IBS episode with one of my Main Coons I noticed Phoenix licking himself for about the 4th time that evening. Suddenly I remembered that someone had peed on the floor next to a litter pan and it hit me. UGH! I immediately went for the D-mannose which in case you are not familiar, is a simple sugar that has no glycymic effect and is non-toxic with no side effects. It binds with e-coli and drags it out of the body in the urine. Most UTI's in humans are e-coli and this stuff works like magic in myself and my daughters so I hoped it would work for him until I could get him to the vet. I dissolved this in water and fed it to him with an eye dropper.
I was flying to CA the next morning to visit my daughter. My younger daughter came home from school the next day and took both cats to the vet. A vet that we hadn't seen before because our vet was not in that day. (same clinic) Sure enough he had some crystals in his urine and elevated white blood cells but no blockage.
He was given an antibiotic shot and sent home with Vetri-Science UT treats. Thats it. I talked to this vet while they were in the exam room together. I explained to him what I had done with the D-mannose and asked him if he had heard of it, he hadn't. (Turns out it is in those treats!) My daughter later told me he rolled his eyes and made faces while he was talking to me. He wanted to start running all kinds of tests on my Main Coon. (Like liver enzymes, etc…) He had been told to check his records which he didn't. I had to tell him NO and tell him what to do. He is fine now. I run into this kind of disregard and incompetence with vet's all the time which is why I don't trust them.
That shot was supposedly a 2 week shot. I had my girl do a intensive D-mannose treatment. 1 t dissolved in water every hour for 4 hours and then put it in his food after that. Wet food only. I got home a week later and switched him to a D-mannose blend, U.T. Vibrance by Vibrant health. This is great stuff and has cranberry, blueberry, Dandelion root, goldenrod etc…I dissolved it, gave it to him and put it in his food. I also continued the UT treats. After 2 weeks I took him to see our usual vet. She did a urinalysis again. Same thing. No improvement which shocked me! I couldn't believe it! She gave him another antibiotic shot, a steroid shot, more treats and put him on Royal Canin SO dry food which surprised me. When I said as much she said maybe I could take a few cans as well. I've given him the dry food 2x in the last week and wet food the rest of the time. I have continued the mannose blend and add water to the wet food.
I had the idea to check the ph levels in my home water and it was like 7.6 or higher. I tested my cooler water and a bottle of distilled water I had. The distilled water came in at about 6.4. I read that their urine should be 6 to 6.5, there seems to be differing opinions on this. Tonight I noticed him licking himself obsessively again and he hadn't moved much all day. So I took that water and added the U.T. vibrance, gave him that and then just feed him that water with a dropper for awhile. He is now tearing through the house playing with the main coons. I don't know if this is why or if it helped and I have learned that this spurt of energy could mean nothing.
I don't fully understand all of this but I am trying to figure it out. I think he is still in a chronic state. Apparently the antibiotics are not working. I am beside myself and do not know what else to do. He was not real keen on the SO wet food so I went and bought the Science diet and purina brands version of UT food. He wouldn't touch the SD but after I shoved some some of the purina brand in his mouth he ate all of that. Sometimes you gotta do what cha gotta do. He simply won't eat raw food which I do try to feed and 1 of my main coons eats.
I have seen other UT threads here and have read through some of them but I still feel like I don't know which way to turn. I just don't know what to do next. So if any of you could offer knowledge and input I would be eternally grateful.
I need all the help I can get. Sorry this is so long but I wanted to give all the background I could.
Thank you in advance….