Stress Induced Uti

[Lazy_Inbetweener]

Hi, I hope my formatting is correct because Im new to here, Anyways although the text is long and terribly written but please give it a read, any opinion is appreciated

My cat is 11 and has a medical history of UTI for 4 times. The Vet and my family suspect that she has stress induced UTI as she is easily scared and test has done to ensure she does not have kidney problems. We decided not to bring her to the vet as of now since she just had a course of antibiotics and it does not seem to be helping. She now attempts to pee whenever she is in a place with more privacy, where we let her so she would feel better for now. Here comes the questions, what could we do to make her more relax, and how to let her to reduce the chances of peeing everywhere after she gets better?

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to The Cat Site.

Sorry you're having UTI problems with your female cat. Do you have other cats in your home? If so, are they the cause of here stress?

Since she seems to prefer privacy, can you put her litter box in a quiet place? Or even get a covered litter box?

Hopefully some other members will add their comments/suggestions. Meanwhile here's a few TCS articles that may be helpful. Good luck.

Litterbox Problems? Here's Why You Should Call Your Vet
How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide
The Litterbox: What Every Cat Owner Needs To Know

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If you can manage it without adding undue additional stress, you can try giving her from 1-3 teaspoonsful of chilled chamomile tea, up to 3 times a day. It has a mild, gentle calming effect and can work wonders for some cats. Just be sure to use the commercial tea bags from the supermarket, as those are made with German chamomile. The English stuff that grows in a lot of gardens is not useful medicinally, and is actually toxic to cats. Just draw the tea up into an oral medicine syringe or eyedropper, place the tip between her cheek and gum, and SLOWLY inject, giving her time to swallow. One of my cats who was very high-anxiety (years ago) actually got to the point that she would wait patiently for her tea.

 

[duckpond]

What foods are you feeding? Wet food only might be a good thing to do for her.

If the UTI is stress induced you can do things at home to help. Quiet home, other animals or children maybe bother her? Doses she have places she can hide if things get hectic? Under things, and up high? Cat trees near a window is something that a lot of cats like, where they can sit and look outside? and play, with something like a feather wand? Play will often build confidence and reduce stress in a cat.

You may also ask the vet about medication for stress, some have very good luck with this.

Keep us updated on how she is doing.

 

[cheeser]

Our vet recommended Zylkene to help alleviate the anxiety that was contributing to Buddy's recurrent urinary tract problems. It's an OTC supplement, and IIRC, it contains a protein found in milk that has a calming effect. He also recommended Feliway diffusers. A white noise sound machine has also been helpful, as it masks or kinda drowns out some noises that might otherwise startle Buddy and stress him out. We also put up some privacy screens around the litter boxes.

Hope you figure out something that works for your kitty!

 

[Lazy_Inbetweener]

UPDATE POST My cat has a few drops of blood in her urine today and so we tested her blood, everything comes back fine. She seemed to be better from yesterday night and today she seemed completely normal apart from still a little scared and aware whenever there is noise. Staying with my mom, her favourite person seemed to make her happier. The only problem is my mom is a working mother so I don't think this is a long term solution :|

I will look into all the options you guys suggested. Oh and a bit more information so that its easier for everyone to give suggestions. We recently switched her diet to Hill's stress prevention wet food and already has a cat litter box with a translucent lid in the bathroom.

 

[Brian007]

I give my cat, Dudley, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet 'Calm' dry cat food - it works like magic. It contains the natural amino acid L-Tryptophan, which is a precursor to the brain chemicals serotonin and melatonin, so acts as an antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and calming sleep aid. It also contains the natural amino acid Casein, which is the soothing component in mothers' breast milk that soothes babies crying and lulls them off to sleepyland. Both of these amino acids can be found in other cat-calming preparations, which I also use to add to his wet food but they seem to be difficult to track down in the US (I'm in the UK). Dudley is a picky eater; however, he loves the RC Calm food. He is so much happier nowadays and isn't zonked out at all, he just chilled out and smiley. I thoroughly recommend it.

(L-Tryptophan is also found in cat urinary tract and cystitis treatments.)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I wonder if the "Calm" food comes in wet? With UTIs, wet food would be preferable.

 

[Brian007]

Mamanyt1953 , yes it does, in theory. I've not found it online when I've hunted for the dry but I expect vets sell it in their surgeries, or could order some in. It definitely exists on the Royal Canin website, though.

Feline Multifunction Urinary + Calm wet cat food | Royal Canin Veterinary Diet

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If it exists, then the vet might very well be willing to order it, so long as there was a market in their practice, or the client was willing to buy it by the case. Something to remember.

 

[my_money_pit]

if the cat has stress induced UTI, do antibiotics help?
My cat went through 2 rounds of antibiotics. I strongly believe it's from the new cat I have at home. On the first round of antibiotics, he recovered once the new cat left the place for 2 days. Then, when the cat came back, the symptoms reappeared.
We went to the vet and they said he needs another round of antibiotics with a higher dose for a length of 10 days. He showed improvement within less than 24 hours and he stayed well until the last day of the process when he had a fight with the other cat which resulted in him being too stressed and we went back to having UTI symptoms.
Now with the other cat gone forever, I was wondering if reducing stress will help him recover without the need of antibiotics. I am afraid that with too much antibiotics and anti inflammatory, he will end up with some kinda of liver failure or something similar! :S
I'm so stressed out and honestly can't deal with that anymore :'(

 

[fionasmom]

My two year old flame point boy has had two major bladder episodes in which nothing was discovered except a very small amount of grit and the fact that he could not pee and was becoming very ill from that. He was given ampicillin and sulbactum, along with cerenia, gabapentin, and bupe. They recommended a PU surgery if it happens again, something into which I am not rushing.

They stressed to me, literally, that they felt that stress was the main cause and to try to alleviate any aggravations that might be going on. He is indoor only, the youngest cat, but very jealous of me and very concerned that he keep the other cats in their place...so prone to stress which he is bringing on himself, especially in the face of the fact that the other cats are entirely uninterested in any confrontation.

We cannot tell you to ignore the advice of your vet. If you have a current prescription that you were told to finish ( I am not sure of your time frame or if your vet did see signs of a true UTI which would need treatment), you should do so. If stress was the entire cause, the problems will probably go away if the other cat is gone.

Search Results for Query: d mannose
There are threads here about the use of products like D Mannose and cornsilk which might help to prevent UTIs.

 

[my_money_pit]

My two year old flame point boy has had two major bladder episodes in which nothing was discovered except a very small amount of grit and the fact that he could not pee and was becoming very ill from that. He was given ampicillin and sulbactum, along with cerenia, gabapentin, and bupe. They recommended a PU surgery if it happens again, something into which I am not rushing.

They stressed to me, literally, that they felt that stress was the main cause and to try to alleviate any aggravations that might be going on. He is indoor only, the youngest cat, but very jealous of me and very concerned that he keep the other cats in their place...so prone to stress which he is bringing on himself, especially in the face of the fact that the other cats are entirely uninterested in any confrontation.

We cannot tell you to ignore the advice of your vet. If you have a current prescription that you were told to finish ( I am not sure of your time frame or if your vet did see signs of a true UTI which would need treatment), you should do so. If stress was the entire cause, the problems will probably go away if the other cat is gone.

Search Results for Query: d mannose
There are threads here about the use of products like D Mannose and cornsilk which might help to prevent UTIs.

we did have a 10 day treatment which we finished and he did improve right away, 24h after the first dose. But things aligned pretty badly for him As soon as we were done with the 10 days treatment (yesterday), he got into a fight with the other cat and he was very stressed. What happened is they got into a fight, the door was open we tried escaping, I tried grabbing him but ended up grabbing his tail. I was lucky that he ran back inside right away but he was extremely stressed out. This morning, he went back to showing uti symptoms. I cannot for the love of god hear him use the litter box. it's just so irretating at this point. I started giving him urinary gold right away. He is peeing but very small amount. I'm in complete tears as I have a vacation coming soon and I have to drop him at my sister for 2 weeks !

 

[fionasmom]

No matter what the cause, even entirely psychological as it seems to be with my boy, it is an emergency if they can't pee or are only dribbling. If he is straining, you need to call the vet.