Worried about my little one

[shanghaikitty]

Hi,
I have a 3 year old female munchkin kitty. This morning I noticed she was visiting the litter box very frequently. She would go in and squat for a loonnnng time and only a little urine would be in the box. After, she would constantly lick her private area.

so I took her to my vet this morning but they couldn’t do a Urinalysis....my vet said she is a little irritated down there but her bladder is empty and only a little thick? She gave me some liquid antibiotics just in case to give her twice a day for a week.

I got her home, bought all new litter and made sure there were more water bowls around. She is still eating and playing, but she is sleeping now...she used the litter box again and strained for awhile with only little urine but I didn’t see any blood. I’m just worried about her. Will she be alright after the antibiotics and is there anything else I can do for her?

I am just a sad momma right now worried about her. She has never been ill before.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

is there anything else I can do for her?

If you're feeding her only dry food, add some canned food to her diet, possibly see about getting a pet water fountain to entice her to drink more water if you don't see that the increased quantity of bowls gets her to drink more, and follow the guidelines for the antibiotic and continue to give it even if/when she seems to be fine

 

[shanghaikitty]

Thanks! She gets wet food at night but did eat dry food this morning. I’ll look into a water fountain, but she is drinking out of her normal bowl. Thanks again!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hang in there!! Hopefully the medicine takes care of things! Let us know how she does

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Assuming that it is a urinary tract infection, it will probably take at least half way through the antibiotics to notice any change. Usually a follow up vet visit is done to see if the infection is gone after the antibiotics are completed. I would do that so that perhaps they can get a urine sample at that time for both a urinalysis/urine culture. Certain antibiotics are better at treating an infection when the source of the bacteria is identified, so if the testing shows an infection, another antibiotic might be prescribed at that time.

Until you know for sure what the problem is, there is not much more that you can do other than try to increase her moisture intake to help flush out the bladder.

 

[shanghaikitty]

Thanks! I plan to take her back after the course of antibiotics. I hope it’s only just a UTI.

My childhood cat had an urinary obstruction from crystals and even after surgery to try to help him, we still ended up having to let him go. Maybe I’m just worried this is something similar and stressing out too much about it.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Urinary issues with male cats are usually a bigger issue due the anatomical differences between the two sexes (smaller urethra, greater chance for blockage). So, while it is important to get her treatment and find the source of the issue for a resolution, her chances of a blockage aren't as great as they were with your childhood cat.

 

[shanghaikitty]

That’s a relief. I think I just need to relax and hope the Clavamox kicks in and clears it up for her.

 

[shanghaikitty]

She is still excessively cleaning herself, I assume the irritation is bothering her....will that go away after a couple of days on the antibiotics?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would think she will stop cleaning so much when the infection starts to clear. If that does not stop by the time the antibiotics are finished, make sure you let the vet know, just in case something else is going on 'down there'. If you think it would help her any you can take hypoallergenic unscented wipes to gently wipe her bottom, or brew some chamomile tea to wipe her off with. Get unflavored, grocery store variety chamomile tea bags which are typically German (you don't want English, and no additives), brew one in water, cool the liquid and wet down a soft cloth with it and wipe her bottom. The tea has both soothing and healing properties.

 

[di and bob]

Yes, it sounds like a urinary tract infection. Make sure she gets the required amount of antibiotics for the time prescribed and she should be fine. I always put it in a small amount of tuna juice so they lapped it up and then fed their regular meal after. The left over tuna can be kept in the fridge until the juice is gone and then fed after being slightly warmed. Licking is normal, it is bothering her. After 3-4 days you should see an improvement. A blockage can be determined by pressing in around the lower abdomen, if you ever feel a mass, it can be as big as an orange, get them into a vet right away. No mass felt, it usually is a UTI. I set several bowls of water around teh house, cats can't resist checking a bowl out, and since they are there, they drink. A good way to encourage more liquids.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

You've been given excellent advice just wanted to say hope your girl feels better soon.

 

[shanghaikitty]

Thanks everyone.
The vet prescribed 7 days of antibiotics (twice a day). She drank all the liquid from some wet food I gave her, played a little and went back to her bed to go sleep. She hasn’t tried to go back to the litter box since I gave her the first round of antibiotics. I just feel so bad for her bc I know as a human - uti’s are not fun.

 

[neely]

I’ll look into a water fountain, but she is drinking out of her normal bowl.

I just wanted to mention some helpful tips for increasing your cat's water intake: Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake

Best of luck, fingers crossed the antibiotics help and she feels better soon.

 

[kittenmittens84]

Did the vet give you any sort of medication besides the antibiotic to help her relax? Sometimes (with male cats at least) the stress of being in pain/not being able to pee normally can make them tense up even more which makes it even harder to urine to come out. A while ago my cat had blood in his urine and was prescribed an antibiotic but it didn’t get better until the vet also prescribed buprenorphine to help with the pain and also help him relax. Pretty much after the first dose he started peeing normally again

 

[shanghaikitty]

No, only the antibiotic. I don’t think she has an issues with emptying her bladder. The vet felt around and said her bladder was empty. The vet said her private area is a little irritated, from the licking but she doesn’t seem to be in a lot of pain. I think she’s just uncomfortable.

and thank you for the water intake tips. I’ll do that.

 

[shanghaikitty]

I just wanted to mention some helpful tips for increasing your cat's water intake: Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake

Best of luck, fingers crossed the antibiotics help and she feels better soon.

Thank you! Could you explain a Raw diet to me? I have been wanting to do this for my little ones but does raw mean “RAW” meats? I have anxiety doing that so I usually boil chicken but they turn their nose up at it lol

 

[lisahe]

Thank you! Could you explain a Raw diet to me? I have been wanting to do this for my little ones but does raw mean “RAW” meats? I have anxiety doing that so I usually boil chicken but they turn their nose up at it lol

Yes, it does mean raw meats! If you're interested in feeding your cats a raw diet, I'd suggest starting a thread in the Raw & Home-Cooked Food Forum. There are lots of ways to feed a diet that's either all raw food or partially raw food. For example, our cats eat two commercial raw meals, two homemade cooked meals, and one canned meal each day. Feeding only wet foods (particularly if at least some of them are raw and/or homecooked) is the best way to make sure a cat's getting enough water, plus it makes it easier to minimize food ingredients that aren't really appropriate for cats. I think our vet's advice of feeding only low-carb wet-only diets is great.

Since you mentioned "anxiety" about raw meat, I'll just add that I feed only commercial raw foods and homemade cooked foods because I like feeding raw food that's been tested for bacteria (and sometimes even treated with high pressure to kill bacteria). I also don't trust myself to use meat quickly for raw food. (I'm bad enough using it quickly enough for cooked food!)

I hope your cat's feeling better soon!

 

[shanghaikitty]

A little update: The little one ate some wet food that I added more water to. She used the litter box two more times this afternoon. So the frequency has reduced. She is still sitting in the litter box for a little while but the last time ( about 30 min ago) she didn’t squat for as long. She is playing super hard and acting like everything is ok..she seems to be more tired too. I’m hoping she continues to improve. She still isn’t drinking a lot of fluid except for the amount that’s in the wet food...but I’ll keep trying other methods.

Thanks for all the replies. I know probably being overly sensitive about this situation but that’s my baby. She’s helped me with so much depression lately, I wouldn’t know what I would do without her.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

That's good news and we all worry about our fur babies it's allowed.