Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 14, 2007, 21:07:29 PM

Title: UTI
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 14, 2007, 21:07:29 PM
Do u know what a vet does for a cat who keeps getting uti?apart from giving them antibiotics ,
Bridie oonly finished hers about a week or so ago and now her wee is smelly again
shes going to vet tommorow
whats that food thats for cats espec with uti problems????
ive orded her some special treats with cranberry in which is meant to help keep the bladder healthy , no doubt she will end up on more antiobiotics tommorow thou
shes so good at taking her tablets thou bless her
i just cant understand why it come bk after such a short while
b4 she use to get them between every 6mths and say a yr .
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Mark on March 14, 2007, 22:42:23 PM
Is she drinking enough? maybe you could add a bit of water to her food - just an idea
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 14, 2007, 23:00:15 PM
yea she does drink a fair amount of water and she has access to water 24/7
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Mark on March 14, 2007, 23:50:33 PM
The board seems quiet tonight. No doubt someone with experience of this will be able to give you some ideas. As far as I know, James Wellbeloved and Burns are supposed to be good for urinary tract.
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 15, 2007, 00:05:32 AM
lol yea where is everyone
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Gillian Harvey on March 15, 2007, 11:46:26 AM
Poor Bridie! unfortunately antibiotics just seem to suppress the symptoms and as you've found out, as soon as you stop them, the symptoms return, and, if the cause isnt due to infection, then antibiotics are no good anyway.  Has your vet tested a urine sample? That might give him a better idea of whats going on and then he might have more suggestions for treatment, such as Cystaid or Cystease, both aimed at soothing the lining of the bladder.

What sort of food do you give her? if its only dry food, try giving her more wet food - theres so little moisture in dry food that they rarely are able to drink enough to compensate. Also try her with a pet drinking fountain, might encourage her to drink more - so that the urine isnt so concentrated. Is she an an anxious cat? anxious, nervy cats can be more prone to UTI's - in which case some Feliway plug ins might be helpful.

Just a few suggestions.
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on March 15, 2007, 11:51:35 AM
Agree with Gillian - what is she eating? Dry, wet and also what flavours? Foods with high fish contents can make UTI's worse due to the magnesium content. My vet doesnt' believe in prescription food for cystitis, she recommends wet food only, more water and less stress, plus Cystaid to help the bladder lining - it certainly helped for my foster cat. His was stress related, could that be the case with Birdie?
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 15, 2007, 17:09:03 PM
well ive just come bk from the vet with Bridie , she gets so nervous when traveling bless her and she poohs in the basket ,
anyway as soon as the vet lifted her on to the table she wee ed everywhere which was handy coz the vet took a sample of it there n then and tested it , he said although the wee smells a lot the infection isnt as bad as last time ,he has given her anitbiotics for 2weeks this time and in 2 weeks she has to do another wee sample to b tested , ive just cleaned her all up coz she smelt of pooh a bit lol and given her the first tablet with a piece of chicken and now shes laying down bless her , i ordered her some special treats from vets uk with cranberry in which is meant to be good for the bladder (all the cats r going mad for them ) the vet said there was no point in me giving her the treats or changing her diet  :wow:
she eats more wet food then she does dry food she only has a few nibbles on the dry food and she always drinks water , im going to hide these treats away now as the cats are all acting like they r starving and the treats r the best thing theyve ever smelt in there lives lol
i may give just bridie 2/3 aday or every other day for a week or two surely it cant do any harm even if it does no good .
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Amanda (mad4moggies) on March 15, 2007, 17:42:29 PM
Hi there, what the vets tend to do where i work is send a urine sample to an external laboratory for culture and sensitivity. This is because Bridie might have an infection that isn`t sens itive to the antibiotics she is being given so that may be one reason why it isn`t clearing up. It might be worth suggesting this to the vet in case the infection is something like E Coli or Pseudomonas.
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on March 15, 2007, 19:06:46 PM
I can't understand why the vets say treats and diet wont help. What antibiotics has she been given?
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 15, 2007, 19:18:43 PM
shes on amox 40mg
1 tab twice aday
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Millys Mum on March 15, 2007, 19:30:03 PM
Have they checked her urine for crystals?
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Amanda (mad4moggies) on March 15, 2007, 20:41:07 PM
I don`t think Amoxcillan covers all sorts of bacteria so maybe these need to be changed if the infection doesn`t go for good this time.
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 15, 2007, 22:24:17 PM
yea he checked and  there was no crystals in her wee the vet said

if the tabs dont clear it for good ill suggest trying a diff antibiotic
these vets get a bit funny when u ask for things and try and tell them whats best thou
the vet i saw today i had a run in with 2 yrs ago when he refused to treat my dog and i vowed never to see him again
but when we arrived at the clinic i ot told he was the only vet doing afternoon surgery so had no choice really .
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on March 17, 2007, 22:08:00 PM
That's why I asked with the antibiotic Amanda, some are better than others for UTI's, aren't they?
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 17, 2007, 22:56:35 PM
since shes been taking the tabs her wee doesnt smell anymore
shes so good at taking her tablets bless her
i wrap a tablet in a small piece of chicken and even if it falls out she take the tab in her mouth and swallows it still just like a person would

after the course of tablets r finished if it ever comes bk again ill ask for a different anitbiotic i think.
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Amanda (mad4moggies) on March 18, 2007, 23:44:51 PM
That's why I asked with the antibiotic Amanda, some are better than others for UTI's, aren't they?

Sorry for the late reply Desley. Yes thats right. It can be better to culture the urine to see what it is sensitive to just in case. I have been fostering a cat recently who ended up having an infection that was not sensitive to Amoxicillin and had to go onto a different sort. I think vets tend to give out Synulox as its broad spectrum so covers most things.
Title: Re: UTI
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on March 19, 2007, 07:42:49 AM
Yeah, mine have always been given Synulox.