Urinary Tract Infection
Urinary Tract Infection
What's the best way to tell if a cat has a urinary tract infection? One of my male cats had one years ago and he made it known. He was noisy in the litter box and was in there every 10 minutes or so but wouldn't pee a lot. But my other cat, today I found out she had one. She's very reserved and neither I nor my BF noticed her in the litter box more than usual. She didn't make any noises in there either.
We only found out because we had come home from visiting family and she had peed on both our beds and a chair and I saw crystals in the urine. I feel awful that she was suffering with this
We took her to the emergency vet right away and got her medicine and treatment. I'm going to bring her back to our regular vet in a few days as well, but I'm wondering.. .what's the best way to know with a reserved cat? We have 3 so neither of us thought anything of it if we heard one in the litter box right after the other. We assumed it was two different cats, but it might have been Lucy both times.
I want to make sure this doesn't happen again so is there something I can look for in the litter box or something? Until today with the urinating on everything, she seemed perfectly normal.
We only found out because we had come home from visiting family and she had peed on both our beds and a chair and I saw crystals in the urine. I feel awful that she was suffering with this
We took her to the emergency vet right away and got her medicine and treatment. I'm going to bring her back to our regular vet in a few days as well, but I'm wondering.. .what's the best way to know with a reserved cat? We have 3 so neither of us thought anything of it if we heard one in the litter box right after the other. We assumed it was two different cats, but it might have been Lucy both times.
I want to make sure this doesn't happen again so is there something I can look for in the litter box or something? Until today with the urinating on everything, she seemed perfectly normal.
Sonique
Re: Urinary Tract Infection
I'm assuming the ER vet did a urinalysis and confirmed a UTI? What exactly did he find in the urinalysis? Crystals, artifacts, infection, WBC's, glucose ?
How old is your female kitty?
Signs to watch for:
Frequent trips to the litterbox; squatting in unusual places (any area of the home - the urge to urinate is pronounced but urine doesn't flow); crying out/yowling; painful abdomen; fever; lethargy; sitting in litterbox for long periods of time but inability to produce urine; potential blood in the urine; disinterest in food or water, and sometimes, increase in water consumption.
Any of these signs is a veterinary emergency. Not only can they indicate a urinary tract infection, but they can also indicate obstruction of the bladder or urethra, which can be fatal if not treated immediately. Males are more predisposed to obstructions due to their narrow urethra, but females can have obstructions as well. Once a cat has a UTI, many are predisposed to them again in the future.
When your vet advises a dietary change, heed and follow his advice. Some cats require a temporary veterinary diet (with or without additional medication) to help dissolve crystals in the bladder or urethra, other cats require a specific veterinary diet for life to keep these problems at bay. Some cats, if the crystals are too large to pass through the urethra, may need surgery to remove them. Some males may need surgery to shorten their urethra.
Your vet should also have a client hand-out that explains in more detail and includes symptoms to watch for.
How old is your female kitty?
Signs to watch for:
Frequent trips to the litterbox; squatting in unusual places (any area of the home - the urge to urinate is pronounced but urine doesn't flow); crying out/yowling; painful abdomen; fever; lethargy; sitting in litterbox for long periods of time but inability to produce urine; potential blood in the urine; disinterest in food or water, and sometimes, increase in water consumption.
Any of these signs is a veterinary emergency. Not only can they indicate a urinary tract infection, but they can also indicate obstruction of the bladder or urethra, which can be fatal if not treated immediately. Males are more predisposed to obstructions due to their narrow urethra, but females can have obstructions as well. Once a cat has a UTI, many are predisposed to them again in the future.
When your vet advises a dietary change, heed and follow his advice. Some cats require a temporary veterinary diet (with or without additional medication) to help dissolve crystals in the bladder or urethra, other cats require a specific veterinary diet for life to keep these problems at bay. Some cats, if the crystals are too large to pass through the urethra, may need surgery to remove them. Some males may need surgery to shorten their urethra.
Your vet should also have a client hand-out that explains in more detail and includes symptoms to watch for.
..........Traci
Both crystals and an infection. I'm trying to read the papers she gave me but I don't know what they all mean. It says Struvite 2t crystals and 4t cocci for bacteria. By WBC it says something I can't really read, it looks like 2.4/npf maybe?I'm assuming the ER vet did a urinalysis and confirmed a UTI? What exactly did he find in the urinalysis? Crystals, artifacts, infection, WBC's, glucose ?
She is 6 and a half.How old is your female kitty?
It's driving me nuts because I swear she wasn't doing any of these things.. or at least I didn't notice. She's very quiet and kinda lazy. Of all my cats she's the least active so I don't think much of it when I see her lying around and she WAS eating. I'm actually GLAD she peed on the beds so that I could see the crystals.Frequent trips to the litterbox; squatting in unusual places (any area of the home - the urge to urinate is pronounced but urine doesn't flow); crying out/yowling; painful abdomen; fever; lethargy; sitting in litterbox for long periods of time but inability to produce urine; potential blood in the urine; disinterest in food or water, and sometimes, increase in water consumption.
Thanks I'll keep that in mind. Another cat of mine, Luffy, had one when he was very young and thankfully hasn't had one since.Any of these signs is a veterinary emergency. Not only can they indicate a urinary tract infection, but they can also indicate obstruction of the bladder or urethra, which can be fatal if not treated immediately. Males are more predisposed to obstructions due to their narrow urethra, but females can have obstructions as well. Once a cat has a UTI, many are predisposed to them again in the future.
They told me to keep her on soft food for a while. That's fine, she likes that. It's weird cause when I was growing up I was always told the hard food was better for them. But I guess it depends on the cat and the situation.When your vet advises a dietary change, heed and follow his advice. Some cats require a temporary veterinary diet (with or without additional medication) to help dissolve crystals in the bladder or urethra, other cats require a specific veterinary diet for life to keep these problems at bay. Some cats, if the crystals are too large to pass through the urethra, may need surgery to remove them. Some males may need surgery to shorten their urethra.
All of my cats are due for their shots soon, so I'll be getting Lucy back in for a follow up and then I'll have the others in for shots and maybe get a urinalysis for them too just in case. She does seem to be better though. She's not urinating anywhere but the litter box and I haven't seen any blood spots anywhere.
Sonique
Re: Urinary Tract Infection
The urinating on the bed would have been one sign, particularly if she's never done that before. Also, the "squatting in unusual places" pertains to beds, furniture, sinks, etc.
Resting or napping more than usual, or lethargy might have been signs as well.
Stress is a precursor to reoccuring UTI's, so do everything you can to keep stress reduced at all times for all of the cats.
I'm assuming they catheterized her and were able to flush most of the crystals out - however, sometimes there are crystals too large to pass on their own, therefore the veterinary diet to help dissolve them. Sometimes surgery is necessary to remove them.
When you get her recheck, the vet will want to do another urinalysis to determine if there are missed crystals or to see if the antibiotics did their job. If not, an additional course of antibiotics may be warranted.
Please speak to your vet in great detail about the diet you're currently feeding the cats, he may suggest a more appropriate diet that could help prevent future occurances.
Resting or napping more than usual, or lethargy might have been signs as well.
Stress is a precursor to reoccuring UTI's, so do everything you can to keep stress reduced at all times for all of the cats.
I'm assuming they catheterized her and were able to flush most of the crystals out - however, sometimes there are crystals too large to pass on their own, therefore the veterinary diet to help dissolve them. Sometimes surgery is necessary to remove them.
When you get her recheck, the vet will want to do another urinalysis to determine if there are missed crystals or to see if the antibiotics did their job. If not, an additional course of antibiotics may be warranted.
Please speak to your vet in great detail about the diet you're currently feeding the cats, he may suggest a more appropriate diet that could help prevent future occurances.
..........Traci
She has done that before, but it's been ages since she has. Her favorite place to pee (non litter box) was the couch but we've blocked that from her and she's always used the litter box since then. Had it not been for me noticing the crystals we might not have taken her in at allThe urinating on the bed would have been one sign, particularly if she's never done that before. Also, the "squatting in unusual places" pertains to beds, furniture, sinks, etc.
And she's a pretty lazy cat so I guess neither one of us really thought much of it to see her lying around.Resting or napping more than usual, or lethargy might have been signs as well.
Stress is a precursor to reoccuring UTI's, so do everything you can to keep stress reduced at all times for all of the cats.
I'm assuming they catheterized her and were able to flush most of the crystals out - however, sometimes there are crystals too large to pass on their own, therefore the veterinary diet to help dissolve them. Sometimes surgery is necessary to remove them.
We took her to the regular vet today. At first the vet thought it WAS stress related, but he did an xray and found stones in her bladder He said that we'd have to keep her on a special diet (S/O Canned food) so that she can dissolve them and she might pass some on her own.
Good news is the infection is clearing up but he said to keep her on the antibiotics until she runs out. They also gave us two weeks worth of pain killers for her. (Buprenex) They also gave us Feline-Dasuquin because he said that could help the swelling go down.
The last thing they gave us was something called Anti-Icky-Poo which is a something that can be used to get the urine smell out of areas. I'm really glad they gave this to us because I've been using other cleaners and none of them did the trick. I just came home from an errand a bit ago and it was the first time I came home in a few days that the place didn't smell like urine.
We also got a third litter box from my mom just in case. Now we have three.
This was by far the most expensive trip to the vet that I've ever had to deal with so I want to be sure to prevent anything like this in the future. As expensive as it was, this was the first day that I really noticed improvement in her so if that's how much it costs to keep Lucy happy and healthy, then so be it. Thank goodness for emergency credit cards though.
She has not urinated anywhere but the litter box since last night and, she's urinating more than just a few drops and I didn't see any blood in the urine. (Though I only watched her go in the litter box so maybe it was hard to see) So I believe she's on the mend.
They did say to call back if there was no improvement in three days but I think she'll be okay now. We're supposed to go back in a month for another check up. But that's where we're at now.
Sonique
Re: Urinary Tract Infection
Sonique, when you took Lucy to the emergency vet, did they not do an xray? Or did they offer and you perhaps declined it?
Did they in fact, catheterize her under anesthesia and flush the urethra? Or did they simply get a urine sample and only tested the sample to determine there were crystals in the urine?
It would be nearly negligent on the part of the ER vet if they didn't xray or catheterize and flush the urethra (unless you declined the procedure).
I ask because it is strange your vet took xrays and found stones in the bladder. These are more serious than small crystals in the urine. I'm wondering why the ER vet didn't find them??!!
The prescription diet may help, but, I have no idea why your vet would say a recheck in a month. A recheck should be done after the course of antibiotics, which is usually 7-10 days, or, an extended course would be 14 days - at the very least, to recheck the urine for presence of infection or additional crystals. He may be waiting to see if any stones in the bladder dissolve to the point they may pass on their own. However, they may not dissolve and may require surgery. I'm not trying to scare you, but I want you to be informed. Call him and ask him about this.
Did he mention the size of the stones? Was he confident they were small enough to dissolve and pass on their own? Did he mention the makeup of the stones, such as struvite only, or oxylate or a combination of 2 or more types of crystals?
What's the dosage of the buprenex? Be careful with this and monitor Lucy extremely closely, because buprenex can be highly sedating, the effects will take effect within about a half hour or so after administration. Also, buprenex when given in high doses or for too long, can affect the liver. Also watch for gastrointestinal upset - if any unusual symptoms develop, mostly signs that she is nauseated, vomiting, feeling lethargic, contact your vet in the event he may need to decrease the dosage. While relatively safe in proper doses for cats, you have to watch for those effects, ok?
Did they in fact, catheterize her under anesthesia and flush the urethra? Or did they simply get a urine sample and only tested the sample to determine there were crystals in the urine?
It would be nearly negligent on the part of the ER vet if they didn't xray or catheterize and flush the urethra (unless you declined the procedure).
I ask because it is strange your vet took xrays and found stones in the bladder. These are more serious than small crystals in the urine. I'm wondering why the ER vet didn't find them??!!
The prescription diet may help, but, I have no idea why your vet would say a recheck in a month. A recheck should be done after the course of antibiotics, which is usually 7-10 days, or, an extended course would be 14 days - at the very least, to recheck the urine for presence of infection or additional crystals. He may be waiting to see if any stones in the bladder dissolve to the point they may pass on their own. However, they may not dissolve and may require surgery. I'm not trying to scare you, but I want you to be informed. Call him and ask him about this.
Did he mention the size of the stones? Was he confident they were small enough to dissolve and pass on their own? Did he mention the makeup of the stones, such as struvite only, or oxylate or a combination of 2 or more types of crystals?
What's the dosage of the buprenex? Be careful with this and monitor Lucy extremely closely, because buprenex can be highly sedating, the effects will take effect within about a half hour or so after administration. Also, buprenex when given in high doses or for too long, can affect the liver. Also watch for gastrointestinal upset - if any unusual symptoms develop, mostly signs that she is nauseated, vomiting, feeling lethargic, contact your vet in the event he may need to decrease the dosage. While relatively safe in proper doses for cats, you have to watch for those effects, ok?
..........Traci
She told me that I'd have to have a check up on Lucy in a few days and if she wasn't better they would do an xray. So, no the ER vet didn't do any x-rays. I just assumed they couldn't do it for some reasonSonique, when you took Lucy to the emergency vet, did they not do an xray? Or did they offer and you perhaps declined it?
Did they in fact, catheterize her under anesthesia and flush the urethra? Or did they simply get a urine sample and only tested the sample to determine there were crystals in the urine?
It would be nearly negligent on the part of the ER vet if they didn't xray or catheterize and flush the urethra (unless you declined the procedure).
I ask because it is strange your vet took xrays and found stones in the bladder. These are more serious than small crystals in the urine. I'm wondering why the ER vet didn't find them??!!
And she wasn't under anesthesia as far as I know. I was told that the food would dissolve the crystals. TBH I wasn't very impressed with the ER vet. She kept telling me that Lucy could have this or that and I kept asking if she could do tests but she basically told me to just try the antibiotics for now and if Lucy didn't get better in a couple days to have my regular vet do all that stuff.
Well he said a few weeks which to me is 3 or 4. For some reason I remember the vet tech saying a month but maybe I was wrong about that. I'll call and double check with him. He left me his cell phone number. I just assume these guys know what they're doing, you know? And I think he is waiting for a stone to pass and did warn us of the possibility of surgery.The prescription diet may help, but, I have no idea why your vet would say a recheck in a month. A recheck should be done after the course of antibiotics, which is usually 7-10 days, or, an extended course would be 14 days - at the very least, to recheck the urine for presence of infection or additional crystals. He may be waiting to see if any stones in the bladder dissolve to the point they may pass on their own. However, they may not dissolve and may require surgery. I'm not trying to scare you, but I want you to be informed. Call him and ask him about this.
We actually saw the x-rays and I guess they didn't seem huge to me and he seemed to think they'd either dissolve or get small enough so they could pass. I don't think he knows the make up until a stone passes. I know the crystals were struvite.Did he mention the size of the stones? Was he confident they were small enough to dissolve and pass on their own? Did he mention the makeup of the stones, such as struvite only, or oxylate or a combination of 2 or more types of crystals?
The dosage is .25cc or .3mg. Initially I was supposed to do it every 12 hours with the antibiotic... do you think this is a bad idea? And I'll watch for those signs. I wish they had told me about that >_<What's the dosage of the buprenex? Be careful with this and monitor Lucy extremely closely, because buprenex can be highly sedating, the effects will take effect within about a half hour or so after administration. Also, buprenex when given in high doses or for too long, can affect the liver. Also watch for gastrointestinal upset - if any unusual symptoms develop, mostly signs that she is nauseated, vomiting, feeling lethargic, contact your vet in the event he may need to decrease the dosage. While relatively safe in proper doses for cats, you have to watch for those effects, ok?
How can I tell if she's nauseated if she's not vomiting? I have been watching her pretty good tonight. She's been in a litter box a few times but only urinated twice. But like I said I didn't see blood and it was more than what she was doing a few days ago.
Sonique
Re: Urinary Tract Infection
Do you know how much Lucy weighs? The dose is based on weight. She will probably do fine on this dose, but do watch for sedation, wanting to sleep all day, irritation if you wake her up while she's sleeping, or even agitation.
Ok, so the ER vet I assume, wanted you to see your regular vet within a few days and probably wanted to leave it up to him for additional diagnostics.
The crystals you saw in the urine may not have been crystals, but what is called sediment, it is fine and grainy, like tiny bits of sand. Seeing that in a urine sample, and finding crystals in the urine under a scope view, if the situation warrants it (symptoms of pain, inability to produce urine), we generally want to catheterize them to get that sludge out of the urethra so that smaller crystals can pass. Stones on the other hand, tend to harden and grow in size inside either the urethra or bladder (and sometimes higher up, in the renal tubes). When caught early on, sometimes the diet dissolves them enough to pass on their own. Males however, tend to require catheterization or surgery if the stones are too large or too large in number because their urethras are long and narrow, making passage difficult and extremely detrimental/lethal if not addressed immediately.
In any event, watch her closely, monitor her drinking, and her urination. If the antibiotics do their job, they will help decrease inflammation to some degree and help her feel better within a few days. But, watch for straining, inability to produce urine, pain, crying out, frequent trips to the litterbox, lethargy, hiding, fever activity.
Do be sure to call the vet in the morning to confirm the recheck date.
Ok, so the ER vet I assume, wanted you to see your regular vet within a few days and probably wanted to leave it up to him for additional diagnostics.
The crystals you saw in the urine may not have been crystals, but what is called sediment, it is fine and grainy, like tiny bits of sand. Seeing that in a urine sample, and finding crystals in the urine under a scope view, if the situation warrants it (symptoms of pain, inability to produce urine), we generally want to catheterize them to get that sludge out of the urethra so that smaller crystals can pass. Stones on the other hand, tend to harden and grow in size inside either the urethra or bladder (and sometimes higher up, in the renal tubes). When caught early on, sometimes the diet dissolves them enough to pass on their own. Males however, tend to require catheterization or surgery if the stones are too large or too large in number because their urethras are long and narrow, making passage difficult and extremely detrimental/lethal if not addressed immediately.
In any event, watch her closely, monitor her drinking, and her urination. If the antibiotics do their job, they will help decrease inflammation to some degree and help her feel better within a few days. But, watch for straining, inability to produce urine, pain, crying out, frequent trips to the litterbox, lethargy, hiding, fever activity.
Do be sure to call the vet in the morning to confirm the recheck date.
..........Traci
Re: Urinary Tract Infection
Re: the nausea - signs to watch for: licking at lips, anorexia, drinking only small amounts of water, sitting in a sternal position (crouched with belly on the floor, hanging head low), not wanting to be held or touched. Not wanting to be held or touched can also indicate pain, so if you think she's painful at any point, contact your vet.
..........Traci
Re: Urinary Tract Infection
Just to give an update, Lucy is pretty much back to normal. I've been keeping her on the special diet this entire time because I don't know if the stones have fully dissolved or not, but she doesn't appear to be in any pain anymore, she hasn't peed in any unusual areas and her squatting has stopped. She isn't taking a lot of trips to the litter box anymore either.
I'm also impressed with how much she's eating and drinking too. When we first started her on this new diet, she liked the food alright but was only eating about half a can a day, and they said she needed to eat about 2 a day. She's up to the two cans a day now.
As for the recheck, he did tell me to wait about a month, but I think the reason for a month and not a week or so was because he wasn't worried about the bacterial infection. He said the medicine we were given would clear it up for sure and it seems to have done just that.
It's really good to have my cat back ^_^
You never realize how much you miss them until they are either not there or not themselves.
I'm also impressed with how much she's eating and drinking too. When we first started her on this new diet, she liked the food alright but was only eating about half a can a day, and they said she needed to eat about 2 a day. She's up to the two cans a day now.
As for the recheck, he did tell me to wait about a month, but I think the reason for a month and not a week or so was because he wasn't worried about the bacterial infection. He said the medicine we were given would clear it up for sure and it seems to have done just that.
It's really good to have my cat back ^_^
You never realize how much you miss them until they are either not there or not themselves.
Sonique