Persistent Urinary infection....

Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls. He was given an
antibiotics injection and pills to take for 7 days.

1 1/2 tablet of Baytril once a day
1 mg Torbutrol twice a day.

Aside from the blood he draws from me every time I administer his
medicine he completed this course of treatment without problems and
seemed better. However, a few days later the cat was showing symptoms
again so I took him back to the vet. I was told to start a new round
with the same treatment which I started yesterday. The cat is not happy
right now and has started peeing all over the place which is a big
problem since I have a small child. What do you guys suggest I should
do to get him back into shape? This needs to stop asap. Also he
urinates right in front of me on the carpet and I am not sure what I
should do since he is ill -- should I punish him? Please note that he
urinated a lot on the carpet and at no point has he been blocked. One
more thing; based on the vets recommendation he was switched back to
Hill Science Diet since it suppossedly has a low magnesium content and
so far he has been eating and drinking fine.

Thanks!

My male cat also had crystals and he is on CD canned food (only) and takes
one Albeta daily to keep his urine acidic. You may need to see another vet.
Do NOT punish the cat as this is a medical condition and he cannot help it.
Gail
"Cat Slave" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls. He was given an
antibiotics injection and pills to take for 7 days.

1 1/2 tablet of Baytril once a day
1 mg Torbutrol twice a day.

Aside from the blood he draws from me every time I administer his
medicine he completed this course of treatment without problems and
seemed better. However, a few days later the cat was showing symptoms
again so I took him back to the vet. I was told to start a new round
with the same treatment which I started yesterday. The cat is not happy
right now and has started peeing all over the place which is a big
problem since I have a small child. What do you guys suggest I should
do to get him back into shape? This needs to stop asap. Also he
urinates right in front of me on the carpet and I am not sure what I
should do since he is ill -- should I punish him? Please note that he
urinated a lot on the carpet and at no point has he been blocked. One
more thing; based on the vets recommendation he was switched back to
Hill Science Diet since it suppossedly has a low magnesium content and
so far he has been eating and drinking fine.

Thanks!

Hi Cat Slave,

Baytril is an antibiotic and Torbutrol is simply a pain medication.

If your cat 'only' has a UTI, an antibiotic will clear it up (i.e.
Baytril, even though Clavamox tends to be better for UTIs). But if your
cat has crystals, he will need to get pills to dissolve the crystals
(if they are struvite) and be switched to a prescription diet. Hill's
Science Diet is not a prescription diet, you will need to switch to
Hill's Prescription Diet. c/d, s/d or x/d - depending on the type of
crystals.

It sounds like the crystals are blocking your cat's urethra and this
can VERY quickly develop into a blockage in male cats which is
extremely dangerous. Take your cat back to your (or another)vet
immediately to address the root cause, versus just treating the
symptoms.

Petra

For clearing up crystals -- diet is extremely important. The Ph level of
the urine needs to be managed and how it's managed depends on what type
of crystals the cat has. Most younger cats like yours have struvite
crystals. Your cat needs to be on a prescription urinary food to control
that ph level. It's incredibly important to get this under control on a
male cat so he doesn't get blocked. If he gets completely blocked he
needs to be rushed to an emergency vet. You don't have long when they
get blocked.

If your cat is on prescription diet for awhile and still has crystals,
he will need an x-ray and further tests.

Here's an article about crystals:
http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2729

Our 3 yo cat had an infection and struvite crystals. We got rid of the
infection with antibiotics and put him on a urinary diet. His crystals
were greatly reduced in 2 weeks. He did have a bout of an infection a
year later, but no crystals this time.

Good luck. And as someone already said, please don't punish him. He's in
pain and can't help what's happening, but he wants you to help.

Rhonda


Cat Slave wrote:
Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls. He was given an
antibiotics injection and pills to take for 7 days.

1 1/2 tablet of Baytril once a day
1 mg Torbutrol twice a day.

Aside from the blood he draws from me every time I administer his
medicine he completed this course of treatment without problems and
seemed better. However, a few days later the cat was showing symptoms
again so I took him back to the vet. I was told to start a new round
with the same treatment which I started yesterday. The cat is not happy
right now and has started peeing all over the place which is a big
problem since I have a small child. What do you guys suggest I should
do to get him back into shape? This needs to stop asap. Also he
urinates right in front of me on the carpet and I am not sure what I
should do since he is ill -- should I punish him? Please note that he
urinated a lot on the carpet and at no point has he been blocked. One
more thing; based on the vets recommendation he was switched back to
Hill Science Diet since it suppossedly has a low magnesium content and
so far he has been eating and drinking fine.

Thanks!

Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the information. Is the prescription food available in
stores or (as the name suggests) does it need to be prescribed by a
veterinarian? It now looks like he has to go back to the vet but I want
to make sure that this is hopefully the last time since I have already
spend $300+. I am considering going to a different vet to get a second
opinion if they Baytril does not help him with his apparent discomfort
and urination problems. Assuming that the first approach as outlined in
my initial post did not resolve the issue what steps would one expect
for a vet to take now? Someone I know whose cat had a similar issue
mentioned that her cat was flushed (some kind of procedure under
anesthesia) -- is that an option?

Matthias


On Jan 11, 10:40 am, Rhonda wrote:
For clearing up crystals -- diet is extremely important. The Ph level of
the urine needs to be managed and how it's managed depends on what type
of crystals the cat has. Most younger cats like yours have struvite
crystals. Your cat needs to be on a prescription urinary food to control
that ph level. It's incredibly important to get this under control on a
male cat so he doesn't get blocked. If he gets completely blocked he
needs to be rushed to an emergency vet. You don't have long when they
get blocked.

If your cat is on prescription diet for awhile and still has crystals,
he will need an x-ray and further tests.

Here's an article about crystals:http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2729

Our 3 yo cat had an infection and struvite crystals. We got rid of the
infection with antibiotics and put him on a urinary diet. His crystals
were greatly reduced in 2 weeks. He did have a bout of an infection a
year later, but no crystals this time.

Good luck. And as someone already said, please don't punish him. He's in
pain and can't help what's happening, but he wants you to help.

Rhonda



Cat Slave wrote:
Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls. He was given an
antibiotics injection and pills to take for 7 days.

1 1/2 tablet of Baytril once a day
1 mg Torbutrol twice a day.

Aside from the blood he draws from me every time I administer his
medicine he completed this course of treatment without problems and
seemed better. However, a few days later the cat was showing symptoms
again so I took him back to the vet. I was told to start a new round
with the same treatment which I started yesterday. The cat is not happy
right now and has started peeing all over the place which is a big
problem since I have a small child. What do you guys suggest I should
do to get him back into shape? This needs to stop asap. Also he
urinates right in front of me on the carpet and I am not sure what I
should do since he is ill -- should I punish him? Please note that he
urinated a lot on the carpet and at no point has he been blocked. One
more thing; based on the vets recommendation he was switched back to
Hill Science Diet since it suppossedly has a low magnesium content and
so far he has been eating and drinking fine.

Thanks!- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

Hi, I recently went through my first blockage with my youngest cat. I ended
up at the Emergency Vet one night where they passed a catheter and he had to
stay overnight with the catheter in. I know they like to keep them after
they remove the catheter until they urinate on their own to make sure that
the blockage has passed. The prescription food that he is on needs to be
purchased at the vets but price wise, it is really the same as I used to
spend on their other dry food.

Please keep us informed as to how your guy does and good luck!

Cat Slave wrote:
Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the information. Is the prescription food available in
stores or (as the name suggests) does it need to be prescribed by a
veterinarian? It now looks like he has to go back to the vet but I want
to make sure that this is hopefully the last time since I have already
spend $300+. I am considering going to a different vet to get a second
opinion if they Baytril does not help him with his apparent discomfort
and urination problems. Assuming that the first approach as outlined in
my initial post did not resolve the issue what steps would one expect
for a vet to take now? Someone I know whose cat had a similar issue
mentioned that her cat was flushed (some kind of procedure under
anesthesia) -- is that an option?

Matthias

For clearing up crystals -- diet is extremely important. The Ph level of
the urine needs to be managed and how it's managed depends on what type
[quoted text clipped - 47 lines]

Thanks!- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200701/1

Hi Matthias,

Our cat's crystals were cleared up by diet so we didn't have to do any
flushing or anything more drastic. I don't really know what vets do or
don't do at that point. I would think they'd do the flushing if the
crystals are forming a plug and starting to block the cat, but you
really need to talk that over with a vet. I'd also google for as much
info as you can before you go.

The Baytril or antibiotics will not clear up the crystals, but will help
if there is an infection. Did the vet tell you there was an infection
too? Treating with Baytril or antibiotics is not going to make your cat
more comfortable if the problem is crystals.

You might want a second opinion if you don't think this vet is helping
find and solve the problem.

Diet -- we started with canned Purina UR, which you can only get from
the vet (or with a prescription.) Hills has a couple of kinds of urinary
prescription food, one is for short term to try to dissolve the
crystals, then one is for longer term maintenance.

After several months on the Purina prescription food, we changed to Pro
Plan urinary food, purchased without prescription. It is doing the
trick, because he hasn't had any more crystals.

I think the next step for your cat if this is not clearing up would be
an x-ray to see what's going on with any larger crystals in the bladder.
Our vet suggested if we are following diet and treatment and he still
has chronic problems, we should look deeper for the cause. He said
x-rays first, then possibly MRI. So far, only one infection a year later
so we're just feeding urinary diet.

Good luck, I hope the vet can help, the kitty sounds like he's in some pain.

Rhonda

Cat Slave wrote:
Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the information. Is the prescription food available in
stores or (as the name suggests) does it need to be prescribed by a
veterinarian? It now looks like he has to go back to the vet but I want
to make sure that this is hopefully the last time since I have already
spend $300+. I am considering going to a different vet to get a second
opinion if they Baytril does not help him with his apparent discomfort
and urination problems. Assuming that the first approach as outlined in
my initial post did not resolve the issue what steps would one expect
for a vet to take now? Someone I know whose cat had a similar issue
mentioned that her cat was flushed (some kind of procedure under
anesthesia) -- is that an option?

Matthias


On Jan 11, 10:40 am, Rhonda wrote:

For clearing up crystals -- diet is extremely important. The Ph level of
the urine needs to be managed and how it's managed depends on what type
of crystals the cat has. Most younger cats like yours have struvite
crystals. Your cat needs to be on a prescription urinary food to control
that ph level. It's incredibly important to get this under control on a
male cat so he doesn't get blocked. If he gets completely blocked he
needs to be rushed to an emergency vet. You don't have long when they
get blocked.

If your cat is on prescription diet for awhile and still has crystals,
he will need an x-ray and further tests.

Here's an article about crystals:http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2729

Our 3 yo cat had an infection and struvite crystals. We got rid of the
infection with antibiotics and put him on a urinary diet. His crystals
were greatly reduced in 2 weeks. He did have a bout of an infection a
year later, but no crystals this time.

Good luck. And as someone already said, please don't punish him. He's in
pain and can't help what's happening, but he wants you to help.

Rhonda



Cat Slave wrote:

Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls. He was given an
antibiotics injection and pills to take for 7 days.

1 1/2 tablet of Baytril once a day
1 mg Torbutrol twice a day.

Aside from the blood he draws from me every time I administer his
medicine he completed this course of treatment without problems and
seemed better. However, a few days later the cat was showing symptoms
again so I took him back to the vet. I was told to start a new round
with the same treatment which I started yesterday. The cat is not happy
right now and has started peeing all over the place which is a big
problem since I have a small child. What do you guys suggest I should
do to get him back into shape? This needs to stop asap. Also he
urinates right in front of me on the carpet and I am not sure what I
should do since he is ill -- should I punish him? Please note that he
urinated a lot on the carpet and at no point has he been blocked. One
more thing; based on the vets recommendation he was switched back to
Hill Science Diet since it suppossedly has a low magnesium content and
so far he has been eating and drinking fine.

Thanks!- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

Thanks for your advice! Just as follow up; X-rays where done and kidney
stones were ruled. As far as I know no larger crystals were in the
bladder either.

Thanks,

Matthias


On Jan 11, 1:54 pm, Rhonda wrote:
Hi Matthias,

Our cat's crystals were cleared up by diet so we didn't have to do any
flushing or anything more drastic. I don't really know what vets do or
don't do at that point. I would think they'd do the flushing if the
crystals are forming a plug and starting to block the cat, but you
really need to talk that over with a vet. I'd also google for as much
info as you can before you go.

The Baytril or antibiotics will not clear up the crystals, but will help
if there is an infection. Did the vet tell you there was an infection
too? Treating with Baytril or antibiotics is not going to make your cat
more comfortable if the problem is crystals.

You might want a second opinion if you don't think this vet is helping
find and solve the problem.

Diet -- we started with canned Purina UR, which you can only get from
the vet (or with a prescription.) Hills has a couple of kinds of urinary
prescription food, one is for short term to try to dissolve the
crystals, then one is for longer term maintenance.

After several months on the Purina prescription food, we changed to Pro
Plan urinary food, purchased without prescription. It is doing the
trick, because he hasn't had any more crystals.

I think the next step for your cat if this is not clearing up would be
an x-ray to see what's going on with any larger crystals in the bladder.
Our vet suggested if we are following diet and treatment and he still
has chronic problems, we should look deeper for the cause. He said
x-rays first, then possibly MRI. So far, only one infection a year later
so we're just feeding urinary diet.

Good luck, I hope the vet can help, the kitty sounds like he's in some pain.

Rhonda



Cat Slave wrote:
Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the information. Is the prescription food available in
stores or (as the name suggests) does it need to be prescribed by a
veterinarian? It now looks like he has to go back to the vet but I want
to make sure that this is hopefully the last time since I have already
spend $300+. I am considering going to a different vet to get a second
opinion if they Baytril does not help him with his apparent discomfort
and urination problems. Assuming that the first approach as outlined in
my initial post did not resolve the issue what steps would one expect
for a vet to take now? Someone I know whose cat had a similar issue
mentioned that her cat was flushed (some kind of procedure under
anesthesia) -- is that an option?

Matthias

On Jan 11, 10:40 am, Rhonda wrote:

For clearing up crystals -- diet is extremely important. The Ph level of
the urine needs to be managed and how it's managed depends on what type
of crystals the cat has. Most younger cats like yours have struvite
crystals. Your cat needs to be on a prescription urinary food to control
that ph level. It's incredibly important to get this under control on a
male cat so he doesn't get blocked. If he gets completely blocked he
needs to be rushed to an emergency vet. You don't have long when they
get blocked.

If your cat is on prescription diet for awhile and still has crystals,
he will need an x-ray and further tests.

Here's an article about crystals:http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2729

Our 3 yo cat had an infection and struvite crystals. We got rid of the
infection with antibiotics and put him on a urinary diet. His crystals
were greatly reduced in 2 weeks. He did have a bout of an infection a
year later, but no crystals this time.

Good luck. And as someone already said, please don't punish him. He's in
pain and can't help what's happening, but he wants you to help.

Rhonda

Cat Slave wrote:

Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls. He was given an
antibiotics injection and pills to take for 7 days.

1 1/2 tablet of Baytril once a day
1 mg Torbutrol twice a day.

Aside from the blood he draws from me every time I administer his
medicine he completed this course of treatment without problems and
seemed better. However, a few days later the cat was showing symptoms
again so I took him back to the vet. I was told to start a new round
with the same treatment which I started yesterday. The cat is not happy
right now and has started peeing all over the place which is a big
problem since I have a small child. What do you guys suggest I should
do to get him back into shape? This needs to stop asap. Also he
urinates right in front of me on the carpet and I am not sure what I
should do since he is ill -- should I punish him? Please note that he
urinated a lot on the carpet and at no point has he been blocked. One
more thing; based on the vets recommendation he was switched back to
Hill Science Diet since it suppossedly has a low magnesium content and
so far he has been eating and drinking fine.

Thanks!- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

"Cat Slave" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls.

Did your vet actually analyze the urine and examine the urine sediment and
culture the urine or did he just assume your cat had UTI based on
symptoms?-- that is very important. Contrary to popular belief, most cats
with bacterial UTIs don't have any symptoms at all. Also, UTIs are rather
uncommon (5%) in cats as young as yours- partly because of the high
osmolality of feline urine- and partly because of the acidity.

The symptoms that your cat has been displaying are symptomatic of Feline
Interstitial Cystitis- which is basically inflammation of the bladder. He's
probably associating the pain that he feels when he pees with the litter
box. That's probably why he's urinating all over the place. The inflammation
can be can be caused by crystals irritating and cutting the bladder
epithelium or by a defect in the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer that coats
the bladder epithelium-- either or can permit urine to penetrate the
urothelium and induce inflammation. In cats, inflammation in the bladder
and/or urethra causes a nervous sensation that mimics the feeling of a full
bladder. The nervous impulses that control the urge to pee are recurrently
stimulated so that the urge to pee is constant whether his bladder is full
or empty.

Did your vet analyze the crystals? or did automatically assume they're
struvite? Years ago struvite would have been a good guess. But since the
advent of acidified, magnesium-restricted "urinary tract health" diets
calcium oxalate crystals are just as- if not more common than struvite.
Definitive identification of the crystals is absolutely imperative! Feeding
an urine-alkalinizing diet to a cat with struvite crystalluria can be
*disastrous*-- and could lead quickly to struvite urolithiasis and complete
obstruction of the lower urinary tract. A urinary tract obstruction produces
a pathophysiologic state equivalent to oliguric acute renal failure and
death if not relieved within 24-36 hours. So, make sure you know which type
of crystals your cat has before choosing a diet. In either case a canned
diet is best.

Another reason for analyzing the crystals (especially the core) is to
determine if they were caused by bacteria. Certain urease-producing bacteria
(especially staphylococci and sometimes proteus) can produce
"infection-induced struvite".

On the outside chance your cat does have a persistent UTI, its imperative
your vet clears it up ASAP. If he can't, find a vet who can. Persistent
UTIs can lead to pyelonephritis with progressive renal scarring and eventual
renal failure.

Let me know about the urinalysis and crystal determination. I might be able
to give you some useful information.

Best of luck,

Phil

You are welcome!

Good luck to your cat. Let us know what happens.

Rhonda

Cat Slave wrote:

Thanks for your advice! Just as follow up; X-rays where done and kidney
stones were ruled. As far as I know no larger crystals were in the
bladder either.

Thanks,

Matthias


On Jan 11, 1:54 pm, Rhonda wrote:

Hi Matthias,

Our cat's crystals were cleared up by diet so we didn't have to do any
flushing or anything more drastic. I don't really know what vets do or
don't do at that point. I would think they'd do the flushing if the
crystals are forming a plug and starting to block the cat, but you
really need to talk that over with a vet. I'd also google for as much
info as you can before you go.

The Baytril or antibiotics will not clear up the crystals, but will help
if there is an infection. Did the vet tell you there was an infection
too? Treating with Baytril or antibiotics is not going to make your cat
more comfortable if the problem is crystals.

You might want a second opinion if you don't think this vet is helping
find and solve the problem.

Diet -- we started with canned Purina UR, which you can only get from
the vet (or with a prescription.) Hills has a couple of kinds of urinary
prescription food, one is for short term to try to dissolve the
crystals, then one is for longer term maintenance.

After several months on the Purina prescription food, we changed to Pro
Plan urinary food, purchased without prescription. It is doing the
trick, because he hasn't had any more crystals.

I think the next step for your cat if this is not clearing up would be
an x-ray to see what's going on with any larger crystals in the bladder.
Our vet suggested if we are following diet and treatment and he still
has chronic problems, we should look deeper for the cause. He said
x-rays first, then possibly MRI. So far, only one infection a year later
so we're just feeding urinary diet.

Good luck, I hope the vet can help, the kitty sounds like he's in some pain.

Rhonda



Cat Slave wrote:

Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the information. Is the prescription food available in
stores or (as the name suggests) does it need to be prescribed by a
veterinarian? It now looks like he has to go back to the vet but I want
to make sure that this is hopefully the last time since I have already
spend $300+. I am considering going to a different vet to get a second
opinion if they Baytril does not help him with his apparent discomfort
and urination problems. Assuming that the first approach as outlined in
my initial post did not resolve the issue what steps would one expect
for a vet to take now? Someone I know whose cat had a similar issue
mentioned that her cat was flushed (some kind of procedure under
anesthesia) -- is that an option?

Matthias

On Jan 11, 10:40 am, Rhonda wrote:

For clearing up crystals -- diet is extremely important. The Ph level of
the urine needs to be managed and how it's managed depends on what type
of crystals the cat has. Most younger cats like yours have struvite
crystals. Your cat needs to be on a prescription urinary food to control
that ph level. It's incredibly important to get this under control on a
male cat so he doesn't get blocked. If he gets completely blocked he
needs to be rushed to an emergency vet. You don't have long when they
get blocked.

If your cat is on prescription diet for awhile and still has crystals,
he will need an x-ray and further tests.

Here's an article about crystals:http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2729

Our 3 yo cat had an infection and struvite crystals. We got rid of the
infection with antibiotics and put him on a urinary diet. His crystals
were greatly reduced in 2 weeks. He did have a bout of an infection a
year later, but no crystals this time.

Good luck. And as someone already said, please don't punish him. He's in
pain and can't help what's happening, but he wants you to help.

Rhonda

Cat Slave wrote:

Hi,

My male cat (about 5 years old, indoor only, 2 cats in the house) has
been having a persistent urinary tract infection for about 3 weeks. He
was initially diagnosed around Xmas and was taken to the vet who took a
urin sample and diagnosed him with UTI/crystalls. He was given an
antibiotics injection and pills to take for 7 days.

1 1/2 tablet of Baytril once a day
1 mg Torbutrol twice a day.

Aside from the blood he draws from me every time I administer his
medicine he completed this course of treatment without problems and
seemed better. However, a few days later the cat was showing symptoms
again so I took him back to the vet. I was told to start a new round
with the same treatment which I started yesterday. The cat is not happy
right now and has started peeing all over the place which is a big
problem since I have a small child. What do you guys suggest I should
do to get him back into shape? This needs to stop asap. Also he
urinates right in front of me on the carpet and I am not sure what I
should do since he is ill -- should I punish him? Please note that he
urinated a lot on the carpet and at no point has he been blocked. One
more thing; based on the vets recommendation he was switched back to
Hill Science Diet since it suppossedly has a low magnesium content and
so far he has been eating and drinking fine.

Thanks!- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -