At least, I think it's UTI. He's going to the vet at 4:30, but what can I do to prevent this? I think I've read before about foods being a part of it. If I get that Castor and Pollux food, would that be better for him and his UT? I really don't know what UTI's are caused by, but I'm looking it up right now. I don't trust vets with nutrition, so if it is food caused or food preventative, I'd prefer to ask people here than a vet. Of course, if she proves to be a decent vet on nutrition, I may take heed to what she says. Thanks in advance!

There are foods that can be introduced as maintenance, but once a cat has them nothing will help but antibiotics. Your vet will be able to tell you the best food that will help keep better urinary tract overall once he/she has healed.

This is so painful/taxing for a kitty, i hope she gets meds soon. :-(

Alright, I read that Ascorbic Acid (sp?) was good to mix in, for Vit. C and for acidification of the urine to help prevent UTI. The only problem is that I'm half afraid of overdoing it. Also, I read that canned cat foods help, considering the thirst drive in cats on kibble.

quote:

Originally posted by Rattenburg:
At least, I think it's UTI. He's going to the vet at 4:30, but what can I do to prevent this? I think I've read before about foods being a part of it. If I get that Castor and Pollux food, would that be better for him and his UT? I really don't know what UTI's are caused by, but I'm looking it up right now. I don't trust vets with nutrition, so if it is food caused or food preventative, I'd prefer to ask people here than a vet. Of course, if she proves to be a decent vet on nutrition, I may take heed to what she says. Thanks in advance!

Fill us in on what the vet says and I'm sure PA or someone can give you additional insight.

Depending on the exact diagnosis, I feel a genetic predisposition is generally present, then aggravated by diet. Especially in males plugging.

Nothing to mess around with. Glad you have an appointment.

He keeps trying to pee, but nothing comes out. I first noticed last night around 1am. He also refused to eat canned cat food (which is unheard of for him) and I don't think he's been eating or drinking at all. Also, I can feel a difference in his belly. It's not as solid as it usually is, it's more like his organs are floating. He should be on his way to recovery by 4:30ish, but I'm going to have a real treat trying to give him antibiotic pills.

Well, he never had a problem before, but he is only about 3 years old. Also, we used to feed canned food on a more regular basis than we do now, though I did just buy them some canned food yesterday. Anyways, I've gotta go to the vet, I'll update everyone with what the vet says! Thanks guys!

quote:

Originally posted by Rattenburg:
He keeps trying to pee, but nothing comes out. I first noticed last night around 1am. He also refused to eat canned cat food (which is unheard of for him) and I don't think he's been eating or drinking at all. Also, I can feel a difference in his belly. It's not as solid as it usually is, it's more like his organs are floating. He should be on his way to recovery by 4:30ish, but I'm going to have a real treat trying to give him antibiotic pills.

Well if you have ever had a UTI yourself you'll know they are very taxing and when i have had them i didn't want to eat anything either. Maybe the vet can give the kitty an antibiotic shot if you think it will be very hard getting pills in him.

I know they dont like to do shots but if the infection is bad, please let the vet know of your concerns with getting him to ingest pills.

Sounds to me like he's got urinary crystals. NOT GOOD! Emergency vet time........go now.

VET NOW.

Straining to pee means he is blocked...and since urine is being made all the time....his bladder is getting bigger all the while.

This is a life and death emergency, if he is indeed blocked,he needs to be sedated, catheterized and hospitalized, and given IV fluids to flush his kidneys/urinary tract.

Once blocked, they are prone to block again. There are foods that help, after he has been unblocked...but they are still prone to doing it again.

This is not a cheap problem to maintain, Im afraid.

Hope he is ok.

Edit: Sorry, I see you are taking him to the vet, good luck.


Edit #2 (I need to read more thoroughly)...Vit C is water soluble and you literally CANNOT overdo it, so dont worry about that...it can give them diarrhea until they get used to it if you give massive doses. If it is recommended for UTI cats, I say give it and dont worry about overdoing it at all...


MP

Just checking in on the boy.

Our family cat a few years back came down with the same condition and the vet explained it was from feeding either "low ash" cat food or "high ash" cat food - I cannot remember, but he gave the impression that it was food that created the problem and that surgery was the only option to relieve his discomfort, and he was uncomfortable. I hope you can resolve this problem for your cat and get him or her on the right track with respect to nutrition.

Alright, he's on Clavamox 62.5mg for the infection and an anti-spasm med called Phenoxybenzamine 2.5mg so that he can pee easier. She said to get a UTI food, but I'm going to do my own investigating and look at the magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and ash levels in UTI foods compared to Castor and Pollux. (I don't think CP has a UTI formula) Anyways, his urine pH was 7.0, and it had a high blood level in it. She also gave me a 'Pet Piller' to 'inject' the pills far enough back in his mouth to have to swallow. All in all, he did alright, though he tried urinating four times while in the room (he was only in there for about 10-15 minutes). He yowled at first in the car, but seemed fine in the clinic. He only hissed once, when someone opened the door to the room that we were in. He was already pissed about having his bladder squeezed to release enough urine to do a urine test, so when someone scared him, he let loose. The only thing that kinda bothered me was that the vet made me scruff him so she could squeeze his bladder. I told her that he would be fine if I just held him against me, but if I had to scruff him, he would tense up and possibly throw a fit. She still made me scruff him, and out came his attitude. Anyways, she said that since I caught it pretty quick he should be better in the next day. She said that he wasn't blocked or anything, he was just straining because the inflammation made him feel like he had to pee, even though he didn't. Hopefully he'll start eating now, though I'm going to have to stretch the pockets a little more and switch his food, though I just bought a bag two days ago. Lol. My main problem will be if I have to feed the two cats different foods. The vet did say that she had several patients that were on A. Acid for long periods of time and did great, but she said that it was hard to find a form that the cats would take. I'm pretty sure I can get powder (crystal) form somewhere to mix in small amounts with canned to see if that works, if not, she said that you can get human grade pills, but that I'll probably have to 'inject' them instead of crushing and putting them in the foods, because they're really bitter. Anyways, I'll update on him once he starts to get better, and I'll update on the Castor and Pollux and on the A. Acid. Thanks for everyone's concerns and prayers for Cat.

quote:

Originally posted by Hu-Dare:

Fill us in on what the vet says and I'm sure PA or someone can give you additional insight.

Depending on the exact diagnosis, I feel a genetic predisposition is generally present, then aggravated by diet. Especially in males plugging.

Nothing to mess around with. Glad you have an appointment.

Yeah, the vet said about 5-7% (I think that's what she said) were caused by genetic, the rest were generally food. I asked her if I should keep an eye on Kitty, her response was that I should only keep a close eye on her if she was related to Cat, which she isn't. Either way, I think I'll be on the safe side and keep a close eye on her, considering that Cat's never had this before, so she could have it pop up just as easily, seeing that I know absolutely nothing about their family history.

Cat is extremely gentle, he just can't stand being scruffed. I don't know why, but he absolutely hates it. In all honesty, I didn't hold his scruff very tight, just enough to suit her. He didn't flinch or jerk or anything when she squeezed, which surprised me. Anyways, as for the CP food, there is aparantly no ash in it, or it's not listed, and the calcium was +.2%, Phosphorus was +.1% and Magnesium was +.21% Is that enough of a difference between UTI formula and not to cause problems for Cat?

Good to hear your both home. Do all you can to promote liquid intake. With all the inflamation and swelling the crystals cause, you need to keep him flowing, or you'll be back at the vet. This is serious stuff. Monitor his urine output closely. The next few days are crucial.

quote:

Originally posted by Rattenburg:
Cat is extremely gentle, he just can't stand being scruffed. I don't know why, but he absolutely hates it. In all honesty, I didn't hold his scruff very tight, just enough to suit her. He didn't flinch or jerk or anything when she squeezed, which surprised me. Anyways, as for the CP food, there is aparantly no ash in it, or it's not listed, and the calcium was +.2%, Phosphorus was +.1% and Magnesium was +.21% Is that enough of a difference between UTI formula and not to cause problems for Cat?

I don't know.

I've pulled the dry food and I'm going to keep giving them canned food until Cat gets better and I can get something better for them.

Ya know what else I just thought of... I wonder if the bottled water I've been giving would cause UTI. It's Dasani bottled water, I'm not sure if it's filtered over minerals or not. Do you think that might be a possibility?

I'm not up on the latest feline findings. I suppose anything is possible. I wish PA would offer some input.

Well, Cat and I had round three with the pills. Now he knows what the little piller is. He's started to fight when I try to open his mouth, and now when he's done, he runs from me. (But he stops as soon as I call his name ) Anyways, I actually saw him PEE just a little bit ago, after his meds. It was pretty bloody still, but HE PEED! He didn't exactly go in the litter box, but luckily he did it on the wood floor so I could clean it up. I never thought I'd be happy to see Cat pee on the floor... Lol.