for the kitteh people in the lounge....my cat has a urinary tract infection I think

[carlyhippy]

he is going to the vet tomorrow, but I noticed blood in the urine yesterday, he is a heavy cat, and he isn't real active, but he's been sleeping alot, has anyone had a cat with this problem? I have read where the cat needs to be on a canned food diet, any advice on what brands would be good for him? He's only 3 years old, and I am worried sick...
Thanks

[DeepBlueC]

1. crystals, it sounds like

Not all that familiar personally, but I DO watch Animal Planet a lot, and crystals in the bladder, faceted as crystals are, would be likely to bloody things up if there are a lot of them. I don't know whether they can dissolve them or whether surgery is required. But I think it is definitely a good idea to take him to the vet. I have seen heavy cats catheterized for bladder obstruction and that is a very serious situation. Ask the vet about food. One thing I do know is that male cats can get urinary problems from fish in the diet. Ask the vet about foods. They will probably want him to lose weight. But get him to a vet asap. Blood in the urine not a good thing.

[DeepBlueC]

2. here's a useful reference

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp

I use this a lot.

[DeepBlueC]

3. please keep us posted

I hope kitteh is okay. I am sure the vet will be able to help you and advise you.

[carlyhippy]

4. thank you so much for the advice and the links

I hope all will turn out ok, I will post more when I find out.
Carly

[DeepBlueC]

7. you're very welcome

I'll be sending healing thoughts your way. Try not to worry.

[flvegan]

5. Could be a couple things. Your vet is your best expert resource on this

and I'm sure he/she will get it straightened out.

[TZ]

6. My friend Lizerdbits had this problem with her cat Max.

Crystals in the Urine..He's on a special prescription dry food...And is doing okay...I would listen to the vet on what type of food..seems like its a pretty special type.

[grasswire]

8. don't delay

A cat with urinary crystals can be in a lot of pain. I actually lost a cat to this quite a few years ago. We thought he was just sleeping a lot, but he was quite sick.

[applegrove]

9. Sounds like chrystals in his tract. Very painful but the vets can make

him good as new. My cat went through the same thing at three years old.

[Eurobabe]

25. mine too, first time was terrible, kitty was at the vets for a week

I thought I was going to lose him. He pulled through. Has had UTIs off and on, but he is going on 17 in November.

[carlyhippy]

27. 17 years old?! wow! what a beautiful cat

Carly

[Eurobabe]

28. Yep, so your guy will be fine, I know it's a little scary

but you've got him on anti-biotics, and I am sure the vet has advised wet food (c/d?) that's the best thing for him until he gets better. Hang in there. Hope kitty feels better real soon.

[carlyhippy]

yep, c/d, we got several cans for him, he seems to like it

but his favorite food is fresh banana nut bread haha.

[carlyhippy]

29. dup post

[carlyhippy]

10. He has a UTI and is on antibiotics for 20 days

after that if he is still not well, then a urinalysis will be done...now...the vet gave him some liquid antibiotic and he threw it back up and he's a picky eater and quite wise, so I will have to figure out a creative way to get it down him without it coming back up.

[DeepBlueC]

11. 20 days sounds like a thorough course

I hope you manage to administer it successfully. Kittehs...always challenging, but worth it.

[carlyhippy]

12. I have tried unsuccessfully for the 2nd time today

I gave him the medicine, he jumped up and ran wildly around the room and threw it back up both times. I am going to call the vet in the morning, I have tried to give him pills before, he never could get them down. I hope they have another option for getting this med in him.

[DeepBlueC]

13. oh dear

I hope the vet has some suggestions. I'll be interested to see what she/he has to say. Got to do something for this poor baby.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. They can give you a liquid form and you give it to him in syringe...right down into the throat.

http://www.petutopia.co.uk/puppy_and_kitten_feeding_14726.php

http://pet.justanswer.com/vet/19vfs-baby-kitten-give-medicine-its

[DeepBlueC]

15. that's what he throws up...

[Critters2]

16. Ask for the med in pill form, then go to Petco or Petsmart or someplace

and get Pill Pockets. My youngest is on zeniquin right now, and just gobbles these up. They're little pieces of kitty snack that smells (strongly) of chicken, and is very malleable. You put the pill in it, then form the treat around the pill. Shamu eats 'em right down. Wish I'd known about these years ago!!

[BrklynLiberal]

17. Oh. sorry I misunderstood. I thought you were giving him pills.

[carlyhippy]

18. I called the vet this morning, he gave him another type of antibiotic

I used the syringe and liquid medicine...he seemed to take it down ok, after a big hug he seemed fine, and it's staying down YEAH! On the road to recovery finally, he seems a little more active today, thank goodness! Thanks for the tips and nice words, everyone!

[DeepBlueC]

19. I am so glad to hear that

Whew. I understand how helpless you must have been feeling.

[DeepBlueC]

21. Hope to hear clean bill of health soon

Happy kitty. happy mama.

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. Good to hear!

:hug:

[Eurobabe]

24. you might want to try to put him on distilled water

too, just until he is feeling better. That has no minerals in it, rec'd for cats with crystals/bladder sand, which often causes UTIs. Let us know how he is doing!!

[mike_c]

22. get him to the vet as soon as possible....

It sounds like Feline Urological Syndrome, as several others have noted. FUS is treatable but can be fatal, and is probably causing him considerable pain. I lost a cat to FUS some years ago-- it was very tragic and traumatizing. Best of luck to you and your kitty!

on edit-- oop, read the rest of the thread and now I see that you're on top of it. Good on ya'!

[VenusRising]

23. Our cat had that twice.

After his condition recurred, we put him on a strictly wet food diet on the vet's recommendation. He has never had another problem, and he can now handle having dry food sometimes along with his wet food.

Hope your kitty feels better! :hi:

[carlyhippy]

26. Thanks, he is feeling better...

he is back to stalking the other cat and the dog, so he is better :)

I still have a bowl of dry food for him to snack on between meals, but he is eating 3 meals of wet food every day, he and the other cat eat very small meals, and the dog is in heaven, because after he finishes his bowl, he cleans up the cat's food after they have finished and left.

I have had him drinking the filtered water from the fridge, I will try distilled water next for him. I am thankful he's doing better, the kittehs and the dog are like my other set of children.