My cat's urinary infection came back

[charlie and algernon]

x(

She had been off the medicine for a couple weeks now and was feeling fine and acting normally (for a cat), but the infection returned with a vengence on Friday. I got home from work Friday evening and within the next half hour after getting home, she spent a good 20 minutes squating in the liter box. So it was back to the ER Vet and she ended up spending the night so they could try to get a clean urine sample and do some X-rays to rule out stones.

Luckily, there was no evidence of stones in the X-rays, but they did see evidence of crystals. So now she's back on the pills and pain medication and they put her on prescription canned and dry food to try to get rid of the crystals.

:banghead:

Over the now two trips to the ER in the last month, I've spent almost $800, so I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY hoping this bout is the end because I can't afford to keep taking her back every month or so.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. You will probably have to keep feeding her the special food.

One of my cats had recurrent urinary tract problems like that, but since I've been feeding him the prescription diet he's been fine. The stuff is a bit expensive but still a lot cheaper than visits to the kitty ER. And he seems to like it.

Hope it works for your cat, too. Poor thing.

[charlie and algernon]

2. thanks, I'm still using the samples they gave

I have yet to take the prescription to Pet Smart, so I don't know how much more this food will be. I've already always been feeding her Hill's Science Diet and that's more expensive than most.

It sucks, I hate seeing her struggle in the litter box. She'll sit there for almost 10 minutes trying to go and only going a little. She's also gone back to hiding under the bed. As much as this is killing my bank account, it's not fun for her either.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I'm sure it is a very uncomfortable condition.

Ever since I had to take my cat to the vet several times and leave him there for treatment, he hisses and growls whenever he goes back there, even for normal checkups. He never used to hiss at the vet. I think it was all very unpleasant for him. I hope your vet gave you some painkillers for the kitty as well.

Science Diet is really overrated - it might have even contributed to the problem. The prescription food I've been buying is Royal Canin SO, and it costs about half again as much as a good nonprescription cat food. But it's worth it to avoid another $1,000 ER vet bill like last time. The vet said the problem with many regular cat foods, even the better quality ones, is that they are not acidic enough and there's sometimes too much protein. You'd think high protein would be a good thing for cats, and it usually is, but too much of it sometimes can aggravate these UT problems. The big thing, though, is pH (acidity).

[yellerpup]

4. Poor girl.

Sorry for your kitty. It is a painful condition. Our big boy had two attacks (with crystals) within 3 weeks. The first visit cost $1,300 and the second was to the Emergency Vet and that was $1,500. We had to take him from the ER vet back to our vet and she suggested that we have the surgery to keep his urethra from getting blocked again. Male cats can die within 24-48 hours when they become blocked. She assured us that although he may get urinary tract infections in the future, the surgery would prevent it from ever being life-threatening again. So, we dipped into our savings again and we had it done ($2,400). He had to wear a cone for three weeks and his bottom is still sore, but his coat has improved, his attitude is 1,000X better and we are feeding him canned food only, Fancy Feast. He will never taste crunchies again, so which our vet referred to as "kitty crack." We live near NYC and everything here is expensive. I sympathize with the costs, though. We couldn't have done this a few years ago; we can't really afford it but he's only 6 and otherwise very healthy. Good luck to you and your kitty girl. :hug: You do your best and that's all you can do.

[glinda]

5. Side note on the surgery

My cat had surgery to change him from a boy to girl (cannot think of what surgery is called) and with that you should be aware that infections are common. If your cat does get an infection at some point, be careful about antibiotic over usage. Consider a pro-biotic to balance out the gut. My cat had many infections after surgery. It is common. Symptoms include running around house and making small pee spots in places. Just so ya know. And yes, it totally saved his life!

[yellerpup]

6. Thanks for the extra information, glinda!

The vet warned us that he may have infections in the future, and that some cats are thought to be more genetically prone to urinary infections and blockages. Since our big baby has recuperated his coat is silky, he no longer has 'dandruff' and his attitude is much sunnier. I take pro-biotics myself (are they okay for kitties, too? Or, do I need cat pro-biotics?) and keep myself in balance with them.