Minnie's UTI

[weeze]

Hi everyone,
Minnie has been diagnosed with a UTI and has been on Baytril for about 6 days now. The problem is, its not getting any better and she is in a lot of pain and discomfort. The doctor doesnt know why she's not responding to the medication.. Does anyone have experience with this? I am worried sick about her...

[Randi]

Poor Minnie! :( I have no idea why the medicine doesn't work, but you better ask your vet if he could try a different medicine. It's a serious condition! Have your flushed him with a cahteter?

Give him Hills S/D and water only!

Fister has been through this a few times, until we finally decided to have him operated.

This is one of the threads which may be of help.

Fister is on the edge again (http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?threadid=15660&highlight=fister)

Keeping our fingers and paws crossed for Minnie. :)

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I don't know why she wouldn't be responding either, but if your vet can't give you a more definitive answer, I would get a second opinion quick! When Tubby had his UTI earlier this year, he responded to the antibiotics within 24 hours. He was still not peeing normal, but had at least stopped sitting in the litterbox and was much more calm and relaxed. Even with humans I believe antibiotics work within 24 hours. I also know there are different antibiotics out there, and kitties are like people in that some work better on certain kitties than others.

Then, sorry for not knowing this, but is Minnie a female or male? Males are much more prone to what Randi was referring to, but I know Ritzy had a bad UTI earlier this year too, that was possibly crystals. I'll have to see if I can find the thread and give you a link so you can see what worked for her.

But really, this is what bothers me most about your post
The doctor doesnt know why she's not responding to the medication..

Even if the doctor doesn't know, he/she should be doing something about it, or trying something different, not just saying well, I don't know...

Here's the link (http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21612&highlight=ritz+uti) to the thread about Ritzy's UTI. Hope it helps!

[catlover4ever]

My Tony was my first to have blockages, and my Smokey ended up having surgery to make it easier for him to go the bathroom (he went from being a boy cat to being a girl cat with the surgery).

Smokey took longer to respond to the Baytril, I ended up having to take him back to the vet several times to get an injectable antibiotic.

I also agree with Tubby and Peanut's Mom...if you vet is not sure why Minnie is not responding, then maybe you should seek a different vet or just be blunt to the vet and say "Well, I'm not happy with that answer, I want to know what else can be done for my baby".

Keep us posted, and good luck.

[weeze]

Minnie is female so, its even more strange that she's having such a hard time. I went back to the vet to give a stool sample as he is going to check for parasites. He also said that if she doesnt' respond to the antibiotics that we will take x-rays to check for crystals. So far, she's been on the Baytril for 7 days and no change. Please keep her in your prayers for me....

[Lerah021399]

I'm sorry to hear about Minnie's UTI. Is it possible that Minnie could have diabetes? The reason I say this is because my cat Ali has diabetes and would often get UTI's if there was too much sugar being spilled out w/ her urine. The answer to this problem was to find the right amount of insulin for her get in shots every day. Ali has not had a UTI in about a year. Just a thought. Minnie will be in my thoughts.

[weeze]

just to update on Minnie-- still no improvement. She is still straining to pee and there is still blood in her urine. From reading some other posts on this topic, I am thinking that she may have a resistant form of infection. I am going to mention this to the vet and see what he thinks. Thanks for all your advice so far..

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear about Minnie's problem.:( Please get well soon Minnie. Prayers and positive thoughts are on the way. Please keep us updated.

[Randi]

I hope your vet find the right treatment for poor Minnie - we'll keep fingers and paws crossed for her. :)

I hope the earlier posts will help solve the problem, there are some links too.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I sure hope your vet decides to at least change treatment or something. There is no way she should still be straining this long after starting treatment. Poor kitty. :( I personally know how awful UTI's are and I hope she gets some relief soon.

[Cataholic]

MIGHT I SUGGEST A SECOND OPINION? There is something wrong here...please go to another vet for a consultation.

Good luck.

[weeze]

I am considering bringing her to another vet. She only has 4 pills left in her dose and she is no better than she was when she started. I hope its not too serious.. On a positive note, she was very playful and affectionate today and actually peed a lot at one time, although she still made frequent trips to the litter box...

[krazyaboutkatz]

I agree that you should get a second opinion. Please don't wait too long because it could develop into a more serious condition. Good luck and please keep us updated.

[smokey the elder]

Please take her to a different vet. Smokey the Elder had a bad UTI in 1996. She did not respond to Clavamox or Baytril; had to be on Tribrissen for 3 weeks. That stuff tastes nasty to a cat but it works. Poor Minnie!

[kimlovescats]

I just read this for the first time....... I sure hope and pray that Minnie gets feeling better soon, and that the vet(s) can find what is going on in her little system! Please do keep us informed on her progress!

[catmandu]

We are praying for you Minnie to get well and to have the ahppy life that a Cat should have! God Bless you Minnie and may he grant you health!

[Barbara]

I had read this thread but had no idea to contribute. Now I also recommend urgently a second opinion -either it is not a bacteria infection or the bacteria are resistant.

Good luck! And all the best for poor Minnie. Having to swallow all these pills and not getting better.:(

[weeze]

I had a bad experience with her last night.. I gave her a pill, and she somehow kept it in her mouth, but it started to foam and she looked like she was choking. I almost had a heart attack.. She was okay after a minute or two..

[weeze]

well, I just brought Minnie to the vet again. Today she started throwing up. Its the last day for her antibiotics and she has gotten worse. The doctor told me that it may be a very serious UTI or that it may be a kidney or liver infection. So he took some blood and more urine and I should get the results in a couple of days. I am very worried...

[slick]

When I first got Speckles in 1997 she had 3 bouts of UTI within a year and a half and it was awful. We experimented many times with different meds then finally came across Baytril. During her last bout, it took about 10 days before she responded and the vet took a urine sample for a sensitivity test to see what medication would work the best. Knock on wood, she's been fine for about 2 years now.
About the foaming, don't worry. When cats taste something bad like a pill, they automatically foam at the mouth. Max, my Persian, has done it several times when I've had to medicate him. It's really quite funny looking on him.

It's going to be a long couple of days before you get the results of the tests. In the meantime, I agree with everyone that you should seek out another opinion. Please keep us updated.

[tuxluvr]

Well, i think you saw the links to the post about Ritzy's ordeal (thanks t&p's mom)....and INSIST on blood tests and urine samples. If I had this to do over again, I would have been a lot more demanding....it seemed to me they "waited" a lot longer than they should have.

I realize that the typical uti is treated successfully with antibiotics, but we had Ritz through several different kinds plus the Interferon..and I took her in and said, look, put her out get blood get urine...whatever you have to do. IN her case, it was a really strong infection and it was finally cured with a long bout of antibiotics (they alternated stronger and weaker varieties so as not to take such a toll on the tummy), coupled with some stuff to stave off the soft stool often brought about by the antibiotics. They also gave some kind of other gooey stuff to help with the bowels, but she didn't seem to need more than one dose.

Ritz apparently had been harboring this infection for a very long time - her urine was FULL of crystals and infection from the long term irritation of the crystals inside her bladder. that is why it took so long to heal.

They also changed her diet to the Science Diet CD/S and we now also buy distilled water (the last was probably not overly necessary, but we have a lot of hard water in our area - the doctor said it couldn't hurt, but the food diet was the big change)

So far, no recurrences. It does seem that cats who get this tend to be prone to it, much like people who get cold sores can be prone.....it is not so much a "cure" as the prevention - stress is a common catalyst..Ritz had her first UTI just before she went into heat - a short round of antibios and then her surgery and she was fine until this last bout earlier this year.

And finally, it is ok to get second opinions....I love my vet dearly and I know he wouldn't do anything to harm, but Ritz is a VERY difficult patient - there were times when I felt he was just tryingnot to have to deal with her "cattitude". Also, understand that many vets make the assumption that owners want to go the "least costly" route, so they often don't go down the path of "full diagnosis" for fear it will not be acceptable.

I have learned my lesson about that - I insist on all tests up front...by the time we "pussyfooted" around with this, I had spent almost 1,000 - and would have only spent about a 4th of that if they had done the full diagnostics up front.

I'm praying that your sweet kitty will respond and get better - I know all too well how scary this can be.
Ritzy's mom

[weeze]

Thank you so much for sharing your stories, it makes me feel better. When she threw up today, it was all foamy and we hadn't even given her medication at the time. So, I don't know why she would have thrown up like that. My other big concern is that I am leaving the country in three weeks for 3 months, and I don't know how I am going to do it if she is still sick like this.

[kimlovescats]

Oh I hope and pray that Minnie's tests come back ok...please let us know when you find out the results!

Hugs to you both!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear that Minnie is still sick and not feeling well. :( Prayers and positive thoughts are on the way. Please take care and keep us updated.

[catmandu]

We are sending prayers that Minnie recovers from this terrible disease! And is once again in Good Health! All the Cats add thier prayers as well!

[weeze]

well, I have an update on Minnie's condition.. I got the blood and urine tests back yesterday and thankfully the blood tests were negative and the urine tests didn't show anything new. So we have concluded that this is just a really bad infection. She is currently on a much stronger dose of antibiotics so we will see how she responds. I am very releived that it wasn't something more serious..
thanks for all your help

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the update. Prayers and positive thoughts are still on the way for Minnie to make a quick and speedy recovery. I sure hope that the new antibiotics will help her. Please take care.

[tuxluvr]

Did they check her urine ph? This is the most prevalent sight of crystals, and if they don't get under control, the infection is prone to return...

Since we changed Ritzy's diet, she has been a different cat - I am sure you have spent many of your recent days hovering near the cat box "watching" for the various litter events.

Good luck on the "P watch"

[weeze]

Hi everyone,
just wanted to let you know how things have been going with Minnie.. After the Baytril, the infection was still there, so the doc put her on Clavamox (much stronger than the Baytril dosage). Her UTI went away immediately and stayed away for a week. However, yesterday she started showing symptoms again.. straining in the litterbox, peeing on the floor, blood in her urine etc.. She has one week left on the Clavamox but I don't know what to expect. She has to go back in to the vet on Wednesday so we'll see what he says. I was so happy when she appeared totally back to normal, now I'm worried again.. Will this never end?

[catmandu]

We are praying as well for Minnie to GET Better ansd not be in Pain. It would be a shame that noe she is not as timid , to be in poor Health. Prayers from the Lost Cats Hotel.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad that the new antibiotics seemed to work. Since she has a more resistant UTI, she may just need to take the Clavamox for a longer period of time. Good luck and please keep us updated. I sure hope that everything goes well on Wed. :)

[tuxluvr]

Weeze, hang in there - this sounds so much like the situation I had with Ritzy earlier this year - she was on on one round of antibiotics (and I think it was clavamox, then Baytril..) and she bounced back for about two weeks and had a relapse.

The vet said that she just had a very strong infection that was being aggravated by the crystals - so the minute she went off the meds, she was prone to get the infection again because the crystals continued to irritate the bladder lining.....it took almost a month of antibiotic treatment (he switched her dosage up and down so it wouldn't torture her tummy too much, and also gave something called "Benebac" to counteract the loose stool)...in the middle of that, we gradually changed her diet to the Science diet cd/s...and also started her on distilled water.

It's been 6 months or more now with no recurrence(fingers and toes crossed).

I completely change litter every 14 days and sift all litter at least every other day and Ritz is the only cat in the house...

I know what you are going through - all I can say is hang on and don't be afraid to stand up to your vet or even get another opinion...but I can attest, a bad infection can take a long time. .. I know others here have had similar experiences.

Skritchies to Minnie

[ramanth]

Hoping that Minnie recovers soon.

*HUGS*