Litter box issue

[KittyMom777]

I feel I am bombarding the forum with questions today but I am home so observing a lot more.

Silver peed and pooed diarrhea on the floor this morning. Not like him at all but the last couple weeks he's done it every other day so it's not like he doesn't like the lifted box.

Ok so just now I watched him in the tray. He lay down in it to pee as his neuropathy is bad so I think that explains why he doesnt always use it. He also took a LONG time in there just for a pee. I listened and he seemed to pee a bit. Wait in there and then pee some more. I ready ruled out infection as vet did a culture of his urine to be sure. It came back clean of bacteria but her own test showed some bacteria do she gave me antibiotics for him. He's been on them a week (culture came back clear on Thursday but she told me to finish off the antibiotics - another 5 days. Is this just go ensure he has no infection? I'm confused as to why continue if culture was clear.

Why so long in the litter tray?

I started him on methyl b12 last night. Gavd the full 5000 mcg before someone on here said to reduce to 3000 and told me how to split the capsule.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

There could be some urinary inflammation but not an infection. Are you adding lots of water to Silver's food? That will help flush him out if there are something like crystals or a mucous plug blocking things up. You could put some puppy pads around the litter box to catch any out of the box incidents.

As for the tests, what test did your vet do? The urine culture and sensitivity at the labs should be correct. My vet says she's seen some positive urine C&S results but negative urinalysis, but not the other way around.

 

[KittyMom777]

Not adding water because he's drinking a tonne already. Diabetes not controlled yet.

I don't know what test the vet did but this is what my bill says:

Urinalysis (cysto sample) SG: >1.040
Stick: glucose 3+ (55mmol/L), blood 2+ (non hemolyzed), ph 6.5, protein
100mg/dL, trace leukocytes
Sediment: 1+ bacteria (cocci), no RBCs/WBCs

Mean anything?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Those urine results do not indicate inflammation. For comparison these do and were from my Patches about two months ago.

COLLECTION = cysto
APPEARANCE = cloudy yellow
LEUK = ++
NITRATE = neg
PH = 6
PROTEIN = +30
GLUCOSE = 1000mg/dL
KETONES = neg
UROBILI = normal
BILI = neg
BLOOD ~ 50
SPGR > 1.040

 

[Critter Mom]

... she told me to finish off the antibiotics - another 5 days. Is this just go ensure he has no infection? I'm confused as to why continue if culture was clear.

As with humans, it's important to finish out any course of antibiotics otherwise they may not work should they be needed again in the future.

 

[KittyMom777]

... she told me to finish off the antibiotics - another 5 days. Is this just go ensure he has no infection? I'm confused as to why continue if culture was clear.

As with humans, it's important to finish out any course of antibiotics otherwise they may not work should they be needed again in the future.

Yes I understand that of course! However if you read the entire thread you'll see that I said he did NOT have an infection so I do not understand request from vet to finish the antibiotics.

 

[BJM]

details, details...
He didn't have an infection the way they tested. That is not quite the same thing as saying he had no infection.

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

They did the same thing with Hidey when he was diagnosed. My vet put him on antibiotics because they THOUGHT he had a UTI with the diabetes but had to run further labs to be sure. Maybe just to be safe? Dunno, I still gave him the meds, I just thought if there was a chance and his urine out put was insane that it couldnt hurt lol. When I went back to start his insulin they had the results and he didnt have a UTI

 

[KittyMom777]

details, details...
He didn't have an infection the way they tested. That is not quite the same thing as saying he had no infection.

They did a urine test while I was there - but they also sent it away for culture which came back clear so pretty sure its clear as they did several tests.

 

[KittyMom777]

They did the same thing with Hidey when he was diagnosed. My vet put him on antibiotics because they THOUGHT he had a UTI with the diabetes but had to run further labs to be sure. Maybe just to be safe? Dunno, I still gave him the meds, I just thought if there was a chance and his urine out put was insane that it couldnt hurt lol. When I went back to start his insulin they had the results and he didnt have a UTI

I stopped the antibiotics last night as its really affecting him - diarrhea etc. He was out of sorts last night but much better this morning.

 

[BJM]

...They did a urine test while I was there - but they also sent it away for culture which came back clear so pretty sure its clear as they did several tests.

That does not, however, rule out other kinds of infection - respiratory, GI, etc.

You want to watch out for assuming too much. Just because a lab test has a certain result, it only means that using the specific test method, on that specimen, at that time, it gave that result. Test methods may vary (ex PCR vs Western Blot for some blood tests for pathogens). Sample preparation has to be correct; ex. urine often needs to be fresh to test it for ketones. The equipment may need calibrating, culture medium has to be correct for the presumed agent. And so on. Vets may choose the least expensive test option, then if positive, confirm it with a more accurate and more expensive method.