My Senior Casey has UTI :( ... Need advice!

[LindaLee & Napoleon]

Miss Casey's now 18 1/2 y.o. and was dx'd with early renal disease more than a year ago. She started straining at the box yesterday & my first thought was constipation as she's been peeing normally lately, so I mixed a pumpkin in her wet food. Later last night, she'd visit the box & pee a drop or 2, then go to other places & do the same thing, which is very unusual for her. I noticed some bigger wet spots on my bed & her licking her privates so I got concerned. I pulled up her fur & felt she may be a dehydrated. Her eyes looked weak & she wanted to sleep, but she did eat wet food every time I offered. Before calling ER vet, I gave her 150cc fluids in case there may be a blockage & I could get it started.

Called the ER vet at 3AM who said she may still have a blockage & to bring her in. Her urine was very dilute & I was warned that her kidneys may be failing. But her eyes looked good & she was feisty... (maybe my fluids had perked her up). The cysto & urinalysis showed significant inflammatory cells & a mixed population of bacteria.
Treatment is Clavamox BID for 10 days.

I haven't had a cat with UTI before so I'd like your expert advice on treatment before contacting her vet tomorrow. Thankfully, Casey's appetite is still good & she's eating all the Friskies wet food that she wants. She's also been on Renal Essentials for the past few months for her kidneys.

Any advice is very much welcomed!

Hugs!
~ Linda Lee & Casey

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

Hello, I don't have advice for you but I have posted on lantus to see if anyone can come across with advice.

Good luck tomorrow
Wendy

 

[tortie58]

Hi Linda & Casey! There is no advice from me on the early renal. Did the vet did any blood work while in the ER? The dehydration could be caused by kidney issue.
As for UTI, oh yes! My male kitty has a blockage every 9 mths before I switched him to a all canned food diet. So far, for this year after the switch, he's fine. Water is the vital importance to UTI & CKR. My vet subscribed either Clavamox or Baytril for the treating the UTI.
Hope Casey gets better soon!

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

I saw another thread that spoke about UTIs... Here are some links

What the main takeaway was that your vet may want to give a convents injection but these aren't good http://www.catinfo.org/?link=convenia and http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,1905168.

This link is more on general UTIS etc http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

 

[LindaLee & Napoleon]

Thanks so much Wendy&Tiggy and tortie58 for your quick replies! Come to think of it, the ER vet didn't do any bloodwork on Casey. She's been on all canned for many years with added water. I even keep vaporizers/humidifiers running in my bedroom & living room 24/7 so the cats & I absorb all the moisture we can especially with the heat on now. I'm really puzzled as to how she could have gotten a UTI with me being so cautious that my cats stay hydrated.

I'm very thankful for the FDMB & the wealth of information that's been accumulated here & on the old site for many years. I did a simple search for urinary & uti on the FDMB site & found tons of previous posts, Dr. Lisa Pierson's info & so much info that I really trust. Many thanks to Rebecca for keeping the FDMB together for all these years!!!

 

[Jean and Charcoal]

Hi Linda Lee,

I posted over on FB also, so I won't repeat all I said there. If you look at my posts here, I have been dealing with my 17 and a half year old Ketchie now with late stage renal failure. Plus she has a cancerous skin tumor growing, probably fibrosarcoma near her top of her back by her tail. She is losing weight faster than I would like, and she had an abscessed tooth pulled out on December 7, 2012, so, it has been a roller coaster here for us.

With your Casey being so old, chances are her kidneys are pretty worn out, like Ketchie's. I am amazed that Ketchie has gone this far. She has had Interstitial Cystitis for years, and I only wish I had known about giving fluids long ago. They really do help.

Plus, the biggest thing you want to have on hand is Buprenex for pain. Do you have that, I hope? If Casey has cystitis, that can be very painful. It may not even be caused by a UTI, but just inflammation, and the Bupe really helps Ketchie.

Take care! Hope you can get her through this crisis. It is so great when our furbabies live this long, but you know that it is bound to be the fact that they are nearing the end stage of their life. I say that with much love, and concern for you, as you have known me for a long time now. But, I believe in being prepared for the worst, but praying for the best.

God bless you and little sweet Casey.
Hugs,
Jean and Charcoal (GA) cat_pet_icon