Question:
Sydney has another UTI (this is her 5th) and I really need suggestions on how to prevent this! We are going to the vet tomorrow at 4:45 unless her condition deteriorates, then we will go sooner. So far she is still eating, playing and peeing.
Here's the story so far...
When she went in for her spay as a kitten, the vet expelled her bladder and found a small amount of blood in the urine indicating a UTI. He prescribed Baytil however, never did a urinalysis. The Baytril made her violently ill and at the vets advice, I discontinued the treatment after only 3 days. I assumed this was good advice as I trusted this vet at the time but in hindsight, this seems to have been a mistake which I feel really bad about.
Fast forward to April of last year, when Sydney got her second bladder infection. No urinalysis as done again as we couldn't get a sample. She was given amoxcillin which cleared it up perfectly. The medication was given for the full course prescribed.
September of last year, she got another bladder infection. Once again, no urinalysis was done and even after holding overnight, there was no sample. She was given Clavamox which was given for the full course and cleared up the infection.
In January, she got another infection. This time the vet got a sample, did a full analysis on it and came back with nothing. There were no crystals or either kind, specific gravity was normal and pH was normal. He suggested that once the infection cleared up that we should do an X-ray of her bladder because he thought it felt thickened and could possibly have stones. The X-ray showed nothing unusual.
As for nutrition and such, she is on Innova dry food and alternating wet food (usually Eagle Pack, Precise, or California naturals). I give her 1/8 of the wet food mixed with about 1/2-3/4 of a cup which she happily eats/drinks. She also gets half of an acidophilus capsule with her meal. Other than that, she gets no table scraps and maybe a weekly cat treat if she's lucky. She drinks a good amount of water and has 4 water bowls throughout the house. Also, we have two litter boxes, which are both cleaned nightly. They are a combination of regular clumping litter and silica crystals. The reason for the combination is to keep the dust down.
Can anyone help? I am reallu upset and literally feel helpless.


Answer:
Candice, I have absolutely no experience with cats and UTIs but don't feel that it's your fault that she is having another one. Did you get Sydney as a kitten or an adult cat? Does UTI have any genetic reasons?
I hope the others with tons more experience with cats can give you some advice! In the meantime, hang in there!


Answer:
Sydney was a kitten when I got her. A UTI could have genetic roots if the problem were anatomical, which, to my vet's best knowledge is not the case with Syd. There is a surgery to make the urethra wider but it only works if the cat is passing crystals, not just for bacterial infections.


Answer:
Have you tried cranberry juice? I know it worked well for me and it's good for the urinary tract. Unless there's something in it that is poisonous to cats.


Answer:
Cranberry is an option to cats that have a wacky pH and need a more acidic pH. Basically, there are two types of crystals that can form. One will form if the pH is too low, the other will form if the pH is too high. So if I lower the pH of her urine, I may make her prone to crystals...not something I want to do since she doesn't have any crystal formation right now. Hopefully that makes sense. Someone else suggested grapefruit seed extract but that is the same type of scenario.


Answer:
I did some reading and came across advice to NOT give cranberry juice either (for the reasons you mentioned). Have you tried this website yet? It's based in the UK but it gives the names of drugs used in the US as well.
Urinary Tract Infections
These are often treated with antibiotics, and it is quite possible that your CRF cat will need antibiotics at some point either for this reason or for mouth ulcers. Urinary tract infections commonly require a prolonged course of antibiotics, for four or five weeks or longer. Some vets tend to put CRF cats on a low level dose of antibiotics on an ongoing basis, or recommend pulse dosing, where the cat is given antibiotics at regular intervals for several days at a time, e.g. for the first five days of every month. If your vet wishes to do this, discuss it and decide whether you think it is a reasonable treatment for your cat: infections can be hard for the weakened immune system of a CRF cat to cope with and to recover from, so in some cases this is not an unreasonable option.

Sometimes cranberries are recommended for humans with urinary tract problems, but you should avoid giving cranberry or food containing cranberry to CRF cats - cranberries are too acidic for CRF cats, who tend towards acidosis anyway.
http://users.ouvip.com/tanya/treatments.htm#UTIs


Answer:
Candice, I am sorry I can't offer any insight for you but my thoughts are with you in hopes you find a cure for Syd's UTI's. I can only imagine how frustrating this is for you to see Syd like this.


Answer:
Thanks Diana and Denise. Di, I am going to ask my vet about an extended course of antibiotics. I am hoping that we can culture the bacteria and then use the best fit antibiotic. I am also thinking about going with a raw diet as I have read in many places that it can help.


Answer:
I hope it works out for you, Candice, I can't imagine how much stress you are going thru trying to cure Sydney. How did her appointment go?


Answer:
I haven't gone yet Di. It's not for another two hours.