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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Do cats get UTIs?

23 replies

Zorayda · 07/12/2010 19:30

Our cat is acting very strange: repeat trips to her (clean) litter tray, pacing and crouching, just dribbled wee on the carpet in the bedroom. Could she have a UTI? Planning to take her to the vet tomorrow but also keen for any advice that might help her tonight as she's clearly uncomfortable! She's 10 years old, rescue moggy that we've had for two years. This behaviour is totally new. She's been on a strict diet for about six weeks as was 6kg (now closer to 5) and doesn't drink much water - she has a pouch of wet food a day, half in the morning and half at night.

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Original poster

Zorayda · 07/12/2010 19:30

She's also spending alot of time licking her nether regions. Even more so than is usual!

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ThatVikRinA22 · 07/12/2010 19:34

yes they do. speak to a vet, she might need some treatment but a vet could diagnose.

seeker · 07/12/2010 19:36

Yes, they can - particularly if they are on dried food.

Amazed that the one pouch of food a day - mine would regard that as a tiny snack between meals!

Samvet · 07/12/2010 19:37

Actually very rare for cats to have utis, unless they have another problem e.g diabetes. However, they get lower urinary tract diseases. This is a complex condition. See www.fabcats.org and navigate to cat diseases and urinary problems. Take her to the vet tomorrow. It is a painful condition so if distressed then take her tonight for pain relief.

Samvet · 07/12/2010 19:38

Sorry seeker that is not true. Dry food can contribute to lower urinary tract inflammation but this is very rarely caused by bacterial infection.

WhyHavePets · 07/12/2010 19:41

It sounds like she is not getting very much wee out, this leads to an overfull bladder - which can be fatal. It is really important that you get some advice quickly as she could be in very real trouble.

Does your pet insurance include a vet advice line? Or see if your vet is around for some telephone advice. Honestly these problems can become a big deal in just a few hours.

Original poster

Zorayda · 07/12/2010 19:43

Thanks both! She's been spoilt rotten, so the new diet came as a nasty shock - but we were told to half her food intake as she was so overweight she was at risk of developing borderline insulin-dependent diabetes and that she wouldn't be able to have the dental surgery she needs because they were concerned about her heart under general anaesthetic!

In fairness, her daily exercise consists of: eat, nap, snooze, stretch, longer nap, complain for food, stalk, nap; she doesn't leave the flat (we agreed she would be indoor when we adopted her).

For tonight would you recommend just trying to get fluids into her? We don't usually, but we could put milk down? Or should we just stick to offering water?

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Original poster

Zorayda · 07/12/2010 19:45

Ah - cross-posted with Samvet and WhyHavePets. Will check our insurance (AnimalFriends) and see if there's an out of hours number for the vet.

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larakitten · 07/12/2010 19:49

My cat gets UTI's every year.....we are currently recuperating her through a particularly nasty one. Our vet prescribed her a weeks course of Antibiotics but suggested that the cold may be the trigger ie when she's outside she doesn't want to venture out of the warm (ish) shed to pee to saves it all till she's back indoors - hence the recurring infections.

I realise you mention that your cat is an indoor mog, but perhaps the cold is still affecting her?

For what its worth, my cat's symptoms were exactly the same as you describe - my cat gets it so often that we pick it up very early and whisk her off to the vets for a check up. She's also an older mog, with a similar exercise regime.........

WillbeanChariot · 07/12/2010 19:52

My cat had these symptoms and was diagnosed with cystitis. She had antibios I think. Our vet said it was very common.

suzikettles · 07/12/2010 20:01

My cat gets idiopathic cystitis (ie the vet's not sure what causes it, maybe stress, not drinking enough, maybe not emptying her bladder properly, probably aggravated by her being overweight).

Sometimes it can be caused by crystals in the bladder which can block the urethra - this is particularly dangerous in male cats - but our cat's urine has been tested and that's not the problem.

Anyway, in our cat's case a course of painkillers sorts things out pretty quickly and she's soon peeing normally.

Our cat is overweight, indoor, older, a bit nervous - probably all risk factors by the sounds of it.

Original poster

Zorayda · 07/12/2010 20:25

I'm taking her to the Out of Hours vet. Thank you all for your advice - I'll let you know how it goes.

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WhyHavePets · 07/12/2010 20:27

Hope it goes well Zorayda

LittlebearH · 07/12/2010 20:36

My dear old Persian suffered badly. Her kidneys gave up in the end. Try adding water to wet food to up fluid intake.

Also, watch out, she wanted to pee on something soft and would try sofa or a bed!! Nightmare.

If this persists or re occurs, suggest an x ray to your vet. It could have made a difference had I known. By the time she had an xray her kidneys had become so enlarged it was too late.

Hope your cat has just a minor uti and gets well soon.

Original poster

Zorayda · 07/12/2010 23:01

Milly has cystitis, poor dab. Off to our usual vet in the morning for a course of ABs. She's had an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic jab this evening - and managed to scratch through my leather gloves in protest!

Vet advised adding water to her food for fluids, just like LittlebearH did; will be trying to get as much liquid into her as possible. Am really hoping this isn't the first sign of diabetes as she gets so stressed out by needles and vets. The good news is that she's now down to 5k, so hopefully at less risk. With any luck it's a one-off.

She's now sulking under the coffee table but much more back to her old self. Thank you all of you for all the advice and sympathy!

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LittlebearH · 08/12/2010 08:05

Ahh poor Milly. Cats have a way of making you feel guilty don't they?!

Glad she is ok, try not to worry about diabetes, I am sure it is likely this is a one off.

She will reap the rewards now of being fussed over!!

WhyHavePets · 08/12/2010 16:16

Oh so glad she is ok! Hope today went well - maybe investing in a pair of those gauntlets they use for birds of prey would be a good idea?

amummyinwaiting · 08/12/2010 16:27

Hi Zorayda

Was going to say cystitis but others got there before me. Just wanted to say ours had this a few years ago but the reason was because a tom cat was coming and wee-ing around our back door which was stressing her out. So they gave us ati-biotics but we also had a felliway diffuser plug in thing that calmed her down (and squirted the nasty tom cat when he came round)
Could it be that she has got stressed at all? Although from your description she doesnt sound very stressed :)

Original poster

Zorayda · 08/12/2010 22:32

Our usual vet automatically brought in the red gloves - Milly clearly has a naughty-Torty dangercat note on her file from last time! I'll need to get a urine sample once she's weeing well again - then they'll be able to see if there are crystals present.

Am wondering about stress as a possible trigger - there is a young tom who sometimes prowls the block. Also I've been working odd hours for events and DH has been away - she's very resistant to change. Worth getting a felliway diffuser anyway to see if it makes a difference.

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WhyHavePets · 09/12/2010 00:00

It is well worth trying feliway, my cat is very change resistant. His hair starts to fall out as soon as a stranger walks in the house, poor thing. Feliway did not work for him but I think he is an extreme case. I have heard some great things about them from people with slightly less extreme cats

suzikettles · 09/12/2010 13:31

I got Feliway after our cat's bouts seemed to be getting more regular. It could have been a coincidence but she was clear for the duration of the diffuser bottle and the next one I bought.

She's actually not had a case this year but I'll have jinxed myself by writing that.

Good luck getting the urine sample - that was a pain in the arse! The vet gave us funny plastic litter but the cat was having none of it... God knows I love her, but she can be "difficult" on occasion

suzikettles · 09/12/2010 13:34

Btw, all the samples we got or had taken were clear of both crystals and infection - that's where the idiopathic thing comes in. We just get painkillers to tide her through when it comes on now (as I say, not for over a year now) but it would actually get better in 5-7 days if not treated - not that I would leave it obviously.

Original poster

Zorayda · 09/12/2010 20:11

Managed to get a sample using that strange plastic litter - had just given up getting one in time to get it to the vet and changed into my indoor lazy clothes and off she stalked... Hopefully I'll get the results tomorrow.

Milly did used to be very nervous around strangers when we first got her, but has come along in leaps and bounds. I'm still racking my brains as to what could have stressed her out recently.

Tomorrow the antibiotic injection she had wears off and I start the new challenge of getting meds in her by hiding them in her food. Am hoping she will continue with her 'starved cat' face-in-bowl routine and not notice them.

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