How do you know if your cat has a UTI?

[ALovelyBunch0fCoconuts]

CocoCat has just used the tray 4 times in the last hour despite me letting her outside. shes coming back in to use the tray. she seems to be doimg small amounts each time not her usual stream. is this a sign of a UTI?

she seems fine in herself other than that so how else would I know if she was ill?

jusy home now. cystitis. anti inflammatory jab given. mow off to hospital what a day!

Hope your op goes well - you'll be the better for knowing that she's been seen.

all done and dusted. what a relief. ive been gone since 10am and just got back and litter tray is clear

Ok so now shes back in the litter tray every hour. think we definitely need to consider a wet diet. vet advised as such if she didnt clear up within 24h. she got better almost immediately but has gone downhill again.

what would you recommend? wet only diet? wet with special cystitis biscuits? they do those at the pet store up the road. any advice would be greatly welcomed

I'd ring the vets and ask if she needs to be seen again.

I'd be going for a wet diet with special biscuits but I'd be prepared to drop the biscuits if she's prone to cystitis.

I'd also go for a wet diet.

You might find \link{http://www.icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/feline-idiopathic-cystitis-fic\this} a useful read. Its internal links also appear to be working so it looks like they're gradually working away at the updating.

At the minute she is on felix as good as it looks (I know it's not the best but she loves the stuff) the vet said she'd need about 4 pouches a day if she went completely wet.

if I changed back to the butchers tins it would be better for her (and the wallet!) wouldnt it? we did used to give her them but found that we were wasting so much and she'd only eat half a tin a day and it wss going off. but she would be eating more regularly so it should work ok shouldn't it?

Should I continue adding water to her meat? shes perfectly happy to eat it like this so i might as well hadnt I?

For the time being I'd add water yes. It will be ok, lots of cats get uti.

I'd keep on with the 50/50 if she'll eat it. It gets water into her.

By the way, cat food freezes fine so if you wanted to move on to a better food, find some smallish lidded containers (or get family and friends to save and donate them - ex food containers are usually fine) and put down half of each tin before you dish the rest. That way you can vary the flavours and keep it fresh. And it's not so bad on the wallet.

Did the vet say there was an infection or did he just medicate her? Also is there any follow up jab/medication or did he expect the one to sort it out? Did he give you any timescales?

With mine, she had a jab the first time but as the vet was pretty sure it is was stress he gave me some Metacam (Meloxicam - add drops to food) which I understand is an anti-irritant to avoid jabbing her when no actual infection. So my maintenance with her is:

breakfast: 1/2 pouch wet mixed with water
tea: 1/2 pouch mixed with water
biscuits: down all the time, BUT they are ones she is not overly keen on (she goes mad for Go-cat, so gets Lidl instead )
She is c.4kg so fairly small (with a round tummy) hence not massive amounts of food
She doesn't drink at all, hence always doing the mixing

At first signs of squatting and no wee I use the Metacam, remove biscuits and give her tinned tuna as a treat instead of a pouch on 1 or 2 occasions. I up food to 2x pouches per day.
Usually after 24hrs she is fine but I medicate for c.3 days to be sure.

I hope the medication kicks in soon

Vet said there was bladder inflammation and administered the anti inflammatory jab. no mention of continued meds and said if she got it again to go on a wet diet. and make sure she is outside plenty. she prefers to be inside and I do encourage her to go out but she isnt that fussed.

and thank you for the freezing tip that's really helpful