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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

Cat with UTI?

23 replies

hodgeheg92 · 09/09/2018 09:29

My cat has tried to urinate 6 times in the last 45 minutes. Sometimes there's a little in the tray but usually nothing at all. I need to ring an emergency vets don't I?

We've recently (temporarily) switched to just feeding her wet food as she has infected teeth which were making it difficult for her to crunch biscuits. (She's booked to have her teeth removed on Tuesday)

I feel like an awful cat mum but I'm scared of the cost. We were more than comfortable financially when we brought her and her sister home from the sanctuary and they're house cats therefore didn't get pet insurance but now money is tight.

OP posts:

Gammeldragz · 09/09/2018 09:34

My cat had this and it wasn't too expensive, I think we didn't claim on the insurance because it was under £100. It's a common and easy to treat condition. Maybe they could prescribe over the phone?
We had to give ours drops for a few days I think.

Stormzyandme · 09/09/2018 09:37

Mine has one at the moment & crystals.

Is there a vet open near you today?
We use Pets at Home vets, open Sundays.

She is on antibiotics at the moment.

I doubt its the wet food thats done it.

Have you changed her litter to a new type?

Stormzyandme · 09/09/2018 09:39

If she has an infection in her gums, then she is probably feeling like shit & she also has an UTI. She will feel much better after Tuesday.

Does she have plenty of water near her?

Toddlerteaplease · 09/09/2018 10:23

If you can, try and get some sort of insurance. My house cats have run up bills of over £15000 in 18 months.

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 09/09/2018 10:35

Thank you for your replies and for not berating me as a bad cat mum!

She is booked into the vets4pets this afternoon and now has 5 bowls of water in all her favourite spots. Haven't seen her actually drink but as they say you can lead a cat to water but you can't make them drink. Except I probably couldn't lead her anywhere!

Does anybody know if the other cat could catch it from their shared litter tray? Will ask the vets this afternoon but would like to get them separated ASAP if so (my MiL has them when we go away so she'd hopefully have the not poorly one)

OP posts:

Rudgie47 · 09/09/2018 10:44

Hope your cat makes a swift recovery OP. I second the above poster who said get them insured. I've two cats and it costs £22.00 per month for both with Argos pet insurance. To me that's better than having to fork out loads if they become poorly.
I don't think a UTI can be passed on from cat litter to another cat.

Stormzyandme · 09/09/2018 14:04

Toddlerteaplease Did you mean 15 thousand

Im hoping it was 15 hundred!

Toddlerteaplease · 09/09/2018 14:52

Yes I do mean 15 thousand!! One cat got pancreatitis and spent a week at the vets critically ill. Then the other one had a jaw problem that need surgery at a specialist hospital. They then both got diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. One worse than the other. (She died last month)

Stormzyandme · 09/09/2018 15:35

Oh wow

Ive just paid out £700 for my indoor cat. She has crystals. Ultrasound was £230.

I pay £15 a month Argos Insurance, it is a lot each month I know OP.

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 09/09/2018 15:47

toddler I'm sorry for your loss. I also hadn't read your post properly, that is a LOT of money! I think we'll be getting them insured after today, they're both having teeth taken out and that's going to cost £400 so even with excess insurance would have been good for that.

She's at the vets now with my OH.

OP posts:

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 09/09/2018 16:50

So, the vet said it's probably not bacterial but stress related and therefore didn't prescribe antibiotics. He's given her pain medication and what looks to be some sort of mussel supplement for her food.

It cost £90 so not bad, although I'm sceptical about the supplement but it's paid for now.

Bad question but, if it turns out that she's prone to UTIs and we insure her now, would they be able to find out that she's been treated for one before when it was through a different vets do you think?

OP posts:

viccat · 09/09/2018 17:27

Yes you do have to declare previous vet history when getting insurance. They can and will find out. Some will only exclude covering pre-existing conditions for a set period of time, though.

Even with that one condition excluded it is definitely worth getting insurance. I volunteer at a cat charity and unfortunately we regularly come across situations where someone needs to rehome their cat because they can't afford to treat a perfectly treatable condition (such as diabetes) without insurance in place. Most of us can manage paying £20 a month on insurance but a £2,000 vet bill might be a struggle all of a sudden if something happens...

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 09/09/2018 18:01

Thank you for the advice Viccat, we got them from a sanctuary originally and would not want them to end up back there because I know how hard it is for cats to be rehomed.

OP posts:

Stormzyandme · 09/09/2018 20:27

Be careful what medication you give her on Monday before her operation on Tuesday.

It may be worth ringing your vet tomorrow & get advice.

Especially if she has to eat with her medication as she wont be allowed to eat before her op, so meds on an empty tummy may give her a bad tummy.

Toddlerteaplease Sorry about your DCat

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 09/09/2018 20:32

Thanks Stormzy, the vet today said she wouldn't be able to have her operation but was going to ring our vets tomorrow to double check.

Hadn't been told about them not being able to eat prior to the op either! And both of them are/were going in.

OP posts:

MrsPawsitive · 09/09/2018 20:38

We had a cat with FLUTD, Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease, and the symptoms were like what you describe. In our case it was a male cat who had struvite crystals. Our cat got blocked, more common in males.
Maybe Feliway would help your cat with her feelings of stress? She's fortunate in having such an observant owner as yourself!

Stormzyandme · 09/09/2018 20:43

hodgeheg92 They usually say to remove food at bedtime the night before, no breakfast & leave water out as normal.

MrsPawsitive How long did it take for your cat to get better?

Mine has crystals & is still having treatment 3 months later.

What treatment/medication did they advise?

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 09/09/2018 22:36

MrsPawsitive Thank you for your kind words, they've made me feel better about my cat parenting abilities.

Stormzy Thank you, will ask the vets that tomorrow. I hope your cat is better soon.

OP posts:

MrsPawsitive · 10/09/2018 08:03

I'm afraid ours was a sad case. Our cat was treated by three different vets. He had surgery to unblock him but it didn't stop the blocking from recurring and he ended up in a lot of pain. After a trip to the emergency vet we had to make one of those tough decisions you hope you never have to make for your cat. I felt terrible but after exhausting all other means it was the right thing to do.

After this we got better about providing soft food for our remaining cats instead of kibble. I'd like to phase out the kibble completely if we can manage it. Making sure they have access to lots of water is important. Soft food with less phosphorus is supposed to be better.

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 10/09/2018 14:27

MrsPawsitive I'm very sorry about your cat, such a difficult decision to have to make.

OP posts:

ifonly4 · 10/09/2018 15:53

OP, how's your little one today?

Original poster

hodgeheg92 · 10/09/2018 19:47

ifonly She's weeing a lot less frequently although spending longer in her tray when she does go. She's her usual self, except when we separate her from our other cat in order to get her to eat food sprinkled with her pain meds. She pines for her sister, that will be difficult when the other one goes for her operation tomorrow

OP posts:

MrsPawsitive · 11/09/2018 02:01

I wish our regular vet had done tests for crystals right away, Hodgeheg92, because boy cats are more prone to trouble with that.

It really helps when you catch problems early, as you have with your cat. I hope your girls both quickly return to their normal life of leisure and cuddles .

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