I would like to share my personal experience with my cat Lola. She is a 5-year-old spayed female Siamese mix. I think most people have one animal who ends up being their problem child. Well, my problem child is Lola.
So far in her life, she has experienced an episode of pancreatitis which earned her a hospital stay, she has eaten the tops of many homemade chocolate cupcakes which had also earned her a hospital visit, and finally the subject of my blog, she’s been having some pee problems.
A few weeks ago, she suddenly started urinating small amounts in her litterbox, she would frequently go to the litterbox, she seemed to be drinking more water than usual, and she began peeing on the cat post and her bed which she has never done before. Lola is lucky to have a mom who is an RVT because I quickly noted these symptoms and she earned herself her third visit to the hospital. I can tell you that Lola is very much a homebody kind of cat, so she wasn’t very thrilled to be leaving her home.
Once at the hospital, I had the Doctor examine her, and we ran a urinalysis. There was evidence of a UTI on her sample. After discussing with the Doctor, we decided to give her an injectable antibiotic that will last for two weeks in her system and also an injection of an anti-inflammatory to help keep her comfortable. Even for me being an RVT and dealing with medicating cats frequently, Lola was a challenge to medicate which is why the decision was made to use injectable medications.
A week had passed and I was still noticing the same symptoms as before. So that meant another trip to the hospital for Lola! Great. She’s really going to hate me now!
We ran another urine sample and even with the antibiotic on board, it seemed as though it didn’t help very much. The results were discussed again with the Doctor and we decided to take an x-ray of her abdomen to make sure that she didn’t have a bladder stone. Even though we didn’t see any crystals on the urinalysis, there is always a chance that there may be a stone there. Not all stones will shed crystals so it’s always a good idea to check and cover all our bases. If one were there, then that would explain the persistent infection. If one weren’t there, then we would need to kick up the antibiotic and use a stronger one. We had an x-ray and we did not a stone- that’s excellent news! This meant that she was now going to be getting an oral medication. Great. I did mention she had Siamese in her right?
It was a very long week trying to get the medication into her but it got done and things seem to be back to normal for her now. I wanted to share my personal experience and show that even simple things like UTI’s can be frustrating to treat. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right because what might work for one patient, may not work for the next. It’s important for owners to be observant and patient and to keep us updated on their pet’s condition.
Written By: RaeAnne Emmell, RVT