Urinary Tract Infection?

Question
Hi Savannah,

My little girl Ayah, has begun sitting in the cat box or sitting outside of it contemplating.  I Googled this behavior and learned that she may have a urinary tract infection.  I cannot afford a vet visit, so looked up home remedies.  Three items were suggested for treatment (if this is what she has), vitamin C, Cantharsis and cranberry.  Can you advise, given only her litter box behavior?  If so, what amounts of these items would you prescribe, if any?  Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.


Answer
Jasmine,

You are absolutely correct in that your cat's behavior is indicative of a UTI or stones/crystals.  When cats do have a UTI or stones/crystals, they will frequently sit outside the litterbox before they have to go, and just stare, or cry.  They may get in the box and dig and dig, and cry some more.  They may urinate small frequent amts.  They may jump out of the box and cry some more.  They are frequently found to be licking their urethra, regardless of whether they just urinated or not.  So, if your cat is demonstrating any of this behavior, then it's a good chance she does have a UTI or stones/crystals.

What I'm going to say next is that you MUST get her to a vet!!!!  If you've ever had a UTI, then you know how miserable the urgency and frequency is, and then how painful it is when you do pee and it burns something fierce.  The bladder spasms alone are enough to send you through the roof.  And if the infection has progressed higher up the ureters and closer to the kidneys, everything is intensified 10x.  If you've ever had a kidney stone, or known someone who had a kidney stone, then you know it's one of the most painful experiences a person can go through.  That is documented in medical journals as a result of medical scientific studies.  A kidney stone is an absolutely horrific experience to have to go through.  A cat experiences the exact same emotions and physical side effects/symptoms that we do.  They are 100% capable of experiencing the emotions of having a UTI/kidney stone/crystals, as well as the intense pain that goes along with it.  I know that if I didn't get antibx soon, I was miserable, and then I absolutely had to have anti-spasmotics.  

With that said, an infection is an infection, and must be treated with antibx!!  The only way it can be dx'd is by seeing the vet and having a UA done.  A UA will tell the vet if there's an infection, and by sending off a C&S (culture and sensitivity), will be able to tell exactly what kind of bacteria is infecting the genitourinary system as well as know exactly what antibx to rx.   Also, most people don't realize that if a UTI or any infection for that matter, is left untreated, it can lead to full blown sepsis, or infection throughout the entire body.  Sepsis can be fatal, and will certainly cost much more money to treat than if you spend $50-75 now to treat the UTI.  I always tell dog and cat owners that you must always think of prevention, and rapid dx and treatment.  If your cat or dog sees the vet regularly, and gets preventative treatment, then your cat will be healthier in the long run.  If you choose not to treat these pesky little problems that come up, then you're likely looking at putting out a whole lot more money down the road vs if you had just paid for an antibx and treated her at the onset.  

While I do have respect for homeopathic and alternative treatments, I believe there is a place and a time for their use, and using them to treat a possible full blown UTI is not the appropriate place or time.  I don't think you realize that if left untreated, a UTI can rapidly progress to pyelonephritis (kidney infection), and from there to sepsis.  If your cat has crystals or stones, that is an early sign of renal disease.  But even more impt is that a stone or crystal, if left untreated, can completely block the ureters, and cause an obstruction.  In this situation, that is an emergency!  A little stone can rapidly increase in size as debris and "matter" is added to that little stone, and within a couple of days, your cat can die.  Genitourinary conditions are serious and very painful.  If there is any condition you don't want to take her to the vet for, it's NOT this condition.  A cat who has a UTI or other urinary problem is also likely to stop using the litterbox and urinating elsewhere.  So, now, instead of having to treat just one problem, you've got 2.  And the products you need to clean up cat urine correctly are not cheap.  So, it goes back to prevention and treating a condition early onset---bite the bullet and pay for a vet visit, the UA, and the antibx.  You will be so thankful and grateful you did, because if she does have a UTI and it's left untreated, you will find yourself with some HUGE vet bills (like possible hospitalization, IV fluid therapy, possible surg to remove a stone/crystal so the ureters can be freed in order for urine to flow through, antibx and other meds, and follow up lab work).  That will easily translate into hundreds of dollars.  So what have you saved?  Nothing, and you could even lose your cat's life.  

I have researched cranberry use in cats, as my cat that I lost last June had renal disease and had frequent UTI's, especially in the end.  I wanted to avoid the trauma of taking her into the vet to have a UA done and giving her yet another antibx, so I researched all that I could on alternative treatments, including cranberry.  What I found was that it does nothing to treat existing UTI's.  It's possible that as a preventative, it could help keep the bladder walls at a pH that prevents bacteria from clinging to them, but it's nothing that is 100% proven, and in fact, there are several articles that indicate cranberry actually doesn't do any good, and is just a waste of money.  There are also other herbs that can be given preventatively to help decrease UTI's. Things like marshmallow, Oregon grape, and a few others.  Again, they are not to be used to treat a UTI--just used preventatively

Vit C will will also not cure an existing UTI.  It could be given as a preventative to boost the immune system, but it's not going to directly affect the genitorurinary system.  And too much Vit C can be toxic, so you need to always keep that in mind and make sure you're not giving too much.  

I'm not that familiar with cantharsis, but what I did find has mixed reviews.  It appears that some people had good results with it; others didn't.  It also appears as if you need to make an aqueous solution out of it to give it.  I'm not sure if that's true all the time, or just some of the time, but what I read indicated that needed to be done all the time. I wouldn't try it since I couldn't find much data on it, and I have access to lots of medical and veterinary journals.  That would make me rather nervous.  Not to mention that many of these alternative remedies interact with other meds your cat may be on, and you don't want to unknowingly cause a rxn.  

If you still aren't convinced you need to take your cat to the vet, you can buy special litter to determine if your cat has a UTI.  I can't remember the name of it, but there is a special litter you can buy at Petsmart (it might be a Dr. Elsey litter--or maybe it's called UrineMeter(?)).  When your cat pees on it, it will change color if there's an infection.  I'm not sure if it will change to another color if there's no infection, or it just won't change at all, but at least you can have a better idea if you're dealing with a UTI.  I'm not sure how accurate these types of products are, so I wouldn't rely on it totally.  I think there's also a product called KittyCheck, which is a litter additive, and does the same thing as the litter.

I really hope you will take her in, as her health is at stake.  She needs appropriate medical attention, and I would hate to see you lose her or she ends up so sick because you didn't treat her.  Also, remember her.  Any urinary conditions are sooooo painful for a cat.  I used to have to medicate my baby with pain meds during her UTI's because they hurt her so much.  I would just take her to the vet so she didn't have to be in pain any longer than necessary.  You should be thinking about her, and about the consequences of not treating her.  She depends on you for her care, and I know if she could talk, she'd be begging you to take her in for treatment so she's no longer in pain.  Please make the right decision for your cat!!!!  

Savannah