8 Months After Pu Surgery And Now Uti

[Tdizz11]

In November, my 3 year old cat had PU surgery. It was a long road to recovery but he was doing fine since. I feed him canned merrick chicken pate and beef pate. Lately, the stores by me who sell it, haven’t had the chicken or beef so I subbed some other flavors. Then 2 weeks ago, I went away for a few days. He stayed with my other cat at my parent’s house. When I went to pick him up, I noticed him licking himself and making multiple trips to the litter box. We went to the emergency vet and he got amoxicillin. Today I took him back to the vet so they could check his urine. Vet said his urine is clean but she wants me to feed him Royal Canin SO cans.
I sort of feel like switching to the script diet might be too much. I feel that maybe the stress plus the change in flavor merrick might have caused the infection. I have also read that the SO food is usually fed temporarily to cats. My vet made it sound like this is a forever diet change.
I know there isn’t an exact answer but does anyone have any input, ideas or suggestions on this?
Thank you

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I'm sorry you haven't received a reply yet - ...let me ask a question; along with the stress of him having to deal with the other kitty, do your parents handle litterbox cleaning like you do at home, ie; super clean?
Is the water at their house the same?

By the way, do you filter your water?

I'm not arguing with your vet, and I understand that she's wanting to keep his currently clean urine in the condition, but I'm not sure about the food...

 

[Tdizz11]

Hi, thanks for responding.

They have two litter boxes that they clean once a day. They use the same litter as I do. I have been giving my cats only distilled water since last fall when the ordeal started. They had only distilled water available there.
The first time Dalton was blocked was last summer when he stayed at their house when I was away. He does not seem stressed there. He acts completely normal. He was there with my other cat, so he had his friend to cuddle with.
After staying there last summer, when he was blocked the first time, we started trying switching foods to c/d, which he wouldn't eat and then everything blew up and got worse.
I watch him like a hawk at home, when I can, even though I work full time.
He has never eaten try food. I have always fed him higher end canned food. He is very fussy so he doesn't always eat what I give him.
My gut feeling is that messing with his food and the added stress is what caused the UTI.
I'm just so paranoid because I'm going away next week for a few days and I cannot have this happen again. I will have my parent's come to my house twice a day to feed my cats.
Thank you for your help. Please let me know if you have any advice.

Thank!

 

[Furballsmom]

I will have my parent's come to my house twice a day to feed my cats.

Hi! I think you're on to something regarding having him stay home, and your parents come to your house.

However, with that said, if you'll bear with me I would like to suggest running a test. Distilled water myths for and against notwithstanding, it is possible that he's not drinking as much as he would be given filtered water.

If you would be willing to purchase a water filter pitcher (less expense outlay if my theory is wrong), give him that water, and watch to see if he drinks more of it.

Distilled water | Veterinary information for dog and cat owners

Water Water Everywhere, but What's a Cat to Drink? | Little Big Cat

So, other than water there are a couple of things you can consider. I'm going to guess you'd rather not try any calming products, although calm-o-mile might be usefule while you're gone, but instead what about classical harp music - it's known to ease feline stress, or the app Relax My Cat.
Best of luck to you-all!

 

[Tdizz11]

I have 3 water bowls out- one ceramic, one fountain that is stainless and one plastic. Currently, they are all filled with distilled.
Dalton drinks a lot out of the ceramic bowl. My other cat, Bohdi, likes the fountain and to lift up and spill the plastic bowl.
Before the distilled, I always gave them water from my Brita or Poland Spring bottled water. My boys are too spoiled for tap water!

I always leave the TV on for them when I'm not home. If I start playing classical harp music, they might think I've moved out for good! However, I will certainly try it when I go to work tomorrow.
I never heard of the Relax my cat app. I will certainly try that too.
I usually spray feliway on a towel in their carrier when I transport them, which makes me think that they associate that smell with going some place horrible.

Thank you for your help.
I think I'm going to stick with keeping Dalton calm in his own environment. He has big windows to watch birds and squirrels, which keeps him entertained.
I hope it all works out

 

[Furballsmom]

I meant filtered, like your brita where the contaminants of regular tap water are removed but the benefits of water are still there. My thinking being that he might like the taste of filtered water better than the nothing-ness of distilled, and will actually drink even more. --However, be sure to deep clean the brita to avoid buildup. I personally really like a faucet end filter.
In any case, good luck!

 

[Furballsmom]

If I start playing classical harp music, they might think I've moved out for good!

LOL, too funny

 

[Daisy6]

If they associate Feliway with the vet, it's because you don't use it at home!

 

[cheeser]

Has your vet recommended any OTC or prescription stress relief remedies?

We were just a whisker or two away from having to put Buddy on Prozac for stress management, when the vet said he had recently been having some success with Zylkene for cats with urinary tract problems. It worked like a charm for Buddy, it doesn't make him fuzzy like the prescription anti-anxiety meds we tried, and neutral tasting enough that we can easily sneak it into his food.

We also run a white noise sound conditioner 24/7, which helps to drown out ambient noises that would otherwise startle him.

Hope you and your vet figure out what works best for your kitty, and that he's feeling better soon!

 

[Tdizz11]

My vet never recommended any meds.
I downloaded Relax My Cat to my fire stick. The boys are at home, listening to the 4 hours of calming tunes.
Have either of you used the feliway diffuser or any other calming scents?
My apartment is really quiet and Dalton never seems stressed but I’m willing to try anything.
The white noise sound conditioner sounds good for everyone! I’m looking that up on amazon now.
I’m going to stick to my gut feeling and not start feeding the script food. I will also be documenting everything on a spreadsheet so I can compare results. Going out of the country for 5 days next week has me really nervous. I have a live cam set up in my living room but I might buy another one, put it by their litter boxes and set it to alert me when there’s movement.
—-now everyone will really think I’m crazy!
Thanks again for all of your ideas and your help!

 

[Furballsmom]

I think everything you're doing is excellent!
I've had feliway at one (now ex) veterinarian where they had it in the HVAC and sprayed down the rooms too, it did nothing.
I have the Comfort zone with feliway diffuser at the house, it seems to help, not at all sure what the difference is, the 2 percent facial pheromone is the feliway product according to the package so it's the other 98 percent carrier ingredients that are different/better...?
I also tried a 1/2 a Composure treat when there were visiting children, it helped him, mostly he slept but his front paws curled up which I thought was a bit odd.

 

[nansiludie]

If they associate Feliway with the vet, it's because you don't use it at home!

feliway doesn't always work, I had bought a diffuser for the house and had it in the room the cat was spraying in and said cat marched right over and sprayed the diffuser so there was that.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh, lordy!!