Antibiotics...Need Help

[Calicat13]

I have a 13 yr old f began cat that's never had any health problems. I found blood droplets around the house and she has been peeing outside the box. She only pees outside the box during the night/early morning before we're awake, but pees and poops in the box throughout the day. She pees about a golf ball size 4 times a day. Took her to the vet, they couldn't get a proper urinalysis because she peed in her carrier, but did blood work and collected a small sample. Showed no bacteria, but cloudy and some blood in urine. Prescribed amoxicillin liquid - she won't let me administer them with the dropper. They then gave me Baytril and I only administered one dose and she vomited and became very aggressively hissing. I haven't given her a dose in 48 hrs and she is better today. She is peeing on our bed and couch. She had this back in November after I changed her food and it went away 2 weeks later, but started again last week. Our entire house is covered in pee pads. I could try the liquid antibiotics again, but she is barely eating any wet food. I'm not sure what else to do, I am at a loss.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I have had success with giving Feeby liquid antibiotics with a just a bit of canned tuna or chicken water. I measure the dosage into a dish, and then add just enough of the tuna/chicken water to mask the taste. She laps that up easily and then I give her a piece of the tuna or chicken as a treat afterward.

If your girl continues to pee inappropriately after a successful round of antibiotics, you will probably need for the vet to not only attempt - again - a urine sample to look not only for bacteria, but check for sediment which could indicate crystals or stones in her bladder. If there is no indication of bacteria - and whether or not there is any sediment in the sample, you might talk to the vet about what testing they would want to do to see if her bladder is inflamed - it is possible in her older age that she has acquired a form of cystitis which would help to explain things like changes in her food stressing her enough to irritate her bladder. Stress/environmental changes are the biggest factors behind cystitis.

 

[Calicat13]

Thank you. Do you use human tuna juice or a specific cat brand? Also what kind of chicken water? I am also thinking it is Cystitis as we have moved 3 times in 3 months, but this started about 4 months after our last move went away and came back just last week. If it was Cystitis would there be blood? I have tried Feliway and Rescue Remedy. She always urinates in her carrier when she is scared so I am not sure how they would get a sample. She urinated again once we got to the vet before they could get a sample.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I use human canned tuna or chicken. Swanson brand (at least for me) carries a 3 oz can of chicken in water. There can be blood in the urine with cystitis, and it can also happen with crystals or stones - as well as a bacterial infection, of course.

I have only once had to leave Feeby at the vets for hours in the hope they could 'wait her out' to get urine. She still hadn't gone when I went to get her, and I was so upset! But while she was on the table waiting for me to pack her up to take home, her vet took one more shot and gently squeezed her bladder enough to get a small sample. Maybe, next time they can try the 'squeeze' approach, if they didn't do that before.

 

[Calicat13]

Ok, thank you. The antibiotics made her so aggressive and took 48 hrs for her too calm down. I am worried about trying the amoxicillin now and it happening again. I hate to give her the antibiotic if there was no bacteria present, but she is still urinating outside the box and I can't have that keep happening. The sample they got was from her peeing in the kennel, so I am no sure how accurate it is. She only peed outside the box when we are sleeping (there rest of the day she uses it just fine).

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would imagine the vet wants to, at least, give one round of antibiotics a try, just in case. Cystitis can also lead to a bacterial infection, so that is also always a possibility. The thing is, without a urine sample and urinalysis, including a urine culture, it can be hard to narrow down the antibiotics that would work best on her type of bacteria - assuming she has an infection. The peeing only outside the box when you are asleep does seem to sound like stress though. Is she free to come and go to/from your bedroom at night? Even so, she just may not like the 'loneliness' being brought about by the darkness/silence while you sleep. Although they say cats can see very well in the dark, I still leave night lights on for Feeby (15+ yo) while we sleep! She mostly sleeps with us, but that is just in case she has to use the litterbox during the night!