Your Thoughts On Uti And Diet?

[tnbsp]

Spartacus was entering the litter box a lot this morning, looking like he wanted to pee, but then didn't: like 10 times he did this and only once was there a dribble.

So, I called the vet and my husband and I took him in.

The bladder was empty... so they wanted to keep him until it would get full and they could get a sample.

They got a sample, PH is neutral (7) , more blood cells than normal, - so they prescribed him antibiotics for 2 weeks. Told us if it's recurrent we'll have to come up with some preventive diet plans, but for now could be a one time thing.

Things to note:
1.5 weeks ago we were in for vaccines and the vet (different one than today) said Gannicus (Spartacus's brother) was getting overweight so she suggested to stop feeding wet in the morning and to make sure "G" wasn't eating from "S"s bowl. (I was feeding a mix of wet and dry twice daily)

We did this ... but then Spartacus gets a UTI and ... in addition he lost weight: went from 10.2lbs to 8.6lbs, in just 1 and a half weeks /

I feel really bad, like I was starving my cat but I was doing this because of the vet.
Spartacus usually drinks lots of water... so i was surprised about the uti... he wasn't yowling in pain, so i think it was mild.. but still..

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? I'd like to know if you think the change in diet could have made the UTI occur? All we did was reduce some wet food (which I know can be beneficially for hydration... but they were still receiving some and had access to lots of water)

also, the vet today was talking to me a lot about nutrition (grain free is like a fad ... chicken vs. chicken meal..)... I got the idea that the food i'm feeding is fine (Mostly merrick purrfect bistro wet/dry foods) .. but at first he was all concerned about the diet.

thanks for reading and your comments

 

[Kieka]

My guess would be that the diet change was the trigger along with general stress from the vet visit and diet change. Even though he drinks water, he might not be drinking more to compensate for less wet food. Hopefully a round of antibiotics clears it up without further complications. Did they mention crystals as either there are no crystals present or some crystals?

As to the vet recommending to get off wet for weight loss, I don't know how much I support that. I do agree that grian free is a fad, and if your vet treats dogs as well there is some evidence grain free is bad for dogs because of the binder substitutes used. However, the basic idea that cats don't need grains is not wrong. The problem is from what companies use to replace the grain. Instead of going towards what cats do need of low carbs they just replace grains with peas and potatoes which doesn't make the food any more biologically appropriate. If anything, it makes it worse because it inflates the protein levels with plant protein. But, grain free labeling can be a good starting point and is a move in the right general direction.

That said, if you are trying to get a cat to loose weight you want low carb food. Dry food=high carb. High carb leads to weight retention, especially in the midsection. A cat who is trying to loose weight should switch to an all wet diet which is generally lower carb or at least easier to find as a low carb option. For example, the Merrick dry is 32% carb while the wet is 2%.

Just like with humans, if you want a cat to loose weight you cut calories, not specific food type. Dry food is alsoamore calorie dense. Personally, I'd figure out how many calories you are feeding and switch to more wet with fewer calories.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I think that your cats need totally different diets. And, as awful as it may be, they probably need to be separated when eating. S is losing weight with the changes and got a UTI - you need to make sure there is NOT something else going on that might be causing the weight loss, as well as the UTI.

Sounds like what you are doing with G is working - yes?

 

[tnbsp]

Hey! thanks so much for your replies!

I understood the pros/cons about grain-free food originally and my vet told me the similar type of info, so I just tried to look at the ingredients and protein vs. carb level, and guessed that these foods would be a good option... but maybe I need to look at some other foods out on the market. (so confusing with so many options!)

Keika - yeah they did a test for crystals, there were none/ glad to hear you think it could have been the diet.. I was wondering the same about him not making up for the amount of water and maybe some stress with the food changes

Also, should mention. We've been portion controlling the food all along, so the vet was reducing calories, but just by removing the wet portion and keeping the dry portion at the same that it was. So, we were indeed feeding less calories.. but yeah I had heard wet was better to lose weight before hand, so I was a bit skeptical but wanted to try as she is a vet and should know, she has a degree... but idk they make mistakes too

FeebysOwner I'm going to keep paying attention - and to be honest I just hope that G isn't losing weight, I don't have a scale that's accurate enough for their weight. He seems ok, but I thought S did too... and He really isn't that fat (almost 12 pounds) but he has asthma and is 1.5years old so the vet said he was a little chubby and we want to cut pay as to prevent him getting overweight before age two.

I'm going to go back to what we were doing first, before the "reduction of wet food" and feed them in separate areas, taking away bowls before either one can eat from the other. Then, we'll see how it goes from there. I honestly think the problem before was that S would walk away from his bowl and then G would start eating it... but S was at a good weight anyway, so I assumed that he wasn't even eating all the food I had been putting out anyway

 

[Wile]

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this? I'd like to know if you think the change in diet could have made the UTI occur? All we did was reduce some wet food (which I know can be beneficially for hydration... but they were still receiving some and had access to lots of water)

Has your vet ever suggested that your cat might have cystitis? From what I have heard UTIs are rare in young cats, although one of my own seems to get them every once in a while.

Your first post doesn't mention it, but your vet did verify the bacteria right? Not just the blood cells?

 

[1 bruce 1]

I can't say dry food "caused" one of our girls problems, but if she gets dry food for a day or so in a row, instant bladder infection.
I had a cat get a complete blockage, twice, on dry food alone.
Both of these cats never had a problem on any kind of wet moisture rich diet.
Lots of cats go through a long life without issues on dry food only but some cats just don't.

 

[tnbsp]

Has your vet ever suggested that your cat might have cystitis? From what I have heard UTIs are rare in young cats, although one of my own seems to get them every once in a while.

Your first post doesn't mention it, but your vet did verify the bacteria right? Not just the blood cells?

They're waiting for a culture, so we don't know yet if he has bacteria for certain yet. Should call me once they find out

 

[tnbsp]

I can't say dry food "caused" one of our girls problems, but if she gets dry food for a day or so in a row, instant bladder infection.
I had a cat get a complete blockage, twice, on dry food alone.
Both of these cats never had a problem on any kind of wet moisture rich diet.
Lots of cats go through a long life without issues on dry food only but some cats just don't.

thanks for sharing. That's really interesting about your girl. .. my childhood cat was on urinary track food for UTIs and crystals, he was also fed an only dry-food diet, it does make one wonder..

 

[maggiedemi]

I agree, I would increase the canned food, decrease the dry food. This happens to my cats too when they don't get enough canned food and too much dry food.

 

[Wile]

thanks for sharing. That's really interesting about your girl. .. my childhood cat was on urinary track food for UTIs and crystals, he was also fed an only dry-food diet, it does make one wonder..

It's hard to speculate about food at this point because you aren't sure yet if your boy has a UTI. If he does have a UTI water is absolutely good for helping to flush out the bladder. From that angle wet diets are much better for UTI-prone cats than dry. The other thing I would look at with your vet is his urine pH since it seems a bit high. A more acidic urine will help ward off bacteria better.

 

[tnbsp]

It's hard to speculate about food at this point because you aren't sure yet if your boy has a UTI. If he does have a UTI water is absolutely good for helping to flush out the bladder. From that angle wet diets are much better for UTI-prone cats than dry. The other thing I would look at with your vet is his urine pH since it seems a bit high. A more acidic urine will help ward off bacteria better.

Yeah, i think because of the ph level.. is one of the reasons we are on antibiotics now.

 

[tnbsp]

Thanks everyone for your help/comments/suggestions so far.

Here's an update. We dont' know the results about the culture yet, but Spartacus has taken two of his pills so far, and he is still trying to pee on and off.. but now he is starting to pee all over the apartment (in the kitchen, under the table). These pees I can see a little bit of urine and it looks like it could be red-ish, with some blood, which makes sense because the Vet said he had a high red-blood-cell count.

Poor baby, what should I do about this? I think the antibiotics haven't kicked in yet... but hopefully will soon.. but should i just let him pee everywhere or try to discourage it when I see him doing it? so far i'm just letting him pee in the house...

 

[tnbsp]

I guess my concern is this could turn into a behavior problem later...

 

[FeebysOwner]

Most of the time, once the UTI is resolved they go back to using the litterbox normally. The last UTI Feeby had, she was peeing outside the box, but as soon as it cleared up she was right back to using religiously.

If you see him peeing and you can get him to a nearby litterbox, pick him up and just set him down in it, no scolding or anything. And, clean up the area with enzymatic cleaners, of course.

 

[Wile]

Thanks everyone for your help/comments/suggestions so far.

Here's an update. We dont' know the results about the culture yet, but Spartacus has taken two of his pills so far, and he is still trying to pee on and off.. but now he is starting to pee all over the apartment (in the kitchen, under the table). These pees I can see a little bit of urine and it looks like it could be red-ish, with some blood, which makes sense because the Vet said he had a high red-blood-cell count.

Poor baby, what should I do about this? I think the antibiotics haven't kicked in yet... but hopefully will soon.. but should i just let him pee everywhere or try to discourage it when I see him doing it? so far i'm just letting him pee in the house...

You can try to put out a couple of extra litter boxes with different mediums in them, like a puppy pad or towel. Or you can set him up comfortably in the bathroom with his litter box to limit the damage. He should feel better in the next day or two. If your vet didn't give you pain killers, I would request some.

 

[tnbsp]

Thanks everyone, im going to take what you said into consideration

 

[maggiedemi]

Can you get some puppy pee pads and put them around the house? Did you increase his canned food? That might help.

 

[tnbsp]

Can you get some puppy pee pads and put them around the house? Did you increase his canned food? That might help.

Great idea about puppy pads! I did increase the wet food, thankfully, but he's not drinking as much water as he usually does still