Just to complicate matters further here is some info on UTI's:
However, you need to remeember that not every urinary tract problem involves an infection. Actually, most urinary problems do NOT involve infections. The most common urinary issue is interstitial or idiopathic cystitis in the urinary tract that will become inflamed for an unknown reason. That condition is commonely mistaken for a UTI because it can/will present itself with all the common and same symtoms: blood in the urine, litterbox avoidance, difficult/painful urination, straining to urinate, etc. Then, to complicate matters further, most urine that is tested for a UTI is gotten by a "free catch" method rather than getting it via a needle directly from the bladder. The free caught urine can and probably will be contaminated with some environmental bacteria the second it leave's the cats body, leading to a false postitive result for a UTI. Unless the cat's urine is aquired using the sterile technique of a needle directly from the cats bladder, and it is then tested immediatly, you really never or can know whether an actual infection is present.
I personally think that many vets will overprescribe antibiotics for urinary issues. It may be because they realize that the average client will want as well as expect antibiotics for any cat with a possible UTI. It also is possibly due to the method that most vets use to get the urine - the freecatch method - which makes for contaminated urine samples as well as false positive UTI results. Antibiotics could also be given "just in case". Personally, I don't understand why a vet would prescibe antibiotics for innacuratly diagnosed or unconformed urinary issues but it happens a lot more often that most of us like to think.
You should read this http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth which contains a lot of helpful info on how to treat a cat with a UTI (whether the "I" stands for infection or inflamation).
A few quotes from that article, though I highly suggest you read the whole thing:
"Studies have shown that otherwise healthy cats (no kidney disease, diabetes, or hyperthyroidism) - that are showing signs of urinary tract discomfort - have only a ~1-2% chance of having a UT infection yet antibiotics are prescribed very frequently for these patients. The veterinary community needs to address this very serious problem involving the overuse/abuse of antibiotics."
"Baytril is another antibiotic that is frequently abused. This drug can cause blindness so I do not take its use lightly.
Clavamox is the most common broad-spectrum antibiotic that is administered to cats. It causes vomiting and/or diarrhea in many cats but it is one of the safer choices of antibiotics. It comes in pill or liquid form. I greatly prefer the pills because they are very palatable and can be crushed and added to canned food. I do not like pilling cats so if your cat will not eat crushed clavamox tablets in tasty canned food or baby food, then use the liquid."
"A quick note on the long-acting antibiotic called Convenia. Because this drug stays in the body for a very long time (up to ~60 days) it is one of the newest antibiotics to be terribly overused/abused. Veterinarians and lay people are seeing it as a quick and easy fix to their problems because they don't have to give it once or twice daily like with other antibiotics. It is typically given by injection once every 2 weeks. However, keep in mind that if an adverse reaction occurs, you cannot retrieve the drug from the body.
Convenia can cause severe anemia. There is a report on VIN (Veterinary Information Network) from a general practitioner who dealt with two cats that died within 10 days of receiving Convenia. They were otherwise healthy cats and had normal red blood cell counts prior to receiving Convenia. There is no absolute proof that Convenia caused their deaths but there is an extremely high index of suspicion that this drug was the culprit."
Posted 1 year ago by furryfriends50 #
