does my cat have a bladder infection?

Question

my cat is a calico,at least 15-17 yrs old.she has been doing great but all of a sudden she is discharging blood mixed with urine from her private.she has done this before but it only lasted a day and i took her to the vet and was given an antibiotic and she was fine,i dont have the money to do that again,is there anything i can do to make her comfortable?she is not purring(she usually does all the time and is happy except now)she looks miserable,what can i do?if you have helpful advice i would certainly appreciate it,thank you.

i have found a vet in my area that will treat her first thing monday morning,and will charge me however much money i have at the time,all of the emergency vets i contacted in my area will not see her without money up front and which is way more than what i have at the moment i called the vet that saw her before and because of the weekend,they wont call in medication till they see her again(they run on emergency only on weekends,seems wierd huh?,if i had a credit card,this would not be an issue,she is laying on a heating pad,thank you sharon b,she is purring very low and is eating.when i put classical music within her hearing range she seems to want to lay on the heating pad.thank you for all of your answers.

Answer 1

get a hot water bottole cover it with a blankit and set her on it that will make her comperble make her some warm milk this will make her vitemins if she gets worse bring her to the vet you will have to for the heath of your cat also make sure her litter box is clean

Answer 2

It appears that it is painful for her and may indicate an infection. Maybe the vet would be willing to prescribe the medication again if he would do so with a phone call. It's not a really responsible thing for a vet to do however as there may be another problem and to be ethically and professionally responsible he would want to investigate the problem for other concerns.

If she is eating only dry food you should give her some canned meat. Get a good quality meat, Natural Balance has quite a few varieties and I have been finding it a our local pet discount store. I always add a teaspoon of filtered water to every serving of canned food when I use it for even more moisture.
Cats get dehyrated on a dry food diet as they don't usually drink the amount of water necessary to process that stuff. This causes the urine to become more concentrated, usually more alkaline, which can cause burning and discomfort for the cat.

I have a cat who is 22 yrs old. She has a raw meat diet (lots of moisture) and doesn't get bladder infections. Her kidney are definitely on their last legs and she is a happy cat and doing well considering she is a 100 in human years.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, UTI's aren't a treat-at-home disease. I used to be a vet tech and have done a lot of research on herbs and homeopathics and this is not something I try to treat myself. Blood in the urine is a serious symptom and may indicate large crystals have formed which could cause urinary tract blockage (rough equivalent is human kidney stones). If your cat is looking uncomfortable and miserable- she is. If you feel you can't afford the full vet trip with drawing urine to test and everything, call and speak with your vet and tell him what you're seeing. My vet will often take my word now (one of my cats gets recurring UTI's) and gives me the antibiotic without the urine draw, so that cuts the price. I would also ask if your vet would let you make small payments (not many do any more) on an urgent situation. You may also want to check around to see if another vet would treat her at lower cost. There is a vet in my area that has walk-in hours where he doesn't charge the exam fee, just for treatment-- you wait 2-3 hours to get in but it is cheaper. Some shelters/ humane societies also offer low cost vet care. Other options (I had to come up with emergency vet funding while out of work for a year!): this shouldn't be more than $150 to treat--absolute worst case, unless there's already a blockage, but she wouldn't be able to pee if there is-- perhaps you can charge it to a credit card? My vet offers a low interest, animal related charge card that he signs you up for to pay for emergencies. Some vets are willing to hold your check for a short while (1-2 weeks). Also, if you are just a bit short and are getting paid soon, you might try one of those paycheck advance stores- they are higher interest, but worth it to help your kitty get better- her 15 years of love for you is worth a few weeks of financial discomfort! In desperation, I have also begged and borrowed money from family or friends and we have eaten mac and chese or beans and weenies to be sure the animals got proper care when we were in financial hardship. With your kitty's age, you really can't wait very long to get her in to the vet. Cats' small size causes toxins and disease to overwhelm their systems rather quickly.

Also, I'm assuming she's spayed. If she's not, then your vet may also need to check for reproductive issues as well, as they can get uterine cancers, etc at her age.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Call the vet and see if the prescription for the antibiotic can be refilled without taking the cat to the clinic. Since this keeps happening to her she must be getting the infection from somewhere. You need to clean the litter box and sanitize it thoroughly and try using a different kind of litter. Scoop the litter box daily and don't let it fill up with poop. There are special types of litter for cats that are prone to this problem. Call a pet store or ask you vet. Bottom line is that you can't just let it go. She will be in pain if you ignore the problem. You may need to change to a better cat food such as Iams, W/D or Nutro for adult cats with bladder problems. It's a little more expensive but worth it if you really love your pet. Good Luck!

Answer 5

My cat had this problem. Took him to the vets IMMEDIATELY as I work with animals and know it could have been 1 of several things - crystals in bladder, bladder infection, erroded bladder or bladder cancer.2 days, one operation and £700 later Ihe was diagnosed with a severely erroded bladder that is incurable. He nearly died. He is now on specal vet low ph food and cystaid tablets daily. I also took him to a homeopathic vet who perscribed some pills. This was six months ago and he's now doing fine. Some advice for u - he needs a vet immediately, don't wait he will be in pain, NEVER feed a cat dried food only. There is no moisture in dried food and it can leasd to all sorts of problems, even if he has water avaliable, it is also not natural for cats to eat cereal biscuts all the time. Good luck

Answer 6

Do you remember what the vet said it was before? Bladder infection? Obviously she has lived a nice long life. The best advice anyone can give you is... take her back to the vet. She's not feeling well, and the longer you let it go, the worse it will become.

Call your vet and let them know that you want to help her and take care of her, but you can't afford to pay it in one payment. Almost all vets are understanding of that and are willing to let you make payments. You'll have peace of mind & she'll feel much, much better.

Answer 7

She sounds like she has an infection. If she won't purr, she is really uncomfortable. She needs to go to the doctor. Check your phone book, see if ther are any clinics in your area that give discounted rates for people who can't afford to take their pets to the vet. You also could try to call your vet and ask what you can do, your poor kitty needs help. How would you feel if it was you hurting?

Answer 8

Please call the vet. Your cat has been a faithful companion to you for all those years, and asked little in return - food, water, clean litter box, safety and love.
Most vets - if they are your regular vet especially - will work with you on a payment system. They have a vested interest in keeping your cat healthy.
Please. She's showing definite signs of illness. She depends on you. Don't let her suffer. Don't let her down.

Answer 9

You may want to cover the heating pad with a towel so she isn't directly on it. Best of luck to you and your kitty.

Answer 10

Please call the vet. They may let you make payment arrangements your job is to make sure she gets the best care.