My male cat has a U.T.I, so far it's cost me over 1,000 for him to be treated to no avail, what more can I do?

Question

It seems that every month we are going through this. He went in in Feb for a blocked bladder, was put on meds and a special diet...then he got a UTI that has been hanging around for a couple of months now and the vet is cleaning out my savings, I love my cat but I can't afford these vet bills. Is there something I can do at home to cure this? It would be heartbreaking for me & my 11 yr old if he has to be put down. Please help.

Answer 1

Get a second opinion.

Went through the same thing this year, $500 vet bill, but kitty is fine now...took 1 month to heal him.

Also try to get a care credit card... some vets accept it and it's a good way to have a little extra money available for pet emergencies.
http://www.carecredit.com

I have used it at the vet and for my own dental work.

Good luck, hang in there.

Answer 2

My sympathies, this is an awful thing to happen to a cat - and your bank balance!

If your vet has been unable to cure this thus far, of course you will not be able to cure it at home. There are lifestyle changes you can make to assist your cat's recovery - like the special diet he's on for instance. Might this be Hills s/d or c/d by and chance, or perhaps Royal Canin's Urinary Diet? He probably needs to be on these for life. If your cat is overweight, this also greatly affects urinary tract health - hopefully your vet has discussed your cat's weight with you.

Have xrays been taken to locate bladder stones? The time may have come to seek a second opinion if you're having no luck - but of course discuss this thoroughly with your current vet first. Ask him/her what the cat's long-term prognosis is, and what he/she thinks the reasons are for the cat not showing any improvement yet. Blocked bladders are very expensive to treat, especially in the long term, but over a grand is starting to get a bit excessive even for that!

If the vet feels there is no real chance of your cat ever making a full recovery, euthanasia may be the only option. Yes of course it would be heartbreaking, and this would be your decision alone, but you have to consider how all the treatment is affecting him. Urinary problems are pretty miserable, do you feel your cat still has a decent quality of life? How does it compare to before he had the blocked bladder? Has he shown any improvement at all?

The time has definitely come to assess where your cat is at this stage of his treatment, and if it's worth continuing.

Hope it works out for the best,
Chalice

Answer 3

First off is you cat neutered? Altered males tend to get this if they are on a food with alot of ash content. Vets can carry this over board & yes its crazy. Are you near a Wal-Mart store? There is a pet food call "Maxium" get the one for adults & I use the older cat indoor formula... This is a resonbile priced food & excellent. I used to feed Iams but was tould about this & feed nothing else. I work for a vet but as a pet owner I know this works. Vets do get a ton of money back from the pet food companies. I think You'll be happy with this product. Good luck & may God watch over you & your beloved cat!

Answer 4

There is a surgery procedure that is performed now on male cats that have chronic blockages. Basically, they remove the cat's penis, thus getting rid of the narrow tube through which urine must flow. It is in this narrow tube that the blockage occurs. You may want to explore this option with your vet. Its like turning your male cat into a female cat :) - he can still pee normally, except not through an appendae called a penis :)
I undertand that the procedure isn't THAT expensive and it could save you a load of money on future vet bills and your cat's life! Of course, there also has to be a change in your cat's diet to predomiantly wet food that is low on magnesium.

Answer 5

He shouldn't have to be put down for a chronic UTI.

Has he been check for diabetes? Sometimes cats who have chronic UTI's are diabetic. If he hasn't been checked, I would suggest having the vet check him for diabetes.

Also, there might be a problem with his bladder which doesn't allow it to be emptied properly causing the UTI's.

My cat had UTI and FUS and was put on Hill's Science Diet C/D food which he was on all the rest of his life. We never had another problem with blockages or UTI's.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Does your cat keep blocking? I assume x-rays were taken to be sure he does not have stones? Does he have Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease? Unfortunately, FLUTD male cats are prone to blockage. If diet and medicine don't help, there is a surgical procedure called a perineal urethrostomy in which a new urethral opening is created. I would consider calling another vet if yours doesn't specialize in this procedure. My practice does them regularly and many a life is saved with a P/U. Someone else suggested Care Credit, and I agree that it provides a good service. Good luck.

Answer 7

Hi Roberta,

Been there done this too. Just picked my cat up today from having his urine checked to make sure everything was ok.

My Male cat had a bladder stone which is very uncommon for males. Males almost always block. They rarely get stones, it's the females that get stones. But he never had a blockage which was shocking. He underwent surgery to have the stone removed and is recovering well.

When you say your cat had a blocked bladder you actually mean that there was a blockage in the urethra, right? Not the bladder? Males block in the urethra because of how thier anatomy is. I’m assuming they cath’ed your kitty. And I’m assuming it was Struvite crystals that caused the blockage?

My biggest piece of advice is do NOT listen to your vet about diet with your cat. They don’t know anything about feline nutrition. Most never learned anything except what the cat food companies teach them. *roll eyes here*Any vet that would tell you to put your sick cat on a garbage food like Science Diet, Royal Canin, or Purina prescription clearly knows NOTHING about cats nutritional needs.

Here’s the thing with cats that have these issues. They need to be on a low Magnesium, low ash diet. Low calcium is also suggested.

Cats were never designed to eat dry food. NEVER. They eat their prey whole and wet. Cats do not have a thirst mechanism. So because of all that… cats are designed to eat only wet food.

We idiot humans feed dry only for our connivance. Shows how much we know huh?

So because of all the above, we, by feeding dry, are usually the cause of all UTI issues in cats. *Sigh* They do not take in enough water on a dry diet and so their systems do not fully flush out so they get UTI issues.

Get your kitty on a STRICKTLY wet food diet. Either high quality holistic canned, or even a raw diet. I usually don’t advocate raw, but in special kitty cases, there are exceptions.

Don’t want to mess with making raw? Buy it here http://www.felinespride.com/products/catfood.aspx

It’s not cheap but it will cost you less in the long run than the vet.

Or Canned… choose Wellness, Merrick, Drs Foster and Smith or something with those matching ingredients.

No matter which you choose… no more dry food for your cat ever.

And Give your kitty distilled water to drink only. Both my vet and I are convinced after speaking with vets all over the county that the hardness and mineral content in water in different areas contributes to the # of cases of UTI’s in those areas. From here on out… distilled water only.

Another suggestion… is to get kitty a water fountain. I bought the Bigdog Drinkwell for my cats and keep it filled with distilled water and they love it. It’s a great way to encourage their water consumption.

Lastly, get yourself a bag of scientific litter so you can keep track of kittys PH levels at home. You won’t be able to detect the crystals at home that cause blockages, but if the ph was off… you could get kitty in for a urine analysis right away and possibly head off a blockage.

If I can be of anymore help… feel free to email me.

Good luck!

Answer 8

what he needs is a stronger antibiotic...chances are he isnt blocked he is still having infection...and im totally surprised that the vet has charged you so much...i went through this with my cat and he went through 2 rounds of clavimox and finally the vet put him on baytril he still went through 2 rounds of this med, but he did heal completely (its been a year now) and dont feed the food the vet gives (sells) to you...mine has been on purina one for urinary health its better than the vet prescribed food and cheaper too...please dont put the poor guy down its not his fault its a shame the vet has bled you dry, but i know how you feel

Answer 9

I agree with Kat. Sounds like he needs to be on a high quality canned diet. After my cat was done prescription food to dissolve her crystals I bought a high quality diet for her and she has been fine ever since. The vet office recommended Hill's maintenance food of course, but I refuse to feed that crap to my kitty. My cat unfortunately doesn't like canned food much so I feed her a bit of canned and dry food. It's a chore to feed her the canned food every day, but it's worth it to protect her health.

Answer 10

Do you have veterinary specialists in your area? If you do, please take your cat to them---they know more about new procedures than your regular vet---if your regular vet won't call for an appt. for you---you can get one but you might have to wait for a few days, however if your vet will--he can call and get you in immediately.
Hope your baby gets better soon. Good Luck.