bladder problems - please help me

hi all.

well, this is the third time this year that my nine year old, cline (female), is having urine problems. she had a nasty bladder infection back at christmas time, then just when that was clearing up she was attacked by a neighbourhood tom, got an abscess on her tail, which was in turn complicated by the return of the bladder infection. it took over two months to get her thru everything, then she was better for a while. a few days ago, she started meowling in the litter box again, acting like she was digging a hole to china. yesterday morning, she piddled on our bed, so off to the vet she went - it became obvious that whatever was going on was getting worse.

they did a urinalysis and said she had blood, a few crystals and "kidney castings" in her pee. they also sent off a sample of her urine for a "culture and sensitivity" test. i won't know the results for 10-14 days, but i'm told it's pretty definitive (it will tell them exactly what's going on with her). they said sometimes bladder infections can be chronic - that the bacteria in her bladder may have walled itself in, and can't be reached by the usual medications.

they've mentioned everything from it possibly being cancer in her kidneys to diabetes (she's overweight - 16 lbs - going on a diet starting today). they're just not sure at this point. in the meantime, to try to make her comfortable, she's back on baytril for two weeks (25mg/day) and tolfedine (30mg/day) for 4 days (she responded very well to this mix last time). she can't take clavamox - it makes her vomit.

i guess i'd just like to hear opinions while i wait for the test results to come back. anyone out there had a female cat with chronic bladder infections? if it's cancer, what are her chances for recovery with a good quality life? and, i've never had a diabetic cat - what's involved in daily care? will she be miserable?

i know i shouldn't be thinking the worst, but i like to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. cline kitty is the sweetest old soul - a true lap cat. i had to laugh when i peeked at her chart while the receptionist was away from the desk for a moment yesterday. they had written, "a lot of vocalizing". that's just normal for her, though, as she's my "chatty kathy". i should mention that absolutely everything else with her is completely normal - she's eating (her favourite pastime), drinking, sleeping, playful and affectionate. i've tried to upload a picture so you can see how sweet she is (hopefully it works).

opinions, please. thanks. tracy :confused:

oops - one thing i forgot to mention in my first post. the vet said that cline isn't concentrating her urine at all. thought that might be important to add.

thanks. tracy :)

I am sorry to hear of your kitty's problems but it's hard to give you advice without knowing the test results. Did they do any radiological work? To see if there were any obstructions or other probs - hard to say it is cancer without that though the electrolytes and blood values will give them a good idea where to start!

A chronic bacterilogical infection can be defeated but it takes patience and time. And if it IS cancer, many cats do very well with chemo and meds. But I would not think the worst just yet - it is too early for that imho.

How did she get attacked by a Tom? Is she an indoor cat? I am assuming she is spayed of course.

thanks for the quick response.

no, no radiological work yet, but they are proposing an ultrasound if the tests don't reveal anything. she had full bloodwork done when recovering from the second bladder infection (january), so they didn't see a need to repeat it as everything looked good then (other than her glucose being a little high, which they thought might be due to stress).

she and her sister (patsy) are outdoor cats, but they don't go out a lot, and they stick pretty much to our property. this tom is a new cat in the neighbourhood who attacked her in our yard. patsy is non-confrontational, so she just runs from him. cline is territorial, so she fights with him. she only recently started going out again. we were going to try to keep her indoors, but she would have none of that. the good news is that i haven't seen that other cat in months, so i'm hoping the owners moved. and of course she is spayed - all my pets are (three cats in total).

i know it was kind of silly to ask for advice when i don't even know the prognosis yet, i just wanted to see if her symptoms sounded familiar to anyone out there who could lend some comfort and hope.

thanks. will keep y'all posted.

tracy :o

ok, it's saturday nite, meaning cline kitty has finished the tolfedine and has had five days worth of antibiotics (baytril). as usual, this mix of drugs seems to be working its magic on her... no more trying to dig a hole to china in the litterbox, no more mournful meowling in the litterbox, no more piddling on our bed, etc. her litterbox behaviour has totally improved.

nine more days on antiobiotics, by which time i'll get the culture and sensitivity test results. am i wrong to be hopeful that what she has can be controlled by preventive measures?

anyway, i've also started slowly introducing diet food to her daily feedings, as her weight needs to get under control right away (16 lbs and not a large framed cat). god love her, she loves eating so much she doesn't care what you put in front of her... she'll gobble it down and lick her chops.

sorry to be so paranoid, all, it's just that three serious bladder problems in five months indicates a deeper problem, and i'm just worried about her. we lost our male stray, "bandit" three years ago due to kidney failure (after a blockage) and the memory makes me want to be sure i'm doing everything right (i'd never had that happen before). she's gonna be ten this year, and i want her to stick around for quite some time to come.

hopefully,
tracy :fingerscr