advice from you cat people

[hissie]

Ok, my cat is about 18 & she does well for her age.

Recently, I took her to the vets initially because she seemed to have problems eating. The vet checked her teeth & gums & couldn't find a problem, but she still seems to be having problems, particularly on one side.

He also felt her tummy & suspects she may have a kidney infection. He asked me to get a urine sample from her. This is proving to be a major challenge. The only way I can get a sample, is to throughly boil out her litter tray, leave it free of litter & fingers crossed she will just urinate in the empty tray.

Oh no not Eppie, she is holding on until the vets have closed & I'm forced to fill her litter tray with cat litter.

Any advice on getting her to part with her urine, or decent diet advice whilst I'm waiting, as I want to help where I can to
prevent kidney issues.

I've also noticed she has one runny eye & it appears to be on the same side as her teeth issue.

[Chrissie]

Hissie, you can buy a kit from the vets (or on line) that includes a small bag of plasticy type litter (it's none porous & washable so can be used over again), a pipette to collect the urine & a sterile container to put it in : -
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Catrine-Pearl-Litter-Urine-Collection-Kit-/150557452607?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Cats&hash=item230dec693f

There are many prescription diets available to help prevent/slow down kidney disease (Hills' & Royal Canine for instance) but that is different to having a kidney infection. So at the moment, unless your vet says otherwise, I'd be giving her Hill's AD food instead. It's very palatable, soft & so nutritious cats only need to eat a small amount at a time.

If she has an infection in her eye, that could be making that side of her face painful. Sounds to me to begin with she could do with some antibiotics & maybe some Metacam. Unless she does have kidney disease, then the Metacam isn't such a good idea. The weeping eye could also be due to an abscess for instance under a tooth that the vet has missed spotting.

[Scylla]

Poor little Eppie, I do hope your vet will cure her very soon!



scylla

[hissie]

Chrissie, the vet actually gave me a bag of the litter stuff & she won't use that either

I'll certainly check out the diet food & contact the vet again re: tooth issues. Need to le them know that I'm struggling to get her to part with her wee.

[Chrissie]

Ah that's a shame she won't use the tray with that litter stuff in it Over the years I've had to get so many samples from Merlin due to him being prone to struvite. Luckily, he has been quite happy to use the tray with that stuff in it.

[hissie]

I'll give it another try with the litter stuff and see what happens.

She is a stubborn old girl

[Chrissie]

Good luck (((Hissie)))

Lol, I do know what it can be like though. You can lead a cat to a litter tray but you can't make them pee

[Lilac]

Oh dear, Hissie, soooo frustrating for you, that litter is a great idea tho, if only she'd use it, lol

i remember following Tyson about outside with a sample bottle when i'd to get a urine sample....from the way he looked at me, he obviously thought i was nuts!!!

[Lilac]

Ok...here's Gordon's suggestion, he's watched the Lionman progs and it showed the lion or tiger kittens being bottlefed when their mother abandoned them....
after they'd had their bottles, the carers rubbed the kitties bots with warm wet kitchen towel to stimulate them to pee n poo...

he reckons that may help if she's got a full bladder?

who knows..might be worth a try?

[hissie]

Thanks y'all.

But at long last she has been!!!!

I now am a proud owner of a wee wee sample stored in my fridge until the morning

[Chrissie]

Brilliant news Hissie

[mrlimbo]

WoW she's doing well for 18 our cat is nearly 17 , but last week really took a turn for the worse , didnt think he would make Sunday , but he did and now seems back to his old self but i know he's on his last stretch , just hoping that stretch is quite a long one !

[hissie]

Don't write him off yet. My pensioner developed diabetes about 4 years ago & fortunatly went into remission.

She's had pnumonia, tooth extracted & she's still going strong. She's like the queen mother lol.

[Chrissie]

My dear old Tasha got into her twenties bless her. Sadly though died of a stroke last June

She was such a madam



Merlin who will be 15 on the 1st August, is now my eldest

[hissie]

awwww so sweet Chrissie.

Just to let you know, Eppie's test results indicate a kidney & bladder infection, but no kidney damage. She is going on antibiotics next week.