My cat has UTI symptoms. Can I skip vet tests and just get treatment?

A UTI typically requires antibiotics for resolution. Pantaleona will need to be physically examined by your veterinarian. A sterile urine sample can be collected and submitted for urinalysis and a culture/sensitivity panel. This will confirm infection, identify the organism responsible and determine the best antibiotic to use in treatment. Your vet may recommend blood work to assess kidney function and abdominal xrays or ultrasound to assess the kidneys and bladder.

What seems to be UTI in cats are in 99% of the time a condition which is actually a bladder inflammation, it's not an infection and for this reason it is not treated with antibiotics. it is treated with special prescription diet for urinary problems, anti inflammatories and other supplements such as Cystophan. the cause of this condition is usually due to stress, so you might want to check this out as well.

I would recommend to complete your question describing the signs to receive a specific answer from us Stress related (idiopathic type of inflammation), infection and presence of crystals are the most common causes of UTI (urinary tract infection). In absence of more detailed information of the signs, a clinical examination at your local veterinarian would be essential to confirm this suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

In cats with urinary irritation, wet food is preferable to help reduce urine concentration and flush out the bladder. I strongly recommend a urine exam in order to determine exactly what is going on and to guide the most appropriate treatment (infection/inflammation etc). A sample can be collected using special urine collection litter which does not absorb urine. Petco provide a home kit for detecting UTI which can help to monitor such conditions

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Harry! Less than 5% of male urinary tract issues are from bacterial UTI's. The most common cause for urinary tract problems in cats are feline interstitial cystitis, crystals in the urine and bladder stones. We can not diagnose diseases over the internet or provide drug doses with out actually examining the patient as it is against the law. Since it is a very small chance he needs antibiotics my advice is to take a urine sample and Harry for an exam at the Vet. You can repost with his symptoms and we can try to provide advice. I wish Harry the best!

Hello, if Sophie does indeed have a UTI, she may require antibiotics to treat her infection. However, if she has feline lower urinary tract disease, then she may not need antibiotics for this, she may simply need to have less stress and trying the chews may be of benefit. What you may do, is try and collect a sample of urine and have your veterinarian check it for a urinalysis. This way if bacteria is seen then you know you have to be prescribed antibiotics and Sophie would need to be seen. If theres no bacteria, then you can try the Chews first to see if they work. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Cats normally don't have an infection associated with cystitis (bladder inflammation), so it's definitely possible that she would resolve the inflammation on her own. They actually tend to get cystitis that is related to stress, so it would be good to see if there is something new and potentially stressful in the environment. One big thing I worry about with cystitis is blockage of the urethra (the tube that takes urine from the bladder to the outside world). If you all-of-a-sudden notice that she's not urinating and she is acting abnormally sleepy, then I would definitely advise a visit to the vet to make sure she's not blocked. If she is still urinating, but not as frequent, then it is less of an emergency. However, it is still a good idea to have her evaluated by a veterinarian, because there could be something else going on that you are not aware of.