# Clavamox for a UTI



## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

Hi. I am Julie. I adopted a 14 year old male declawed cat, Buster, from a shelter. His family gave him up after 14 years. I have accumulated almost $1000 in vet bills on him since June when I got him. He got a VERY bad URI just days after getting out of the shelter and having a vet well visit. He stopped eating and was put on Baytril. Then I was giving him SubQ fluids due to dehydration because of the URI. He started doing great and eating like a horse with a bit of vomiting if he ate too fast. I learned to only give him little bits at a time. Then this week Buster started to pee outside of his box. Of course, he has a raging UTI and now he is on Clavamox. He vomitted his food last night, so I am not not sure if he got his dose. He has kept down his morning dose so far. The vet office called this morning and said if he cannot keep his medicine down, he will have to receive an injection. 
Does anyone have any advice for me? My vet is very attentive. She calls or emails me personally, or office calls ocassionally frequently about him. I mainly feed him canned and a leave little kibble for him if in case I get home from work late. He has two water stations set up for him in the apartment. I change his litter daily. I called the shelter about him to report his illness and they were very rude. They tried to tell me Buster was a stray which is a lie. Every day I am researching different cat foods. Unfortunately, Buster has tapped me out financially, so I have beem giving him mostly Purina Pro senior canned food. He has a mix of Blue Buffalo, Nutro, and Science Diet (yuck) for dry.
This cat is so lovable, and I want to keep him!
Thanks!


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Julie,

How wonderful of you to adopt a 14 yr old cat, and how very lucky for Buster that you did! $1000 seems like a HUGE vet bill for a URI and a UTI, but I'm so glad you are committed to giving Buster the best possible care.

Unfortunately, Clavamox causes digestive upset, nausea, and/or vomiting in a lot of cats, so his response to it isn't unexpected. Make sure you administer it WITH food to minimize the nauseating effect of the drug. If he still can't keep it down, have your vet switch him to a different antibiotic - either the injectible or a different oral one.

It's great that you're feeding Buster mostly canned, but I'd recommend you go a step further and eliminate the kibble entirely. Esp. at his age, maintaining good hydration is key to maintaining good health, and kibble is NOT going to help in that pursuit.

I hope Buster recovers quickly and stays healthy for a good long time. Have you had a full blood chemistry including Total T4 run on him to check his organ function? If not, you should do that as soon as you're financially able.

Laurie


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## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

$1000 is total over multiple visits, labs, tests, medications, and a few times I had to leave at the animal hospital during the day because I had to go to work and I couldn't wait ($14 a day). 

In June he had a complete set of bloodwork done during his first well visit and everything was normal except for his CREA 2.9 and BUN was almost high at 34. The vet said for a 14 year old this is common. An x-ray showed a few mineral deposits on his kidneys, nothing too bad. X-ray was done when he stopped eating. This past Thursday they did new labs, and they sent them out, so it would be cheaper. She said some of the results flipped flopped from normal to high and vice versca. I can't remember because she told me on the phone. I think the BUN is higher and the CREA is lower maybe. She is supposed to call me on Monday because I believe they took some urine, and it is growing on a petri dish (a culture?). 

I don't see anything about a T4. Is that for thyroid?

Thank you, Laurie.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

You are my hero for adopting a 14-year-old cat. I'm a new-ish cat owner, so I don't have any good tips for this situation, but I am sending good wishes towards you and Buster! <3


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

JulieC said:


> In June he had a complete set of bloodwork done during his first well visit and everything was normal except for his CREA 2.9 and BUN was almost high at 34. The vet said for a 14 year old this is common.


Elevated renal values are fairly common in elderly cats, but that doesn't mean they should be ignored. Buster's elevated creatinine indicates a renal problem of some sort that should be managed appropriately.



> X-ray was done when he stopped eating.


How is his appetite now?



> This past Thursday they did new labs


It is very important that you get copies of all of Buster's test results from your vet, both the first labs and the more recent ones, both blood and urine. Once you get all of those results, I can help you make sense of them if you post them here, including the lab's reference ranges (reference ranges are important because they can vary from lab to lab). If you do decide to post them, plese put them in this format:

creat 2.9 (0.8-2.4)
BUN 39 (18-36)
phos 4.0 (2.7-7.5)
etc.



> I don't see anything about a T4. Is that for thyroid?


Yes, that's thyroid, and it would be a good idea to check in a cat Buster's age.

Since it appears that Buster may have some degree of renal insufficiency, I will give you a link to the ultimate CRF information website so that you can start to read up on renal disease in cats.

http://www.felinecrf.org/diagnosis.htm

I have a lot of experience with this particular disease in cats, so I'm happy to offer any help or guidance I can in your care of Buster. But get those test results first. You'll need them to make practical sense of much of what you read on the CRF website.

Laurie


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## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

I have his first labs, and the vet said he could be in the beginning stages of CRF. 

BUN 34, CREA 2.9, BUN/CREA 12, CA 9.6, TP 8.0, ALB 3.3, GLOB 0.7, ALT 40, ALKP 38, GGT < 0, TBIL 0.7, CHOL 147, AMYL 1469, LIPA 369, GLU 113, Na 164, K 3.7, Na/K 44, Cl 188, Osm Calc 330

He has not vomitted today. I will get a copy of Thursday labs next week and ask about a T4. 

Thanks for your help.


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## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

Oops. Must read carefully.

BUN 34 (16-36)
CREA 2.9 (0.8-2.4)
BUN/CREA 12
CA 9.6 (7.8-11.3)
TP 8 (5.7-8.9)
ALB 3.3 (2.3-3.9)
GLOB 4.7 (2.8-5.1)
ALB/GLOB 0.7
ALT 40 (12-111)
ALKP 38 (14-111)
GGT <0 (0-1)
TBIL 0.7 (0.0-0.9)
CHOL 147 (65-225)
AMYL 1469 (500-1500
LIPA 369 (100-1400)
GLU 113 (71-159)
Na 164 (150-165)
K 3.7 (3.5-5.8)
Na/K 44
Cl 118 (112-129)
Osm Calc 330

Buster's has been eating pretty good. I am going to give him his meds now.
Thank you.


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## diamondpaws (Jun 27, 2010)

My cat had a UTI and just finished her Clavamox a couple days ago. Thank goodness the meds didnt make her throwup, I could tell she didnt feel very well though, she did have the runs and laid around alot. But now she is perky and flying around  I hope you can figure out a way to keep his meds down. I wonder if there is something you can get to help with his upset tummy????

And that is AWSOME that you adopted an older guy  I love hearing that! I always try and adopt older cats they really deserve homes  He sounds like a sweetheart, you guys are lucky to have found each other!!!!!!!

good luck


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

After dealing with giving Clavamox to one of my cats, I'd opt for the injection in a heartbeat. Wish I'd known about that beforehand.

I hope Buster gets well soon, sounds like he found a great home. atback


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## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

Buster kept his food and meds down tonight, so I am very hopeful! He also has been independently seeking out my attention by jumping on my bed. It's almost 4am here, but I don't mind. Sometimes I will seek him out in his "safe place" under my futon just to see if he is OK. 
Tomorrow during the day, he will be alone as I have to go to Vermont. I hate to leave him, but I will be back in the late evening, hopefully sooner.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

That's great news.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

JulieC said:


> BUN 34 (16-36)
> CREA 2.9 (0.8-2.4)


As you know, these indicate a renal problem. Of the two, CREA is the more important value since it is kidney-specific. Elevations in BUN can be caused by non-kidney issues.



> TP 8 (5.7-8.9)
> Na 164 (150-165)


These two being at the upper end of normal range indicate mild dehydration, which is a common problem for CRF cats. In addition to eliminating kibble from his diet (since kibble is dehydrating), it would be a good idea to mix warm water into his canned food meals to increase his hydration.



> K 3.7 (3.5-5.8)


This would be considered low for a CRF cat. Potassium should be in mid-range - at least 4.0 or higher. You should discuss with your vet adding a potassium gluconate supplement to his meals twice daily to bring up that value. You can buy potassium gluconate anywhere vitamins are sold.

Make sure that his new bloodwork includes phosphorus. That really should have been included in his first bloodwork, as well, as it is a very important value to keep track of in a CRF cat. If phos isn't included in the newest bloodwork, have your vet call the lab and request that it be done, assuming they have some of the blood sample leftover.



> Buster's has been eating pretty good.


It's great that he's eating pretty well and keeping down his food and meds.

There is a med therapy - calcitriol - that has been found to be very helpful in slowing the progression of CRF in many cats, esp. when started early in the course of the disease. I urge you to read up on calcitriol at the following links and to discuss this option with your vet.

http://members.verizon.net/~vze2r6qt/calcitriol/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Calcitriol

Laurie


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## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

Thank you so much. I have a lot to discuss with my vet tomorrow.


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## Julie Carvill (Jun 30, 2010)

Just spoke to the vet. Buster's CREA actually went down to 2.1. I forgot to ask about the potassium & phosorous *smacks head*. Anyway, she is open to doing a T4 on Buster because of his age and his appetite has significantly increased, so he will have that done on his next visit probably next week. She thinks it is great that I mentioned calcitriol, but she doesn't see Buster needing it at the moment as his numbers improved. I think the vet is trying save me money since I have almost had cardiac arrest while paying bill each time I go there.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

JulieC said:


> Just spoke to the vet. Buster's CREA actually went down to 2.1.


That's excellent! Maybe he just had a little kidney infection that resolved with the antibiotics.



> I forgot to ask about the potassium & phosorous *smacks head*.


It's probably irrelevant with his creat back in normal range and his stomach keeping food down.



> Anyway, she is open to doing a T4 on Buster because of his age and his appetite has significantly increased, so he will have that done on his next visit probably next week.


That's a good idea. Make sure it's a Total T4 (which is a better diagnostic test than a Free T4).



> She thinks it is great that I mentioned calcitriol, but she doesn't see Buster needing it at the moment as his numbers improved.


I agree as long as his creat remains in normal range. At his age, though, this is something you should have rechecked every 3-6 mos.

Laurie


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