# UTI - how long to clear up?



## Phil

Charlee is on day 6 of antibiotics for UTI. The vet did a urinalysis and confirmed UTI. 

The vet told me that within 2 or 3 days she should improve. Well, she still has blood in her urine and still goes in my clothes and has pretty much ruined my sofa. 

Can you please share your experiences regarding how long it normally takes for UTI to clear up?

Thanks!!!


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## nanook

Well, that's a tricky question. It depends on the cat, how bad it was etc. But, even after the UTI has cleared up (I would guess average time is a week or two) they may still have litter box issues for awhile. A) they are still sore B) they associate the litter box with pain and C) they smell urine in other places and think it's okay to go there. Therefore, it's extremely important to make sure you thoroughly clean all the areas she's peed on with a good enzymatic cleanser like Nature's Miracle. Check out the sticky at the top of Behavior "Things that Saved My House..." It'll give you a great stop by step of how to eliminate urine. You can also try Cat Attract litter and most importantly, give it time. Once she's truly feeling better, if she always used it before, she should go back to her box.
One of the very best things you can do for her right now is to make sure she gets LOTS of moisture in her diet. I would make sure she is on an all wet, high protein diet (at least for awhile) and even add some spring water to her food. It is THE most important factor in avoiding and treating UTI's.
Good luck!


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## OsnobunnieO

it also depends on what exactly is going on in the bladder. Were there any crystals in the urine? Stones are a possibility as well and will not be detected with a urinalysis... if she continues with the blood in the urine for the next week or so I'd say bring her in for an xray.


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## chris10

Nanook said it
water is one of the most important things in a cats diet.


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## Phil

Ok, thanks for the replies. So what about number of days to clear up?
Was the vet understating when he said 2 to 3 days?


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## Kittys Mom

How long it takes to clear up can also depend on the urinalysis. What were her results?

If there is only bacteria present, the gravity is good, the ph is good, then I would have expected it to clear up within 24 hours of being put on antibiotics.

If she has bad gravity or ph...then I would expect that antibiotics may not help much at all and that a diet change is in order.

If the infection is severe, then it may take longer. She will avoid the litterbox as long as she is in pain or remembers that the litterbox means pain. If she's still peeing blood, I'd assume it still hurts. You could try giving her some Cosequin to promote healing, it's great for bladder health.


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## xkitxgirx

She may need to get tested for something else.....My old cat had blood in her urine and she had to be put down because my parent couldn't afford medical treatment. But we never really found out what was wrong. Get her checked for crystals. She will probably be fine but if the blood in the urine continues for a bit longer I'd talk to your vet, because that probably means there is something else going on too.


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## OsnobunnieO

how are things going?


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## Phil

Good news… 
the good news is that x-rays told the story this morning. Charlee had a bladder stone, about the size of a button I'm told. The vet called and asked if he could operate and I agreed...cost and all. This would certainly have contributed to her pain, blood in urine and behavior.

The bad.... well, it will cost me 1600 to pick her up tomorrow. This fee will include the x-ray, blood work (which showed no other problems), sedative for x-ray, hospital stay and of course the surgery and testing of the stone etc. Ouch. I've already spend over 400 on previous exams and medication that did nothing.


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## OsnobunnieO

at least you have an answer and your kitty will find relief as soon as she recovers from surgery.

I'm not sure what you're currently feeding but I'd highly suggest browsing the health and nutrition section (and the rest of the web) about where to go from here as far as diet to keep her healthy and hopefully help prevent a repeat.


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## Phil

OsnobunnieO said:


> at least you have an answer and your kitty will find relief as soon as she recovers from surgery.
> 
> I'm not sure what you're currently feeding but I'd highly suggest browsing the health and nutrition section (and the rest of the web) about where to go from here as far as diet to keep her healthy and hopefully help prevent a repeat.



Thank you for your concern.
I was feeding her Wellness dry adult and Wellness sachets. She was mostly free fed the dry food.

She is doing well today ... I just picked her up. The vet put her on a prescription of canned wet diet of Hills c/d with Chicken Feline.
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/produc ... sp?PRODUCT<>prd_id=845524441775556


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## nanook

It sounds like you have already but, just in case, it's important that you cut out ALL dry food and treats and feed only wet. It's a good idea to even add water to the food.


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