# Effectiveness of Orbax?



## Yogodot (Jul 11, 2010)

My 11 month old male domestic shorthair had been showing signs of a UTI, peeing in the covered litter box, but usually against the wall of the cover and in little drips and drops here and there. After I read the sticky thread here on solving urine problems, I took him to the vet. His urine tested positive so our vet prescribed 10 days of Orbax. The cat has completed these meds, and seemed to show improvement, but now his symptoms are back. Could he still have a UTI, or is it likely something else causing this behavior? I spend a lot of time wiping down the cover and just outside the litter box where it leaks out. If I take the cover off the litter box, his pee ends up on the floor. I watched him start out peeing in a crouch down in the sand, but then stood up and the pee shot out backwards. The urine test is so expensive.

Thank you for your patience with another newbie question.
YG


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Gradually standing up and peeing against the cover isn't necessarily at sign of UTI...lots of cats do this. And since your cat is young he's still developing his peculiarities. But the drips and drops are indicators of a problem. It's very possible that a second course of antibiotics are needed, sometimes the first one just doesn't quite do it.

So if he doesn't have the drips and drops issue, then I would suggest a larger litter box....I use a deep storage tote with a hole cut in the side. My male is a huge boy and doesn't have enough room in even the biggest litter boxes.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

As doodlebug pointed out, standing to urinate doesn't necessarily indicate UTI, but dripping small amounts of urine might. If you do believe that your kitten still has a UTI, it would be wise to take him back to your vet for a urine culture, not just a urinalysis. A urinalysis can tell if there is bacteria in your boy's urine, but you need a culture to tell you specifically WHICH bacteria is causing the problem. Without knowing exactly which bacteria is involved, all your vet can do is prescribe a broad spectrum antibiotic like Orbax and hope that it will be effective against that particular bacteria. If you have a culture done, though, and find out which bacteria is present, then your vet can choose a specific antibiotic known to be effective against that specific bacteria.

Laurie


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## Yogodot (Jul 11, 2010)

Thanks to you both, doodlebug and Laurie, for clarifying that standing up while peeing doesn’t necessarily mean UTI, and that he might still have one after the Orbax. I’ll look into getting a larger litter box, as I thought that might be an issue—though he’s not that big (about 11 ½ lbs). 

It’s folks like you that make using the internet worth all the trouble! (I was surprised what they wanted me to pay to talk to a vet online.) In fact, it’s folks like you that renew my faith in people!

Cat people are the best.
YG


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