possible urinary tract infection in barn cat - what can I do?

Marianne

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I think my barn cat, Frank, might have a urinary tract or bladder infection. His behavior has been different lately, etc (been through this before with an indoor cat, so I know the drill).

I just gave him the homemade cat chow with extra broth so he had plenty to drink then and there are water sources all over the place outside. I'd really like not to have to take him to the vet at this point as I have my own medical $$$$ going out the door now.

Are there any home remedies I could try? Or even something that I can pick up at the farm and ranch store? It'd be cheaper than $100 to walk into the vet with him.

Frank is less than 2 years old, not neutered...I'm only willing to bleed so much while trying to stuff a cat in the carrier.
 

MetalSmitten

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what's different about his behavior to make you think UTI specifically?

unfortunately, the thing with cats is that they hide their pain until it's so bad that they just can't hide it anymore. so by the time you notice, chances are, it's bad. cats can die from UTIs. and it's not a pleasant way to go. i'd be kinda surprised if a 2 year old barn cat had a UTI though, unless his water access is limited? i understand about limited funds but from such a vague description, i don't know what else to recommend to you other than a vet :( maybe you could call the vet and describe his symptoms, see if they have any ideas? but a cat UTI typically needs treatment. they're most often due to stones, and either surgery or a special diet (depending on the type of stone and severity) is the answer if so. shoving cranberry juice down his throat won't help, it'll just make you bleed :D

being that's he's not fixed though, i'd wonder if it was something else.
 

Marianne

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Unfortunately, the vets here won't give you worm medicine for animals without them seeing the critter. Agh. So a phone call wouldn't do anything.

Frank (the cat) got into a tangle a couple weeks (?) ago with some unknown critter. I was up and heard the racket, but by the time I got to the door with a flashlight, it was over. Sounded like a big cat fight though. During the day light, I checked him over, found just a couple small spots that he was injured. That night he was sleeping on our porch (never did that before because it's in the fenced area and our dogs are in and out).

The next day he was moving slower, seemed to be a little warmer (maybe running a temp), so I checked him all over again. Again, found nothing. I had 4 tablets of kitty antibiotic that I gave him over the next couple of days, just in case.

I have seen him take forever to whiz when he's in the garden with me - the main reason I suspect infection - I couldn't see where there was any blood in the urine as the garden has lots of straw mulch. He's meowing a lot, not as playful as usual. It's been unbearably hot, triple digits, so that might be one reason. There are 5 chicken waterers around, plus the cat water bowl, all are rinsed and filled every day, some twice a day. All the barn cats get dry chow twice a day, but several meals a week, there is some homemade stuff mixed with it. Plus whatever smaller critters they hunt and catch.

I just did a quick google search and earthclinic has all kinds of posts saying ACV helped, but I was hoping that someone would say that there was something I could get at the farm and ranch store - ours carries meds for horses, etc.

I realize the dangers of UTIs if it's a stone blockage. Been down this road before, sigh. But he doesn't seem to mind if I kinda push on his bladder. Maybe I'm over reacting. It was just that business in the garden, ya know?

BTW, your comment about the cranberry juice cracked me up! :lol:
 
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sunsaver

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When Toms get into cat fights, they usually end up with deep puncture wounds from the bites. There will be no outward signs of injury, but they will often get cat scratch fever, deep abscesses, and can die if not treated with antibiotics. Tom cats will fight to the death, a horrible and painful death. That is why it so inhumane to not get your pets spayed and neutered.
 

freemotion

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The cause of most urinary issues in cats is grains in the diet. We feed even our feral barn cats a grain-free food. I feed them less in the spring/summer/fall and more in the winter when they might have fewer critters to catch if they've been doing a good job. It seems more expensive when you compare it to the bags of corn all around it that are marked "catfood" or "dogfood," but in the long run it ends up being much, much cheaper in that the cat is healthier.

Watch out for bags labelled "corn-free" or "wheat-free" as this is an advertising ploy....the ingredient list will usually show a whole slew of grains in the food.

Too late for that with this kitty for this particular incident, but something to keep in mind for the future.

I agree, it sounds like he needs a good dose of antibiotics. These can often be purchased, along with syringes, at TSC or other well-stocked feedstores. You'd have to find out from someone else what type are best for cats and the dosage, though, as I have no clue.
 

MetalSmitten

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hearing that this started after a tom fight also makes me wonder about the possibility of a deep abscess, STD (yes, they get 'em) or other infectious disease. i'm really sorry, i know what you wanna hear and i understand your predicament, but he probably needs a vet. there are so many different things that could be going on that there's really no way for us to tell you what medications may or may not work. different antibiotics work better/worse for different things, and it sounds like you already gave him an incomplete round which either did nothing or made his infection worse =/ an abscess would need drained, and any other disease would need proper diagnosis for treatment. sorry. =/

you could try a crapshoot antibiotic but i really don't know if it'd work. check your area though, or nearest city, sometimes there are low-cost or free options for vet care. they're can be fairly hidden, hard to find organizations, so do more than a google search hehe, like call the shelter and ask if they'd know of options, or call some vets and see if they'd know anything. ya never know. if worst comes to worst and he's doing poorly, you can at least drop him off at a shelter or something, they'll either help him or humanely euthanize. =/
 

Marianne

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oh wow, he's not that bad!

After the cat fight, he had a small scratch on his face, a dinky bald spot on his leg and some fur tufts. The little spots healed up fast. I just checked him all over again. He feels and looks normal everywhere. No discomfort shown while I'm giving him the rubdown, no hard bladder, no oozing or swollen areas that would indicate abscess. Since that cat fight was two weeks ago, I'm sure by now I'd see some indication. DH thinks I'm overreacting and he may be right. When I am outside in the garden, I don't see him trying to urinate several times. He also was not vocal while he was urinating that one time. DH thinks his other behavior changes are because of the 105 degree heat we've been having.

I didn't have to be in the garden today, so honestly I don't know how he's whizzing now. Today he got three big servings of homemade chow that had a lot of bone broth so he'd get the extra fluid and he chowed down. He doesn't feel any warmer now than the other outdoor cats, so I don't think he's running a temp. But I didn't try to stick a thermometer in his rear.

Free, I agree with the grains. I also think that dry chow isn't the best thing for them. I'll have to see if I can get that in the budget for the outdoor cats.

Sunsaver, I absolutely agree with the spay and neutering! We have always spayed and neutered pets. The first barn cat that moved in here was feral. She finally lets us pet her now, but we haven't been able to get her spayed. We finally caught her in a live trap last year, but it didn't lock properly and she escaped as we carried her to the truck. She's pretty smart and now will not go into a different trap, box, whatever. Believe me, we have tried. :/ Frank is from her first litter. Now we have 2 kittens from the last litter that haven't been adopted and Momma cat is due AGAIN any day!!

No such thing as a reduced fee or free clinic in this county. The nearest one won't take us since we are not residents of that county. There is also not a humane society here that will take animals from the county - they will if you live within city limits, but you have to show ID. The holding area for dogs (in our county) is our vet, but they will not take cats. If the dogs are not adopted in three days, they put them down. Luckily there is a kennel in a nearby city that will take the dogs if they have space and try to keep them as long as possible. Our daughter worked for them years ago, and every town should have people like that!

Unfortunately, around here people just shoot whatever cats or dogs they don't want around. Freaks me out.
 

MetalSmitten

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(just to clarify: i really meant if worst came to worst.. like if he suddenly took a bad turn and a vet was still outta the question.. i didn't mean to sound like i was recommending euthanizing him right now, especially if you're not even sure something's wrong. hehe, sorry, i just didn't want you to leave with that impression, i do cat rescue and euthanizing is only my last resort to avert letting an animal to suffer to its death.) :)

keep an eye on him, keep him hydrated, and hopefully your DH is right, but ya never know. they really can hide pain until the last possible moment sometimes. but i wish you good luck :)
 

rebecca100

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Honestly unless you see something that is definitely out of the normal for him, then I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep an eye out to make sure.
 

savingdogs

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MetalSmitten said:
(just to clarify: i really meant if worst came to worst.. like if he suddenly took a bad turn and a vet was still outta the question.. i didn't mean to sound like i was recommending euthanizing him right now, especially if you're not even sure something's wrong. hehe, sorry, i just didn't want you to leave with that impression, i do cat rescue and euthanizing is only my last resort to avert letting an animal to suffer to its death.) :)

keep an eye on him, keep him hydrated, and hopefully your DH is right, but ya never know. they really can hide pain until the last possible moment sometimes. but i wish you good luck :)
:bow I must second everything Metal smitten has told you in the entire thread.
 
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