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It’s been awhile since I visited this board. I got a lot of helpful information several years ago when we had an ancient kitty diagnosed with CRF (she died just shy of age 21). I never thought I’d be back here with kidney issues so soon, now in our 3-yr old. Unlike our old cat where we didn’t know any better, we feed our 2 new kitties canned food.
Maggie was born with only 1 kidney, so she started off in the hole right there. She was spayed, then “re-spayed” (the vet couldn’t originally find the ovary on the same side as her missing kidney, but a year later, whatever remnant there was of it matured and caused a lot of interesting issues in our house until the vet performed exploratory surgery on her and found it), but she’s a real trouper and did well.
Her issues have been soft poop that we never could get firmed up and UTIs (one about every 10-12 months). She’s had 3, I think. I always thought it came from her messy butt (because of the messy poops AND because she’s not a “butt licker”).
Last Christmas she had a UTI and was put on Clavamox by the ER vet (her regular vet always gave her a shot of Convenia). During the Clavamox treatment I noticed she started drinking water (she hadn’t felt the need to drink since being on only wet food to which I added a couple spoonfuls of water). During the next month, I added some kitty fiber to her food in another attempt at firming up her bowels (to keep them from being so messy and causing more UTIs), and one Friday morning, it looked like she was having trouble pooping. I needed to make an appt for her anyway, to followup on her previous UTI and because she was still drinking water, so I called the vet. When I told them her morning pooping episode, they jumped the gun with “you have to bring her in now—early—so we can X-ray her and make sure she isn’t blocked…because if she is, we have to perform surgery." Well, that scared me—with it being the start of the weekend, I didn’t want to wait and see if it got worse and then have to deal with another expensive trip to the ER, so I took her in.
I reiterated about her drinking since the UTI the month before and asked for blood tests. They ran blood and urine tests, and they sedated her for X-rays. The kitty was not blocked, blood work was perfectly fine, and urine was clear but it was dilute. I was simply told I didn’t need to be adding extra water to her already wet food and sent home. However, at home, my poor kitty seemed at death’s door. She wouldn’t eat for almost 2 days, and then I had to force-feed her the next day before she decided to eat again. She seemed in pain, and I wondered if she’d hurt herself when they were trying to restrain her (this 8 lb housecat turns into 100 lb feral at the vet).
So, you can imagine how I wasn’t in a hurry to take her back…… However, the drinking still is abnormal and it really needed to be addressed, so I took her back in. Everything else about her seemed fine—healthy appetite, playing, etc. I was wondering about hyperthyroid, since it can cause excess thirst (her glucose—for diabetes—was fine in prior blood test). So, we went back last week for more blood tests.
They discovered her BUN and Creatinine were now above normal range. Her urine was still dilute—AND, she has a “raging infection”, which I’d not suspected because there were no tell-tale symptoms like before. They gave her a shot of Convenia and sent us home with another appointment 2 weeks out for an ultrasound of her kidney.
I don’t feel I’m over-reacting to the kidney levels—after all, she just has the one. I started researching and came across Renafood by Standard Process and Azodyl, a probiotic, as potentially helpful in aiding failing kidneys, and I started her on them over the weekend. She’s doing really well—still eating like a horse and being her usual, kittenish self. BUT, she’s still drinking water.
Thinking back to what happened to her during the X-rays, I’m really scared of putting her through the sedation for the ultrasound next week. I mean, what can it tell us? If her kidney is really bad, there’s nothing we can do (I won’t do the low-protein on her) other than what I’m already doing….or is there? Am I worrying too much? Maybe this is a tougher “kidney infection” as opposed to a routine UTI? Maybe the last one never got cleared on only 2 weeks of Clavamox (but then how could her urine tests say she didn’t have one?). Should I just ask for them to treat her for a “kidney infection” regardless?
I’m thinking the only thing left for me to personally try and change is to switch her to a raw diet. My vet doesn’t approve of raw.
I’ve also thought about taking her to the Vet School. Do you think they would scrutinize her case more there and help me find answers?
Any thoughts or advice? I’m so worried about our “baby”.
Convenia is an antibiotic meant for soft tissue infections, NOT UTIs and comes with it's own dangers.
When she was diagnosed with these UTIs, was bacteria found in her urine?
I would definitely be looking for a second opinion with a different vet. In fact I am not sure I would willingly return to that vet, ever, based mainly on the Convenia misuse.
All paws crossed for your little girl. So sorry you are going through all this.
PS Is she on a probiotic? Soft stool indicates that she is not properly digesting her food (as long as parasites and other things have already been ruled out). A good probiotic may be all she needs to help her body process the food better.
I can't offer any medical advice, but I think a raw diet is an excellent idea. It isn't a surprise that your vet doesn't approve--many don't, sadly.
Of course not - they haven't figured out a way to make any money selling it.
We recently switched vets, and one of the first indications I had that we'd picked the right one was when I told him all of our cats are on a raw food diet and he smiled and said, "Excellent! That'll add up to a lot less work for me over the years!"
I missed your comment about considering raw feeding. Add another raw feeder vote here. However, while that may solve the digestive issues, you want to get to the bottom of the elevated kidney numbers first. And no more Convenia!
Thanks, everyone. I didn't realize Convenia was such a no-no. The first UTI I took her for, they just gave her the shot without saying much about it. However, it did work. Second UTI a year later I took her in, and again it was Convenia. Since it'd worked the first time (and no problems or I'd have been researching it), I didn't question it then either. Again, it worked. Another year later (seems to happen once a year) the UTI was on a weekend, so she went to the ER vet. THIS time, though, she was given Clavamox. This I did question just because of the previous ease and success of the shot. That's where I learned that perhaps it wasn't the best choice because the the ER vet didn't want to use it. The Clavamox seemed to cause side-effects whereas the Convenia did not. And yet again, last week's shot didn't seem to cause any problems at all--in fact, she's being very kittenish again (which I realize now she had not been playing as much leading up to the infection Dx the other day).
There's a holistic vet that's not much farther away than current vet. I've read some really good reviews about the practice but also some not-so-good things. They like to "push" unnecessary testing and X-rays and their prices are high, too. But, it's my kids we're talking about, so..... They do like raw feeding, so I'd have support there.
I will not allow this injection and have that noted in our cats' charts. I'm not a fan of Clavamox, because every time I've used it, the cat has gone off his/her food.
A thought about the holistic vet. If you are unsure if they are a good match, schedule a brief consulation/interview and bring a list of general questions about the doctor and the practice. You'll pay a small fee but get a better idea of how they work. I did this with the clinic I now use and it was worth every penny.
I will not allow this injection and have that noted in our cats' charts. I'm not a fan of Clavamox, because every time I've used it, the cat has gone off his/her food.
A thought about the holistic vet. If you are unsure if they are a good match, schedule a brief consulation/interview and bring a list of general questions about the doctor and the practice. You'll pay a small fee but get a better idea of how they work. I did this with the clinic I now use and it was worth every penny.
Thank you for posting this link about Covenia. I think I may have dodged a bullet concerning my girl Angel. She had another UTI about 3 months ago, and my vet suggested a Covenia shot. I agreed and he gave it to her. The shot worked quite well actually, and the problem cleared up within a few days. Fortunately she didn't have any adverse effects from it. She's had UTI's before, and Clavamox was always the go-to medicine (which always works well too). The problem with it is that Angel hates the stuff, and by the end of a twice-a-day for 3 weeks regimen she's really fighting me when I dose her. So the Covenia shot was naturally an appealing option. I was unaware of any risks involved with Covenia, and it appears my vet is as well. I think I will be avoiding it in the future.
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