Feline Kidney Infection (Pyelonephritis)

Your felines kidneys play an important role and at approximately 20 percent of function is required for survival. I can tell you from firsthand experience that a feline kidney infection (especially in old and/or sick cats) if unrecognized, or recognized and left untreated, can strike quickly and become life threatening in a matter of days.

What to look for?

Every cat seems to react slightly different to a feline kidney infection but there are some common threads that are almost always present. First your pet will tend to have a change in energy and behavior. They will tend to want to be alone, and may not meet you at the door when you come home from work. You may also notice panting or labored breathing. Another common sign is a change in urinary odor (becoming pungent) and voiding in inappropriate places, finding a pool of urine on the floor or in their sleeping area is not uncommon.

In a few instances a feline kidney infection may even cause your pet to become incontinent. Other common symptoms are tenderness around the kidneys and bladder, fever, loss of appetite, excess water consumption, bad breath, and blood in the urine. As mentioned above symptoms vary greatly from cat to cat and much will depend on how badly infected the bladder and kidneys are, as well as your cats personality. But for our cat Holly a noticeable change in behavior and litter box habits told us that something was wrong. What we didn't know was that Holley was very, very sick, falling victim to a serious feline kidney infection.

Diagnosis

When we did get over to vet he ran all the standard tests including a manual hand palpitation, a urine analysis, a blood workup, and insisted she stay a night or two to give him a chance to figure out what was wrong. He also put her on intravenous fluids and with vitamin B12 to try to restore her strength. After all she was 16 years old and very weak.

The first set of tests came back negative but our vet decided to run another bacterial culture and sure enough the escherichia coli bacteria (the bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections) showed up. He explained that sometimes the bacteria can be so deeply embedded in the bladder lining that it may not be detected initially. He went on to say that this was not common, but in our particular case additional testing was called for.

Treatment

Once identified a feline kidney infection is treated with antibiotics such as amoxicillin or baytril. In very sick or old cats the antibiotic likely will be administered intravenously until the felines condition starts to improve. Once better your pet will be sent home and may need to stay on antibiotics for 6 weeks or longer to completely eradicate the infection.

What else? Along with antibiotics many pet owners have found homeopathic urinary tract supplements containing berberis and cantharis to speed recovery and help prevent future infections. Additionally, all stress should be eliminated from your felines life until they recover completely.

Cat Diseases - Feline Leukaemia

Just as humans can, cats can suffer from fatal health issues. One of the commonest and most deadly cat diseases is feline Leukaemia.

It is often thought that feline leukaemia is a cancer but it is actually a virus and highly infectious, which can cause cancer. In fact it is a retrovirus known as FeLV which means that as a cat disease, it can only affect cats and cannot be passed to humans or dogs.

FeLV is estimated to infect one to two percent of normal, healthy cats. Cats which regularly go outside are at far greater risk than cats which are kept inside and males contract the infection more often than females and kittens even more so.

This cat disease is commonly transmitted in saliva, through communal food and water bowls, nose to nose greetings and bites. Other means of transmission are urine and faeces so shared litter trays can be a risk. There are additional risks of a pregnant cat passing the disease to her kittens.

If a cat is infected with FeLV the virus will be detectable in the bloodstream about two to four weeks afterwards. However, the infected cat may not display any symptoms; if it does, these are likely to be fever, lethargy, diarrhoea and swollen lymph nodes.

Some cats will not develop the infection because exposure was slight, others will develop an infection which is latent in other words it is suppressed by the cat's immune system and is usually not infectious. Yet others will be permanently infected with FeLV and will carry and pass on the virus. These cats will almost certainly develop other cat diseases within a couple of years and these could be related to immunodeficiency and consequent infections, anaemia, enlarged lymph nodes or platelet disorders or cancer. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg and there are likely to be many other manifestations.

There are vaccines against feline leukaemia and cat owner should have all their cats vaccinated annually. However, these vaccines are not one hundred percent effective, so animals which go out a lot and share a house should be tested for this cat disease.

Feline UTI - How to Use a Natural Treatment For a Cat With a Thickened Bladder

If you have a cat with a thickened bladder the most routine parts of her life can become nothing short of an ordeal. Pain, discomfort and loss of appetite can become a regular fact of life, turning a once happy pet into a listless, uncomfortable one. If your cat is prone to developing a thickened bladder, you can avoid the unpleasant effects by using safe, gentle natural products to both treat symptoms and boost the immune system.

Bladder and urinary tract infections can lead to thickening of the bladder wall, which in turn can cause blockage and other urination problems. If you have a cat that is prone to thickened bladder you need to be aware of potential symptoms so that they can seek treatment as quickly as possible to prevent serious complications.

If your cat strains to urinate, has blood in her urine or begins to urinate in unusual locations, this could be a sign of a urinary tract problem. A cat with thickened bladder can also become lethargic, experience loss of appetite and run a fever. If any of these symptoms present, it is important that you take your cat to the vet right away to find out the underlying cause. Once your vet knows what is causing the symptoms, he can suggest proper treatment.

In most cases, a course of antibiotics will be prescribed but this treatment is not without its risks. Not only can antibiotics weaken the immune system, they will also commonly kill off helpful bacteria in your cat's system along with the harmful bacteria which is causing the infection. When it comes to treating a cat with thickened bladder you need to be particularly careful about using antibiotics. Antibiotics shoot a hole in your cat's protective immune system which opens the door for recurring infections.

Treating a cat with a thickened bladder really needs to be a multi-pronged approach, including natural products which can ease symptoms as well as boost the immune system and promote good overall health. With a special blend of herbs and other plant based ingredients, these products can provide healing without the harsh side effects of antibiotics.

When dealing with a thickened bladder cat you still need to provide proper diet, plenty of fresh water along with these natural remedies. Avoid commercial pet foods and turn to a raw meat diet if possible. Also be sure that your cat has a clean litter box at all times to promote normal, healthy urination habits.

Proper hydration is always important but it is even more crucial when your cat is suffering from a bladder infection as it helps to flush out toxins. Natural immune system supplements can also be of great benefit, especially to a cat with a thickened bladder that may be prone to recurring infections.

If thickening of the bladder is an issue for your cat, there are steps you can take to make life easier for both of you. A balanced diet, plenty of water and exercise can all help your cat to live healthier as can the use of natural products to ease uncomfortable symptoms. Consider all your options and find a safe, gentle natural solution to keep bladder problems at bay.