Female Feline UTI Treatment

Urinary tract infections (UTI) in female cats should be treated as soon as possible. Not only is it unhealthy for your cat to live with the infections, it may cause her to urinate outside her litter box, which can stain carpet and make a house generally smell bad. There are several methods for treating urinary tract infections. These different treatments have varying levels of success, so you should take all options into account before you decide what's right for you and your pet.

  1. Causes

    • The cause of a urinary tract infection in female cats is the same as that in humans. Bacteria (or, in cats, fungi) attach to the walls of the urethra or the bladder, causing the infection. Recent studies suggest that many urinary tract infections in cats may be brought on by stress, for instance if the cat moves to a new home or shelter, or even in occurrences of severe weather. If your cat's life has recently undergone any major changes (maybe you just adopted a dog or brought home a new baby), stress might cause a urinary tract infection.

    Symptoms

    • If your cat has a urinary tract infection, she will often let you know in several ways. If she's meowing while urinating or seems to be having trouble urinating, she may have a urinary tract infection. Additional signs include bloody urine (usually only a small amount), urine that smells particularly bad, urinating in places besides her litter box and urinating very frequently. If your pet is showing these symptoms, you should consider taking her to a vet.

    Conventional Treatment

    • If your veterinarian diagnoses your female cat with a urinary tract infection (usually by testing a urine sample), he will prescribe antibiotics. The dosage will depend upon the severity of the infection, as will the length of time your cat should take the antibiotics. You vet will probably schedule a follow-up appointment to make sure the infection has completely cleared. If you don't have a follow-up appointment, watch your cat closely for the next few weeks to make sure symptoms do not reoccur.

    Holistic Treatment

    • There are numerous holistic treatments to cure a cat of a urinary tract infection. For instance, you can give a cat cantharis when there is blood present in her urine. This will not only help treat the infection, it will also help give your cat relief from her discomfort. You can make teas from a combination of different herbs, such as goldenrod and marshmallow root, and give small amounts to your cat with her meals.

    Diet

    • As always, your cat should have plenty of fresh water available to her during her treatment. Increase the amount of wet food you give her, unless wet food tends to upset her stomach. Magnesium and vitamin C supplements can help stave off future infections.