Cats & Urinary Infections

Symptoms

• A cat with a urinary infection might seem more irritable than usual. She might run a small fever, which is usually only noticeable if you take her temperature. Her nose might feel warmer or dryer than it usually does. A cat that has a urinary infection might not eat or drink as much as it usually does. She might also have personality changes--a cat that is generally loving and cuddly might turn grumpy and standoffish. A cat that is generally timid or standoffish might be unusually cuddly or loving. Cats that are very playful usually might act more lethargic.

Signs

• Along with symptoms in your cat, the most prominent way to tell if your cat has a urinary infection are urine spots. Cats with urinary infections will urinate in many places--including their litter box. If a well-trained young cat beings to urinate on your clothing, your bed, the floor or your furniture, she might have a urinary infection. A trained cat will usually only urinate outside of her box if it is ill or if it has become so old that it has forgotten its training. Finding cat urine in your home is the most prominent sign of a urinary infection.

Causes

• A urinary infection in a cat can be caused by poor diet, lack of fresh food or water and dirt litter boxes. It can also be caused by irritation of a cat's urinary tract, and can be passed from cat to cat. Germs and bacteria can also cause urinary infections in cats. Some cats are simply prone to urinary infections, and can get them again and again, even if there does not seem to be any apparent cause.

Prevention/Solution

• All cats should have clean food and water that is changed on a daily basis. Keeping a cat's litter box clean--scooping it out every two or three days and changing it fully once a week--is the best prevention for urinary infections.

  If a cat is diagnosed with a urinary infection, the veterinarian usually will prescribe antibiotics for two weeks. This should clear up the infection, but cats that have had urinary infections are prone to having them again.

Cleaning

• Once you have gotten vet treatment for your cat's urinary infection, properly clean all areas where the cat has urinated, so the mistakes it made while it was ill don't lead to behavior habits when it is healthy. Use lemon, vinegar or specially made urine cleaner to clean all inappropriate places where the cat urinated.