Natural Pet Health

Urinary tract infections respond very well to antibiotics. However, antibiotics tend to kill friendly bacteria along with the disease causing bacteria. Diminished friendly flora in the body can be a cause of other diseases that may be far more difficult to treat than urinary tract infection.

If you see the following signs in your cat, you should suspect prevalence of feline urinary infection.

-    The urine has a bad smell.
-    The cat is straining to urinate or cries while urinating.
-    There is blood in urine.
-    If it is urinating at odd places, often in small amounts.

The common conventional treatment modality is to get urine and blood tests done to identify bacteria and give antibiotics to eliminate the infection. Alternative and holistic medicines, however, look beyond the immediate cause and look towards treatment along with boosting immunity. This spares the cat from the harmful side effects of antibiotics and also ensures that the probability of a recurrence is reduced.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Abnormal cat behavior is usually associated with psychological stress as cats are highly emotional creatures and react to environmental changes very quickly. At the same time odd behaviors can also result from an underlying disorder or infection. For example, if your cat suddenly develops a dislike for her litter box and urinates at odd places, more likely than not it is the first sign of an infection in lower urinary tract.

High frequency and difficulty in urination are the most prominent signs of feline urinary infection. The cat feels the urge but is not able to empty the bladder and is able to pass out only small amounts at a time, usually accompanied with severe pain. It perceives the litter box to be the cause of discomfort and starts avoiding it.

Urinary tract infections can also be caused by bladder stones that obstruct the urinary passage. This leads to feline urinary incontinence problems - a situation where the bladder is full but the obstruction does not let the urine pass easily. However, the urine somehow finds its way through the obstruction and leaks out involuntarily causing incontinence. 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Inappropriate urinary behavior in cats is normally associated with medical disorders like feline urinary infection. However, it is also true that many times it is a behavioral problem rather than a medical one.

It is only after ruling out medical causes after complete blood and urine tests that one can unequivocally state the real cause of inappropriate urinary behavior.

What we consider as abnormal may actually be appropriate when seen from the cat’s perspective. Owners train and expect their cat to always urinate in the litter box but cats, especially feral cats, are prone to mark their territory by spraying. This could be as frequent as 6 to 10 times a day.

When a cat is urinating to mark territory, it does so in a standing position with its tail in erect position so that the urine hits a vertical surface. Some cats will do the same on carpets or beds as well but the difference is that this type of urination makes a spray (linear) pattern and does not form a pool.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Practically the same drugs and antibiotics that are used for treating UTI in humans are used for treating urinary tract infections in cats. Amoxicillin is semi synthetic oral penicillin that is used for treating bacterial infections and is one of the primary antibiotics indicated for treating feline urinary tract infection.

As is widely known, antibiotics should be used only when they cannot be avoided as they are liable to become ineffective over time and with overuse. It is necessary that proper information be gathered about the drug before it is used to treat urinary infection in cats.

For veterinarian use, amoxicillin is available in the 100mg dose as amoxicillin trihydrate. It works by inhibiting the biosynthesis of large structural molecules in the cell walls of bacteria. It is indicated in the treatment of cystitis, urethritis and genitourinary tract infections along with infections of the upper and lower respiratory tracts.

The hypersensitivity reaction to the injection of penicillin is well known and amoxicillin infections can also result in similar reactions. Such hypersensitivity can even be fatal at times. Since there are no skin or patch tests that can be done before taking the medicine orally or otherwise, extreme care is required when it is being administered for the first time.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

A natural filter in the urinary system

The kidneys have a number of very important life-sustaining functions. These include excretion, fluid conservation, and endocrine processes. The kidneys filter waste products from the bloodstream, so that they may be excreted from the body in the urine.

They kidneys act as natural ‘sieves’ of the body, filtering out goodness from ingested food and liquids and leaving waste to be excreted. Animals cannot function properly if their systems are not ‘clean’ of toxins. The kidneys also produce hormones, including erythropoietin, which stimulates the bone marrow to produce new red blood cells.

The natural way

There are a number of things that we can do for our pets to prolong the healthy functioning of the kidneys. Make sure that your pet always has access to fresh, clean water. Make sure that dogs have the opportunity to urinate often and cats have access to a clean litter tray, so that they do not have to hold the urine in for unnecessarily long periods of time.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Cat litter box problems stem from a variety of sources. One of the most common causes is a feline Urinary Tract Infection (UTI).

Cats tolerate pain pretty well. As a matter of fact, we can be fooled that kitty is feeling fine because she’s eating, purring, and snuggling up to us for human love and attention. But at the same time, if she’s demonstrating out-of-cat-litter-box experiences, she could be suffering from from a feline UTI. It’s up to us to figure it out.

When you know the symptons, it becomes clear that kitty has a problem. She may cry in pain while urinating. She may try to urinate, but little or nothing comes out.

Your cat may groom her privates excessively, and cries while she does it. But the biggest indicator that your cat may be suffering from a feline UTI is blood in her urine.

If your cat has stopped using her cat litter box, and she’s urinating on a surface that’s white or very light colored, the blood will clearly stand out in the cat urine puddle.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Symptoms of UTI infection in pets

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are uncomfortable and extremely painful. They tend to be more common in cats than dogs and can be caused by bacterial infection, bladder stones or urolithiasis (stones in the urinary tract).

UTIs often recur and can lead to more serious kidney infections if left untreated. Symptoms include

* Straining to urinate
* Obvious pain or discomfort when urinating
* Constantly licking their genitals
* Frequent urination without passing much urine
* Urinating in unusual places
* Cloudy or bloody urine
* Fever and loss of condition

What is the conventional treatment?

Conventional treatment of UTIs will depend on the specific cause of the problem. In many cases, antibiotics are prescribed which invariably relieve the animal’s symptoms rather speedily.

However antibiotics tend to have a general weakening effect on the immune system which can cause further problems, especially in the long-term and particularly if they are prescribed regularly for recurrent infections.

What is PetAlive UTI-Free?

UTI-Free is a selected combination of herbal and homeopathic ingredients especially formulated to safely and effectively treat the causes and the symptoms of urinary tract and bladder infections in pets.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

There’s a couple different ways you can tell if your cat has a Feline Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). The most obvious way is if she cries while urinating, you see blood in her urine, and/or she won’t use the cat litter box to urinate.

If you see this behavior in your cat, please call your vet immediately to get her checked! This is a very painful infection for kitty to suffer through.

But here’s another way you can do a rough estimate check for a feline Urinary Tract Infection before your cat feels the pain. Quite simply, you can do a fast check of your cat’s urine pH balance. If it’s out of range, call your vet as fast as you can to schedule an appointment for kitty. She’ll need further examination for an accurate diagnosis.

The benefit of checking your cat’s urine pH level yourself is save you and kitty a lot of grief. It’s easy and safe to do. Your cat won’t be traumatized, and this is another way you can stay on top of her health.

Take a clean cat litter box, and put either a little bit of aquarium gravel in it, or some non-absorbent litter. You want just enough to make kitty happy to scratch around in.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Symptoms of UTI infection in pets

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are uncomfortable and extremely painful. They tend to be more common in cats than dogs and can be caused by bacterial infection, bladder stones or urolithiasis (stones in the urinary tract).

UTIs often recur and can lead to more serious kidney infections if left untreated.

Symptoms include

• Straining to urinate
• Obvious pain or discomfort when urinating
• Constantly licking their genitals
• Frequent urination without passing much urine
• Urinating in unusual places
• Cloudy or bloody urine
• Fever and loss of condition

What is the conventional treatment?

Conventional treatment of UTIs will depend on the specific cause of the problem. In many cases, antibiotics are prescribed which invariably relieve the animal’s symptoms rather speedily.

However antibiotics tend to have a general weakening effect on the immune system which can cause further problems, especially in the long-term and particularly if they are prescribed regularly for recurrent infections.

What is UTI-Free?

UTIFree is a selected combination of herbal and homeopathic ingredients especially formulated to safely and effectively treat the causes and the symptoms of urinary tract and bladder infections in pets.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!