Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Dear Dr. Tobin,
I received this link from a great friend and she told me to be very detailed with my problem so please bear with me as this may be long.
I adopted Jude from my vet, she is 3 years old. This past summer she had a urinary infection. We had a very stressful time in our home and my vet assured me it was the stress that caused it. She was on Amoxicillin(?) at first but it wasn't doing anything so they put her on Baytril. They also recommended that we switch her food to be safe. We were feeding her Eagle Pack (soft). She is now on Royal Canin's Urinary S/O soft and dry. She only picks at the dry, half a cup in her dish seems to last a long time.
We just moved a month ago and this past week I noticed that she was in her litter box lots and squatting, not producing much urine, licking at herself so I called my vet and he put her on Baytril again. She has been on it for 6 out of 10 days and she is peeing a little more but not as much as I think she should be. Usually you can hear her quite well, kinda like Niagra Falls when she goes.
My husband works from home and she doesn't spend any more than her usual time in her litter box during the day when I am at work. In the mornings and when I come home from work she starts digging in her box and squatting quite frequently. I was talking to the vet tech today and she seems to think we have more of a behavior issue and that Jude is experiencing some separation anxiety and is doing this to get my attention. When we first moved she was really acting out , spilling her water dish all the time so we moved it and she hasn't done that since.
She has a great appetite, is full of energy, she's not lethargic at all, drinking her water no problem, this is the only problem we are having with her. Any thoughts or suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.
Linda

It seems like there are two components here. She acts like she does have a urinary tract infection, but her spending more time in the litter box when you are there is her way of calling your attention to her problem and asking for help. To help her, stop all dry food, add salt and water to her food, and add 1/8 tsp d-mannose to her food at each meal. This should clear up the infection in 3-4 days. After that, you can stop the d-mannose, but keep up the dietary changes. Dry food is not good for any cat.

Thank you so much for your help and quick response. I am not sure where exactly I will find d-mannose. I live in a small area and may have to order it online for the future and go with her Baytril until it is done. I moved her litter box last night and she peed right away, still not as much as I would have liked but the most so far. She probably didn't like where it was. We are slowly moving the furniture to places that she approves of, she is not the slightest bit spoiled, lol. Thank you again, so much
Linda