This is a little off topic, but please forgive me. My email is acting up and
I've been unsubbed from my more "general" cat discussion list.
I'm fostering a neutered male cat that is urinating outside of the
litterbox. This was one of the reasons he was relinquished several months
ago - and one of the reasons his former owner kept him in a basement for 3
years. He seemed to be doing well here and was overcoming some of his other
issues (aggression and obsessive licking/chewing), but he urinated on my bed
about 2 months ago and then on an upholstered chair. I was fostering 2 dogs
at the time and attributed it to stress over the dogs. They were adopted and
all was well until a couple days ago.
He's urinated on a chair and on the bare floor 3 times in the past 2 days.
There's large amounts of urnie, no trace of blood, and he does also use his
litterbox. I don't think he has a UTI based on his past behavior, but I
thought I'd run him to the vet to be sure. I'm not at home, so I used a
clinic that is relatively new to me and I was surprised by what I was told,
so I thought I'd run it by you folks...
In the past, when I've suspected a UTI in a dog or cat, I simply took a
urine sample (dog) or took the cat and they obtained one, checked it, and
gave me an answer and antibiotic if needed.
The vet today told me they could do an "in house" check, but it wouldn't
really give us much information and I advised I send it away for a culture.
She also suggested they x-ray his abdomen to check for stones. This is not
my cat, but it is in the care of a rescue I co-founded. We want to do what's
necessary to help the cat, but we don't have extra funds for
tests/procedures that are not necessary.
If I had seen my regular vet (at home) and she suggested these procedures, I
wouldn't hesitate, but I get the feeling this vet is more interested in
money. The other reason I say this is because we just spent more than $100
on flea products recommended by another vet in this office. When I mentioned
today that the Frontline doesn't seem to be helping the flea situation, the
vet and tech both said they've had many, many complaints about Frontline
this summer and agreed that it's ineffective (in this area, anyway). The vet
said the fleas laugh at Frontline. They suggested I purchase another flea
product (V-something, I didn't catch the name). They said it's the same
price, but much more effective. This is the same place that swore by, and
sold me, Frontline about a week ago.
They're holding the urine sample overnight because I wanted to see what
tests the cat had by his prior owner. (I didn't have the vet records with me
at the time.)
If he needs the culture and x-rays, I'll have it done. But I don't want to
spend the rescue's very limited funds needlessly. Any input would be most
welcome. The cat is NOT FeLV+.
Thank you for your time.
Cindy
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