My 12-year-old male cat was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and prescribed Clavamox. He has had two days of meds plus his pain med. I was told he did not have crystals in his urine, just blood, he is now trying to urinate in odd places and his bowel movements are runny and he is using his litter box for those. Shouldn’t he be better by now and urinating in his box?

Julie
Knoxville, TN

Urinary tract infections, or bladder infections, commonly cause bloody urine and house soiling in cats. But other problems can cause these symptoms as well.

Bladder infections generally show marked improvement during the first 24 to 48 hours of treatment. Clavamox is effective against most bladder infections. If your cat’s condition hasn’t improved after two days on the medicine, I am worried that something other than a bladder infection might be going on.

Bladder stones, bladder tumors, and chronic irritation of the bladder can cause bloody urine and house soiling in cats. Blood clotting problems, infections with resistant strains of bacteria, and trauma are less frequent causes of these symptoms.

I recommend that you visit the vet again for more tests such as X-rays and abdominal ultrasound. These are the next steps in solving your cat’s urinary problems.

Your cat’s diarrhea probably is a side effect of the Clavamox. All antibiotics can cause upset stomach or diarrhea. This problem is likely to get worse if you keep administering the Clavamox.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

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• What Causes Vomiting and Diarrhea in Young Cats?
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• Why do Cats Urinate Outside of the Litter Box?
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A couple of days ago this blog covered limp tails in dogs. Among canine companions, swimming and over-wagging are common causes of strained tails.

Most cats aren’t big-time swimmers (although there are exceptions), so swimming isn’t very likely to cause tail problems in feline friends. Cats also don’t spend much time wagging their tails, so they also aren’t prone to straining their rear appendages by over-wagging.

Cats can, however, suffer from a number of syndromes that cause their ordinarly erect tails to become droopy. I was reminded of this when a cat with a limp tail came to my office a few days ago.

Feline tails are frequently injured after they are stepped on, shut in doors, or rolled over by rocking chairs. These sorts of injuries can lead to serious tail trauma (fractures or neurological damage) as well as mild bruising and pain.

Cats with access to the outdoors often get into fights with other cats. These fights can lead to skin infections known as abscesses. If an abscess begins to develop on or near the tail, the tail may go limp.

Problems with the anal glands may cause limp tails in cats. The anal glands, located (as the name implies) near the anus, may become infected or painful. This may cause the tail to become limp. An anal gland infection was the cause of the limp tail in the cat I saw the other day.

Syndromes that infrequently cause limp tails in cats include bladder infections, neurological disorders, and certain tumors.

If your cat’s tail has suddenly gone limp, your best bet is to see the vet immediately.

Photo: Karma Kitty’s tail looks healthy.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

• Why do Cats Urinate Outside of the Litter Box?
• How Much and How Often Should I Feed my Dog?
• Why Hasn’t my Cat’s Bladder Infection Cleared up?
• How Can I Determine the Age of my Cat?
• Why do Shelter Kittens Cough?

One of my rescue, foster kittens (Marshall is now
about 18 mos. old) was adopted by a
young, single guy. Cliff also has a small Lab cross
female (Bailey). Marshall and Bailey get along
great. Marshall was chewing wires, phone cords,
etc. but has stopped. Now he is peeing on Cliff’s
clothing while he’s at work; he gets home and
Marshall is very loving & glad to see him, but has
peed on anything that didn’t hit the hamper, or
Marshall even gets inside the hamper and pees
(gallons according to the guy) on his clothing.
Help. I don’t want to see Marshall returned to
our rescue group. With this type of behavior he
might not find another home. I’m contacting
everyone I know for advice.

Micky
Nacogdoches, Texas

Inappropriate urination is also known as house soiling. It has two main causes: medical problems and behavioral problems.

Medical problems that can cause house soiling include bladder infections, bladder stones, and a syndrome called FLUTD (short for feline lower urinary tract disease) in which the bladder becomes irritated. Also, any disease that causes increased urination, such as diabetes, thyroid disease or kidney disease may cause cats to produce “gallons” of urine, and to urinate in inappropriate locations.

In young cats, however, medical conditions are infrequent causes of house soiling. A behavioral issue is a more likely culprit. I suspect that Marshall has a substrate preference for clothing. This means that he may find it more comfortable and pleasant to urinate on clothing than on litter.

I recommend that Cliff take Marshall to the vet to make sure that no medical condition is contributing to the problem. If Marshall gets a clean bill of health, behavior modification is in order. Several clean litter boxes should be provided in areas where Marshall won’t be disturbed by Bailey while he’s urinating. Several different types of litter should be tried.

And, above all, Cliff should stop tossing his dirty laundry on the floor. Instead, he should put it in a hamper with a sturdy lid.

Plenty of information on feline house soiling is available on my new website. Click here for more information on the causes of feline housesoiling:

http://drbarchas.com/feline_housesoiling

And click here for more information on behavior modification to treat feline house soiling:

http://drbarchas.com/feline_housesoiling_treatment

About the photo: Tiny has no record of house soiling.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

• Why is my Cat Urinating Outside of the Litter Box?
• Why Hasn’t my Cat’s Bladder Infection Cleared up?
• Why has my dog Stopped Eating?
• Why do Pets Urinate Inside the House?
• Why is my Dog Drinking More Water?

I have a 3-year-old cat that is currently taking
antibiotics (liquid Clavamox) for a bladder infection. She has
been taking the medicine for the past 4-days.
Today I saw her pee again outside of her crate
(which is the the reason I took her to the vet in
the first place to discover she has a UTI).

Linda
Tucson, AZ

My big question is whether your cat’s urine was tested to confirm the presence of a bladder infection (also known as UTI, or urinary tract infection) before the antibiotics were started.

Many different syndromes can cause cats to urinate outside of the litter box. Bladder infections are definitely the most common. However, chemical imbalances in the urine can lead to irritation of the urinary tract and subsequent house soiling. Bladder stones may cause similar symptoms. And finally, some cats will urinate outside of the box due to stress or behavioral disorders.

It could be that today’s incident was an isolated one. However, if the problem persists, the next step will be to obtain a urine sample for testing. X-rays and ultrasound may be necessary as well.

Cats certainly can have adverse reactions to Clavamox. However, the most common reaction is upset stomach (appetite loss, diarrhea, or vomiting). I doubt that the medication played any role in the incident that occurred today.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

• Why do Pets Urinate Inside the House?
• Why Hasn’t my Cat’s Bladder Infection Cleared up?
• Why do Cats Urinate Outside of the Box?
• How Rapidly Should Feline Bladder Infections Resolve When Treated?
• Why is my Cat Urinating Outside of the Litter Box?