"Setchell" wrote in message
...
Please help us and our 7 year old female cat. She has an antibiotic
resistant strain of e coli in her urine (culture and resistance test done
twice). Only about 4 extremely potent and potentially damaging
antibiotics
are all that the bug is susceptible to. She has chronic kidney disease
(held at bay with K/D dry formula; her blood levels are not too bad right
now so no other treatment is necessary), kidney stones, and bladder stones
(both confirmed by ultrasound). The problem is this: most all of these
potent antibiotics either create kidney stones, bladder stones, or
aplastic
anemia; all are dangerous to her health and most require a hospitalization
we might not be able to afford. Clinically she is straining to urinate
about every two days, bouts lasting an hour or so. Her bloodwork is
otherwise fine, no elevation of white cell count, etc; a little blood in
the
urine, pH is okay. So---we don't know if it's the bladder stones or the e
coli that's causing the straining; according to my vet, it's chicken and
the
egg. She said we can't operate on the bladder stones until the infection
is
cleared. My questions a Do we place her health in jeopardy by hitting
her with one of these antibiotics? Is it possible that we should just
treat
the symptoms with diet (if its struvites, I need to find out) and ignore
this infection for awhile? My vet is acting as if this bug has to be
killed
NOW, but the given her health---compromised kidney function
especially---I'm
really afraid to proceed. Any advice would be appreciated.


I don't know if you're aware of this, but many strains of E. coli and
Klebsiella are relatively avirulent. Has the specific strain of E. coli been
positively identified? If there were only a few leukocytes and erythrocytes
in the urine sediment, the strain is probably relatively avirulent.
Avirulent strains are opportunists, and capable only of invading and
surviving in a compromised urinary tract- the cat's defenses are probably
compromised due to CRF-, but they sure can be highly resistant to
antibiotics! E.coli is especially capable of adapting their resistance to
different antibiotics. Before trying potentially toxic antibiotics, you
might want to find out if your cat's particular strain of E. coli is indeed
virulent.

Generally, most cats don't show any symptoms when they have a UTI.
Straining to urinate is almost always a symptom of feline interstitial
cystitis (inflammation of the bladder wall)- which could be caused by
crystals or a defect in layer that coats the bladder wall (GAG layer).
Inflammation in the bladder wall causes a nervous sensation that mimics the
feeling of a full bladder. So, she may be straining to urinate because she
feels like her bladder is full even though its empty.

You might want to speak to your vet about a GAG supplement such as Cosequin
and Adequan to help repair the bladder wall. Amitriptyline has also been
used to treat cats with interstitial cystitis and seems to help.
Amitriptyline also has some analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties in
addition to producing a calming effect.

Best of luck,

Phil