Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 11/10/2009

Question
Hello,

My sister and I have a male cat named Oatmeal, he's 4 1/2 years old. He's never had urinary problems before. We noticed about three weeks ago that one of the cats had urinated on some seating cushions that we have. I know this is one of the first signs of a UTI, but we didn't observe any unusual behavior after this, so it became an afterthought. Three days ago, Oatmeal began acting erratically so we took him to the emergency vet and they diagnosed him with a UTI. We started giving him 2ml of ammoxicillan every 12 hours ago yesterday morning. He's now having seizures every two hours or so, sometimes with urination and sometimes without. We don't have the money to take him to the emergency vet again because it's very costly. I'm assuming from the research I've done that he's having seizures because of the intensity of the infection, but I'm not sure. Are seizures at all common with infections of this nature, and if so, at this point will the amoxicillin be enough to help him? Thanks for your time.  

Answer
Sherri -

It has not been my experience that UTI cause seizures - but a severe infection can cause seizures.  However, I would have the cat evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible. You should not have to go to an emergency veterinary hospital - a private veterinarian is great for treatment.  The vet will most likely recommend bloodwork and possibly a radiograph.

Please get your kitty to a doctor as soon as possible.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM