UTI

 Urinary Tract Infections

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What is a UTI?
Well first off, the urinary system is responsible for filtering, forming and secreting urine.  The urinary system is made up of the bladder, kidneys (which filter blood & produce urine), ureters (the tubes that flow the urine from the kidneys to the bladder) and then the urethra ( the tube that flows the urine from the bladder to the outside of the body) The urinary bladder usually has no bacteria present, however most urinary tract infections are when bacteria does enter the urethra which is then transported to the bladder and or even up to into the kidneys.

Signs and Symptoms of a UTI?
Some pets show no signs or symptoms until it gets really bad. Others might urinate small amounts frequently, start drinking more water, excessive, insatiable thirst, dehydration, constantly having to go to the potty, foul odor to the urine, blood in the urine, visibly tender of having pain during urinating, your dog might start having “accidents” where before they were trained well. UTI’s don’t usually cause fevers unless it hits the kidneys.

 How do they Diagnose UTI’s? 
Answer: Most of the time the vet will just collect some of your pet’s urine and send it into the lab for a urinalysis. Sometimes they might also want to do a urine culture and / or blood work and on rare occasion, a ultrasound. But most of the time, a simple urinalysis is enough to determine a UTI.

What is the Treatment for UTI’s? 
Usually antibiotics or antimicrobial drugs. Please make sure you get your pet to the vet to be treated. If you ignore a UTI or just try to “cure” it with home remedies, it can develop into a much more complicated disease like: fever | Kidney or Bladder Stones | Weakened Immune System |  Removal of Kidneys or even Renal / Kidney Failure. Sometimes a UTI does not respond well to antibiotics. This might be because you did not give the ENTIRE dosage (even if the pet acts better, you must finish all the antibiotics without missing even a day), possibly the bacteria is resistant to the antibiotic that was chosen, an underlying condition might exist like bladder stones, diabetes mellitus, or even just a suppressed immune system. But fear not, your vet will know what to do.

Disclaimer:  We Are NOT Licensed Vets.  DO NOT try to diagnose or treat animals based off this or any other information you find on the Internet.  This page is just BASIC INFORMATION  to help bring awareness to the different health issues that are common in pets.  If your animal is having any kind of medical issue, please seek PROPER professional treatment from a licensed vet who is trained and set up to handle such matters.