Urinary issues if spayed felines

[Topaz27]

I have a spayed 8 1/2 yr old tabby who has had intermittent urinary issues for years. Starting in August she had frequency, urgency and straining; along with small droplets of blood outside the litter box. I work for a Vet, ive been a tech for a total of about 8 yrs now. My vet put her on pred 5mg 1 BID x 7 d, then 1 SID x 7 d then PRN. He said it is usually a behavioral issue and not always infection ( for cats) i treated her as i was instructed until i saw that her issues began again. I sent out a sample and culture to a lab and she had infection. E-coli, high amylase, blood, wbc's and her microalbuminuria was > 90. her t4 for 2.7 but her free t4 was very high. he suggested putting her on methimazole, pred and cephalexin suspension. so i did. she was on ceph for almost a month, pred almost everyday and methimazole. her behavior seemed more aggressive to my other cat so he suggested lowering the dose of methimazole to 2.5 mg SID instead of BID. i wanted to  do a trail with taking her off the methimazole to she if her levels went down without being on that particular med and recheck. i waited for about 2 weeks and sent more blood. her levels were normal so i took her off methimazole completely. still giving the pred PRN and also giving her 2 convenia injections - 2 weeks apart, more than 1 month after the cephalexin.i sent more urine in, along with a culture and she still had e-coli bacteria,.her thyroid levels were normal but her microalbuminuria was >30. he suggested putting her on k/d canned. (mind you all my cats have been on c/d for years because of urinary issues) ive also done rads on her and they seemed uneventful. she seemed to have gotten better over a short period of time so i wasnt giving her any meds. today she started with the straining, frequency and droplets of blood. i gave her a pred this morning and tonight. Ive also started her on baytril 22.7 mg SID. I know something is wrong with my cat and i need some advice. Thank you

[Topaz27]

Thank you both for your responses. Ive ran multiple urinalysis' and cultures on her. The e-coli is definitely a concern but my biggest is the microalbuminuria. My doctor explained that she is leaking protein into her urine at great levels and that can be secondary to many things (hyperthyroidism, renal injury or degeneration...etc) I havent given her any more pred since the post or baytril. I know in felines a certain dosage can actually cause blindness. I have been feeding more canned food to promote water intake along with a fountain i purchased months ago. The ultrasound is something ive considered, the only problem with that is the expense and that even if she for instance had kidney stones, there isn't really a treatment for that. A stone dissolving diet perhaps but ive inquired with other vets and there isn't much besides that for kidney stones. Thank you again for the responses and suggestions, every little bit helps.

[merceditas]

Be carefull with the pred (I'm assuming you mean prednisolone) because if you give her pred all days for more than 15 days and you suspend the drugs from one day to another you'll cause her addison disease!
For all you're saying I'm guessing she has renal failure, albumin should never be in the urine, and maybe that's what's causing the infection (because the whole system is compromised). You should test her blood, maybe there's something there like creatinine levels and total proteins that can help you figure out if it's really a problem in the kidney or if you just have a really stubborn bacteria!

[Jade59]

Hello and welcome to the forum.  Your poor girl.  I am only a member here and don't understand some of the tests listed in your post so please forgive me if somewhere in there your kitty was tested for crystals, but that would be my guess and suggestion.  What about an ultrasound?  Has she had one?  Also, you say all your cats have been on c/d for years.  Would that be the dry form?  If so, could be part of the problem...not enough moisture.  I'm happy to see you've started her on wet food.  

Let's see what others have to say...: )