Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bacteria and antibiotic resistance in cat urinary infections
By Yudhanto, Setyo et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2025·Department of Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from urine samples of cats with urinary tract infections in Illinois, United States of America.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at urine samples from cats with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Illinois to understand which bacteria were causing the infections and how resistant they were to common antibiotics. Out of over 2,000 samples, nearly 30% showed bacterial growth, with E. coli being the most common culprit. While some bacteria showed low resistance to certain antibiotics, E. coli had a significant resistance to ampicillin, which is often used to treat UTIs. The findings suggest that veterinarians might benefit from testing for antibiotic resistance before starting treatment to ensure the best chance of success.
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Abstract
Information on antimicrobial resistance patterns of urinary pathogens of cats can aid veterinarians in their antimicrobial prescription choices. We assessed the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from urine samples of cats with urinary tract infections (UTIs) submitted to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Illinois between 2020 and 2022. The laboratory received 2026 urine samples during the study period, of which 606 (29.97%) showed bacterial growth, and from these samples, 883 bacterial strains were recovered. The most common gram-positive bacterial species included Enterococcus faecalis (n = 123), Staphylococcus felis (n = 50), and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (n = 28), while the most common gram-negative bacteria included Escherichia coli (n = 322) and Proteus mirabilis (n = 18). Among the gram-positive isolates, none of the Enterococcus faecalis isolates showed resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ampicillin. In addition, Staphylococcus felis isolates showed low resistance to ampicillin (7.32%), enrofloxacin (4.88%), and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (4.88%). Among gram-negative bacteria, E. coli isolates showed a high resistance to ampicillin (30.64%), and a moderate resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (11.78%) and cefovecin (11.11%), antibiotics considered as first-line choices to treat UTIs in cats. Compared to 2020, the rate of E. coli isolates resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was lower in 2022 (IRR: 0.42; 95%; CI: 0.18-0.99). This study provides antibiograms of common feline urinary pathogens in Illinois that could aid veterinarians in their empirical UTI therapy choices. Requesting an antimicrobial susceptibility test when starting an empirical treatment could be beneficial to guide altered therapy to secure treatment success if the causative pathogens are resistant to the empirical antimicrobial choices.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40393339/