Tips for a Urinary Troubled Cat.

[trixie23]

My boy cat is two years old and has had an on and off urinary tract issue since I got him at 6 months. He has been free of any issues for over a year until recently. I was feeding him Nutro Max Cat Roasted Chicken (has a low magnesium level) in combination with Wellness wet food. Unfortunately some of the Nutro products were recalled and I had to put him on something else. So I put him on Chicken Soup and since then he has had extremely stinky bowel movements and seems a little less energetic (this was my initial indicator that he had urinary issues). Anyways obviously a vet check is soon to come. My question is... What are some good tips to prevent urinary issues... Other than fresh water at all times. I could switch him to wet only and I am debating in doing so.

Need some other tips to follow. I clean the litter box quite frequently.

So some food or supplement suggestions would be great.

Anyone try the Excel Bladder Paste?

I did have him on Dasuquin (a version of Cosequin). Debating if I should get him back on that as well.

[carolinalima]

Going all wet would definitely help a lot; unless you want to go on a prescription diet...
As far as the other pointers, I will let experienced people talk about it...
Discuss with your vet ACV (apple cider vinegar) - a member posted about it here, and after doing some research, there are lots of people that swear by it in preventing UTIs.
Good luck!!!!!

[trixie23]

Thank you. I will have to ask her. I know for sure that she will try to get me to put the kitty on Hills perscription. She is a little close minded about anything other than RC and Science Diet. I told her I am not a huge fan of the normal SD because of the fillers and bi-products. She kind of bit my head off and told me it is the best food in existance. She even tried to tell me that Wellness was poor quality compared to SD. So my ears tune out to her when it comes to nutrition for the most part.

I have had vets in the past that were very educated on nutrition and actually had good things to say about other foods versus SD.

I will however ask her about the ACV. See if she knows anything about that.

Thank you for the tips.

The only reason I haven't gone completely wet is because I feel my cats don't eat enough of it. Between 2 cats I can barely get them to finish off a 3 oz can of Wellness. They love it... but they love their dry too. Just a little worried that they may not eat enough during the conversion.

[KatKisses]

I have no advice, but let us know what you end up doing!

I am in the exact same boat, was feeding Nutro Roasted Chkn - got recalled, now I am stuck with 2 very uti prone cats (one already had to have p/u surgery) and no idea what to feed them. They insist on some dry every day, so I do half wet (iwth water mixed in) and half dry.

I've been looking for a uti friendly food that is $25-35 per big bag... no luck yet. My vet wont even look at food labels I bring in, he just says "C/D is the best food for urinary." Maybe it is.... if it were the only uti food on earth!

[chris10]

Infections or crystals? Both have different game plans. Infections are just usually boosting the immune system. Some have had luck with cranberry. Crystals are controlling minerals/ph and or increasing moisture intake through diet.

[white cat lover]

I have one guy who would continually pee blood - finally got it under control, but only by mixing Science Diet C/D with another dry food (Purina ONE Urinary). Now - that's just what works for him, in addition to his wet food 2x/day.

[trixie23]

Well he is staying overnight so that they can get a urine sample. I will find out in the am if it is indeed a urinary issue. He had a blockage once but surgery was not required. So I do think that crystals may be present but I am not sure.

I wonder if it would be best for me to get him off of our well water (which has quite a few minerals in it) and perhaps buy bottled water or a filter for our tap water? Thoughts?

The vet once again scolded me that Science Diet is the best thing out there and that is what he should be on. She really is not open minded to anything other than SD. I decided not to argue with her and waste my breath this time. There are plenty of good food products out there. Oh and she frowns upon the Purina Urinary Tract food.

She pretty much is hinting that he should be on Hills Prescription. I don't know that I can afford all that. Not to mention my two cats eat out of the same bowl in the same room... and my girl cat really doesnt need a special diet. So they would just fly threw the stuff. I would try to do seperate feedings but with my work schedule and the way my living quarters are set up... It is hardly possible.

[chris10]

Originally Posted by trixie23

I wonder if it would be best for me to get him off of our well water (which has quite a few minerals in it) and perhaps buy bottled water or a filter for our tap water? Thoughts?

The well water should be fine.

If it is crystals then just feeding wet food IMO will help prevent crystals from forming. If you decided to go down that rood then bulk buying large cans will be kinder to your pocket book.

Here is a link to learn the basics of crystals http://www.peteducation.com/article....+2142&aid=2729

Good luck

[trixie23]

i have thought of going all wet. However my kitties only seem to like the Wellness wet or anything that is Patte only. So if anyone has an other wet food suggestions that are in a patte/chunk free form please give suggestions. Thanks!

[Nance]

What works for us is getting him to drink more water....I bought a fountain and I have fresh water at all times out and I even have a bowl of water with milk....and I switched my crystal prone cat to an all canned diet of wellness grain free no fish kinds....this is what I settled on anyways...we tried others b4 and he ate most but I wanted to get what I thought was the best for all my 5 cats to eat...they all basicly mostly canned with at times some wellness core dry...knock on wood my cats been UTI/cyrstal free for 3 years now....