Has anyone tried Cranberry for UTI's?

snake_lady

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I'm sure most of us have heard the benefits of cranberry for human UT problems.... I was wondering if anyone has ever tried cranberry for their cat?

There's a few different supplements that I want to get Kizzy on as he gets older, for preventative measures. Cranberry and glucosimine are 2 that I want to use.

Anyways, I thought I'd share some links Ive found about cranberry and kitties.
I will say I have not found many links with info, more links to products. It seems to be a very popular supplement.

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-u...t-problems.htm
http://home.ivillage.com/pets/cats/0,,b21g-p,00.html
http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/d...5/a01lo774.htm

Hope this post prooves interesting to some
 

twokatz

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I have used cranberry for my cats. Does your cat have uti problems, if not I wouldn't use the cranberry. Cranberry changes the ph of the urine but it also can change the ph of the gut and that is not always a good thing as it knocks things out of balance, many cats are very sensitive about ph changes. If the PH gets out of whack you can end up with crystals in the urine. As for glucosamine some animals tolerate it and some don't. I would check with your vet before putting him on anything. Also many foods already have these supplements in them so you may want to see if yours does.
 
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snake_lady

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No my kitty does not have urinary problems, so it is not something I'm putting him on.

I was just researching, in case later on in life the situation arises because I seem to see alot of kitties with URI's.

I'm looking for a good holistic book for cats
I have a couple really good ones for myself, just trying to find a good one for my kitty
 

pilot8569

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Hi first time poster here. I have a female Tortie that was getting reoccuring uti's last year. I could not beat this with antibiotics or anything else I tried. Actually thought I was going to have to put my cat down over this which made me sick to the stomach. One day while researching this issue I ran accross a post where someone was having the same problem and they solved it by switching to all wet food. I was feeding my cat dry in the morning and wet in the evening. So heres what I tried. I bought a bottle of cranberry juice, and made it into ice cubes, useing a cube every 2 - 3 days. I switched my cat to all wet food and even add water to the wet food. Idea being to get as much water passing through kitty as possible. Then before each of the 2 meals, I would load an eye dropper with cranberry juice and give her that before dinner. The uti's stopped right then and have never come back (9 monts now) After about 2 months i weaned her off the cranberry juice and now the all wet diet seems to be doing the trick. I think the dry food was just asorbing all the water in her system and the urin was just staying in the bladdder to long. Anyway it worked, cat did not seem to mind the cranberry juice. Hope this helps for anyone having this issue.
 

sharky

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Try wet food to help prevent ...

supplements are often NOT preventative and can cause other issues...
 

sweetkara

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Some wet foods have cranberry in them-- I had some from Dr. Fosters & Smith once that had it.
 

artgecko

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Nothing to add research-wise, but thought I'd mention that I'm giving my cats glucosamine right now for UTI reasons (one definately has issues, the other *might* due to recent things I've seen, but can't determine which). So far, I haven't noticed any side-effects.

I also bought some of those "cat berry" treats that have cranberry in them...they STINK to high heaven, and one cat won't touch them... I figure between the wet food, water fountain, a good dry food, and those supplements, they'll hopefully be alright.

The glucosamine also came highly reccommended by my vet, both for UTI and for arthritis (our family's dog has arthritis).

Art
 

chris10

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Cranberry could possibly work for actual UTI's (Urinary Tract Infections which involves bacteria). The cranberry works on the bacteria. For urinary tract crystals wet food IMO would be the way to go. The increase consumption of moisture will produce unfavorable conditions for crystals to form.
 
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snake_lady

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I was searching through old threads to find my kitties "gotcha" dates and found this one.

Since I've now had a young kitty with bladder issues (idiopathic cystitis) I'd like to hear more, and do more research.

Prior to getting the bladder issue, all my cats were fed 2 feeds of wet food, then 1cup of dry food at bedtime (split between 3 cats).... they also all drink lots of water (I have a fountain). Since the issue they've been getting 3-4feeds of wet food and no dry, although I am starting to add a little bit of dry back in.

So now that Kiwi has had a problem, and I have a house full of boys, I'm looking into this a little more thoroughly.
 

monaxlisa

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With the glucosamine my vet says that it needs to have the chondroiton too, not just the glucosamine. I use glucosamine chondroiton on Munchkin and it keeps him from getting an irritated bladder. Chester gets that and something called Feline Resources (I think that's what it's called, get it from my vet) it's cranberry, marshmallow and a few other natural things. I'm not sure how much it helps since I'm using glucosamine too but my vet says it really seems to work.
 

chris10

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Since I've now had a young kitty with bladder issues (idiopathic cystitis) I'd like to hear more, and do more research.
I am pretty sure this condition is hard to nail down. For inflammation I would look into a fish body oil like salmon oil. If its on the bacterial side I would look into lysine to help build the immune system. You are already feeding a fair amount of wet. Maybe look into the mineral amounts of the wet food and see if its within an acceptable range for kitties that come down with crystals. As always consult a vet before making any changes.

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head.
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by chris10

I am pretty sure this condition is hard to nail down. For inflammation I would look into a fish body oil like salmon oil. If its on the bacterial side I would look into lysine to help build the immune system. You are already feeding a fair amount of wet. Maybe look into the mineral amounts of the wet food and see if its within an acceptable range for kitties that come down with crystals. As always consult a vet before making any changes.

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head.
Do you happen to know the mineral amounts that are acceptable?

I do agree that it is very hard to nail down. The only thing that can be said about it, IMO, is that it is stress related. (exactly my case)

No bacteria noticed in my cats urine. No crystals. Just blood in the urine (which was noticed at the vets, I have yet to see any blood in urine at home).

He seems to be fine now, but its more I'm looking to prevent reoccurance and knew that having 3 male cats, its more than likely I'd run into bladder issues at some point or other.

I plan on investing in some feliway, for the next period of stress (neutering is coming up) and hoping that helps.

Thanks for the post
 

sumaii

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I have actually read that cranberries and other berries are not. Good for cats due to the benzoric acid.
 

chris10

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Do you happen to know the mineral amounts that are acceptable?
Sorry i don't know. From reading other posts, and if memory serves me right, I know that some members recommend a certain amount of minerals for crystal kitties. But I only retained the info of "crystal kitties may do best with a certain amount of minerals" and not "crystal kitties may do best with ___% of certain minerals".

Hopefully those that know will chime in.
 

sharky

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are you asking for the recommended uti % of calcium , phos , magnesium ?
 

chris10

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Originally Posted by sharky

are you asking for the recommended uti % of calcium , phos , magnesium ?
I believe that's what Snake_Lady asked after I stated that there may be some recommended ranges. I guess now my question is am I somewhat right that there some certain mineral amounts that some need to watch with crystal kitties? Or have I misunderstood some, can't remember which ones, members opinions on crystal prevention?
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by sharky

are you asking for the recommended uti % of calcium , phos , magnesium ?
Originally Posted by chris10

I believe that's what Snake_Lady asked after I stated that there may be some recommended ranges. I guess now my question is am I somewhat right that there some certain mineral amounts that some need to watch with crystal kitties? Or have I misunderstood some, can't remember which ones, members opinions on crystal prevention?


Looking for the suitable ranges for kitties that may be prone to bladder issues (crystals, blockages, etc.)
 

sharky

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The "norms " vary but this is the Typical recommended for DRY food and uti health

magnesium under .09... most say .085% or lower( not much lower that is a different issue)

calcium under 1

phos .9 but most try for .8 or .7

Chris ( times two I guess


Yes there are guidelines for uti cats in regards to minerals

other things to consider are total ash ( ie most are 6.5 or so )
 

chris10

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Thanks for the info. I am pretty sure from one of snake_lady posts that she feeds mainly wet food. Are recommendations for wet food somewhat similar to dry?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by chris10

Thanks for the info. I am pretty sure from one of snake_lady posts that she feeds mainly wet food. Are recommendations for wet food somewhat similar to dry?
Yes and no

magnesium in wet .025% preferable is .022
which if you dry matter should come in between .088 and .1

Calcium and phos are similar also .. I dont keep the wet numbers for these in my head so I will have to reference them
 
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