Will feeding wet food reverse my cat's UTI?

I replied to your thread in the health forum about this, but there's two components to the crystal-based UTI problem. One is the neutral pH his bladder needs now - that's what the prescription food is designed to do. The other component is dilute urine, which is what an all wet diet helps accomplish.

He may not need to be on the prescription diet his entire life. But it depends upon his sensitivity. For some, an all wet diet is enough. For others, it isn't.

Our boys developed their problem around the age of two. Crystals kept coming back until we switched them to c/d. They ate a c/d diet for 7 years. Last November, we switched the cats to an all wet diet, because two kitties had different dietary needs, so we could no longer free feed dry food.

So far, knock wood, they're doing OK. I do feed them canned c/d as one of the meals once a day, but at the other three meals, they get much higher quality (mostly) grain free food. I mix water into their wet food, and the amount of scooping I did went up a LOT, so I know they're all peeing a LOT more than they were. So keeping their urine dilute seems to be working. Though based on how long it took them to develop crystal problems the first time around, I may not actually know for another 1 1/2 years that there's a problem.

One of our boys wouldn't switch to all wet food. So his meals are supplemented with dry food. I give him a mix that is 70% c/d dry, 10% Origen, 10% Before Grain Chicken, and 10% Instinct chicken. He does eat some wet food, but he just licks at it. He probably only eats about 1 - 1.5 oz of wet a day. Again - so far so good (knock wood).

But as your baby is at the point of getting over the problem, I'd give him at least a couple of months on the prescription diet before trying anything else.

This thread has good discussion from people with experience with kitties with UTIs: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224913

UTIs aren't always caused by dietary issues in the first place, but a change in diet is a typical treatment. Moving furniture around or a stray cat constantly pestering your kitty by the window can create a stress induced UTI in some cats for example. While recovering from a UTI, it would be wise to stick with medicated food which is usually low magnesium/ash and includes an acidifier (assuming struvite). This is available both dry and wet, but unless the cat just refuses to eat it then wet is recommended since the added moisture helps flush the system. When all is well and good for a while, you can switch back to a regular diet. Its typically recommended to avoid feeding too much fish, and would be wise to have wet food in the diet even if its not 100% wet. Coworker's cat developed a UTI two years ago that I kittysat, and they just feed some cheap Purina dry food (no wet) and hasn't had another case to date. *knock on wood* Other cats have genetic problems or worsened condition from a UTI and are more likely to develop another UTI after, and become special needs kitties that require special food accordingly.

I had a UTI myself as a kid, and the doctor never did figure out what caused it since I had an excellent diet and was a neat freak, but I was treated and it never reoccurred. Likewise, the majority of UTIs in cats are for unknown reasons, so you're not going to get a 100% answer just best guesses and treatments that usually work.

I don't want to appear stupid, but what is c/d?

It is abbreviated for a particular prescription recipe from Hill's brand food. They have various diets with "a letter"/d. The /d is diet, and for c/d its cystitis diet.

I really appreciate this link to that thread, Laurie. I am still trying out to figure out what to feed my cats so I can try to avoid future problems like Squeak's with the other's.

To OP, C/D is made by Hill's prescription diets only purchased through your vet. My cat Pipsqueak is on that right now for an inflamed bladder and blood in urine, no crystals though. It is specifically for maintaining a healthy feline bladder. Squeak is addicted to the dry. He is like an addict for the stuff. Prior to this problem, he was on a grain free dry and grain free wet combined. Was this the contributing factor . But I have decided to change to a grain dry for all my cats with a grain free wet. I just haven't decided which grain dry to choose yet.

I've had really good luck doing this with Thufir. I switched him from a diet of dry c/d food to an all-wet diet. During the first 6 months, I had his urine tested 3 times, and each time the result came back with no sign of crystals, a normal pH, and a specific gravity on the lower end of normal (meaning his urine was pretty dilute.) Now, I feed him a regular wet food most of the time, but I keep a bag of the dry c/d around for those times when I don't have time to do the wet. I still have the vet test his urine at his annual visit, and he seems to be doing fine. Every cat is different, so you'll want to work with your vet when you try the switch. Take it gradually and monitor the urine to catch signs of trouble before they become life-threatening.

I've read a lot of articles by vets about dehydration in cats. It IS frequently due to feeding dry cat food. Wet cat food is better, but in our personal experience, raw food is best. Not only does it supply water the way nature intended, but it will provide your cats with beneficial enzymes which are normally killed by the high heat used to cook canned food. Chunks of raw chicken, lamb, etc., will also give your cat's teeth, gums and jaws a good workout, helping to prevent dental problems. Imagine what a wild cat would eat--and then compare that to what a domesticated cat is forced to consume. No wonder our companions have so many health issues as they age!

Our cat has had problems UtI and I didn't realise until it happened how
common it was. I assumed that he drank enough water to prevent any
problems,and didn't even know about crystals forming!

He's OK now,and eats wet food although that has effected his dental
hygene and we have to keep an eye on the condition of his gums.