Cranberry For Urinary & Bladder Health?

Did your vet give you the wet or the dry version? Wet will have a much better chance of not making your cat fat. Also, I don't think you need to feed the urinary food Every day in order for it to be effective. So you could complement it with some high quality wet or commercial raw to help him stay healthy.

None of us are veterinarians. Some of us are veterinarian technicians and I am one of them. However I would recommend you speak to the veterinarian before changing her diet. I agree with Minka wet is less likely to put weight on your cat.

But I have NO idea if she needs the prescription feed everyday. I would not give her any nonprescription food without speaking to your veterinarian. Just my .

The simplest solution IMO is to simply feed less calories.

If you're free feeding, stop. If you're scheduled portion feeding, feed less.

Voila.

Alright, well then what you need to do is feed less, but also More meals.
If you are fine with getting up during the night (my cat also wakes me up for his 4am or 9am meals, depending on when I'm asleep), just make that an official meal time.

So say, instead of feeding the measured amount throughout the day, and then giving a handful at night, measure it out in the morning in a cup, and then split that into all her meals of the day and night.

Example: If you were giving her 3 meals a day, 8am Noon and 8pm, totaling 1/2 cup, and then giving her a handful at night; instead measure out 1/2 cup in the morning and split it into 4 portions, giving it at 8am Noon 8pm and 3am (or whenever she wakes you up).

Glad I am not the only one with a early morning wake up system....

small meals through the day as your schedule allows or possibly look at one of the number of timed auto feeders on the market... some are two meals on set times up to 5 ( anyone seen more than 5?).. You set the timer and kitty gets food on schedule throughout day and night..

At my house four cats get 1/2 given four times a day when I can... Most days it is 2/3 three times a day ( yes this = more but they are all at perfect wts so can have a bit more)...

Be prepared to give some salmon oil to your cat as a supplement because the weigh management foods tend to ruin cat's coat.

I would rather recommend to feed something good quality, but lesser amount, the 'light foods' usually have horrible ingredients (even the prescription ones). No dry if possible. But do listen to your vet about what the cat needs in order to keep the urinary issues under control.

I'm glad you found a solution to your dilema. I was going to say feed less and more often of the prescription diet your vet recommended. Try to post an update on your progress if you can find the time

Hi, I'm new on this forum....My 5 yo cat is in the hospital now with a blocked bladder, he is doing better & hopefully will come home tomorrow, I had no idea this was a huge problem with mostly male cats. I've had cats in the past and never once did any of my others cats get this. Anyway, my questions is what is the best food out there to give my kittly so this won't happen again. Im sure my vet will describe a special food but I wanted to hear other options. Thanks so much

Getting pestered by your cat?

Solution: Autofeeder!


Great for when you have to head out or are on vacation too, and they get used to the schedule quickly and will hover right next to the feeder rather than you. Wesley slaps it sometimes when he's impatient close to feeding time, but better annoy an inanimate object than me heheh.

May I ask a slightly off topic ?? How many times a day can you program it for?

Only three times a day, but with two then six times a day. If you feed a mixed diet though, not having to worry about say three out of five meals is still a big relief so you can get things done outside the house IMO. Its the Petmate LeBistro that holds 10lbs of food, and was $60 shipped when I got it.

Whats that green thing in the middle btw?

To the OP - I am curious.... What is this food you ordered, that is comparable to a prescription food in benefits to urinary health, is marketed as a diet food, and yet has no grain and no by-products?
Sounds quite different......

Hi, Babs' Slave. Welcome to TCS!

Since your need is the same as My2catsabc, I'm going to give you the same info and resources. I think you might be surprised at some of the information.

First, the most important step you can take for urinary tract health is to remove kibble from your cat's diet. Truly! Cats evolved from desert animals and don't have the drive to drink when they're thirsty, so cats fed kibble are chronically dehydrated. This puts stress on their organs and concentrates their urine - suspected to be the single biggest cause of urinary tract issues.

CatInfo.org has a very detailed article titled Feline Urinary Tract Health: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection:

If I could have the reader of this webpage take away just one word from this discussion, it would be "water". If your cat is on a properly hydrated diet of 100% canned food - and no dry food - you stand a very good chance of never needing to read this webpage.

Always keep in mind that water flowing through the urinary tract system is the most important factor in keeping it healthy.

Note that I said "water" - not "crystals" or "urine pH" - or any of the expensive prescription diets often recommended by veterinarians.

A cat's normal prey is ~70% water. Canned food is ~78% water. Dry food is ~5-10% water. Cats have a low thirst drive and do not make up the deficit at the water bowl. They are designed to get water with their food.

Little Big Cat (Dr. Hofve) has several articles on this and related topics: "Urinary Tract Disorders in Cats" and "Kidney Disease in Older Cats" are just a couple of them (the former includes a discussion on veterinarian prescription diets):

There are many medical diets made to dissolve struvite stones and to prevent recurrence of struvite and calcium oxalate stones. These include Hill’s s/d, c/d(s) and c/d(o), Purina CNM-UR, Waltham’s Control pHormula, and others. These are only available through veterinarians since they create specific acid-base conditions in the cat’s body that should be monitored by your vet. Canned versions of these foods are vastly preferable to dry, although none of them contain the high quality ingredients we recommend and consist mainly of by-products and grains.

In one study, 60% of cats on a single dry food were symptom-free for a year, compared to 90% of cats eating one canned food. Homemade, organic, natural diets are always on the top of the “good†list for treating this and other chronic disease conditions, but only if they can be fed consistently. Diet changes must always be made gradually to minimize stress on the cat.
...
Cranberry extract is beneficial for many animals, especially dogs, who tend to have actual infections of the bladder. Cranberry is thought to prevent the attachment of the E. coli bacteria to the bladder wall. Because bacteria are not present in most cases FLUTD, it may be less beneficial for cats. However, cranberry has still been helpful in many cases, even those without any evidence of bacteria. Cranberry capsules are available at the health food store (typically in 250 mg strength which is a good once-a-day dose for cats), and are very safe to give long-term.

Little Big Cat has another article titled "Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food" that you might find helpful, and Feline-nutrition.org has a nice article in their Nutrition section dissecting pet food labels to get to a real understanding of the product's ingredients called "Reading a Pet Food Ingredient Label".

Good luck with your girl!

AC

Dry food was created for the convenience of people, not the health of animals. It doesn't even remotely resemble a natural diet for cats or dogs. The companies making it then used marketing to convince pet owners that table scraps are an unhealthy diet for pets and that they should feed kibble instead. The companies secured their place in society by brainwashing veterinarians by paying colleges to allow them to give presentations to their students.

Cats don't have a thirst drive sufficient enough to allow for proper hydration when on a dry food diet. We just had a fellow member lose their kitty to a blocked bladder that was most likely caused by improper diet.