Urinary health

Hi everyone. I posted a few weeks back about my cat, Kato, straining to urinate. We went to the vet and it seemed she had some crystals in her bladder. She was prescribed antibiotics and a different diet. After a few days she stopped straining but I think the size of her clumps aren't the size they used to be. I told the vet this during her follow up two weeks after the first visit and she did a urinalysis. Her ph was good, the only thing she found was inflammation. So she was prescribed anti-inflamatories and another week of antibiotics. She's eating and drinking normally but I feel like her litter use still isn't back to normal. I don't know if I'm just being paranoid but I'm just really worried. We have another follow up this Tuesday.

This is from this morning.

How much does Kato weigh? The size of the clumps for my 17 lbs male cat with a history of urinary track problems is 2 to 3 times of that, twice daily. Maybe it's due to his large size, but the prescription dry food he is on makes him drink lots of water. On the other hand, the size of clumps for my younger female cats (8 lbse each) is about that size or slightly larger. I hope this helps.

She's 4 1/2 and weighs 9.5lbs. She goes 3-5 times a day.

Hi There-

You know your cat better than anyone else so listen to your instincts.  If you're worried then I would make sure your kitty drinks more water to encourage larger urine output.  You can put a little water in his wet food and put more water bowls out around the house to encourage drinking.

. My male cat, Moses, had bladder stones when he was 3 and it completely blocked him.  Of course, this was during the holidays and we were having a bad ice storm so I had to unblock him myself!  It worked but he kept getting urinary infections, even though the vet kept prescribing antibiotics.

I did some research myself and put him on a wet food diet.  I also decided to treat him holistically because I was tired of paying so much money to the vet for only a temporary fix.  Later on, I learned the importance of a high protein, low carb diet and now he's on 2%carbs or less.  He does get dry food because he's such a bad sport and breaks things if he doesn't get his crunchies but I found a low-card dry food and only sprinkle it over his wet food.

He is now 16 and hasn't had stones since!

Moses got his bladder stones because he ate dry food exclusively.  That's what caused it.  I learned this is very common and it happens when they turn 3 or 4 years old. 

You said Kato is 4 1/2.  I would get her off the dry food or get the carbohydrate content down.  If your vet prescribes a special urinary dry food diet only use it temporarily.  Then get her on a wet food diet.

If you need to figure out how many carbs are in the food (the pet food companies won't list it on their cans or packages!) let me know and I will give you an easy formula to calculate it.

What wet food do you recommend? And what holistic treatments did you use?

juaneau said:

What wet food do you recommend? And what holistic treatments did you use?

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I buy Wellness Core, Merrick Purrfect Bistro, I and Love and You, and Fancy Feast classic. These are around 2% carbs. I would stay away from the fish kinds because that can exacerbate urinary issues.

As far as holistic remedies: I went to a health food store and bought Cantharis 30c pellets by Boiron. They come in a skinny blue tube. I gave 3 pellets by mouth every 4 hours for a day. This will take away any pain your kitty might be having.

The best remedy in my opinion that I used was UTI-Free by Pet Alive. It's easy to use, as you just sprinkle it on wet food. They don't taste it and it really works. I used the Cantharis first because I had to order the UTI-Free online.

I can't tell you what to use but this is what I did for my kitty. Do your research on it first and make your own decision.

[emoji]128522[/emoji]

Here's how to calculate carbs in wet food. Add:

Protein, fat, fiber, moisture and ash. Then subtract this total from 100. That's your carb per cent. Sometimes ash is not listed so the general rule is using 2% for ash.

Example:

Protein- 11%
Fat-7%
Fiber- 1%
Moisture- 78%
Ash- 2%

Total- 99. Subtract 99 from 100= 1%

Josiegirl said:

Here's how to calculate carbs in wet food. Add:

Protein, fat, fiber, moisture and ash. Then subtract this total from 100. That's your carb per cent. Sometimes ash is not listed so the general rule is using 2% for ash.

Example:

Protein- 11%
Fat-7%
Fiber- 1%
Moisture- 78%
Ash- 2%

Total- 99. Subtract 99 from 100= 1%

Click to expand...

That isn't really accurate. You want to base it on a dry matter analysis, which means removing the moisture from the equation. There's a website that does the calculation for you (because I can never remember it myself, even though it's easy.

I will find the website....

Donutte said:

That isn't really accurate. You want to base it on a dry matter analysis, which means removing the moisture from the equation. There's a website that does the calculation for you (because I can never remember it myself, even though it's easy.

I will find the website....

Click to expand...

No, I understand that.  That calculation is for wet matter.  1% wet matter is good because that means the dry matter is pretty low.  Dry matter for that calculation would be about 5%.  2% wet matter calculates to 9% dry matter.  Anything 10% dry matter or under is ideal. 

It's a little more adding and dividing the wet matter to dry matter basis so I always feel 2% or under wet matter is great!  (to get dry matter:  take the wet matter percent and divide it by .22 (100-78% moisture is .22)

ETA:  Sometimes moisture content on food labels is higher or lower.  I've seen moisture in wet canned foods be 75%.  In that case you would need to divide the wet carb percent by .25, which may make dry matter analysis higher.

Donutte- I realize I did not say in my earlier posts it was wet matter percent.  Sorry about that.  My computer is very slow on this site and doesn't allow me to type much.

Thanks for that information Josiegirl. We had a follow up today and the vet thinks she's doing well. Her litter use also seemed a lot more normal today. She just finished her recommended treatment so I'm just going to wait and watch to see if she continues to normalize.

Web site to calculate dry carb content?

Best water for cat urinary health?
I have heard that tap water is not good. Some recommendations are for distilled water. Some recommendations are for spring water.

I got the calculations from my YOUR CAT book but I'll see if I can find a website and will post later.

I've heard spring water is good. I use filtered water.

It probably depends on the quality of your local tap water - you could get one of those Brita faucet filters for your kitchen sink.

I have a water fountain for the cats and I fill it up with those big jugs of spring water from the grocery store - I think spring water would be best because it still has all the good minerals and trace elements in it from nature - distilled water is basically "dead" water.

Josiegirl said:

I buy Wellness Core, Merrick Purrfect Bistro, I and Love and You, and Fancy Feast classic. These are around 2% carbs. I would stay away from the fish kinds because that can exacerbate urinary issues.

As far as holistic remedies: I went to a health food store and bought Cantharis 30c pellets by Boiron. They come in a skinny blue tube. I gave 3 pellets by mouth every 4 hours for a day. This will take away any pain your kitty might be having.

The best remedy in my opinion that I used was UTI-Free by Pet Alive. It's easy to use, as you just sprinkle it on wet food. They don't taste it and it really works. I used the Cantharis first because I had to order the UTI-Free online.

I can't tell you what to use but this is what I did for my kitty. Do your research on it first and make your own decision.

[emoji]128522[/emoji]

Click to expand...

Wow. Does that stuff really work for pain? Is cantharis safe for cats?

Yes, it works very well for pain.  When my Josie had urinary inflammation I didn't have any UTI-Free on hand so I gave her Cantharis.  Her urine, after a couple of potties, was blood-free and her "area" (ahem) was no longer inflamed.  She stopped crying and started acting normal again.

Yes, Cantharis is very safe to use.  Unlike drugs, it doesn't have any side effects.  The only reason I use UTI-Free now is because it's easier to administer (you just sprinkle onto the food)

Just google Cantharis for cats.  It will tell you all you need to know.

Can Valerian root be used to treat urinary infection in male cat?

I always thought valerian root was like catnip. Haven't heard of it helping urinary infections other than reducing stress in cats.(which can help cause urinary problems.)

I stick with homeopathy, as you'll read in my previous posts.