Good experience with Apple Cider Vinegar

I just had to share:  My cat was showing signs of a Urinary Tract infection, he was using the box a lot and small amounts of urine coming out.  He didn't seem in distress otherwise, still eating regularly and not showing signs of pain.  I had heard good things about using Apple Cider Vinegar for  their bladder acid levels.  I thought I would try it as a "temporary fix" until we could see his vet.  Well after mixing about 1/2 teaspoon of ACV with about twice as much chicken broth-into a half a can of wet food twice he is showing a recovery.  He is going a normal rate to the litter box now and all is fine.

Yes, when I was first treating the little FLUTD cat from the shelter, I used the Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with "the mother" (the bacteria responsible for turning the cider into vinegar) whenever her urine pH would start to go above 6.5 (I bought pH testing strips and used them faithfully, and she was very cooperative because when something was wrong she would happily pee just anywhere, but when all was well she would use the box most of the time.)  I had read in a thread here about someone who used the vinegar whenever one of her problem cats would start showing signs like yours did, peeing to frequently in small amounts, so I would put 0.2 ml into a 1 ml. syringe and fill the rest with water or tuna juice and squirt it into her mouth every half hour until her pH came back down below 6.5.  (that's 4 parts water to 1 part vinegar) Of course I also had her on an all wet, low carb, grain-free diet at the time (because grains and carbs tend to make the urine more alkaline) and she still would get up to a 7.0 pH level from time to time (possibly stress related is one theory).  Anyhow, struvite crystals cannot form in a slightly acid solution (7.0 is neutral, anything lower than that is on the acid side, anything higher is alkaline), and the normal pH of healthy cats' urine is 6.0 to 6.5, which is sightly acid (this was proven by studies done on feral cats eating their natural diet of birds, mice, lizards and bugs, the only grain being what was in the prey's stomach and any grass tops they chose to eat).  The vinegar given every half hour always brought the pH down in an hour or two (3 or 4 doses).   I have not needed it for months now.  I do sprinkle a tiny bit of L-methionine on her food, which also tends to acidify the urine, but I wasa ding that in the early days too.  Now she is very stable.  She still pees in odd places from time to time, so I can still test her whenever I need to.  She will pee in an empty litter box or in the bathtub any chance she gets, so thats how I usually have something to dip the stick into.

Managing the pH using diet and apple cider vinegar has worked for two of my friends as well, and their cats have not needed to go to the vet at all in many months, a change from past history also.  For choosing a food, I used the list on www.catinfo.org.  I started with EVO 95% turkey & chicken, and am using Abound turkey & chicken these days.  She went from being a dry food addict to completely expecting her own special food and going to her own special place to eat, ignoring what the other cats might be having.  That took time and work also, but was well worth it.