Cranberry??

[jaycee]

i have read little bits here and there about cranberry extract and different kinds of cranberry supplements being good for a cats urinary tract health and have also seen cranberry as an ingredient in many catfoods, but the vet said cranberry does zero for urinary tract health and is pretty much useless and that its strictly meat protein that keeps the ph balanced. i dont know what to believe.

 

[sharky]

Cranberry has some effect on the UTi tract ... Meat is likely a cause not a preventative

, I would continue researching ... This is a grey area for me as I have never had trouble with UTIs in my animals and only done research in the last few years ... I recently learned corn gluten meal ofsets chickens levels thus allowing chn based food to help UTI health

 

[jaycee]

Originally Posted by sharky

Cranberry has some effect on the UTi tract ... Meat is likely a cause not a preventative

, I would continue researching ... This is a grey area for me as I have never had trouble with UTIs in my animals and only done research in the last few years ... I recently learned corn gluten meal ofsets chickens levels thus allowing chn based food to help UTI health

i havnt had a problem with it either but the vet asked me today what i planned on feeding them after i use up all the free kitten food they re currently eating and when i told her chicken soup for the cat lovers soul she kind of made a face and asked why i chose that brand. i told her i liked all the meat ingredients, the cranberries in it for urinary tract health, and other ingredients. thats when she said its only meat that keeps the ph balanced and nothing else at all, just meat.

so your saying she has it wrong and meat does not keep the ph balanced? (just wanna make sure im reading it right)

 

[renny]

I think you are going to find that many vets don't keep up to speed about nutrition etc, except what SD/Hill's and the other companies tell them. My thoughts from research seems that a lot of the additives in dry/wet food could have an effect on the pH. Just meat of course would not be a completely balanced diet for a cat, as in the wild they would eat some of the vegetable matter within the prey as well as the bones (which just meat doesn't have). I have used cranberry extract for myself and for Rambo when he had a UTI. I've also heard that a drop of apple cider vinegar in the water dish can help as well. I've started switching my cats to premade raw food diet, that has shown with friends some good success for preventing urinary tract infections. I've also switched to giving the kitties bottled water instead of tap.

With answers like those which your vet gave you, I might consider looking for a vet with a little more knowledge or at least an open mind to learning new things. (my vet admits she doesn't know alot about raw...but she's open to reading some of the research i've found!)

 

[gailuvscats]

I second the getting another vet. You want your new babies to have the best. I have done research on this subject and the cranberry acidifies the urine. One of the types of crystals does not develop and will even dissolve in an acid urine. However, there is another type of crystals that develop in acid urine, so unless you have the problem, I wouldn't think you would want to give supplements. there is a lot of info about food on this site, just search it. The general consensus is, as I understand it, is a good quality wet food is the first choice for cats since they are obligate conivores, and dry food is discouraged, unless, of course, you are like me and can't afford a totally good wet food diet.I give good quality wet and dry. Never use the cheap crap at the grocery stores. The good stuff can be found at reasonable prices. the ingredients should be mostly meat in the first 5 ingredients and not animal by-products. I think corn is frowned upon as well because many cats are allergic to corn.
Anyway, I have simplified what I have learned, but if you do the research on this site alone, you will get the neccesary education to ensure your cats have a good diet.

 

[yosemite]

If you are happy with your vet's medical knowledge and treatment for your kitty, then I wouldn't necessarily change vets just because she doesn't have much knowledge on nutrition. MANY vets have little knowledge on nutrition so you would probably have fewer options on selecting another vet.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if I am looking for information on brain surgery, I'm unlikely to go to a podiatrist. A vet spends most of their schooling/training on medical issues (thank goodness) and not nutrition. We recently changed vets when we moved and I point-blank asked them what their training in nutrition consisted of and when they offered me a free bag of S/D (because it was a better food???????) I let them know that I didn't think it was as good as what I was currently feeding.

A lot of us get intimidated by doctors/vets/lawyers/etc. - I used to when I was younger but now tend to prefer to ask questions, (must be intelligent questions of course) and insist on clarification. If they cannot provide that clarification then I take their advice with a grain of salt and do my own research.

 

[oliverandmax]

IF YOU CAT HAS URINARY TRACT INFECTION ISSUES (CRYSTALS IN THE URINE ESPECIALLY) READ THE FOLLOWING:

I have had an ongoing problem ever since we adopted Oliver, apparently he had cat herpes when he came, took me forever to figure it out, he was living in a shelter where the cats mix in an open room, very nice for them, BUT, he got feline herpes, came with it, seemed fine for a short while, then developed issues early on, raced him to the vet, who gave him Clavamox, solved the problem for 10 minutes, kept reading searching why we had this problem on and on, and my other cat Max, got it,  starting giving Lysine after much reading on the web, no help from the vet on this, he saw more than one vet, SOLVED THAT PROBLEM.

Most recent problem (actually off and on for quite a while) has been Urinary Tract Infections in Max especially, apparently he has a problem with CRYSTALS in his urine, was peeing all over the house when this was bad, the vet gave him Clavamox and said no bacteria after torturing him to max sure.

Reading, reading, searching, I FOUND THE ANSWER, when Max has a peeing issue (outside the litter box) HE HAS ANOTHER UTI, the latest is and believe me it works, I had tried everything else:

GIVE YOUR CAT D-MANNOSE, I bought it online and we treated Max with a lot, added to his food, dissolved in water and given in a syringe, (a lot) for a few days and voila, issue over, D-Mannose is the effective ingredient in Cranberry, but you need to get D-Mannose for this problem, I tried Cranberry extract, didn't work, and you need to give LOTS OF THIS STUFF, it's peed off if not needed, not harmful, we gave it to Max for a couple of days maybe 5 times a day PROBLEM SOLVED, no vet bill, no BS about Science Diet Dry Food, almost 80. the big bag to feed my 3, didn't work!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I have switched to only canned food and add d-mannose to the food for maintenance, better to give to much than too little, dissolve in a tiny bit of water to add to the wet food (it tends to clump, it's a sugar), what is not needed IS PEED OFF, no harm giving a lot.  NO MORE PEEING ON MY HOUSE, Max was telling me to help him, not being bad!  When you first notice your cat peeing outside the litter box, if he/she has had an issue with UTI, do what I did, Voila!  Huge pee pee in the litter box, in a day and 1/2 NOT ON MY CARPET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Go read about d-Mannose online, saved my sanity.

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
IF YOU CAT HAS URINARY TRACT INFECTION ISSUES (CRYSTALS IN THE URINE ESPECIALLY) READ THE FOLLOWING:

I have had an ongoing problem ever since we adopted Oliver, apparently he had cat herpes when he came, took me forever to figure it out, he was living in a shelter where the cats mix in an open room, very nice for them, BUT, he got feline herpes, came with it, seemed fine for a short while, then developed issues early on, raced him to the vet, who gave him Clavamox, solved the problem for 10 minutes, kept reading searching why we had this problem on and on, and my other cat Max, got it,  starting giving Lysine after much reading on the web, no help from the vet on this, he saw more than one vet, SOLVED THAT PROBLEM.

Most recent problem (actually off and on for quite a while) has been Urinary Tract Infections in Max especially, apparently he has a problem with CRYSTALS in his urine, was peeing all over the house when this was bad, the vet gave him Clavamox and said no bacteria after torturing him to max sure.

Reading, reading, searching, I FOUND THE ANSWER, when Max has a peeing issue (outside the litter box) HE HAS ANOTHER UTI, the latest is and believe me it works, I had tried everything else:

GIVE YOUR CAT D-MANNOSE, I bought it online and we treated Max with a lot, added to his food, dissolved in water and given in a syringe, (a lot) for a few days and voila, issue over, D-Mannose is the effective ingredient in Cranberry, but you need to get D-Mannose for this problem, I tried Cranberry extract, didn't work, and you need to give LOTS OF THIS STUFF, it's peed off if not needed, not harmful, we gave it to Max for a couple of days maybe 5 times a day PROBLEM SOLVED, no vet bill, no BS about Science Diet Dry Food, almost 80. the big bag to feed my 3, didn't work!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I have switched to only canned food and add d-mannose to the food for maintenance, better to give to much than too little, dissolve in a tiny bit of water to add to the wet food (it tends to clump, it's a sugar), what is not needed IS PEED OFF, no harm giving a lot.  NO MORE PEEING ON MY HOUSE, Max was telling me to help him, not being bad!  When you first notice your cat peeing outside the litter box, if he/she has had an issue with UTI, do what I did, Voila!  Huge pee pee in the litter box, in a day and 1/2 NOT ON MY CARPET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Go read about d-Mannose online, saved my sanity.

I am glad to read that you discovered D-Mannose, which is a naturally occurring sugar in some fruits such as cranberry. I am using this as well on my Thomas, who we discovered had developed crystals in his urine. When given to cats, bacteria binds with this sugar and gets flushed out in the urine, thus, removing bacteria from the urinary tract, rather than having to rely on antibiotics. Sometimes antibiotics are necessary, but if D-Mannose can manage the situation, this is preferable as there are no residual side effects. It really is a beautiful, natural solution to addressing urinary bacterial infections in cats.

As a complementary treatment, you can use corn silk tea to soothe an inflamed bladder during a UTI flare.

 

[oliverandmax]

After about 24 hours of treating about 4 times a day with d-Mannose dissolved in a tiny bit of water and fed to Max in a syringe, plus added to wet food, I saw the largest pee balls in my litter boxes that I have ever seen and the peeing on my house STOPPED COLD, if you cat is peeing on your house, they have a problem, it is essential you figure out what that problem is, it could be life threatening (as crystals in urine can be)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
After about 24 hours of treating about 4 times a day with d-Mannose dissolved in a tiny bit of water and fed to Max in a syringe, plus added to wet food, I saw the largest pee balls in my litter boxes that I have ever seen and the peeing on my house STOPPED COLD, if you cat is peeing on your house, they have a problem, it is essential you figure out what that problem is, it could be life threatening (as crystals in urine can be)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Those are some great results. In my case, my cat was not blocked, nor was he experiencing any symptoms of problems with urination, no peeing out of the litter box. The crystals were found during a routine urinalysis, which is why it is important to get this test done as part of a wellness checkup, as sometimes there are no symptoms. Crystals can happen in any urine ph but are favored in an alkaline urine. I hope your kitty can remain problem-free.

 

[oliverandmax]

In my case my cats pee outside the litter box when they have a UTI, not nice, but it does let you know, because they don't do it otherwise.  I did have to block the view to the front yard my cats so loved to sit and watch from because so many cats (esp?) came to visit and that set them off marking, we put film that blocks the window view at their level and that solved that problem.  All is well here, thank heaven!  I'm retired so I have the time and energy to research any problems I'm having, so I like to pass on what I learn to those with less time and energy.

 

[oliverandmax]

My experience with vets is that when it comes to something you can't handle that they can, you should consult them, if they and they most  often are, unwilling to suggest treatments for disease or conditions other than prescription medication and sacks of Science diet corn based dry food, you better do your homework, the answers to a lot of problems are easily available on the web, just search your problem and read as many things as you can on the subject then decide what seems a good path.  Don't get me wrong, I love my vets, just know where to look for more options

 

[achristine]

IF YOU CAT HAS URINARY TRACT INFECTION ISSUES (CRYSTALS IN THE URINE ESPECIALLY) READ THE FOLLOWING:

I have had an ongoing problem ever since we adopted Oliver, apparently he had cat herpes when he came, took me forever to figure it out, he was living in a shelter where the cats mix in an open room, very nice for them, BUT, he got feline herpes, came with it, seemed fine for a short while, then developed issues early on, raced him to the vet, who gave him Clavamox, solved the problem for 10 minutes, kept reading searching why we had this problem on and on, and my other cat Max, got it,  starting giving Lysine after much reading on the web, no help from the vet on this, he saw more than one vet, SOLVED THAT PROBLEM.

Most recent problem (actually off and on for quite a while) has been Urinary Tract Infections in Max especially, apparently he has a problem with CRYSTALS in his urine, was peeing all over the house when this was bad, the vet gave him Clavamox and said no bacteria after torturing him to max sure.

Reading, reading, searching, I FOUND THE ANSWER, when Max has a peeing issue (outside the litter box) HE HAS ANOTHER UTI, the latest is and believe me it works, I had tried everything else:

GIVE YOUR CAT D-MANNOSE, I bought it online and we treated Max with a lot, added to his food, dissolved in water and given in a syringe, (a lot) for a few days and voila, issue over, D-Mannose is the effective ingredient in Cranberry, but you need to get D-Mannose for this problem, I tried Cranberry extract, didn't work, and you need to give LOTS OF THIS STUFF, it's peed off if not needed, not harmful, we gave it to Max for a couple of days maybe 5 times a day PROBLEM SOLVED, no vet bill, no BS about Science Diet Dry Food, almost 80. the big bag to feed my 3, didn't work!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I have switched to only canned food and add d-mannose to the food for maintenance, better to give to much than too little, dissolve in a tiny bit of water to add to the wet food (it tends to clump, it's a sugar), what is not needed IS PEED OFF, no harm giving a lot.  NO MORE PEEING ON MY HOUSE, Max was telling me to help him, not being bad!  When you first notice your cat peeing outside the litter box, if he/she has had an issue with UTI, do what I did, Voila!  Huge pee pee in the litter box, in a day and 1/2 NOT ON MY CARPET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Go read about d-Mannose online, saved my sanity.

I read that d-mannose can cause kidney failure if taken in excess.

http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/d-mannose-uses-and-risks

?? I'm so scared to use it on my cat!! But he is suffering. My vet convinced it's just fic!!