[cdubau]

Looking for some advice on cat food with urinary issues.

[crazy4cats]

Hi-
In my opinion, catinfo dot org is a great site that addresses this issue. The most important thing you can do for this is to add as much moisture to the cats diet as possible. I give my 4 cats about 3 oz of canned food each everyday. Along with that, I feed a little bit of Wellness core, Earthborn Primitive or Taste of the wild dry food. The author of the site mentioned above does not recommend any dry food at all to maintain urinary health, however. but, that gets pretty expensive. Good luck, I know they can be picky.

[theBCnut]

The number one thing to do for cats with urinary issues is to increase water intake. If they will eat canned food(I have 2 that will and 2 that won’t), you can even add a little bit more water to the canned. If they are not eating canned, try to get them switched to canned.

[Molzy]

My cat has done GREAT on Natures Variety raw medallions. He had his first UTI two years ago, and has only had one since then (when we moved -I think it was triggered by the stress). I add a little water to his raw and mush it up.

Otherwise, I’d suggest a grain free canned, but still add some water to it. You want to really increase the water intake, as Patty said. I also add a scoop of the NaturVet cranberry powder onc or twice a week, not sure if it helps or not. A lot of the dog food brands that are good also make good cat foods. I keep a variety of cans on hand for days when the raw isn’t thawed enough or if I run out (I live an hour from the nearest place I can buy the commercial raw). Right now I have Wellness and Lotus in the cabinet.

If I weren’t doing the raw, I’d also consider the Honest Kitchen dehydrated diets, with lots of water added. I just bought a sample of each of them to try, but my cat isn’t too picky. I’ve found that raw is cheaper than the good canned food. I can feed my guy for about $30 a month, and could do it cheaper but I pay for the convenience of the medallions over cutting up the chubs myself.

If your cat has never had wet food, it can be difficult to transition. I had no issues with my cat, he loves food too much.

Oh, I also bought a pet fountain to encourage him to drink more, and I think it has accomplished that goal.

Good luck, it is so hard to watch them go through those episodes!

[theBCnut]

The cranberry powder helps because it makes it difficult for the bacteria to attach to the bladder wall, which means the cat is getting rid of a larger amount of it every time it urinates.

[Jackie B]

Pet fountain, as another poster said. I have one for my UTI-prone dog. It is a Cat Mate brand. Since I switched him to all wet food (or fresh, or rehydrated, etc) and the fountain, he has been UTI-free. Berry Balance from Solid Gold may also be a good idea, it contains the cranberry powder.

[crazy4cats]

Yes, a fountain is a great idea. Cats love moving water! Mine often drink right out of the bathroom sink faucet if I just turn it to a low slow drip. Yes, they are pampered kitties for sure. Lol!

[cdubau]

Thanks for the help! The mountain didn’t work for my girl. I mix her food dry and canned. She has had stones before but no UTI. I’ll look at cranberry powder though. Her urine output is good though.

[Susan]

My older cat is doing much better since adding Wellness canned chicken & turkey and a cranberry treat daily along with the Pure Vita grain free kibble.
Would like to add, she was on BB and not doing very well.

[UTI_Overlord]

cdubau,

If your cat has crystals in her urine, those may be the cause of her condition (volume may be good even with crystal formation, a urinalysis can confirm this). Years ago, my cat became fully blocked and almost perished as a result of urinary crystals and constant UTIs. The crystals were so numerous that his bladder looked like a snow-globe on an ultrasound. The vet flushed his bladder as best they could, but he still had a lot of crystals left over. After about 2 months on Royal Canin’s Urinary SO, his bladder was completely clean. To date, ultrasound and urinalysis reveal no crystals.

He gets 1/2 a can of wet food every day. I pour some water into the can after opening to add moisture; it mixes well and he drinks it right up. Afterwards, he gets a small amount of the dry food. At first, I did not give him any dry food. As others have stated, it is vitally important to have high levels of hydration and dry food does nothing to assist in this regard. Now, I use both the Urinary SO and Purina’s UR to add variety.

UTIs and bladder issues are not conditions you want to take a test and see approach with. In addition to the severe pain they feel, it only takes a few hours for these conditions to become fatal (bladder gets blocked, bladder bursts, cat dies). I am all for natural remedies, but go with what is PROVEN to work and stabilize her condition; THEN, try to maintain a healthy urinary tract with alternative methods.

May The Force be with you my brother and/or sister.

[cdubau]

Hey thanks so much for the reply! I think I have figured out a food for her! Here her story. Oreo doesn’t have UTI’s but had bladder stones maybe two years ago? If feels like it was forever ago but I felt so bad. I had one of those automatic kitty litter boxes so I didn’t notice she wasn’t pee’ing a lot in one go. Anyway I took her in and finally got a pee sample and it looked like straight blood 🙁 Its been so long I can’t remember if they did an ultra sound. I want to say no. They has me switch her food and give her meds and try the pet fountain (didn’t work).
Food wise she always gets dry food with wet food mixed, water added to make it gravy like. She was on science diet c/d but it seemed to make her sick sometimes. If i mixed to much water with the dry food she would vomit. Plus the watered down dry food would smell rancid in a very short time. So I called wellness and got their mineral counts one day and their weight loss formula was within the range that was listed on the C/d. So I switched to that and she hated it. She would lick the wet food off the dry food and leave the dry food in the bowl!! Low and behold I saw a lady in the store with the Purina Urinary tract health and asked her about it. She said her vet told her to switch her cats to that. Oreo will eat it….which is a lot coming from her. She will eat it plain too. She is picky about it being fresh though. But I’m glad I found a food she will eat, won’t break the bank and is a U/T food.
I still need to find a way to get her more fluids though. Going all canned I just can’t afford. Its not in the budge so any other creative ways besides a fountain I’m up to trying.

[crazy4cats]

Hi cdubau-
Did you happen to notice that the first ingredient in that Purina dry food is corn gluten meal? I hope you are still feeding some canned food also. Lisa Pierson, DVM, states on her website, catinfo.org, that she would rather see a cat be fed any canned food over any dry food regardless of quality. I know how crazy expensive the canned food is, but you can buy the cheaper stuff, such as Friskies, or Fancy Feast to get some moisture in her diet. When I feed my four cats, I don’t mix the canned with their dry. I keep it separate. That way I can remove the canned if they don’t eat it and the dry doesn’t get icky from getting wet. But it always all gets eaten unless I buy them a special occasion expensive canned food, then they turn up their noses. So frustrating! LoL. Good luck!

[theBCnut]

I give each cat a half can of food in the morning with water added to it. And I leave dry down all night. I never mix the two.

[Susan]

My cat is very particular about canned food she will eat. She will eat pate style chicken and turkey Wellness the best. Any chunky type she will drink juice and leave the meat regardless of the brand, except, I got her to eat Merrick Thanksgiving flavor.
I have tried and thrown out many brands and after couple of months she is finally eating half a can morning and evening and during the day she has kibble available. Royal Canin , Science Diet, etc. are not options. I do prefer to have some sort of cranberry ingredient included in whatever she is eating and she is really doing well. Two months ago she was having some litter box issues, but all problems have gone, and she is doing great.

[Author]

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