[WARNING!]  05/09/2010: Angela from Calgary, Alberta, Canada writes: "Hello, I originally wrote back in May 2009 about my cat Spillo who has been suffering from cystitis for most of his life. I just wrote recently saying that he reached the one year mark and he was in total remission. Well he had a change last week and the information I found out from the vet in very important for those who want to use ACV long term. Last Wednesday Spillo started peeing what looked like pure blood. I took him to the cat hospital and the vet said his bladder felt small and very hard. He was there for a few days and basically what he ended up having was a severe bladder infection (on the first feel the vet thought it might be cancer). The vet said that ACV used (daily like we were giving to Spillo) will make the ph very alkaline. Alkaline is good when you are trying to prevent crystals, but when you go too alkaline it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.

Bottom line, if you are going to use acv long term, maybe check with your vet about the quantity. We discussed the dosage with the vet and he thinks that 1cc 2 to 3 times a week is plenty sufficient. The one good thing about this visit is that the urinalysis showed that Spillo had no crystals or questionable blood cells in his bladder. ACV does work and is very good for cats with this problem. I will continue to give 1cc of raw acv to Spillo twice a week."

[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  06/27/2010: Karenmarie from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada writes: "After realizing my 2 year old male neutered cat had developed a UTI I decided to look up vet treatments and home remedies. I had recently dropped an $800.00 vet bill on my late kitty, Tranny, who suffered from a rare blood disease and needed to be euthanized. I do not believe in medical veterinary practices (or doctors for that matter) as the disease is treated as a separate entity from the animal or human. Upon discovering the treatment used by vets is generally anti-biotics mixed with an antidepressant i decided to veto that option as the UTI's are rarley a bacterial infection.

I discovered this amazing website and the use of ACV in cats with UTI's I decided to give it a try. My local health food store carries ACV with the mother aswell as organic cranberry juice. At first I only used the ACV (1/2 tsp in 2 tbs water) and administered three times a day with a syringe. My cat began to use the litter box in stead of the couch and floor for the first time in 3 days. I chose to add 1 tsp of cranberry juice (organic and unrefined) to his treatment adding another 1 tbs of water for extra dillution. His food has been switched to a raw organic canned food mixed with another tsp of ACV and cranberry juice.

Becuase of his lack of fluid consumption I syringe feed him 1/4 cup of regular water before his feeding time to ensure he has enough fluid to urinate any dissolved crystals aswell as keep him hydrated. By lighty pinching the skin on the back of his neck and holding it for a few seconds before letting it go, I found he was mildly dehydrated because his skin did not bounce back quickly.

It is now the third day and although his recovery is not as quick as I have read to be the norm for most cats, he is more playful, able to take naps and his nose (which was white before) has returned to it's normal fleshy pink color, his attitude has improved and us slowley returning to his happy affectionate self.

All in all I do see an improvment in his activity and although he has returned to peeing on the couch (only at night) the amount of urine is nearly a full bladder and their is no more traces of blood. I think his urinating on the couch behaviour is now a product of his connection with the pain of the UTI and his litter box, this should be cured with a few days if positive reinforcment."