Apple Cider Vinegar Treatment for Cats with Cystitis

Remembered this thread as I was sitting here going through old pics of my Cat. In may of 2011 he had a horrible urinary tract infection.. Found this site and thread and read all the great stories about ACV. We bought some immediately and started giving it to him. After a few days he seemed better, started going in the litter box and seemed like his old self. We were so happy but sadly... The ACV didn't work. He ended up getting a complete blockage and we lost him last May.

THANK YOU FOR THIS SITE!!!!!!! My parents just moved country and flew their cat over for us to look after. The flight was clearly stressful and I noticed a few days after that she was straining to pee and leaving pee/blood drops in the corners of rooms. I couldn't take her to the vet and did'nt want to put her back ito the box that she is now terrified of so I began google searching what the problem is and found this site. Last night I gave her her ACV and soft food and found a big pee this morning and a happy cat! THANK YOU soooooo much!

The apple cider vinegar remedy worked great for our cat!

We added one teaspoonful to a small can of catfood. She ate half of that the first day. Gave her the other half the second day. By the evening of Day 2, she was fine.

(Her prior symptoms were frequent attempts to urinate not just in the litter box, but also other places around the house, which is not like her. This had gone on for over a week.)

This site saved my cat's life. He was recently in for a urinary tract blockage, which cost me over $2500.00 to treat. He was home for two days and blocked up again - no urine what so ever. It was a holiday, nowhere was open, and I was contemplating having him put down. The vet agreed to see him without charging me the $500.00 emergency fee, and tried to catheterize him and couldn't. I was beyond hope.

I found this site with information about ACV for cystitis, and tried the apple cider vinegar, and I kid you not he peed within 20 minutes. I kept giving him small doses by mouth (in a 1 ml syringe) every 30 minutes for 2 hours. He was up peeing all night, and filled the litter box. I am so gratefull!! Thanks!

I tried this cure for four days. My cat died yesterday.

He started with blood in his urine, which cleared up after day one. He was urinating painfully, but seemed to be in much better spirits days 2-3. Yesterday, he clearly had a blockage and was suffering terribly. I rushed him to the vet, they voided his bladder. It seemed to go well until he had a heart attack while they were sewing the catheter in. The exact reason is unknown, but being in so much pain for so long certainly taxed his system. He could not be revived.

I believe if I had treated his problem as an emergency in the beginning instead of trying to care for him at home before taking him in, he would have had the strength to survive. I made a decision that cost him his precious life.

Just some feedback on my experience. Sat afternoon my cat who is a year and a half, showed me he was having trouble peeing. I started researching on the net, was seeing the prices involved in catheters, etc... Seemed 800.00 was a common number, and that frequently the number moved into the thousands as the operation was needed again and again. I called a 24/7 vet here in LA but they would not quote any sort of general price range for the procedure, till I came in and paid 125.00 for an exam. I think they know if they say a large number over the phone that they will scare away business. But if you are there and have already committed to 125.00 and your pet's big eyes are staring at you in front of them they can make more of a sale. But I just don't have that type of money. I love the little guy, but I don't have insurance for myself. So, I thought I'd try the apple cider vinegar since there seemed nothing to lose. He didn't like it much. It didn't seem to do anything as fas as I can tell except make him unhappy. I tried to make him as comfortable as possible on Sunday otherwise, he wanted to be with me and so I kept him near me most of the day. He became increasingly lethargic. Lots of tears. I knew I was making a rational choice but emotionally it was tough. Critters die... Cycle of life... Sometimes you have to let them go. I took him to bed with me at midnight and noticed around 3AM he had left the bed. At 4:30AM I went to check on him and he was dead on the floor in the living room.

He had a good life with me and he was a good little buddy for 15 months. He had playmates with neighbor kitties, good food, and a person who loved him. He knew it. It was a very affectionate and close bond. I know it sounds terrible and heartless to some, but is it less heartless than numerous operations with strange people in strange places. He had a day and a half of increasing discomfort and I imagine was in a great deal of pain at the end- but every surgery would have left him in pain for a while too. It is easy to be frightened of death and I think we take it too far. There are times to let loved ones go. But I am also sharing my experience as a word of caution to those who are attached to their pets. The ACV might or might not work. Just be aware of that if you choose that course. My cat was fine on Friday evening and dead on Monday before sun up.

I am hugely thankful for this site, and all the postings for helping me figure out how to help my cat! Had noticed some weight loss, more isolative behavior, alot of licking his "pee-pee" and very recently, some distressed meows in my 5yo male. It finally dawned on me, what the problem was. I hate to go to the vet because they push vacs, and I know they are more toxic than effective. So yesterday I started the ACV, mixed in fish juice, syringed orally, a small bit at a time, using guidance from other's experiences. About noon today, he had a bitty urine, tinged with blood, then not long after, he released a large amount of tinged urine in the box. I had set up a temporary litter box with white paper to better inspect it, and segregated him from another cat and the dog.

I began the ACV in soft food/water a little more than 24 hours ago, and he is back to behaving his usual self, purring, plopping on his side, expecting to be petted, looking for food. I know I need to continue the ACV at some level, feed soft food and improve his hydration in order to prevent a recurrence. I am so grateful to have found a site of such natural wisdom!

ACV REALLY WORKS!! I have a 2 year old taby... Dewey. A few weeks ago my husband and I started finding slight traces of blood in our bathroom sink, we had no idea where it came from until my husband saw Dewey squat and pee in the sink. We immediately took him to the Vet to find out that he had Cystitis. I looked on this site the next day and read about ACV for cats so Dewey immediatley went on an ACV mix, 6cc x 3 times a day. Roughly one cap in a 1/4 cup water. I'm using an oral syringe and he really doesn't fight back while I'm squirting it slowly into his mouth. It's been 3 days and he is peeing normal again!! I plan on keeping him on half that dose for a few weeks, just to be sure his ph is balanced. Then maybe once per week as a precaution.

***We also have an older cat who needs 100mm of fluids eveyother day... the vet said it would be a good idea to give Dewey 100mm everyday to see if it would help flush his baldder, which I did along with the ACV.

FYI...I called the Vet to let them know and she mentioned that Cosequin is good for their bladder lining.

Thank you Earth Clinic for allowing all of us to share our stories and help one another!

First let me say that I am so happy that I found this site and this thread. About 2 weeks ago our 2 yr old male cat started peeing outside of the litter box. He's never done this before so we became concerned. We watched him for a day or two and noticed that he was straining to go but not much was coming out. I suspected UTI. We took him to the vet and they gave him an antibiotic shot that was equivalent to 14 days of antibiotics, some anti inflammatory meds and some prescription food that would make him want to drink more water to help with the UTI.

He finished the meds that we were sent home with 3 days later. After 8 days we noticed that there was no improvement at all and he was still straining to go but couldn't. I'm unable to afford another visit to the vet which is how I found this site yesterday. After reading all the posts about how ACV really helped I had to try it.

Last night I gave him about 7 cc of ACV mixed with water. I also put about 1 tsp in his wet food last night & about a cap full of acv/water in his water bowl. I've competely removed all dry food from his diet. I never realized how bad dry food is for them and he really loves eating dry food.

This morning I saw him squatting in the kitchen and I thought hmm is this Apple Cider Vinegar going to work? I was so happy to see that he left a good size puddle on the floor. He hasn't peed that much in over a week so this has to be working. I'm going to continue giving him the Apple Cider Vinegar twice a day with syringe in his mouth as well as in his wet food. I'll update with is progress in a few days! Fingers crossed that he is on his way to recovering from this UTI!

I'm very happy to say that my cat is doing much better after 2 1/2 days of Apple Cider Vinegar and wet food only. We found a very large puddle this morning on our bathroom floor. He goes in the litter box sometimes but this is definitely progress. I'm so grateful that I found this site.

I have been soaking his dry food in 1part ACV to 3 parts water. I am also giving him turmeric paste made with organic turmeric, coconut oil and ground pepper. I am currently at a high level of frustration, trying to find something that will help long term . I don't know what else to do for him. DO you have any suggestions? Is this something that will ever be fixed or will he continue to have flare ups no matter what I do?

Just wanted to give some feedback on the use of apple cider vinegar in cystitis for cats. My cat was ill with cystitis (so badly that she was going to the litter box every 3 minutes and she even sprayed out couch, she had never ever done this before) we brought her to the vet and he gave her antibiotics which improved it for a while but it came back. Reluctant to get into a cycle of antibiotics, as I am with myself, I searched and found this site.

I started giving her a third of a teaspoon of ACV mixed in with tinned cat food and a teaspoon of water (she ate it as was delighted to get tinned food, normally I only give her dry) I continued this twice a day on the third day upping to half a teaspoon each time. I put a couple of drops in her water also. By day 2 she was substantially better, still trying to pee with little result, but not as often, and managing to pee slightly more in volume, by day three she appeared to be completely better, and doing big pees in the litter box, she now seems completely back to normal.

Thank you very much for all the advice here, very helpful. Just one question, how long should I continue giving the ACV to her? S

Hi, I would like to try Apple Cider Vinegar for my poor old cat but being very fussy about what he eats, he turns his nose up at most things. After reading about the other benifits for myself and how bad it tastes how do I get him to take it since his sense of smell is so much keener than ours?

Our 6 year old male, neutered American short hair Oscar, had started to suffer from all the typical symptoms of a UTI/Cystitis. After doing my research and finding how serious this can be for males, I was highly concerned as I really could not afford any vets bills for a week or so, and all indicators were that he would need some anti biotics and possible surgery depending on the severity. My love for my cat and my worrying nature lead me to this site, and after reading all the positive reviews I was confident in trying it. We are now in day 4 of:

No dry food. Mixing one to two table spoons of ACV in to the food. Day 1. He started to seem sprightlier and 18 hours after the first dose urinated more than he had in several days.

Day 2. Still made a few trips to the litter tray trying to urinate but unable. But passing significant amounts again.

Day 3. Seemed to be back to almost normal urination routines.

Day 4. All seems normal, happy as ever, no trips to the litter tray with no results. I can't thank everyone who posted here enough. You may well have saved my cats life and I felt compelled to tell my story. Thanks again from one inconceivably grateful cat lover.

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

Cystitis fixed, other probs

I have a male short haired cat of around 3 years old who is getting over suffering from cystitis. I want to thank you guys for the advice about using the acv. It did the trick, but now he is defecating far from the box. I keep the box immaculate and he shares the box with a 2-3yo female. The feces looks the same exact color as the acv. He doesn't do it all the time though. I am confused. Anyone help?

Patrick is one of our two rescue cats. We've had him for two years. He has skin allergies that cause him to scratch his head till he looks like a raw meatball. He also gets urinary tract infections. Because he has such a sweet personality, I suspect these two medical problems are the reasons he was tossed into an alley to fend for himself. After several vet visits, and many tests, and antibiotics and food changes his allergies would not go away. I finally asked the vet if there was an allergy pill made for cats and he gave me Chlorpheniramine 4mg-1/2 tab. He gets it once a day, disolved in 1/4 tsp of cider vinegar, 1 tbsp water, 2 tbsp Duck and Pea cat food. The cider vinegar I've been giving him every day for the past 18 months since his first attack.

This week my husband was home on vacation and I got to sleep in each morning (he fed the critters dry food instead of my vinegar wet/canned mix). By the third day I found the large wet spot, like spilled tea, on my bedroom end table. I didn't remember leaving a water glass there, and could only think it had to have been one of our three cats. All of them always use the litter boxes (we have three boxes) so this was a warning. While I was using the bathroom I noticed Patrick used the litter box in there three times in ten minutes. I then knew that missing the wet vinegar mix food in the morning had allowed his UTI infection to get out of hand. I immediatedly started him back on the vinegar, upping his dosing to three times a day. It's day four and he's playing with his 'brother' and out hiding atop the hamper in the bathroom. I've been monitoring his reststops, and his wet spots have gotten much bigger, and farther apart. All three cats are going to stay on natural vinegar in their morning wet food as maintenance for the rest of their lives. The balance of their food is high quality dry food with probiotics, cranberry, and no grains. We lost our dear cat, Chan, two years ago to liver failure caused by the cat food additive mess. A little caution saves a lot of useless vet treatments. Nature cider vinegar works wonders with cats. I'd recommend mixing it with a high quality wet cat food, plas added water, so easy you're certain they are getting that extra water they need without a daily fight.

Apple Cider Vinegar seems to be working for our 10 year old neutered male cat. Two days ago, we noticed that he was very lethargic and spending a great amount of time licking his bottom. He appeared to "waddle" as he walked and was clearly uncomfortable. Suspecting it might be cystitis, we called the vet, but as it was late afternoon Saturday, we had to take him to an after-hours vet service in town. They did suspect cystitis, though the bladder seemed normal in size and not rock hard, and held him overnight for observation. On Sunday they reported that he had not defecated nor urinated and asked us to come pick him up (he has a cat door at home and won't use the kitty litter provided in the house) to see if he would perform at home. They suggested reducing dry food, increasing wet food and encouraging him to drink more. They recommended taking him to our Vet on Monday. Later Sunday, it became clear that he was totally blocked. He could defecate, but there was no urine passage. Sunday afternoon I found this site, and at 5 PM we added 3/4tsp ACV (in addition to some water) to canned food, and 1/2tsp per cup of drinking water. We also used a syringe to get about another 1/4t of ACV, diluted with 1tsp water into him. There was no progress on urination, with the possible exception of a few drops on the linoleum floors around the house. By 10 PM, however, he did seem to be at bit more comfortable. On Monday, we continued the 3/4 t ACV with wet food, 1/2t per cup of drinking water, and 1/2t per 2t water in the syringe. In all, we probably got 1 t of ACV into him this morning. By noon he had urinated a small amount (1"D wet spot) twice, that we were able to witness. He is not yet back to normal, but it is clear that he is on the mend. It is surprising and disturbing that vets seem to be unaware of this solution to what appears to be a very common, debilitating, and sometimes lethal, problem. Caution: In our first attempt to put the syringe in his mouth, he bit through my wife's finger and finger nail. This cat doesn't even expose his claws when fighting with us, normally, but the syringe was more than he could tolerate. Now, as suggested elsewhere on this site, we lay him on his back, between our legs, and just put the syringe inside his lips, and slowly dribble the ACV in. He doesn't like it, but there is no more biting.

Apple Cider Vinegar - Feline Urinary Syndrome

Crossing my fingers here - but so far so good.

My cat Ripper (7 year old, neutered male domestic short hair cat) had just had a 400.00 vet bill for a blockage about two weeks ago.

With that bill, I don't have the money for another go around (not to mention 400.00 gelding for two horses and a 1000.00 bill for other problems in my rescue horses earlier in the year).

So I came looking for another solution. I found your site. My mom and I are both big believers in natural remedies for problems. Ripper isn't in huge distress but was wandering around crying occasionally and I saw him straining and only producing a drop or two of urine. I gave him the ACV (organic from Health Food Store - mixed 1/2 tsp to 2 tbsp spring water) from a plastic syringe. He didn't like it and I have a couple of big scratches *but* I got it all down him.

I've got some more diluted in his water bowl and some added to some nummy wet cat food. Right now I can hear him scratching in his litter box and there's no crying going on.

Cross your fingers for me - but I think you may have saved me another 400.00 bill.

--------------------------

04/08/2010 Update

It's been 12 hours give or take later since Ripper's first dose and in that time he's had two more. (Once in wet food and once in another syringe of water). First off he's stopped crying, he's sleeping comfortably on my bed (not lethargic - just his normal lazy kitty self), and lastly and most importantly - he's used his litter box to pee.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how much he pee'd. That is because I use a silica crystal cat litter and the moisture is pretty much immediately sucked up (especially when the crystals are brand new - which they are since I changed it last night when all this started). However there is a good amount of the crystals that are discolored to a bright-ish yellow with no trace of blood. And he's not going in and out of the box continuously and he's not hiding under my bed - so it looks like *tentatively* that the ACV has done the trick.

Thank you so much... I am going to continue to update. Cross your fingers for me and Ripper.

--------------------------------------

04/28/2010 Update

Ripper is completely normal now.

I am astounded at how *fast* he was given relief by the ACV (organic complete with mother). He's right now sleeping comfortably beside his 'girlfriend' Hecate after Elishiva gave him a bath.

He's been eating, dreaming and doing all sorts of good stuff quite happily since his his last dose in his wet food. I am going to be switching him and his companions to a wet food/raw food diet complete with ACV to keep the urinary issues away. Also going to keep a little ACV in the water they drink (Ripper's not sold on that, but Hecate and Elishiva are. Not sure on Indy's verdict. Gus the pug and Flea and Gwin the ferrets are good with it.)

Vet bill - 460.00 dollars
Apple Cider Vinegar - 10.00 for the big jug
Ripper's health - Priceless.

Thanks Earth Clinic! I'll be back for more info when I need it again.