Anncosp59 (Colorado Springs, Co) on 02/14/2015

My 8 year old cat kept getting recurring urinary tract infections every 2 months or so for the past year. The vet suggested testing for kidney stones and possibility surgery. Before I submitted her to the testing, I tried another approach. In the end, I found that her food was the problem.
I had been mixing her (hard cat food) Friskies with (hard cat food) Science Diet kitten food ever since she was born. I thought she loved the "richness" of the mix.
Before I submitted her to the testing and surgery, I removed the Science Diet kitten food entirely from her diet and wha-la! It's been 6 months and she has not had any more urinary tract infections! Her weight has normalized and she's as happy and healthy as ever.
So...if your cat has been getting recurring urinary tract infections...look to the food as the culprit!
Susan (San Antonio , Texas ) on 03/24/2014

I have 6 cats. One of my Males and one of my Females can not tolerate any grains in their diet. Cats are carnivores; they are meat and water animals. Some cats can do okay on minimal grain. Brown rice and barley, NO CORN, NO WHEAT, NO SOY. If these two eat any grains they urinate blood. I put them on a grain free wet food and add more water (spring water or at least filtered) to make it mashed potato consistency. They cleared up within 12 hours of changing their diet and I have not had any urinary tract problems since. The food is more expensive but a lot cheaper than the vet, my babies are very happy and I am back to sanity.
Kathy (Waterbury, Ct) on 10/04/2010

I would like to tell of my experience so that it may help other cat owners. Mine starts with human cystitis. I suffered for 12 years with tons of doctor visits and medications, one operation and ONE CURE! Apple cider vinegar was suggested to me by my sister inlaw who is a chiropractor. But it ended up giving me heartburn after the first day. So when I called her to let her know she said that a lot of her patients tried cranberry pills, the juice usually has too much sugar. That was it for me, I tried them and have been using them since. One pill when I feel it coming on is all it has taken. I have not had to go to the doctor for cystitis in years.
I was very concerned when my big male kitty that we addopted came with the same problem as me. After spending over a thousand dollars in vet bills and special food diets from the vet's office, I decided to research what was in the foods myself. I was shocked to find that they sell cat food with cranberry in it. We switched my "pudgey" to a food that not only had cranberry but also had more meat in it. We stuck with the dry because we were concerned with his teeth being healthy. What a difference! This last food change worked. No more having to buy food at the vet. Almost all of the one's the vet suggested didn't have cranberry, so I can only assume that's what helped. Pudgey is going on 14 years now and is very healthy without cystitis any more. I worry about the ACV that people may be giving to the cats. The cat may be getting heart burn and may not be able to convey that to the owner. It is much easier to try a food with cranberry to see if it works than to syringe ACV into kitty. Thanks.