Apple Cider Vinegar for Cat UTIs: Safe, Natural Relief
The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Posted by Sindy (Montreal, Quebec Canada) on 09/10/2011 ★★★★★
I wanted to wait before sending my feedback about treating my cat with ACV for his urinary problem untill I've tried it. My 11 year old Main Coon ( Chester ) 4 days ago, started showing signs of urinary issues.. He was squating in the little and only 2 or 3 drops would come out and he would go maybe every 3 minutes. Now he's a big boy and when he usualy goes well its Niagra falls. I was worried. I didnt want to take him to the vet right away and spend over 1000$ like I did with my other cat ( Boxer ). Boxer was liking himself nonstop and would cry when we would talk to him and wouldnt let chester approach him. At one point he was breathing with his mouth open and thats when I freaked and rushed him to the Emergency pet hospital, she wanted to do a lot of tests and I dont know what and said it would be 1800$. This was 3am and our regular vet was closed. We have had this issue with Boxer before and they just emptied his bladder and he was fine. I told her to do the same for now to relieve him a little and I would take him to my Vet in the morning. So she did and we watched him overnight he was a bit better but had not urinated. On the way to the vet he had peed in the car, I was soo excited. The vet put him on wet food Medical Brand called Urinary so. He said to feed him that for two months and bring him back, I think that came with some meds as well, I can't remember. I never went back to the vet, he has been on that food for almost a year now and doing great, I mix it with spring water as well. I didnt want to spend over 1000$ for Chester now.
So I came across this website. I just wanna start by saying Thank You, from the bottom of my heart, for every single post. I put Chester on the Urinary so wet food, he was on dry only but drinking a lot of water, the dry food was from the vet, some diabetes food, they said it was a weight control diet. That night, I started the ACV mixed with water. It was a store brand, nothing organic which I incorporated into his wet food. I also added less than a cap full in their water. That was at about 4pm, I awoke at 5:45am from a bad dream and Thought about Chester, I opend the door of my room and he came running to me as usual, I pet him and he went straight to the little box, this time I heard it. It wasn't the usual puddle but it was about 15 drops compaired to 2, I was so pleased, I went back to bed. When I woke up for good he was back to normal, the litter was more full but Boxer also shares the same one. I know he couldnt have filled it all by himself so I was happy. I kept giving him the diluted ACV maybe 4 times a day with a bit of food and spring water instead of feeding him twice a day like I normally do. He visited the litter box with a few drops from time to time, but less often sometimes 20 drops.
As long as I saw an improvement, I was satisfied. Mind you, I kept checking his Bladder to make sure it wasn't hard or painful to him, its seemed fine, he was eating, I kept going with the treatment. Day 3, much better mood and I would rarely see him go, litter box was still full in the morning when I'd wake up. During the day, everytime one of my cat would visit the box, I would go empty it to keep track. I will continue him on the same wet food as Boxer with a mix of dry food of the same exact brand to avoid constipation and will add the ACV for about 2 weeks or so but gradualy decrease the amount. I will add it to the food maybe once a week, just a little bit, as a preventative measure. ACV and all your posts saved my cat from this and spared by Visa. I am so grateful. I would really recommend ACV for this problem, but always keep an eye on your kitty's progress.
Posted by Nancy (South Burlington, Vt) on 08/22/2011 ★★★★★
I'm so glad I found this website this morning! Last night my 15-year-old female cat was running in and out of the litter box and squatting in odd places, straining to urinate. Since she's had UTI's in the past I recognized the signs and left a message with my vet at midnight. Then I found this info about ACV and decided I'd give it a try since I'd probably have to wait at least 12 hours before I got any meds. WOW! Talk about fast results! I added about 1 tsp. to some canned food this morning and left it with her in a sequestered room. She didn't go for it at first, but when I returned several hours later, she had eaten about half (approx. 2 tablespoons of food). I also put a splash in her water bowl along with some juice from the canned food. I got home with the meds after work, give her one pill by mouth (yes, I bled) followed by a normal serving of canned/raw food. (I have stopped giving her premium dry food altogether since this occured last night, figuring that it contributes to urninary tract issues. She's not happy about it, but hey, it's for her own good. )
So now it's 10pm and she has only gone for the litter box/newpaper once in the last 4 hours. Since she was going every 15 minutes last night, I'd say that's a remarkable improvement. Question for others: although I see everyone's testimonials listed, I don't see any actual recipe/advice on how to use ACV from the owner of this site. Am I missing something? I read about 20 postings and put together my own plan based on common stories. I plan to post again in a few days with an update. Thank you all!!
About 2 weeks ago my cat started acting very weird. Always going to the box but nothing coming out and I mean like going to the box almost every 5 minutes. When something did come out it was almost nothing. He didnt seem like he was straining or in any pain...... Yet. So I decided to read up on your site about what could be the cause and how I could help if caught in time and let me tell you, What I read and did probably saved his life. I found he could be suffering from UTI. I also believe he was constipated. I read that using pumpkin and Apple Cider Vinegar is beneficial and I also read other peoples posts and made my decision to use it and about 2 days later he was filling up his box just like he did when he was healthy. I can even hear him pee now. Yayyyyyy!!!! I want to thank you for having a site like this to help the people that cannot afford a hefty vet bill but still love and adore thier pets.
Posted by Dallas (Atlanta, Ga, Usa) on 12/05/2010 ★★★★★
Of importance, I saw a post regarding ACV being dangerous to kitties with renal disease -- which was critical for my household of 4 cats, (Maggie has early kidney disease -- which subQ fluids are maintaining). I was going to put ACV in the water bowl (as Isabella has UTI and is a somewhat wild rescue getting used to housemates and being inside - and she would NEVER let me give her a ACV by mouth as catching her to get to vet took an hour... With much disarray and a few wounds (me) :) She was given an antibiotic shot 10 days ago. She is better but still not peeing as much as she should.
I have given her 1/4 tsp ACV in wet food 3 times now, and also Vitamin C powder and will continue to do so. Thanks to all fellow kitty lovers for posting (and check out "Simon's Cat" on You Tube if you want a laugh)! He has really nailed kitty behavior in his animation. And one last tidbit -- anyone who has outside cats they also take care of in cold weather, check out Snuggle Safe discs that go in microwave and stay warm for 8-10 hours. Heat according to your microwave wattage and tuck in their bed/blankets. They will LOVE you even more. God speed --
Posted by Marcy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fl) on 11/27/2010
My cat was obviously in pain, walking around the house meowing and continually licking her "privates". Every 5 minutes she would visit the litter box, straining to pee and only a drop would come out, if any at all. She would not tolerate a syringe, nor would she drink water with vinegar in it, so for three days I was mixing 3/4 teaspoon of grocery store apple cider vinegar in 2 tablespoons canned food, twice per day but it did not eleviate the problem.
I went to GNC store and purchased Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother and it cured my cat's problem within 2 days. I could not afford the vet bill that I would have undoubtedly incurred as I am sure they would have insisted on blood tests, x-rays, etc. , so this remedy saved her from a certain death. And, the cost of the _____'s was under 4 dollars. Crucial to purchase the brand vinegar with the Mother's - it visibly contains more Mother's than the organic store bought brands. I continue to give maintenance dose to ward off any reoccurance.
Posted by Yazz (Los Angeles, Ca) on 11/14/2010 ★★★★★
I usually don't pay any attention to home remedies, but after reading some of the posts about how effective ACV is for a number of digestion problems in cats, I decided to give ACV a try. I have a himalayan male who has small kidneys and has had a UTI before which was treated with antbibiotics. This time my cat was showing acute symptoms of a UTI and was howling when trying to urinate. It was the weekend. First, I filled a small bottle with a small eye dropper with mostly water and a few drops of ACV. I fed my cat a couple of syringes full of the solution directly into his mouth and then added a few drops in his food. While he did not like the eye dropper method, he swallowed it. When added to the food, he didn't seem to mind and ate it all.
After two days now of using this technique twice a day, he is perkier, playful, his eyes are brighter and he is drinking more water and going less. I am grateful for this site and all you who have share your experiences with ACV. I plan to start adding to hot tea for myself!
Posted by Cathy (Subang Jaya, Selangor / Malaysia) on 02/15/2009 ★★★★★
Cosmo, my neutered 8 month old cat, had his first case of UTI (frequent urination with little urine) sometime in November 2008. The vet prescribed Cystone which is a herb that encourages drinking. I did not really believe in this but I gave it to him anyway. It didn't work. His UTI became worst and he started to have blood in his urine and he licked his privates with a vengeance.
I took him to another vet and he was given a course of antibiotics which cleared the infection.
However, I noticed there was again blood in his urine 3 days ago. As I felt that the UTI will become pretty constant in his life (and he's still so young!), I figured that I would need to consider a holistic approach to this. And that brought me to this site.
I bought a bottle of ACV last night and gave it to him (1/4 tsp ACV to 1 tsp water). I repeated that this morning and by this evening, his pee is a healthy flow with no sign of blood! PLUS! He's not going in and out of his litter box. :)
I intend to continue giving him the ACV for at least 5 days and to monitor his progress after that.
I am really grateful for this website. It's relieved Cosmo's discomfort, and saved me tonnes on vet bills! Keep up the good work!
Posted by Apryl (Hooks, Texas ) on 01/19/2009 ★★★★★
Last night hubby and I noticed that our cat was acting very odd. He wasn't using his litter box and would "squat" every few minutes all around the house like he was trying to urinate. His coat didn't look so good and he was having trouble walking and he couldn't sleep. It was a Sunday night and today is a holiday. There wasn't any place open to take him. He was trying to go to the bathroom and let out the most horrible crying noise. It brought me to tears. I just felt so helpless. I came across this site and decided to try acv. We went to Wal-Mart at 3am to get some as we didn't want to wait and watch him suffer. It's been less than 24 hours and he's already feeling better. He isn't squatting all the time and he actually has been able to urinate some and is using his box again. He's finally able to sleep as well. I gave him a lot more than what was suggested from the people on this site because I was terrified he wouldn't make it through the night. I honestly have no idea exactly how much I gave him. He won't eat wet food at all, so I bought his favorite treats and saturated with with full strength acv. I also used a dropper and gave him a bit mixed with water (not sure how much of each as I was in a panic and wasn't using measurements). I also added some to his water. I think I will keep doing this until he is better, then I'll just continue to add some to his drinking water. I'm so thankful to have found this site and so glad that our kitty is feeling better. I know he has a way to go, but the improvement was almost immediate. To be honest, I had my doubts at first but decided it was well worth trying and was really the only option I had at 3am. Don't hesitate to try this. It really works and works fast. I will still take him to our vet just to make sure he's ok, but this may very well have saved his life as he was looking so horrible I was afraid he wouldn't live through the night. Thanks!
I loved the comment about the olive oil. One of my two cats will lick coconut oil off the floor! The other one has to be captured and enough put on his paws to make the process worth while. Maybe I will try olive oil on that guy. he really needs something internally to help with his weight problem, thus needs the coconut oil more than the skinny one - who, do to early life complications, needs no internal incentive to get rid of food. Just the opposite problem!
Posted by Janet (Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri) on 10/02/2008 ★★★★★
Recently, my cat Gracie started running to her litter boxes constantly with little urine being deposited. The vet was closed for two days. I wanted to help her & found your web site via web search on "feline UTI home remedies" and was so happy to find the Apple Cider Vinegar suggestion from other writers. It worked in 24 hours she was almost back to normal and after 4 days she is now urinating normally and fully. We're also putting her on a special dry food that will hopefully help. Thanks for the help everyone!!
I pray your fur baby is all better!! But, PLEASE PLEASE NO MORE VACCINES!! AND RABIES IS ONE OF THE WORST!! More complications with it... do some research from Holistic vets and you will see that they don't even NEED Rabies, but if you feel you must, then ONLY once and get the HOLISTIC RABIES!!! Vaccines are LOADED with toxins and poisons!! And dramatically reduce your babies immune system, keeping them sick... that's the whole point of these frigin' vaccines!! Both human and animals!!
Posted by Wendy D (South Jersey, US) on 02/06/2015
I've been reading these posts on the UTI for my 6 year old female cat I adopted from the shelter 3 weeks ago. Apparently she had this for awhile and she still is on medicine from the vet. The first week, she was given an antibiotic shot, pain meds in her mouth which did not go well at all and then they injected fluid in her back to get it to absorb and flush out her kidneys etc. Saw improvement but within a week, same thing again. Back to the vet.... now they gave her 21 days of pills that I break open and add to her food. So, we have about 7 left. Well, fine for awhile and back to this constant litter box, litter flying all over even with a dome top and staying in the box sometimes 20 minutes. Started to see an improvement yesterday and actually bought the ACV with mother last night. Issue.... the smell is something she won't tolerate. Tried missing with food, putting her paw in the water mixture so she would lick, wetted her mouth and paws on the top .......trying anything and something licked is better than nothing. But anyone have a suggestion on this smell to disguise it????
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
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I usually buy fish oil capsules for all my pets, but when it comes to my cats they are very picky, I have to snip off the tip of a fish oil capsule and squeeze the oil on or into the cats food, generally that covers the strong smell of the vinegar .Good luck.
Posted by Kerrie (Glace Bay, Nova Scotia) on 02/08/2012 ★★★★★
I have a male kitty, noticed he couldn't pee for about a day, searched the reasons why and panicked when I found out what could be causing it and called my vet.
Explained he was trying to pee only a bit came out.. the first thing he said was *Ok, this can cost 4 to 5 hundred dollars* the very first thing, didn't ask any questions at all! Said he was blocked and had to be drained.
Did a search and found you guys!!! :D It was a Saturday later in the evening everything was closed. Luckily my sis had some ACV she uses for heartburn.. Gave him some in his food and wiped some on his scruff and paws.. Ta-da.. Peeing kitty :)
Just wanted to drop a note in exuberation over ACV. I noticed my girl straining inappropriatly and only a few droplets coming out. Luckily she is smart enough to run to the litter box everytime I was near it to show me. I started ACV with mixing 3cc's in a can of wet food. I also supplemented twice a day with wet cat food and 2cc's ACV mixed in a syringe. Although she was not happy, after 48 hours (and a close eye kept) she ran in front of me to the box and urinated up a storm. Thank you for your help! I have also switched all cats to wet food.
Posted by Grace (Middlefield, Ohio) on 12/11/2010 ★★★★★
Thank you, thank you, thank you,
In the same situation as most, not able to afford a large vet bill, I found your website after my newly adopted cat showed signs of UTI. Only having her since September I was not sure if her symptoms were physical or behavioral but she had not peed for 24 hours at all so I started adding 1/4 teas. Apple cider vinegar along with a teas. of water to her canned food. This morning she had gone in the litter box and peed about twice her normal amount. I will continue this and thank you again for a natural way to help my otherwise beautiful cat.
Posted by Ceci (Sacramento, Ca) on 11/28/2010 ★★★★★
About two weeks ago my 2 year old tabby, Crookshanks started behaving oddly. He had a loss of energy and he kept turning over his water dishes. I noticed he hadn't been drinking water either. Then he started peeing in the oddest places. His water bowl, one of my dresser drawers ( thank goodness nothing was in it). And then I began to notice blood in his urine. As I started really watching I noticed he would strain to pee and get nothing. I'm no vet, but my research suggests he was blocked. I was so upset because blockage can be fatal and I just didn't have the money to take him to a vet. Then I found this site and read all about ACV. I immediately went to my library and did some more research on ACV and decided to give it a try. I mixed a can of wet cat food with a cranberry pill, 2 teaspoons of ACV and 2/3 cup of water. He ate/drank it all. That night, within a hour of eating he peed... Alot! I continued this everyday, twice a day. Two weeks later he is back to normal. Except I now use about a capful of ACV which is about a teaspoon. No blood in his urine or stool. No peeing in strange places. No knocking over his water bowl. He's attacking the dog again and running around like his crazy self again. I'm not a vet or a doctor but I know what works. The ACV worked for him. Give it a shot. I could really help your cat!
Posted by Shelley (Gold Coast, Queensland Australia) on 11/23/2010 ★★★★★
I have had my cat for about two years, for one year now he has been as inside cat, and about 2 months ago, we noticed him trying to pee on the tiles around the house. And licking his penis. Upon lifting him up to take him outside to finish his business, I felt he was really full, and he gave me an unhappy meow and tried to go to the toilet again. I massaged his belly and comforted him while my boyfriend jumped on the computer and typed in his symptoms, and they sounded like he had a UTI. Upon reading through pages of info, we found "apple cider vinegar" which we happened to have.. And it was organic. We put some with a can of tuna and some spring water and he ate it all up straight away. His water bowl also had apple cider in it as well.
To see why he was licking we turned him over and saw a silica gel crystal stuck to his penis. So we bathed him and sorry to be gross, but pulled back his forskin and unblocked him.... We googled silica gel and found that the blue specks in kitty crystals were colbalt 60 or something and extremely radioactive and if they get stuck to his penis he is only going to lick them and ingest them. So we changed brands to volcanic ash which he seemed to like anyway, and much cheaper and safer than the kitty gel, and he was back to his happy self...
But yesterday... Sad face and peeing on the tiles again.. So back to the apple cider diet.. Some tuna with apple cider and fresh water with apple cider. I left him alone for half an hour and he did a really big wee... And looked happy.. So no more dry food, only wet food with apple cider vinegar and he is cured overnight.......
To all cat lovers, go get some cat grass, get a natural brand of kitty litter, slow down on the dry food , and get a dry food with urinary tract support and continually give him half a teaspoon of apple cider to two cups of water, which cats dont mind the taste of anyway... Make sure you give them pure water.... Non fluoridated or chlorinated... You can always get a syringe and dilute apple cider with water and hand squirt it into his mouth.. Take twenty minutes if you have too... Note I have read, make sure you dont make it too potent or your cat may foam at the mouth.
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