Urinary Tract Disorders in Cats

My male cat, age 7, began straining to urinate. I gave him ACV, but it didn't help him. I took him to his veterinarian, who diagnosed him with a urinary tract infection and prescribed antibiotics and pain medications. But the UTI returned in a few days and I had to bring my cat back to the vet who prescribed stronger antibiotics and pain meds. Once again the problem returned in a few days and the vet prescribed still stronger antibiotics and pain meds. The bill came to just under $700. The vet didn't mention food to me at all, until I asked whether my cat should still eat dry food. He didn't answer and just told me to cook a chicken and put the juice in my cat's wet food. He also told me to put wet pads on my cat's rear end. The UTI returned very quickly.

This time I reached for a book on my shelf, Rodale's Encyclopedia of Natural Home Remedies, c1982. On page 69, someone had written to Prevention with a remedy for her neutered male cat's cystitis (bladder infection). She added tomato juice (one tablespoon) and water (one tablespoon) to her cat's wet food. Since another person used a remedy with no salt, I bought a bottle of Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes, no salt, at my local food co-op. Since it is so concentrated, I just add one and a half teaspoons of the strained tomatoes along with a tablespoon and a half of water in the my cat's wet food twice a day. I also add three drops of olive oil in the wet food. This worked immediately.

It's been about seven weeks now and my cat is fine. He loves the strained tomatoes and water mixed in with his food. I even give him about a quarter a cup of Innova Evo dry cat food daily and he's doing fine. Since I've reduced the amount of dry food he gets, I worried about his bowel regularity, so I give him a wet cat food with chunks of food; I use Nature's Variety Homestyle canned, by Prairie, mornings and then in the evening I give him Wellness canned, which doesn't have chunks.

A few months before my cat's problems began, I had decreased his wet food and increased his dry food (I had also stopped giving him Evo dry and switched to another dry food), because I wanted to keep his weight down. I suspect this may have caused the problem. So now I give him wet food twice a day with the strained tomatoes and water, and about a quarter of a cup of Innova Evo dry daily. It has worked for my neutered male cat.

Just wanted to say that I have a 2 year old male cat, and he was displaying all the symptoms I read about here. We are short on cash, so I tried the apple cider vinegar the other evening- put in wet food as directed. By the next morning he was looking pretty bad, like he was in pain. He was twitching and crying. I took him to the vet immediately, and he went into surgery- he was 100% blocked, and would have died within 4 hrs. If you have a boy cat, take them to the vet- they are more likely to get totally blocked, which causes death within 48 hrs. My kitty will come home tomorrow, after 4 days at vet- but he is fine- very thankful for the info here- saved his life!

What worked for me:
My healthy lean male cat of 3 years started showing signs of serious bladder blockage just a few days ago. We have fed him a mix of newman's own organic cat food half dry/ half wet, but he is a crunchy food addict so would eat mostly the dry and only the wet when really hungry. He was lean and healthy so we didn't worry much about this then. He also doesn't seem to drink from his water bowl all that often. He started acting really lethargic and then noticed him doing the litterbox dance, going in and out without peeing much if at all, this was at night and our vet was closed. I did research online and worried about the dangers of full blockage and the need to take the cat in asap, but the emergency vet charges big markups, so we decided to wait til morning for our regular vet as long as he continued to show signs of at least getting a few drops of urine out on most of his litterbox trips.

We also started giving him oral doses of diluted raw apple cider vinegar mixed with a "d-mannose" supplement every few hours using one of those plastic syringe squirter things you can get at a pharmacy. I had read many testimonials online about people having success with this issue by supplementing the vinegar, seemingly as it would help to quickly drop the urine ph. The "d-mannose" is the main ingredient in cranberry juice that helps with uti, and thought that if he had any bacterial uti issues this would help and couldn't hurt.

So to be safe I stayed up all night observing him and giving him the doses every few hours and in the morning just before we were to take him into the vet we noticed he went to the litterbox and had a noticeably larger urine amount which was a relief so we decided to hold off on the vet and keep up the doses. We also cut out dry food and gave him wet food with broth or distilled water and microwaved it a little so it was a little warm, he lapped up the broth and ate a little, towards the of the evening he started peeing larger and larger amounts and started to regain his energy and playfulness and didn't seem to be in discomfort anymore.

The next day he seemed fully back to normal, though we are continuing to give him one dose of Apple Cider Vinegar and d-mannose and will continue to give him only wet food with added water or broth heating it up slightly as he seems to prefer. If most of these bladder blockage problems are caused by dry food and grain causing higher pH than ideal in the urine it makes sense that the apple cider vinegar supplement would help by quickly lowering the pH in the urine. Plus it is super cheap, and so far has worked a miracle for us. You can google this remedy to find out more.

Our dose was 1/4 teaspoon acv(vinegar) mixed with 1 teaspoon distilled water with 1/8 teaspoon "d-mannose" powder per dose. To give it orally my gf or myself would hold the cat and lift his scruff so he couldn't move his head much while the other person would squirt the liquid in the back of his mouth. Now that he is back to full energy this is getting harder as he resists more so I decided to squirt it and lightly rub it in on his side when he was laying down cleaning himself and he happily lapped it up. Worth a try especially for those who are worried about huge vet bills.

I used 1/2 teaspoon regular apple cider vinegar to 2 cups water for 2 years now and no more UTI. Also one half pill vitamin C 500 mg is good for shiny coat and preventing other problems. Just crush it and put in wet catfood gravy.

Apple Cider Vinegar for cats, urinary tract infection

Dear Earth Clinic,

I would like to thank you so much for this website...it has literally saved my cat's life. We have a 17-year-old little female who for the last couple of years has gotten urinary tract infections repeatedly. She never really showed any symptoms until she was in a horrible state...our first warning is usually bloody urine somewhere in the house. After dealing with the vet and spending $200 each time she got an infection, which then would come back within two or three months, my cat was getting sicker - NOT BETTER. Each time, the vet would try and do blood work on her...being a former vet tech way back in my younger years, I know that most of the time blood work is a money-maker as well as a waste of time - because the treatment will typically be the same regardless of results (this does depend on symptoms). I refused the blood work - not only because of the previous statement, but because we simply just couldn't afford the extra cost. The vet would only dispense 7 days of antibiotics, which was not enough for a cat with bloody urine, as well as an oral painkiller, and then would tell me to bring in another urine sample so they could 'recheck' it in seven days. Upon discovering that she still had a urinary infection, they then gave another 7 days of antibiotics...with the same directions. "Bring her back in 7 days so that we can recheck her." Each time these rechecks were around $40 plus medication (if I didn't have to bring her in). The vet never once mentioned changing food, alternative cures, or anything. The vet did complain about my cat's weight loss - but again, no other suggestions other than to 'do blood work' and continue this ridiculous charade of vet care.

Out of sheer desperation, I finally looked online to see if other people had these same issues with their cats...and vets...and what they did about it. Luckily, I stumbled upon your website - and found a whole group of people who had experienced this - who also OFFERED UP A TREATMENT: Organic unfiltered unpasteurized apple cider vinegar - with the dusty mother at the bottom. Needless to say, I was very very skeptical. Even with the success stories on I read here I just thought that these people had probably did something else without knowing it. However, I can say that I am a firm believer in ACV.

I mixed 5 tablespoons of water to one tablespoon of ACV, giving her 1cc of the mixture 3 times a day - and mixing 3ccs of the mixture in her wet food. In the beginning, she was not happy about the taste, but she has totally grown accustomed to it and doesn't act like she minds it at all.

When I first began the regiment she had just finished 14 days of antibiotics and was still urinating all over the place, still had traces of blood in her urine, and overall was just miserable. She would walk around the house - just pacing and looking for a place to urinate - although not much would happen. There was also a terrible odor to her breath and her urine. She was so skinny that she was nothing more than a 4lb rack of bones and just seemed miserable. I knew that we were going to have to take her back in to the vet and let them do whatever - because otherwise we were going to lose her. In a last ditch effort - I tried the ACV - with full intentions on taking her to the vet the next day. However, after the initial doses, she immediately started to perk up within a few minutes - which shocked me - but also encouraged me. By the next day she had shown great improvement -so I decided to put the vet off for another day or so to see what happened...we have yet to have the need to return to the vet - after two weeks of doing this she is acting like a young kitty of 10. Her bad breath is gone, her stinky urine is gone (and she is using her liter box instead of the entire house), her coat has shined up and her skin irritations (which she has always had) completely went away...and she eats more than ever. She has gained weight - and you no longer feel like you are holding bones.

She was eating wet food before all of this - but now we give her more (with 3cc of mixed water and ACV)...pretty much whenever she asks for it. My other cat, sharing the food, yet not having these problems has also showed improvement in his coat - no more flakes.

I just had to share my story - I have my fingers crossed that this health streak will continue - but so far, so good. Thank you so much for giving me my cat back.

Organic unfiltered unpasteurized apple cider vinegar with mother (that has cured my cat's urinary infection) = $3
Multiple trips to the vet - with no lasting results = $700

I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to tell their stories. I was a week away from putting down my 19 year old cat. She has had a urinary tract infection on and off for three years. She is a very untreatable animal and I have never been able to cure her. She had been urinating all over my house and beds. It sounded like she was in a lot of pain with her crying all the time. I had made the appointment for a Monday but felt so unsettled by the decision. I felt like I hadn't done all I could for her and in every other way she seemed so healthy. I found this web site on the Tuesday prior to the appointment. I figured I would try the apple cider vinegar treatment as one last attempt. Within 4 days she hadn't urinated anywhere but her litter box. She still cried a lot so I still didn't know whether or not to go through with it. By that Saturday I made the decision to cancel the appointment. It has been a week now and she seems to be doing so much better. Again I just want to thank everyone and the creators of this website. The only one question I have is how long should I be feeding her the vinegar?

This site is awesome. we inherited Archie from our granddaughter when she went to university.That was about 8 years ago. Granddaughter is about to enter medical school. Archie is 17 years old. A couple of weeks ago,his urine slowed down big time. less than once a day, and then,just a mall clump in the litter box> We took him to the vet, and after exam and blood work and prescription,and $240.00,the prognosis was thathe was in the early stages of renal failure. We gave him the pills(Baytril 15 mg. for ten days. It worked, but barely. just a small amount of urine once,and sometimes, less than once, daily. He became lethargic,and a few days ago, I held him in my arms,and had a teary momentI decided then that that I would do anything I could to keep him around for a few years longer. I got in to this site. The solution: 1/4 tsp of apple cider vinegarin 2 tsp wet cat food. Within a day his urination amount was normal, and now,within a 24 hr. period, he is urinating 3 times-and good substantial ones. He's also back to normal-he played with his catnip mouse this morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Cheers: Elwimn Hemphill, Pictou, N.S., Canada

I came home from a week long vacation in the mountains to find that my Texas Ray (10 yr. old neutered indoor/outdoor male) was suffering from a UTI. Crying in pain, constantly licking himself and searching for a soft place to urinate I noticed only a few drops came out. Poor baby! I found this website and spoon fed him the recommended 1/4 teaspoon of ACV and 1 teaspoon filtered water. He took it surprisinly well. -no major fighting to resist it despite the taste. Almost immediately the crying and pacing stopped! About 2 hours later I mixed 1/4 teaspoon ACV and 2 teaspoons filtered water into some canned cat food that he ate enthusiastically. This morning (12 hours after 1st dose) I gave him a third dose of 1/4 teaspoon ACV and 1 teaspoon filtered water and 20 minutes later he was able to urinate easily with no noticeable pain. I will continue to administer this dosage to him for one more day.

Thanks for the advice!

We have a male cat who developed urinary crystals and after a $1,000 vet bill, I was forced to look for a homeopathic, inexpensive alternative. When he developed it again, I started giving him about 1/2 teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar (ACV) in some warm water with his dry food every morning and the urinary crystals completely disappeared in a day or two. If your cat won't eat the food, try putting less ACV in the warm water at first and gradually build up the amount. I also try to give him some wet food a few times a week (I wish I could only give him wet food, but it is far more expensive). Now I give this to each of my cats daily and they are completely healthy.

Update on my fur baby Mora,

I mixed together 1 tablespoon of organic ACV with 1/3 cup filtered tap water. I gave my kitty 2 tsp by syringe 2 times a day. At first she was ok with it, which isn't my kitty, She then slept for a couple of hours and ate. She peed in the litter box one more stinky pee before bed. So bad I had to empty it for the second time that day. In the morning she put up some fight with the ACV mix, but I got it in her :)~ She ate some no grain canned food and was frisky for a while then slept most the day. That night I gave her one more dose and I had to chase her and got part of it on the wall, so she must be feeling better. I haven't noticed the stink, and she is much friskier. I will try the fast when I start her on raw again, see if that keeps her from getting too dehydrated in her protest!

Hi all.Our 3 yr.old cat Tum was lethargic when we came home on thanksgiving night,after seeming to have problems peeing for a few hours earlier.I took him to a 24 hour emergency hospital at 11pm,being the only place open at that time,especially on a holiday.I was told upon entering there was a $120 "cover charge" just for walking in.Fine.Ijust want my cat to live,I thought.Well when the vet called me in to discuss the problem,I found out he had a urinary blockage and they wanted to unblock him and do testing to find out exactly why,due to the tune of $1200,also while telling me he may need surgery on top of that.Being pretty strapped for money,like anyone else nowadays,I couldn't afford their testing.I started crying hysterically,not wanting to have to watch my cat suffer infront of us helplessly,and watch him die.The vet told me she'd unblock him,thankfully,but then we were sent on our way.He seemed ok for a few hours afterwards,but then started going in and out of the litterbox every 2 minutes or so.We knew we couldn't afford to take a trip to the vet or hospital,just because we already knew what it was and what it would cost.That's when I started frantically searching the net for a home remedy type solution,and the apple cider vinegar treatment was the 1st I came across.I was EXTREMELY weary and hopeless,but thought,hey I have nothing to lose.My husband immediately ran to the food store and bought a bottle.I gave Tum some WET food mixed with about 1.5 tsp of acv immediately,and the same amount at every feeding.I am so happy to report that out baby is almost completely better.He is not only making less than half the trips the the litter box than before,but it active again after only 3 days now.Sure he didn't like it at 1st,but mix it with food and if they're hungry,they'll eat it!We didn't force it down his throat(we've tried before with other meds and it was just us getting scratched and bit by him)but administer it by any means if you have a fussy cat!It is SO worth it.I just want to speak on behalf of all the loving animal owners who can't afford expensive treatment...please give it a try!There's NOTHING to lose.It has kept one of our family's best friends around!

Thanks a MILLION ten fold for those who have made testimonials and who have informed us on the use of avc for urinary problems for our cat,as it has saved his life and gave us such great hope,as well as returning our Tum to his lively,crazy young self!Please,please try it-if not now,as a last option.We did and we are so thankful.Thank you all so much.

First of all, I would like to thank the owner/founder and independent contributor for this wonderful site, along with all those those who have provided valuable feedback concerning folk remedies.

Our senior cat Pepper who is about 15 years old developed problems over a year ago, which started with listlessness, loss of appetite/drinking and vomiting. We took her to a Vet and was informed that she was not drinking enough and needed to be rehydrated, so she was kept overnight at the clinic for tests and was rehydrated by IV. The Vet later informed us that because of her age her kidneys were failing and tests showed they were in poor shape, he also said she would need to be on medication and a low protein diet which could only be purchased at the clinic.

After the awful ordeal of having to pop a pill down her throat every day, she showed no improvement and her symtoms actually got worse and she was deteriorating faster and was looking like a bone rack. I tried every kind of food to try to tempt her to eat but she would only eat about a teaspoon of food. It was very upsetting to see her so ill and thin so I returned to the Vet who told me that the kindest thing I could do was to put her to sleep. :( My family and I decided not to go that route and brought her back home.

After extensive researching on the net I found that others pets had gotten worse from this medication so I stopped giving it to her.

I also learned online that dandelion leaves were great for flushing the kidneys and body of toxins, so I started giving her a fresh one from the garden and chopping and mixing some through her soft food.

With the help of organic baby food and a fresh dandelion leaf daily, she slowly regained her appetite and stopped vomiting and was drinking lots of water.

A year later she has now fully regained her weight and is eating her regular crunchies and soft food and has a healthy appetite. The only thing now is she drinks huge amounts of water which I was told was the bodies way of flushing toxins out of the system which is due to her age and failing kidneys.

Two weeks ago she got a bladder infection and was straining to uninate but was only passing small drops, so I reseached the net and found EARTH CLINIC, after one day of giving her organic apple cider vinegar in her soft food and drinking bowl she started to unrinate and has been fine since.

"Another one of mother earths natural remedies"

We are now keeping Pepper on the apple cider vinegar perminately and our new kitten also.

Quess what? she is now also starting to drink normal amounts of water. :D

Thank you again for this wonderful site.
I hope my feedback also helps others.

P.S In winter I add dried dandelion root to Peppers soft food which I purchase in my health food store.

We add 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to her soft food and 1/2 a teaspoon to two cups of her drinking water every day.

fresh dandelion half of one small leaf from my garden chopped up fine and added to soft food three times a week, in winter 1/2 a capsule of dried dandelion root.

If you can't get your cat to eat the fresh leaf, try putting about 5 drops of dandelion liquid tinture in a full bowl of drinking water.

IMPORTANT!!!!
Don't ever administer full strenth cider vinegar or dandelion root directly into your pets mouth.
This would choke them.

ACV works! Kitty, who is 7 was suffering from a 3rd round of urine problems in past 2 years. Displayed blood in urine, discomfort. Vet would only prescribe antibiotics again if extensive tests done so found this site and thought we'd give it a try. Blended 1/2 tsp. ACV into her wet food at each feeding, 3 times a day and 1/4 tsp. in her 1-1/2 cup water dish. Same day there was improvement and 4 days later under this regimen she is sleeping peacefully, and appears to be urinating normally. Give it a try, using unfiltered ACV bought at the health food store, don't know if that's necessary tho. Thanks again!

Okay,i am writing about the apple cider vinegar, my cat gary was showing severe signs of having uti and we were giving him small doses watered down in the morning and at night it took about five days and believe it or not my cat was up and being his usual self and going to the bathroom like he never had it. i was so happy because he was in so much pain and i just wanted to give it a shot before having to spend the money at the vet and it worked i am so amazed thank you sooo much for this website...

I used apple cider vinegar to cure my cat's urinary blockage after a 1500 dollar visit to the vet the first time this occured. A neighbor suggested trying a home remedy. I found this web site and learned about apple cider vinegar to cure cat's of urinary blockage.I had a syringe from the vet for giving my cat water to help him swallow his medicine I used this 6 militer syringe to give my cat ACV BY MIXING IT WITH ONE CUP OF WATER AND GIVING HIM 1FULL syringe in the morning and 1 at night the 1st 3 days then 1/2 a teespoon of ACV to his water dish which holds 2 cups.

I am pleased to report that MAX my male cat is doing fine and is urinating normally now will keep him on this for the rest of his life. my thanks to Earth clinic