My cat is only abt. 2 & 3/4 yrs old & was diagnosed this evening with an UTI. He's virtually still a baby & it just came on all of a sudden. He was in such pain, it had me very nervous. Yet, my other cat who's abt 15-16 has NEVER had one. He gets bad colds & currently has an over-active thyroid, but never an UTI. I've heard that UTI's are common in cats, why is that & how can I prevent it from happening? Also what are some early warning signs to look for?
2006-11-24 14:06:43 · 3 answers · asked by April H 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Respiratory Diseases
I had two different cats (both males) who were prone to UTI's. I switched to a type of cat food that didn't have ash in it and things got much better. The high ash content in some off the shelf and lower priced cat foods contributes to urinary blockages which end up causing UTI's.
Paying more for better cat food is a lot cheaper than paying vet bills.
2006-11-24 14:12:12 · answer #1 · answered by doug k 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do you feed your cats? The unfortunate truth is most store bought popular cat food isn't really very good for cats. They are filled with preservatives and carbohydrates which are not good for cats. Many vets feel that the food fed to cats is a big reason for their high rates of digestive and urinary problems. If you can afford it I would buy higher quality all natural cat food for your cat. One way to look at it is that you can pay more for cat food and save money on vet bills!
Another thing to think about when considering the diet of your cat... what would a cat eat in the wild? 0% carbs 0% preservatives... while our domestic cats are trained behaviorially to live inside their bodies digestive tracks havent had a chance to evolve ... best case scenario for them would be to eat freshly caught animals... clearly that isn't possible in most cases... but yes if you are currently buying cheap dry food - try the fancy stuff. grocery stores dont carry.
2006-11-28 18:28:10 · answer #2 · answered by The Crazy Cat Man 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cats have very narrow twisting and spiralling urethra's my male cat also get urinary infections he was on a special diet Hills science diet cat food from the vet for abot a year but it was very expensive and I have 3 cats and they all had to eat it, I use the Purina ONE urinary tract formula and he hasnt had an infection in about 3yrs now. It sucks because the treatment ran me about $600 for the first time and about $1000 the 2nd time because of the stones he got, and needing to get a cathetor put in and the time at the vet.
2006-11-24 15:39:49 · answer #3 · answered by rottie110 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋