Still feeding cat UTI food?

Question

My cat had a UTI infection a while ago which went away nicely with natural meds, also by switching his regular dry food with the Purina One Special Care UTI Dry food. (I have two other cats who also started eating this since they eat from same dish). However, it's been a little while now, months, since the infection went away, and I'm scared he'll get it again, so I haven't switched back to his regular food, a non-UTI food.

Would this be bad for him, and my two girls, in any way?

I don't want him to get the infection again, so is it okay to just keep feeding him the UTI dry food? They all love it, so it's not doing anything to their health or anything right?

Please answer!

Also, it's not as if they don't get enough nutrition or anything because I feed them wet canned foods as treats, and also regular treats too.

KimbeeJ, I know he had UTI because after noticing symptoms, I took him to the Vet and he was diagnosed with it.

They gave me meds, and they didn't work a bit.

After researching plenty, I tried PetAlive UTI and it worked amazingly.

Answer 1

It's no worse than any other dry food.

But you're better off switching them all to canned food. Even the crappy ones are better than dry foods.

Dry food doesn't clean the teeth. There's no reason to feed it.

From my blog:
CATS AND URINARY ISSUES
This is not my area of expertise, but this has been my experience: As a kitten, Poppy developed both a weight problem and a UTI. My vet told me to start feeding her special food which he happily sold me *gulp*. Poppy refused to eat it. Back then I was less aware of how to get cats to eat new foods, so I just said the hell with it and bought Purina's urinary health food, mixed with weight management. She ate that from then until she was 2 years old. She never had another UTI, so that tells me that the overpriced CRAP the vets sell you are typically unnecessary. The grocery store crap is just as good.

For various reasons, I soon thereafter began researching cat nutrition. I learned about the benefits of wet food, and found that in many cases, that's all that's required to prevent future UTI's. Even the crappy brands like Friskies would be better than dry food!

I don't claim to be a vet, vet tech, vet student or anything like that. But I know how to research and examine results. I've read a bit on this topic which is how I've reached the conclusions I have.

At the very least, were I to have another cat with urinary problems, I'd sooner try them on a GOOD QUALITY canned food before shelling out the dough for a "prescription" dry food (or even their canned varieties). That's because I believe that good nutrition and species appropriate food is much more likely to keep a cat healthy than something designed to change their chemical composition.

Answer 2

The OTC Purina food is restricted slightly, but not enough for a cat prone to developing obstruction from crystal formation. In fact, it changes the PH of the urine enough that another type of crystal, oxalate's, can form. Thus, this food should not be fed without diagnosis. A cat with normal urinary tract could develop problems from eating it. A cat with UTI may benefit somewhat, but without veterinary monitoring of PH and crystal formation, you can do more harm then good.
How do you know your cat had an infection? I'm wondering about the "natural" treatments...were they prescribed by your vet? There are holistic medications available for use by experienced vets, but shouldn't be used indiscriminately.

Answer 3

Can still feed UTI food. Will not him in the long run or the others. The only one you don't want to feed long term is Hill's Science Diet S/D it's too low in some minerals. This food is just lower in some minerals that may cause the urine to irritate the urethra and form a plug. Some cats may have chronic problems, others may have just a once in a lifetime problem. Depends on the cat. Good luck, I hope he never gets another problem! Males tend to have more of this problem because the urethra is longer and easier to block.

Answer 4

You should keep him on his UTI diet to prevent recurrence of the UTI and make sure plenty of fresh water is always available.

As long as you vary the other's diets, it won't hurt them to eat his UTI diet.

Answer 5

Purina urinary health diet is completely balanced to be fed long-term. In fact, ALL cats, regardless of any predisposition to urinary tract disease, should eat urinary health diets. The food is balanced, the prevention saves money and discomfort, and even a few lives.