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Urinary Tract infections.


Sharpeigirl

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[quote name='pwrpufgirlz']Sassy is not a cat first, and no, a cat can get more than one UTI. My Hobbes has had several.
[/quote]

Yeah I know Sassy isnt a cat I just said cat cause I had my cat in mind. Whoops. And Im just going by what my vet said. My cat has to be on a special diet the rest of his life because of his UTI.

Sorry, Im not sure what else to say either...

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first of all you need to adjust your dog's diet to produce an urine ph level that isn't supportive of the bacteria causing it. meat (which a dog is supposed to eat) makes urine acidic, and many, many dog foods have way too much grains and not enough meat in them. look into alternatives.

also give vitamin C, which isn't only a great antioxidant but will also help to keep the urine acidic. cranberry capsules or apple cider vinegar are good alternatives.

also try to get your dog to drink as much as possible to flush out bacteria. add tepid water to the kibble if you feed dry food. you can also give low sodium beef-, chicken- or vegetable broth, tuna water or any other fluid appropriate for dogs.

probiotics are also a good idea, especially when your dog is on antibiotics already. normally i'd recommend plain, cultured yogurt (brown cow, stonyfield farm and horizon organic are 3 more well known brands that have all the different beneficial bacteria and not just starter cultures), but in your situaiton that might not be enough. look for products like pet ag bene bac or canine dophilus by natren.

if you take proactive steps, things won't get out of hand far enough to have to fight them with antibiotics. meanwhile, as long as you [i]hae[/i] to give them, hide the pills in something yummy like spam or canned sardines. most dogs gulp that stuff without looking twice.

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You can give Cranberry capsules to keep the urine acidic and unviable for bacteria to survive.

My young Rottweiler had a couple of UTI's when she was a few months old and I have been giving her a Cranberry capsule every day and she has never had a repeat infection since.

I have heard Cranberry juice does the same thing but I don't know how you get the dog to drink it. I put the capsule in soft cheese and put it in the food bowl with her dinner..no problems at all.

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Thank you for the replies, I can give you a bit more info. Last time she had it there was a dark discharge along with her straining to pee.. Took a sample to the vet, and they found it to be very cloudy & containing a dark clumpy material.. SHe was put on high dose antibiotics.. Cleared it up really well.. This time she started the straining to pee, and wanting out all the time... Took a new sample to the vet, it was cloudy again.. No discharge, but still enough to warent antibitotics. Double the dose this time.. 1000 mg in the morning & 1000 mg in the evening. that 4 pills daily.. for 10 days. Then we re-check. Any tips on makeing the pills easier to give??? we've tried everything!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Anonymous

Cats are very susceptible to Urinary Tract problems. I would suggest feeding your cat a holistic food or a raw food diet that includes RAW cranberries. You can buy cranberry suplements, but by getting a food that has them in it, it will reduce the cost to you and be more convenient. Also, clean out his or her litterbox at least once a day.

The reason I suggest holistic food or raw food is because these tend to be the healthiest forms of pet food, closely resembling what they would eat in the wild, and providing them with balanced nutrition. Many commericial pet foods process with high heat and add yucky by-products and chemicals and other stuff that cannot be digested. Cats are almost exclusively carnivores and need an all-natural, preferably organic source of protein (60% of total intake). I've heard that grains can be upsetting to a urinary tract problem, but I haven't seen a lot of evidence suggesting this. Grains are not bad for dogs because when cooked t hey resemble the matter of the intestines of their prey in the wild. Since it's extremely difficult (and probably unappealing) to go out and get an intestine for your dog or cat, it's best to havea cooked grain in the mix.

However, cats do need less grain than dogs...they cannot handle the same amount.

So, in short, my suggestions are a holistic food with raw cranberries or a completely raw food diet, whichever one you choose consisting of 60% protein, not too much grain (and WHOLE grain...no brewer's rice, corn, wheat, or soy...these things cannot be digested), and a clean litterbox. If you have other cats, it may be good to separate his or her litterbox from the rest.

There is also evidence that over-vaccination can lead to health problems. One of those might be Urinary Tract Disorder, so do some research on yearly or semi-yearly vaccinations. From what I've read, there is NO reason (except possibly for babies) for animals to be vaccinated. It usually serves mostly to give a veterinarian more money.

Some great holistic foods are:
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold
Pinnacle
Wellness
California Natural
Felidae
Innova
Nature's Variety
Natural Balance
Wysong
Chicken Soup for the Dog or Cat Lover's Soul
Newman's Own
there are many more

Raw Foods
Steve's Real Food
Nature's Variety
there are many others...just use your search engine

Another option is to go to the store and buy the meat and veggies yourself. You want to make sure that you get only organic, hormone and steroid-free meat and veggies (some raw fruit is OK...ESPECIALLY cranberries). This can be cheaper, but some people prefer to buy the pre-packaged foods.

Hope that helps.

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Guest Anonymous

Whoops, sorry, didn't realize you were talking about a dog until I read some of the other replies. I think most of what I said can be salvaged, hehe.

I sitll suggest cranberries, holistic food or raw food, and a clean place to urinate a defecate. Sorry sorry sorry.

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