[wintervixen]

My female cat had 3 bouts of UTI in the last 2 years. She was on 100% wet canned grain-free food (EVO 95% chicken & turkey & EVO for kittens & cats).

The last vet who attended to her recommended I fed her Royal Canin prescription wet "maintenance" diet "for life" but I was suspicious of her intention. Furthermore, these "prescription diets" are made from poor ingredients and not grain free. Furthermore, my cat's urine pH was low (acidic). I did not know if that diet would decrease the pH further.

My cat's urine pH was 6.5 and no crystals were seen in the sample which was obtain via cystocentesis. White and red blood cells were present though. She was given Clavamox for 3 weeks. No bacterial culture was done.

During that time, I decided to change her water from tap water to distilled water. My rationale was I wanted to keep her blood calcium and magnesium levels low as that vet cautioned me to keep calcium, magnesium and phosphorus levels low. I also did not want to tax her kidneys to work extra hard removing these minerals from her blood as I believed that her canned food contains more minerals and vitamins than what she needs daily.

She urinated more frequently than before and her urine was not as concentrated (pale yellow). I have yet to do a full bloodwork and urinalysis test on her.

On top of that, I increased the number of litter boxes in the home. I have 2 cats and my vet advised me to provide (x* +1) litter boxes in a multi-cat household to lessen any stress she might be facing.

What are your thoughts on using this water for cats to drink on a long-term basis?

* x = the total number of cats in a household

 

[wintervixen]

Geez I wanted to edit the posting the second time but wasn't allowed by the system.

I wanted to add that my cat originally ate Wellness grain-free chicken canned food. Soon after, she and her brother got their first UTI 5 months apart. Then, I switched the food brand to EVO. Her brother is doing fine with EVO all along. She, however, had a second UTI about 1.5 years later and then about a month later (3rd). I ditched the EVO kitten canned food as it contained rich ingredients like cheese, herring meal, apples, tomatoes and stuck to the EVO 95% one.

I also reduced their intake of poached fresh chicken meat each week as I understood meat alone is primarily a source of phosphorus. Now, they get perhaps a heaped tablespoon of quickly seared chicken thighs with skin on but still raw inside each mixed with their canned food about 2-3 times a week.

 

[MowMow]

This was discussed fairly recently in this post.

http://www.catforum.com/forum/38-health-nutrition/150148-uti-wont-go-away-2.html#post819767