change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

Friend's cat seems to have UTI - she wonders if a change to a cheaper
litter a month ago might be a cause? Vet hasn't given her any results
yet of urine sample. He said the bladder was empty, but the cat's
been straining and not peeing very much.

Thanks
(Arm and Hammer Loyalist,me)

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

"val189" wrote

Friend's cat seems to have UTI - she wonders if a change to a cheaper
litter a month ago might be a cause? Vet hasn't given her any results
yet of urine sample. He said the bladder was empty, but the cat's
been straining and not peeing very much.

While there is a problem obviously, it's not apt to be the actual cat
*litter*. Bowel obstruction (constipation?) comes to mind. Change in diet
may have accompanied cheaper litter?

If the cat isnt drinking much, it will pee less. Some cats seem to get most
of their water from wet food eating. Mine gets it from both wet food, fresh
water, and a daily dose of various salt-free (or very salt low) broths.

Today's diet for her was a 3oz portion of wet food (pedigree this time, beef
with liver) in the morning (rest of can tonight), and 3 TB of dashi (dipped
out before I added the miso for the rest of us for our breakfast). I dont
know how much fresh water she drinks because she and Cash-pup share both the
bowl in the back room and the 'feeder bottle' in the kitchen. I can only
say it holds about 1G and when we stick the one in the dishwasher and pull
out the clean one, there is about 1/2g left. Mostly Cash-pup but she loves
to use his water-feeder now and will mostly ignore her old water bowl.

Oh, she gets only 2 TB or so of dry kibble at this stage, per day. She eats
about 1 TB of it and the rest tends to land in Cash-pup's tummy.

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

On Sep 4, 12:39*pm, val189 wrote:
Friend's cat seems to have UTI - she wonders if a change to a cheaper
litter a month ago might be a cause? *Vet hasn't given her any results
yet of urine sample. *He said the bladder was empty, but the cat's
been straining and not peeing very much.

Thanks
(Arm and Hammer Loyalist,me)

Very well could be. Clay based litters create a lot of dust and since
kitties are so close to the source with their scratching around, the
dust ends up clogging their plumbing, so to speak. Males are much
more susceptible to this than females. If your friend is looking for
a cheaper littler, have her transition her kitty over to a wood based
litter. No dust, no smell, much more absorbant, and it's an all
natural, not chemically treated, organic, renewable resource (you can
also compost it if that's an option for you). I use wood stove
pellets myself. 40 lb bag costs about $4.00 and lasts MUCH longer
than anything you can buy in the grocery store.

AND I agree...change the kitty over to a high quality diet. What you
save in cat litter can pay for premium food. I'll read up and see
what I find about treating UTI's naturally.

DWMeowMix

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

"val189" wrote in message
...
Friend's cat seems to have UTI - she wonders if a change to a cheaper
litter a month ago might be a cause? Vet hasn't given her any results
yet of urine sample. He said the bladder was empty, but the cat's
been straining and not peeing very much.


Cat litter does not cause UTI's. UTI's in cats are pretty random. They are
more common in males. Some say diet is a factor, some say genetics, but as
my vet said , you can never really know. Some cats get them, some don't .
shrug

If a cat is straining to pee and nothing is coming out, that is a serious
matter. It can get very deadly, very fast. Cat's will also lick themselves -
frequent genital licking is often the first sign of urinary problems.
A vet can do a dipstick on a urine sample and give the results almost
immediately, telling you if the urine contains blood, lymphocytes, or the pH
is off. Testing for stones and crystals might take a bit longer. A cat's
bladder is sometimes hard to feel, it can ride way up in the pelvis and
appear empty when it really isn't. If the bladder is full enough to feel,
the cat has to be in distress.

I'm over 2K poorer (no regrets!) because of a cat's urinary tract issues.
It is not anything to mess with Your friends cat needs another vet visit,
or a better vet.

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

No. UTI's usually happen because of diet. If your cat is straining and
nothing is coming out, it could be a blockage or the cat is urinating in
areas around the house. That usually happens with UTI cases. My cat Icarus
has had UTI's and two blockages. His change to an all canned diet really
helped. He's on Science Diet prescription and it's worked pretty well. He
hasn't been back to the vet for any urinary issues since April. Hopefully
the vet put the cat on anti-biotics and also Prednisone for the
inflammation. A UTI is very painful and uncomfortable for the cat. BTW, if
you got a bad sample, I'd get one that was much fresher and bring it to the
vet so they can see if there's blood or crystals in the urine.

Has the cat vomited at all lately? If they have, get the cat to the vet.
That's usually another symptom of the problem. Good luck. I hope the cat
gets better because a UTI is pretty serious business.


"val189" wrote in message
...
Friend's cat seems to have UTI - she wonders if a change to a cheaper
litter a month ago might be a cause? Vet hasn't given her any results
yet of urine sample. He said the bladder was empty, but the cat's
been straining and not peeing very much.

Thanks
(Arm and Hammer Loyalist,me)

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

Yes, constant hydration is important besides an all canned diet especially
with cats that consistantly get UTI's or blockages.

"cshenk" wrote in message
...
"val189" wrote

Friend's cat seems to have UTI - she wonders if a change to a cheaper
litter a month ago might be a cause? Vet hasn't given her any results
yet of urine sample. He said the bladder was empty, but the cat's
been straining and not peeing very much.

While there is a problem obviously, it's not apt to be the actual cat
*litter*. Bowel obstruction (constipation?) comes to mind. Change in
diet may have accompanied cheaper litter?

If the cat isnt drinking much, it will pee less. Some cats seem to get
most of their water from wet food eating. Mine gets it from both wet
food, fresh water, and a daily dose of various salt-free (or very salt
low) broths.

Today's diet for her was a 3oz portion of wet food (pedigree this time,
beef with liver) in the morning (rest of can tonight), and 3 TB of dashi
(dipped out before I added the miso for the rest of us for our breakfast).
I dont know how much fresh water she drinks because she and Cash-pup share
both the bowl in the back room and the 'feeder bottle' in the kitchen. I
can only say it holds about 1G and when we stick the one in the dishwasher
and pull out the clean one, there is about 1/2g left. Mostly Cash-pup but
she loves to use his water-feeder now and will mostly ignore her old water
bowl.

Oh, she gets only 2 TB or so of dry kibble at this stage, per day. She
eats about 1 TB of it and the rest tends to land in Cash-pup's tummy.

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

"Cat Protector" wrote in message
...
No. UTI's usually happen because of diet.

The precise etiology of feline UTI's is unknown. Some can be dealt with by
dietary management, but to state that diet is the usual cause of FLUTD
(feline lower urinary tract disease, the preferred terminology) is
inaccurate.

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

I would suspect that as at least part of the problem.

Stress can cause a flare up if changing litters upset the kitty. Also,
if the cat doesn't want to use the litter and is holding the urine too
long, that can also cause bladder problems.

Rhonda

val189 wrote:
Friend's cat seems to have UTI - she wonders if a change to a cheaper
litter a month ago might be a cause? Vet hasn't given her any results
yet of urine sample. He said the bladder was empty, but the cat's
been straining and not peeing very much.

Thanks
(Arm and Hammer Loyalist,me)

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

Cat Protector wrote:
No. UTI's usually happen because of diet.

Well, not always. We have a cat with bladder issues and he has flare-ups
every 8 mos or so. This last time, it was not a true infection, but some
crystals and trace bacteria and lots of blood and straining. He has now
been diagnosed with "idiopathic cystitis" which means, he's just going
to have flare ups probably no matter what.

The vet says new research points to a virus in cats that can cause the
cystitus, and the bleeding and straining will last about a week at a
time. We have to give the cat pain meds and antibiotics if there's any
trace of bacteria.

Wet food diet and low-stress will help, but he's in this for the long
haul. The good news is that most cats will outgrow the condition at
about 8 years old.

I'm counting the days...

Rhonda

change of litter brand - cud it lead to UTI?
 

It isn't unknown. Diet plays a huge role and even our vet stated that.
Icarus has been through UTIs and 2 blockages. Having him on an all canned
prescription diet seemed to solve the issue.

"dejablues" wrote in message
...

"Cat Protector" wrote in message
...
No. UTI's usually happen because of diet.

The precise etiology of feline UTI's is unknown. Some can be dealt with by
dietary management, but to state that diet is the usual cause of FLUTD
(feline lower urinary tract disease, the preferred terminology) is
inaccurate.