Holistic Remedies

By Unicornrider on Sep 3, 2010 | Reply

Yes, he’s showing a few signs, which means it’s bnot in beginning phases.
No surgery is used, the vet gives him antibiotics, which is the best thing you can do.

Holistic treatmjents, as they even state on any of the websites, are just a BACKUP to be used with medication, ie antibiotics. There is no holistic ":cure". The holistic side takes care of any "side-effects" from the antibiotics, and together, they cure kitty in no time flat, without prolonging his siffering.

PS DIscuss his fiture diet as a preventative with the vet while you are therer, and how diet can avoid this in future.
References :

By Save a Life. Spay or Neuter! on Sep 3, 2010 | Reply

If you suspect he has crystals, or if he has been straining to urinate, he needs to go see a vet to determine the actual problem. If you start to treat for the wrong kind of crystal you could make the situation even worse. One type of crystals thrive in acidic conditions, and another thrives in alkaline conditions, so unless you know the exact type, don’t try any "holistic" or home remedies.
References :
vet tech

By Ken S on Sep 3, 2010 | Reply

You are talking different things. Besides blockage this can also be an infection
There is a simple answer so you don’t go through this and your cat doesn’t get blocked. Proper food fo the species

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingredient a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/InterpretingLabels.htm
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Male cats are especially prone to blockages
from dry food. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. ( Have a fat cat?)
Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don’t use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn’t have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all.
THE BEST CAT FOODS CONTAIN NO GRAINS NO BYPRODUCTS
Cats are meat eaters not cereal or rice eaters
Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.
Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php

Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall

Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Vets.htm
Nutritional Education Program website page for the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. Notice who they are receiving grants from for this program
http://mypetcarnivore.com/educational_grant.htm
References :

By Violet on Sep 3, 2010 | Reply

It does sound like urinary tract problems are develping. You should really take him to the vet for a check. He may have crystals in which case the ph of his urine will have to be adjusted through diet and/or supplements. I would not normally recommend Hill’s or Royal Canin cat foods as even the prescription foods have ingredients that make me cringe, but a prescription canned food would be best if he has crystals, especially if you are unfamiliar with cat nutrition. The cause of his urinary difficulties may also be idiopathic (no crystals) in which case his environment will need to be enriched to reduce his stress. In either case he may have an infection and might need antibiotics, but you won’t know any of this unless his urine is tested by the vet. If, for whatever reason, he becomes blocked and can’t pee at all, it could be life threatening unless cleared up immediately which would require emergency services so it’s best to get the right diagnosis so you can give him the right treatment before he becomes blocked.

If Hero does not have crystals and he has the proper urine ph, he should be on a high quality canned food only or a combination of canned food and raw meat; dried food does not provide the necessary moisture. A big thing with urinary tract problems is keeping the urine flowing and the bladder flushed out. I give my cat with idiopathic cyctitis extra water by putting water on dried food. He drinks the water and leaves the food. I guess it flavors the water. He also eats canned food (Wellness, Go, and Instinct) and raw rabbit. When he has an attack, which is rarely but it does happen when he is stressed, I give him sub Q fluids. Until we got this under contol he was on a prescription diet, BUT he never had crystals and his urine ph was normal. I also take him in periodically to have his urine tested to make sure his diet is correct.

There are supplements and herbs you can give him to help, but this should be a supportive measure only, and if you don’t know what you are doing you should not give supplements and herbs. There are also OC products that will acidify the urine and prevent struvite crystals, but too much acidification can cause oxalate crystals so you have to be careful. The best way to disolve or prevent crystals is through the proper diet with the help of a veterinarian.

Feline urinary tract problems are nothing to mess around with. They can cause serious problems, and even death, and it is best to have the help of a veterinarian.
References :
http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=WSAVA2008&PID=23981&Category=3868&O=Generic
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2142&aid=2729
http://www.holisticat.com/flutd.html
http://www.cns.med.ucla.edu/PDFs/ICandIBS.pdf
http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00125.htm
http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/indoorcat.htm