Natural remedies for Cystitis in Cats

The veterinarian told me on our first visit that Cupid had crystals in his urine.  She did not give me any sort of remedy for that, apart from the advice to make him drink plenty of liquids.  His urine now is filled with blood and he is going back and forth to the two litter boxes filled with newspaper endlessly.

A human friend has gallstones and his doctor advised him to have a procedure to remove his gallbladder.  He was unwilling to do so and wanted to find a natural remedy.   He found a site on the internet that recommended five days of imbibing large quantities of apple juice, followed by a concoction that mixed lemon juice and olive oli.  The gallstones sometimes dissolve in the apple juice and even if they do not dissolve entirely, then pass with the olive oil concoction.

Today, desperate to help my little boy, I looked for a similar natural remedy for Cupid.  I found some sites that discussed natural remedies.  

The crystals that form in cat urine usually cannot be seen with the naked eye and can be detected only by analysis of fresh urine.   The condition is known as Crystalluria and cats who tend to be at an increased risk of developing this condition include Persians, Himalayans and Burmese.  Cupid is a pedigree Himalayan.

The greatest danger from these formations is that they may become large kidney stones.  Causes of crystalluria include:

Concentration of crystallogenic substances in urine, influenced by rate of excretion and urine concentration of water;

Urine pH off balance, requiring balance of acidic or alkaline levels;

Lack of solubility of crystallogenic substances in urine;

Excretion of certain medications, including sulfonamides;

Dietary influences.

Increasing urine volume, encouraging complete and frequent voidin of urine and modifying the diet (especially elimination cat food with large percentage of ash) is part of the therapy to eliminate the crystals.

Feline Cystitis, sometimes known as Feline Urologic Syndrome, is all too common among cats.   Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) can affect both female and male cats, although it is more common among females. This  phrase is inclusive of a number of disorders, but cystitis specifically refers to an irritation of the feline bladder. The condition occurs as a result of an infection in the bladder and will cause tiny crystals to form, which blocks the normal passage of urine.  A cat with cystitis will need to urinate more frequently but upon attempting it, will generally only be successful in passing only a few drops at a time. A cat may  discontinue use of the litter box when it needs to urinate, as this condition is very irritating for them and they are more comfortable using a cold, hard surface such as a bathtub, sink or countertop. It is also likely that the consistency of the urine will be thicker than it normally would be, the scent will be strong and foul smelling, and the urine will contain traces of blood. 

The precise cause of cystitis is not known.  The same condition in dogs or in humans would be caused by a bacterial infection, but most cats with this problem do not have bacteria in their urine. If a cat is affected by cystitis you may want to temporarily increase the amount of tinned food as it obviously has a higher water content than dry food.  At the same time, increase the amount of water that the animal takes in and decrease the mineral content of the diet.

Additionally, there are several homeopathic treatments that can be administered including Nux Vomica, Chimaphila or Cantahris.  

As mentioned previously, persistent crystalluria may contribute to the formation and growth of kidney stones.  Chronic crystalluria may solidify crystalline-matrix plugs, resulting in a urethral obstruction.  

There are two types of crystals: 

In 1985 the incidence in cats of sturvite crystals was 75%, while calcium oxalate crystals were 2%. With changes in dietary factors by lowering protein and magnesium, and lowering the pH to make the urine more acid, the incidence in cats in 1995  became almost 50% for sturvite crystals and a sudden increase in oxalate stones jumped to 40%.

Struvite crystals are composed of magmesium, ammonium, and phosphate which form the struvite stone, which is the most common stone found in cats.  The next highest incidence is a stone or crystal composed of calcium oxalate.  The remedy is to acidify the urine. It also says that high or low magnesium can precipitate the struvite stone.  The  recommended pH for the cat's urome is 6 to 6.5.   Apple cider vinegar is 4- to 5% acid, so it should acidify the urine without grossly acidifying it. 

Another old remedy is the Juice of l lemon with 2 tbsps. of extra virgin olive oil, but for a cat rather than human reduce that to juice from 1/6th of a lemon and l tsp. olive oil.  This remedy is for evacuation and should not be given more than once in a week.  

For the Apple Cider Vinegar mix, 1 teaspoon ACV with 2 teaspoons of water appears to be the mixture.  Some owners mix plain cranberry juice into it as well.   Give 6 cc. of this three times daily until the cat begins to urinate properly.  If bloody urine persists, a major procedure may be required, but for the majority of cats who suffer from cystitus, both male and female, the Apple Cider Vinegar treatment can work wonders.

The Apple Cider Vinegar should be given INSTANTLY and repeated until the cat urinates normally without any blood or straining.  A cat whose urethra is obstructed completely can die within four hours, so crystalluria can be extremely serious.  I am rather upset that the veterinarian did not make the dangers clear to me.  Moreover, when I took Cupid back to the doctor yesterday, it was I and not the doctor who suggested that his dehydration needed to be addressed with subcutaneous administration of liquids.

What I hope is that, despite the awfulness of the appearance of his urine pink with blood, the fact that he is passing a fair quantity of urine is positive.  The poor darling is using the two boxes, but I keep them spotless.  As soon as he passes the bloody urine, I remove the dirty newspaper and add clean newspaper.  The doctor advised me not to use real litter for another week as it could irritate his incisions.  Newspaper is far safer at this stage.

I made a little concealed place for Cupid to rest between two pieces of furniture in the kitchen.  It is next to the very low place beneath the rolling cupboard where he was hiding and which I feel was causing him injury as he should not be squeezing ANYWHERE at this point, so soon after the procedure.  He should not jump or run either.  He was not jumping but he was leaping to his favourite chair before he took a turn for the worse yesterday morning.  Now he stays in the little 'corner' i made for him.  An old hoodie conceals the entrance, making him feel safer.

I am sharing this information partly because I hope people will pray for my Cupid but more importantly, that it may prove helpful to other cat owners whose cats display the same symptoms.

Finally, I would like to mention a comment on one of the sites I visited for information about this condition that truly infuriated me.  Some one wrote to the effect that any one who cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars potentially for professional medical care for a pet has no right to own a pet. That is utter nonsense.  The idea that one can throw money at a problem to eliminate it is part and parcel of a typical American spoiled attitude that has brought ruin to our civilisation and does not contribute to a healthy society of human beings or animals.  Love and personal attention are far more important than money.  In most of the cases of cystitis described on these sites, moreover, the owners HAD taken their pets to a professional veterinarian who had NOT solved the problem.  Our pets are being poisoned by expensive commercial cat food in the same way that our children are being poisoned by genetically altered food ingredients and products.  The answer is not money but education.  The internet can spew forth a great deal of misinformation and hysteria but at the same time, it can be a godsend with sites that give real life-saving information freely.