Well, the tables are turned & I’m looking for information.
BACKGROUND: Yesterday, my 3 1/2-yr-old male cat Kyle was diagnosed with Chronic Urinary Tract Disease (a new disease for me, & I’ve seen a lot of them).
This was after he’d been treated for a urinary infection (with Clavamox) for 10 days. The infection appeared to be clearing up nicely, but on Tuesday & Wednesday, he started living in the litter box again, straining & not making any urine. On Wednesday there was blood in his urine. (He hadn’t been drinking enough water in the last 2 weeks.)
My vet’s office was closed until 5pm on Thursday (yesterday) for staff training (all the vets go to "intensive training" on the 1st Thurs. of the month), so I took him to the emergency hospital. They were the ones who diagnosed him. He does not have stones; his urinary tract is/was not blocked. The blood was pretty much from the irritation of not enough water in his system & straining at the box.
By then it was past 5pm & my vet was nearby, so I stopped by & ran the treatment past my own vet (intravenous fluids, painkiller for 2 days, & another drug whose name I’ll have to post on Monday.) I did not entirely trust what I was hearing from the emergency hospital staff, as the tech who explained it to me seemed very unsure of what she was saying.
My vet said that this other drug is NOT for CUTD (it’s for neurological conditions), so I am not going to give it to Kyle. I’ll update you on its name next week.
Kyle is seeing his doctor tomorrow (Saturday) for a follow-up on the urinary infection & a check on the CUTD.
I’ve been told that treatment is mostly keeping him on the right diet & watching for infections, & getting a lot of water into him. My vet recommends Hills Prescription C/D canned; I have some.
MY QUESTION:
Does anyone have some experience with nutritional and/or herbal supplements that are suitable for CUTD, that will help the urinary system work better, but won’t cause any side-effects like kidney stone formation?
I’ve surfed intensely today & have found the following products that claim to be good for CUTD. If anyone knows anything about them, please let me know:
=Vita-Glo Daily Greens
=Gentle Digest Probiotic
=Xtra-C Instant Vitamin C Powder
=PetAlive Uti-Free
=Animal Apawthecary Tinkle Tonic
=Genesis Feline Urinary Tract Support Formula
=Samento’s Cat’s Claw by NutraMedix
=Oregon Grape (Where does one find it & what form do you use for cats?)
=Uva Ursi
=Only Natural Pet Cranberry Wellness
And can anyone suggest anything else with some kind of track record of effectiveness?
Thank you.
ahtnamas