Female cat prone to UTI.. looking for the best food for a tight budget

Ashley Boarman

My cat has been having urinating problems. Ive been noticing blood in the urine and she has been to the vet already. I can only assume she is getting crystals. I was feeding her 1/2 cup of dry food once a day. Im trying to fight this problem and have been giving her a 1/2 can of wet food in the morning and 1/2 can with some dry food at night. Unfortunatly i cannot go to a strictly can food diet as i have another cat and not enough money. I have looked at some of the science diet dry foods and thought about mixing that with 1/2 can once a day. Im just so over-welmed with all the information out there that i could really use some advice on what would be the best dry food food for not so much money. Also what sort of can fooded should i get? I just ordered a cranberry supplement off amazon to also give her and i was thinking about giving her alittle bit of greek yogurt daily because i read she should been on a high protein diet. HELP?!?

Paula K-

You have a real conundrum here because it's the dry food that's causing the UTIs. A cat can't get enough moisture in its diet from dry food and they physically can't drink enough water to make up for it. The only way to get enough fluids into them to keep them flushed out is to feed canned or raw, I'm sorry to say. You can feed something as cheap as the Friskies pate flavors (our Petsmart usually has them at 40 cents a can). They're low in carbs and grains, high in protein (granted, it's a lower quality protein than more expensive brands, but it's still better than dry in my opinion) and you can add a little water to get even more fluids into your cats. Bottom line is you're asking a question that's a catch 22- there is no dry food that will help your cat avoid a UTI. I hope this helps.

Ashley Boarman

I am feeding her a 1/2 can in the morning and a whole can at night right now to try to semi-correct the problem for now. Im wondering if i do a better dry food combinded with wet?

Laurel Kowalski

BLACK FRIDAY @ PETSMART!!!!! ONLY FRIDAY!!!! Most canned Friskies are $0.35. I'm stocking up!!!!!! See you there!!!! PS, Tidy cat litter 35-38 lbs. is also on sale for $8.99 with a $5 coupon that prints out after you pay. Make sure you buy your pails on different transactions to get max. $5 coupons!

Sharon Dalton

I really empathize with your financial problem; I'd like to feed mine all canned, but the budget won't take it. Anyway, they seem to prefer dry. (They get dry in the a.m. and some canned in the p.m.) I don't know this for a fact, but I have read posts by some that mixing dry with canned can cause bacteria to form. I have no idea if this is true, but it's certainly worth taking into consideration. How about buying some gravy and mixing the canned food with some of it? That would increase the moisture content. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I will come along and give you more complete advice. Good luck!

Ashley Boarman

I got up at 6 am and went to petsmart.. got 78 cans of the gluten free cans and 4 pails of litter for alittle less than $30 I think i came up with a solution and i hope others agree this is a decent idea. AM: 1/4 cup of premium dried food (I am going to find a grain free food to give them) with a dollop of greek yogurt (Im shooting for the "high protein" content) and mixing in a scoop of the cranberry supplement once a week PM: 1/2 can of gluten free canned food (about 3 oz) with 1/4 cup of premium dried food. I also want to let it be known that i CANNOT leave dried food out to "snack on" because between my 2 cats it would be gone in less than 30 seconds.

Lisa Provost

when you give the wet food, add extra water to it to make sure she's getting plenty of moisture. Also, if you can give her filtered water, that's best also as there are too many harsh chemicals in tap water. I know money is horribly tight, believe me I am in the same boat as is everyone!!! Maybe you can invest in a water fountain to get her to drink more as well?

Karen Lee

Im wondering if i do a better dry food combinded with wet? Unforunately, no dry food period will help with urinary tract issues. Not even a high quality grain-free brand. The key to preventing urinary issues is to get more water into the diet. Water is a major component of urine after all. Because cats have low thirst drives, they need to get their water through the diet. This means canned or raw food. Dry food has no water content at all. Catinfo.org has a whole section of urinary issues and why water is important. Dry food in general can cause other health issues, like obesity and diabetes. Many dry foods are really high in carbs which puts a huge strain on the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin. Science Diet is one of the worst high carb brands, both canned and dry :-# A 50/50 diet of dry and canned food is a little better than a 100% dry food diet, IMO. Don't mix canned food with dry food or add water to dry food. Harmful bacteria will grow in the food, especially if your cat doesn't finish the food right away and it sits out for hours. Can you afford a really cheap brand of canned food like Fancy Feast or Special Kitty (Wal Mart brand)? A low quality canned food is still high in water content and better for your cat. Or, you can buy a food that comes in the large 12 ounce cans, like Wellness. A big can will last a few days at least and may be more economical for multi-cat household. Add extra water to canned food. Someone above suggested gravy but plain water is just fine. Pet gravies from the pet store contain stuff that are pretty much junk :? Canned gravies and powdered gravy mixes for Humans are a definite no-no. IMO, cranberry supplements and other things like yogurt won't help :? Cranberries supposedly acidify the urine to make it less hospitable for bacteria to grow and form crystals. You don't need to leave dry food out for snacking. A few set meals a day is fine. You can use a timed feeder for this.

Ashley Boarman

I have been doing non-stop research and if i schedule monthly orders of cat food from amazon i can get cans around ~.30/can Now im wondering how much i feed them. Roxy is 2 and weighs about 7 lb Khloe is 1 and weighs about 6 lb They both look very healthy and in no way can i see there ribs 1 can a piece (1/2 twice a day) should be good right? or is that not enough.

janice lancaster

what size can are you talking about? If it's the 5.5 oz, then yes half of one am and pm per cat isgood if you are feeding dry food too. I hit the petsmart sale too, got a whole bunch of the Friskies and also some 43 cent FF for my 2 pickier cats

Tina B

Hi Roxy, it all depends on how many calories are in the food that you bought. It should say on the can how many calories are in the food, if not try the company website. Take the weight of your cat and times that by 13.6 then add 70 this will give you the amount of calories to feed in a day. Do not go by what the can says to feed as this is usually overstated. Your cat that is prone to UTI's should be fed smaller meals more frequently if you can. Plus lots of water!!!! Do not mix water or any liquid with dry food, as bacteria grows on dry food set out at even a mere 20 minutes, and this can cause a very sick kitty. Dry food does take a long time to digest so this is why bacteria is a concern. Unlike Raw food which digests alot faster. As suggested by the others cutting out the dry food is best if you can do it.=; http://www.catinfo.org also you need to be careful with supplements such as cranberries. This can make the cats urine ph either too acidic, or too alkaline which can cause struvite, or oxalate crystals.

Ashley Boarman

With both of my cats, any time I put food in their bowl, they eat like they have never been fed before. You know how if you pour food in a dogs bowl and they shove their heads so far deep that they get food everywhere? That's exactly what my cats do. I have to feed them in separate rooms or sit with them to make sure they both get to eat.