Apple Cider Vinegar Treatment for Cats with Cystitis

Later in morning, I decided to take her in to the vet as a precaution. I was worried about the potential of blockage being fatal, not knowing blockage was a problem mainly for the male cats. The vet wanted me to leave her to get a urine sample. I was okay with that, as long as I could pick her up before the end of the day. Well, the urinalysis didn't come in, so the vet wanted me to keep her overnight so they could administer the medication after the test results. They told me, otherwise, I would have to bring her in.

I don't like to keep my cat away from home, so I picked her up. Plus, the clinic would be unattended during off hours. At home, I could monitor her constantly.

I knew about cranberry juice as a home remedy for people with urinary tract infection. But I didn't have any cranberry juice around. Then I had this idea of apple cider vinegar as a possible remedy since it was acidic and many people attested to its curative powers.

After deciding I would try out apple cider vinegar (cause if it didn't work, I would have taken my cat in the next day for her medication), I researched online for personal testimonies. I was more convinced after reading the personal anecdotes on this site. And I learned the exact dosage used. (Initially, I just poured less than a capful into the cat's water bowl.)

I did decide already upon noticing the urinary problems to switch from the dry food to canned food. So, with the first dosage of ACV, I added 1/2 teaspoon to little bit of tuna, along with some water from her water bowl. Because she had a bit of diarrhea, I sprinkled some oat bran to the mix.

I wasn't supposed to feed her so soon after coming home, as she was sedated for the urine sample. But she was hungry and sat in protest by her food bowl. I caved in and served her just a bit.

Over the next 12 hours, the improvements were subtle. She didn't frequent the litter box as much. But she was still hanging out underneath the dining table (which my previous cat did when her health was deteriorating in her last days). And she was sensitive to being touched or held up. Several hours later, she was still squatting in the litter box longer than usual. But her urine output was slightly more. That was a good sign.

Other improvement was her sleeping more the next morning rather than trying to pee. By the next day, she became more playful (though still not running around). I continued to feed her the same food mix with the 1/4 teaspoon of ACV and additional water. And I also included sardines packed in water to blend with the canned tuna for cats. I wanted a source of omega 3 acids as an anti-inflammatory to help reduce any internal inflammation.

Long story short, she got progressively better, becoming more playful and frisky with normal bathroom habits. By Thursday night, she started running around and moving about with a bounce in her step. Meanwhile, she was spared of any antibiotics (which they had predicted she might need) or urine acidifier.

Also, I've noticed there have been discussions of using organic, unprocessed ACV. I bought regular ACV sold under the store label.

This is a great forum!!

I tried using organic cider vinegar on the suggestion of this site. My female cat Harry gets cystitis once or twice a year, usually when it's cold. She's very lazy and I think the cause may be related to the fact she doesn't like to go out for a wee in bad weather, holds it in and therefore gets cystitis.

The usual symptoms are grumpiness, sleepiness, lack of appetite, peeing in corners of rooms or in unusual places such as my bed or pillows, and being very very vocal.

So, I went and got some organic cider vinegar from a health food shop, and used at first 1/2 teaspoon diluted with 1/2 teaspoon water mixed in with her wet food to make a gravy. I feed her high quality biscuits but stopped these at first to give her a chance to rehydrate.

The vinegar seemd to work within 12 hrs or so. I made sure she had food available constantly with this soluton mixed in, as well as fresh water with 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar mixed in too.

After about 12hrs she seemed much more comfortable and fell asleep for a long time. After 24hrs she was back to her perky, silly self and asking to pee outside again. No more squatting for ages, no more moaning and general discomfort. Cider vinegar is a miracle cure.

I intend to use the cider vinegar solution in her food every few days, cut down her biscuit intake and see how things go. But so far so good. Thanks for the advice.

I made sure to buy the mother Apple Cider Vinegar and proceeded to give him 1/4 tsp twice a day mixed with his wet food. (I measured the amount of "a cap full" and it comes out to a little more than a 1/4 tsp.) He had no problems eating it. I'm very sorry to say that after several days to a week he urinated on my bed for the first time in weeks. I increased his ACV to a little more than 1/4 tsp. that night and the next morning. The next evening he urinated on my bed again. The next afternoon I got home and noticed that he had a discharge coming out of his rectal area, more like the glands around it. I smelled it (I know, it sounds strange, but if I felt it was necessary to help with diagnosis) and noticed it smelled familiar (ladies would be more apt to recognize this scent) but I couldn't place it. I had a very difficult time finding information. Knowing the only thing I'd added recently was the ACV I performed a very time consuming search and finally came up with a reference not to give a cat with yeast sensitivities ACV because it could cause an internal yeast infection. Now this seems contradictory because most everything I read says just the opposite, that you can TREAT yeast with ACV. But how else can I explain that familiar (aha! it was a yeasty smell) emanating from his rear end? Of course, I had no idea he was sensitive to yeast. Since the yeast smell/discharge was coming out of his rear end, not his penis it makes sense that this is an INTESTINAL yeast infection. Just doing a search for intestinal yeast infection yields little information, since most of them are EXTERNAL.

Please note that I have not taken him to the vet to have this "officially" diagnosed as (like so many people) I've lost faith in a vet's ability to treat him effectively. (All he does is unblock him and send him home, telling me I could have "the surgery" for widening his urethra).

That very night I went out and bought an "intestinal blend" of acidophilus and other bacteria (one article said dairy free, because the yeast will feed on the sugars in the milk) that I picked up at my local farmer's grocery. I gave it to him right away, as well as stopped the ACV. We're opening and giving him 1 capsule 3 times a day. The next day (after receiving a total of 3 doses) he didn't urinate out of the box. This is day 4 and so far so good.

I post this not to bad mouth the ACV treatment in any way, since it's obviously very helpful to many, many kitties who I'm sure are very thankful to their mommys and daddys who care so much for them. This is only to let others know that if they have a similar reaction, this may be why. I also feel that because we had decreased his dry food with acidophilus in it to very little he wasn't getting enough beneficial bacteria, which could have possibly staved off (what I believe to be) a yeast infection to begin with. In my search I found that potentially because he's been battling with these blockages he could possibly have a compromised immune system (as well as a lot of stress), which could lead to his inability to fight the yeast growth as well.

I'd like to try this remedy again, but maybe with a reduced dosage, only 1/4 per day instead of twice a day, and then only after a month or more of good bacteria being in his system.

One more thing, I found a product, cranberry and papaya digestive supplement with beneficial bacteria. It's also pretty inexpensive (less than $10 for a 16oz bottle) when compared to vet visits, etc. After we're done with what we bought at the grocery we'll be giving this a try, as it's considerably cheaper.

so i went online (Thank god for computers) stumbled upon this site..and did what everyone else said to do, i already had some apple cider vinegar at home because i take it for its health benefits, so i thought..what the heck..anything to give him some relief. I mixed it up 1/4 teaspoon ACV with the "Mother" in 1/2 teaspoon of spring water, and put it in a syringe..gave it to him..he hated it..he foamed at the mouth..and vomited..i felt even worse! So i put some of the mixture in his wet cat food, and 5 hours later..he has completly stopped licking himself and peeing! I'm so excited to be writing this!! I will continue to watch him, and i will give it to him for a few more days..but honestly..its a god send!! I knew it was good for us humans..but he knew it can cure your cats UTI...wow! I'm truly amazed!!

The next day, he seems much better (started eating), so I put 1 teaspoon of the ACV in their water bowl (Dog, and two cats share a bowl that is almost a gallon of water). Plus I put some in a small can of food for him (we don't feed them can food - only dry). He's been looking much better! Thank you again.

I can't tell you how thankful I am to have found this site and the recommendation to try ACV for my cat's recurring UTIs. Kiki is 13 years old and is tormented with UTI's regularly. As others have mentioned, the vet bills become very expensive and never once was a simple home remedy suggested. Anyway, for the past week I have supsected that Kiki may be suffering from another UTI. I had confirmation of this after I found a puddle of pee on the kitchen floor. Sadly, I was seriously considering putting Kiki down because I can't stand to watch him suffer any more, and the expense of treating this is too much. I decided to do an internet search and came across this site and the ACV recommendation. I went right to my local whole foods store and purchased organic ACV (with the mother). I made a 50/50 mixture of water and ACV, put it in a dropper, and squirted it down his throat. Honestly, the first time I did it he didn't have any type of reaction. Just drank it like it was water. Second time was not so good, but I think that's because I had more ACV than water. Anyway, we're on day three of this treatment and so far so good. No sign of him peeing anywhere other than the litter box and he hasn't been crying in pain. I should also note that based on a post here, I have also supplemented his dry food with wet, and added water to the wet to encourage increased water intake. He loves the wet food and doesn't mind that it is watered down. I really hope that ACV is the home remedy I've been looking for, and so far it seems to be!! Best of luck to others with this problem!!

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR was the very last resort for my beloved companion aged circa 14, Tilly. She developed an infection back in 2006 shortly after my fiance moved in with his female cat, Ally. Ally & Tilly were not friends ( they still aren't !) and after some stress Tilly began to pee in painful little spots aound the house, pitiful to watch. Of course we took her to the vets and over two years they got the condition barely under control, when in February this year I CAME ONTO THIS WONDERFUL SITE HERE and read about a lot of people having success using Apple Cider Vinegar, I continued using the vet quality food BUT stoped taking Tilly to the vets for her jab of chemicals ( Cartrophen I think it was called and it didn't really work ! ) well, she stopped peeing immediately and I was going to write up here about it, but I thought, No, I'll stay with it and give a proper write up- Tilly then began to exhibit very kitten - like behaviour, became much more playful and literally scampered about.....Remember !! She is 14 years old !! This was great, so I also began to put a few drops in Ally's food too ( she is about 12) and lo and behold she was the same...I can't thank the contributors enough, it's been **** seven months *** now, all I use is this; buy a normal botle of ACV in a glass bottle ( I am in England and use an Organic one it's about £0.89 a bottle - bargain !!) All you need is about a quarter or just less of that cap, and once it's under control just a few drops a day in their food. I hope you find this useful, and that it works for you, it has given Tilly a much better quality of life, please e mail me if you want to ask more about it.....does anyone know how the heck I stop her spraying the house now that she can pee properly though ??? LOL ;-) UniqueGirl

I was skeptical, as I am with most home remedies, but I figured I had nothing to lose. So I walked to the nearest store about a mile away and purchased a bottle of apple cider vinegar and a few cans of wet cat food. Returning home, I mixed a capful of the ACV with a few spoonfuls of wet cat food and gave it to Lizzie. She didn't seem to mind the taste, so the next day I have her another serving, this time with less of the wet cat food. She still liked it, so I started giving a capful of ACV with a spoonful of wet cat food.

It's been a week, and amazingly, I've noticed an improvement. She's returned to laying curled up, which she hasn't done in a long time, and she's moving around the house more. She's still urinating on the floor and other hard surfaces, but I don't expect that to stop right away, but there's no blood. She seems to be having no difficulties; no straining or crying.

I would definitely suggest trying ACV for a cat with cystitis; not only does it not hurt to try, but it actually seems to really work. I'm very happy and I'm going to continue giving her ACV for the foreseeable future.

I bought an organic non pasturised cider vinegar and it worked, even though it was clear. I added 1/2 teaspoon to some wet food, enough to cover the smell. The next day he seemed wiser to it so I took advantage of his OCD and mixed a teaspoon in a tablespoon of water and 'acciently' knocked it over near him. He licked it up with satisfaction that it was clean again.

My advice would be to keep giving a teaspoon a day until the cat can pee again, but - check the bladder is not hard. If it is they will need the vet as that would mean there is a blockage. Check the cat when s/he is lying down or standing. This is what the vet told me.

I expect to perform this indefinitely as I have two cats. I am feeding them seperately since the other does not have cystitis. I need to get them back on the same food.

Besides his obvious energy boost, his breath smells much better. Before it reeked.

Thank you very much for the information on this site. Its been priceless.