Apple Cider Vinegar for Cat UTIs: Safe, Natural Relief
The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Posted by Darlene (Woodland, Nc) on 06/13/2015 ★★★★★
My 18yr old cat displayed signs of a UTI last night when I got home from work and she is now symptom free. Her symptoms last night were: distressed meowing, squatting to pee every 2-3 minutes with little or no pee dribbling out, it was pink pee at first then went to dark red blood, unsettled and moving around (she wouldn't sit or lie still). She kept squatting over the air conditioner vents. You could tell she was very miserable.
Here is what I did:
1. Mixed equal portions of raw apple cider vinegar (with the mother) and filtered drinking water 50:50 mix. (All of our cats drink the same water we drink which is from a 10 stage filter we bought at whole foods for $100).
2. Used a 1.0mL syringe and gave her 1mL over a 15 minute period. I wouldn't give it to her all at once because it was strong! I gave about 1/3 then waited a few minutes. I gave her the second 1/3 then waited a few minutes. Then I gave her the last 1/3.
3. One hour later she was symptom free but I repeated the 1mL dose again to make sure she would be fine through the night.
When I woke the next morning she was cuddled next to me and purring like she always does in the mornings. She has not displayed ANY signs of illness since then. I went ahead and gave her another 1mL of the 50:50 mix and she threw up. I feel bad but I know now her body has enough apple cider vinegar in her system. I will switch her to the maintenance dose recommended in this article. I am planning to give this to her the rest of her life.
3 weeks ago I took her to the vet for the exact same symptoms and I didn't know what was going on (this was the first time it happened). I thought she was blocked and freaked out. The vet was able to gently push on her bladder and get her to urinate. That was a good sign because it meant she wasn't blocked. They analyzed her urine under a microscope and saw: bacteria, white blood cells, and red blood cells. The bacteria meant she had a UTI which explains the presence of the white blood cells. He gave her antibiotics Clavamox for 2 weeks. She took her last dose earlier this week. That's how I knew she had another UTI. She has no other medical history besides this.
The vet also explained that UTI's are common in older female cats because of their anatomy. Their genitals are close in proximity and if it doesn't stay clean they are prone to UTI's. If they poop and are not able to clean themselves well the bacteria can travel through the urethra and cause their UTI. It's the same for elderly women. If they wipe the wrong way such as back to front they are asking for a UTI. The bacteria travels. Just like in elderly women, elderly cats have a hard time moving as they get older and it becomes more difficult for them to keep the proper hygiene. To help with this I have bought 7th generation baby wipes (fragrance free) and I wipe her once per day.
On another note, I am switching her to a raw food diet. I have read so many good things about raw food and my boyfriend and I have decided to go with Nature's Variety - Instinct Chicken Formula. It's better to avoid giving fish to cats because it's hard for their kidneys to process it especially if they have kidney problems. Fish is not their natural diet.
Thank you so much for this site! I hope my feedback helps others.
Posted by Locabella (Los Angeles, Ca) on 06/03/2015 ★★★★★
Apple cider vinegar helped/possibly cured my cat! Homeopathic solutions are always a priority for me. So I'm constantly searching the web for cures to ailments that constantly seem to creep up, especially for my 6yr old, female cat, Loca. Though she drinks her water, and eats primarily wet food, with a small scoop of dry when I'm away, it seems Loca continues to get UTI's and/or crystals? After several trips to different vets, and prescriptions for antibiotocs that never seemed to have lasting effects, I gave up, and decided to seek my own remedy. Knowing the benefits that humans have from using apple cider vinegar (acv) with "the mother, " I decided to research it's affects on cats. Hello Earthclinic! I read how many pet parents used Apple Cider Vinegar to help their cats with UTI'S, and decided to try it. It worked!
Before acv, Loca was urinating on herself, and had crystals in her urine. After giving her half a capful of acv, with 2 tsp of water, mixed into wet food, for a week, Loca began to get better! No more crystals, no more wetting herself, and even her belly seemed to start shrinking! It sounds crazy, but it's true! She's even playing more!
I'm so happy to have discovered this site, and to have had such great results from something natural and affordable. Thank you all! I hope other pet parents can have the same positive results.
I loved the comment about the olive oil. One of my two cats will lick coconut oil off the floor! The other one has to be captured and enough put on his paws to make the process worth while. Maybe I will try olive oil on that guy. he really needs something internally to help with his weight problem, thus needs the coconut oil more than the skinny one - who, do to early life complications, needs no internal incentive to get rid of food. Just the opposite problem!
Once the UTI is under control, it's a good idea to continue putting ACV in your cat's food every day to prevent recurring UTI's. I did this with one of my cats and she has not had another one since.
Posted by Bryan (Miamisburg, OH) on 02/10/2015 ★★★★★
My cat stopped using box and was meowing a lot, started trying to pee different places. He was able to, but it was bloody, got on internet and found this site, so we have started the ACV, definitely use the ratio 1/4 acv mixed with water, then mix in their wet food. I put a teaspoon mixed in with his food he didn't touch it, did the 1/4 acv and water and food and he ate it all. I have a 6 year old Bengal male. Within five minutes of him eating his food he used his box, will write another post in a day or two with an update.
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
Posted by Wendy D (South Jersey, US) on 02/06/2015
I've been reading these posts on the UTI for my 6 year old female cat I adopted from the shelter 3 weeks ago. Apparently she had this for awhile and she still is on medicine from the vet. The first week, she was given an antibiotic shot, pain meds in her mouth which did not go well at all and then they injected fluid in her back to get it to absorb and flush out her kidneys etc. Saw improvement but within a week, same thing again. Back to the vet.... now they gave her 21 days of pills that I break open and add to her food. So, we have about 7 left. Well, fine for awhile and back to this constant litter box, litter flying all over even with a dome top and staying in the box sometimes 20 minutes. Started to see an improvement yesterday and actually bought the ACV with mother last night. Issue.... the smell is something she won't tolerate. Tried missing with food, putting her paw in the water mixture so she would lick, wetted her mouth and paws on the top .......trying anything and something licked is better than nothing. But anyone have a suggestion on this smell to disguise it????
Posted by Ilse (Chilliwack, Canada) on 02/05/2015 ★★★★★
Just wanted to Thank everyone for all the info. on apple cider vinegar for treating cat urinary tract problems.
My beautiful 10 year old peach calico, Misha, is sitting in my lap purring while I write this. Last week I thought I was going to lose her as I did two of my other cats due to uti. Luckily I found this site and decided to try the ACV treatment. I did change the dosage as when I tried to give her the ratio that was suggested she kept spitting it up.
So I decided to try the recipe I have used myself for arthritis: which is : 1 tsp of honey dissolved in 1 cup of warm (not hot!!! ) water and then add 1 tbsp of Apple cider vinegar and mix well. I started by giving her the first dose of 1cc with a syringe that evening. She did not spit this up... and since then I've given here 1cc 3 times daily. By the next evening she had used her litter box successfully and was resting relatively comfortably in her bed. Couldn't believe it!!!! So sorry that I didn't know about this when my other poor kitties needed help.
Anyway...a week has passed and today Misha chased her ball around the kitchen for the first time .She curled up with us to watch TV after supper. She is eating well and "talks" to us as she used to. She also purrs again!!!! I urge anyone who runs into this problem to at least give it a try. For us and Misha it was soooo worth it. Thanks again to everyone!!!
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
If your cat is still in pain after the UTI has cleared then there may be other issues at hand, such as crystals or stones. ACV can help in the prevention of crystals and stones, but I urge you to get to the bottom of it with a proper diagnosis to help avoid your kitty from further suffering.
My cat had blockage, took him to emerg vet, they unblocked... Then he was in vet hospital for 4 days, iv, etc... Ph normal, peeing, eatting, on vet urinary SO wet and dry food... But 3 weeks later still in pain, tail low, arching back legs stiff. Was on anti inflammatory meds... But can only give 4 days straight.... 7 days off. Sti peeing, eatting.. But should he still be in pain 3 weeks later after infection has cleared? Vet says its normal healing from blockage, stretched bladder, catheter, uti. I'm going to call them agaun tomorrow as this seems a legnthy time for him to still hurt. Can anyone share experiences? Feel free to email me. Vet told me no acv. Only strict vet food diet as he had another urine test recently.... All normal.... No more uti.
Posted by Charlie (Berkeley, Ca) on 01/04/2015 ★★★★★
I was able to avoid that 2700$ procedure and tests the vet wanted to do to my cat for urinary tract infection. I took him to the vet because he was in so much pain and when I went there they said there's a very big chance will be blocked again and us to be back again the next day and it would be more expensive if I would only choose to drain and unblock him without knowing the cause. I took my chance. I got the cheapest they quoted me just to relieve my cat from so much pain and from dying, I had to take him home same night because we weren't spending the thousands confine him.
I immediately started the organic apple cider vinegar on his food and gave him some on the syringe which I diluted in water. I was giving him distilled water too through the syringe whenever I can lots of water I tell you. Stopped the dry food and got the special diet for urinary problems. I did all these and today 4th day he woke me up with a lot of kisses on my face :) he has improved a lot in peeing. I read that crystals don't survive in acid and if you're afraid to give Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon or whatever do with the distilled water to make his urine less concentrated.
Posted by Natrum (New Jersey, USA) on 01/01/2015 ★★★★★
Hi, just wanted to share how I get the apple cider vinegar into my cat to treat a UTI. From the Amish market here I get raw pet food. It is ground chicken/turkey maybe rabbit. My cat loves it, so I put @ 1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar in a bowl and add 1/4 cup raw food, mix well and he takes it without problem. Sometimes I add a small bit of water. I hope this is helpful.
Posted by Steve C (Vancouver, Bc) on 12/28/2014 ★★★★★
Apple cider vinegar is a good remedy but is slow acting as all it does is make the urinary tract more acidic to which bacteria have less of a chance surviving but it does not kill bacteria so this will be a good maintainer of a healthy tract but will just lessen a full blown u.t.i. A better choice is to totally keep the cat off dry food for 10-14 days and feed them a low ash premium grain free wet food with 250 mg of cranberry supplement mixed into it (human grade is cheaper and just fine); it is also advisable to add a little extra water to the food so kitty will get more fluids which helps flush the tract. After 2 weeks, you can give the cranberry once or twice a week as a maintainer. It is vital to keep them off the kibble though, as it absorbs fluid in the gut and exits via the poop and not the pee... hope this helps :-]
Posted by Snflwr0918 (Central, Ct) on 12/26/2014 ★★★★★
So my 8 year old Male cat, Fuzzy came down with ANOTHER UT Blockage. I just spent $2400 at the vet in October 2014 for him to spend a few days there getting unblocked and having his bladder flushed. I'm still paying that bill so I did not want to take him back for another $2400 bill. I called around to some other local vets but ultimately I decided to try ACV and give that a few days, if that didn't work then I would have no choice but to take him back to the vet since losing my Fuzzy is NOT an option. I did a 3 teaspoons of ACV to 1 teaspoon of water mixed and administered that to him every hour the first few days. I know it's a strong mix but I wanted to flood his system and start wiping out the crystals ASAP. Sometimes he would vomit it back up right after in which case I would wait about 10 minutes and do it again. So I noticed his UT issues start on Sunday 12/20 and as of today 12/26 he is better but not totally 100% yet. I'm still giving him ACV (more diluted) multiple times daily. He's moving around more than he was, he's drinking water on his own, eating a little bit and he's now peeing in trickles. All in all I would say that yes, ACV does work but don't expect to see results overnight like you would with the vet.
Hello Jess --- I have several cats and have fed all my cats, also in the past, nutritional Flaked Yeast from the health food store.
This is supplementation with all the B vits good for people as well. All cats have liked it and I give them ACV daily without so much as a meow. I also give DE which some don't like but with a teasp. full of the Nutritional Yeast - no problem.
I even heard that some cats will not touch their food if it does not show the yellow stuff.
I usually buy fish oil capsules for all my pets, but when it comes to my cats they are very picky, I have to snip off the tip of a fish oil capsule and squeeze the oil on or into the cats food, generally that covers the strong smell of the vinegar .Good luck.
Well, I found some liver in my freezer and some organic cornsilk tincture in my cabinet, which is good for people UTI, so I am hoping it will work for her. I mixed 1/4 t. cornsilk tincture with about 1 1/2 T. raw liver. She liked it. I will keep it up and see if it works. Jess
I have an 8 year old cat that has symptoms of a UTI. I would like to get her to take some ACV but need ideas on getting her to take it.
She is an outdoor cat and drinks from a spring, so I can't put it in her water. She does come for meals and usually hangs out on the porch, so I can put it in food. I tried 1/4 t. ACV in 1/4 can of tuna but she wouldn't touch it. I can't bring her in because she has always lived outside. She flips out if I bring her in. She is tame, but rather private.
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
In my experience, most cats with a UTI let you know about it in a very obvious way. They may meow and squat right in front of you while looking you in the eye. They void frequently with very small amounts of output. If you use clumping litter you will see many small tiny balls in the box.
If this were my cat I would try several things.
First, for the UTI, try raw, unpasteurized unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar - this will look cloudy and the label will indicate it has a live culture or 'mother' in it. Take 1/4 cup of the ACV and dilute with 1/2 cup of filtered water. [This is the easy part.] Next you need to apply the diluted ACV to your cat; I find dipping the paws and saturating them so they are dripping wet works best, however some apply it to other areas that the cat can then lick off. You cannot over dose on this, so I opt for getting the paws sopping wet with the solution so I know for sure that the cat will ingest some as she licks herself dry. Do the ADV/wet paw routine 2 to 3 times a day for a week and monitor the litter box to see if the remedy is working.
Next, ditch the grocery store kitty chow. Read all labels; you do not want to see any grain or corn in your cat's diet; you do not want to see unnamed protein sources, ie 'animal protien meal' as opposed to 'chicken meal'. Ideally you would feed your cat a wet canned diet - this to get adequate liquids in her to aid in flushing the UTI out of her bladder - so choose only a top quality canned diet, as the grocery store brands are loaded with grain, crappy unnamed protein sources, sugar and dyes. You may need to find a quality diet in a specialty pet food store; if you use a measure cup and give your kitty meals [as opposed to filling the bowl once a day and letting her free feed] that while seeming more expensive the diet is economical as well as healthier.
Posted by Anne_in_florida (Melbourne, Florida, Us) on 03/30/2013 ★★★★★
My kitty Sasha was acting funny and licking her private parts today as well. When I did a search about it, UTI was the result.
So I thought oh no, its Saturday and we cant afford an expensive vet visit so I did another search and found this forum. I gave Sasha 2 syringes of the ACV and water and she already stopped licking her private parts. I'm going to continue the suggestions.
Posted by Missraven (Pittsburgh, Pa) on 02/01/2013 ★★★★★
I have a 12 year old cat that recently had a very bad uti and had to be hospitalized for 10 days. The antibiotic worked a little bit, but I don't think cleared the problem completely. When I got him home, he continued to urinate outside his litter box (which is what he was doing to initiate the vet visit) I started a search online to see what I could try naturally for him and found the ACV remedy. I started out by first switching him to all wet food- a uti blend, I used 1/2 tsp of organic ACV for one can of cat food. I also placed about 1/4 tsp into his water. I seriously didn't think he would touch it because he is extremely finicky. He proved me wrong there and gobbled it right up. BUT he still continued to urinate outside the littler box. I then thought maybe he is associating the pain with that specific litter box- so I went out and got a brand new box, and also another brand of cat litter, not clay- it is the recycled newspaper kind, like pellets. I am SO happy to say that after I did this, he started to use his littler box again- no problems. I truly believe the ACV mended his bladder fully and the change of litter box and litter disassociated the pain from his mind. Try both these steps. I was at my wit's end since he was peeing on my daughter's clothes constantly. ACV worked!!
Hi there, I am grateful to have found this because it helped my cat. Wednesday night I saw his litter box and the top of his urine was all crystals. Did some research, found this thread and went to the grocery store for apple cider vinegar. I was hesitant to administer it to him with a syringe but knowing the time frame of serious illness, I went ahead.
Note: My cat frothed white foam at the mouth for a minute right after he swallowed about 1/2 teaspoon of acv, no mix, just straight. I reccommed adding it to the food, water and the cats fur so they can lick it off and ingest it.
I added some to his Purina dry food and his water dish too. About a teaspoon between both.
I've been giving him Apple Cider Vinegar about 3 times a day. Wednesday, Thursday he did not urinate at all, today, Friday, he peed for about 4 minutes with NO crystals! There was a white foam on top of the urine which did not concern me, no crystals there.
I bought some canned tuna in water, and am mixing the Apple Cider Vinegar in with that. I also added a concentrated cranberry pill to his water (it disolves).
I gave him 3 syringes of water last night and about 3 minutes later he had a bowel movement that looked like 3 days worth.
This stuff works and it works fast so if you're in need of another opinion, and are skeptical like I was, it just works.
My cat is male about 5 years old and goes outdoors on a regular basis. He's feeling much better right now and I am changing his food from Purina to something else, not sure what yet, but not Iams.
Posted by Kerrie (Glace Bay, Nova Scotia) on 02/08/2012 ★★★★★
I have a male kitty, noticed he couldn't pee for about a day, searched the reasons why and panicked when I found out what could be causing it and called my vet.
Explained he was trying to pee only a bit came out.. the first thing he said was *Ok, this can cost 4 to 5 hundred dollars* the very first thing, didn't ask any questions at all! Said he was blocked and had to be drained.
Did a search and found you guys!!! :D It was a Saturday later in the evening everything was closed. Luckily my sis had some ACV she uses for heartburn.. Gave him some in his food and wiped some on his scruff and paws.. Ta-da.. Peeing kitty :)
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