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You may not know this, but if your cat is prone to feline urinary tract infection, he may have urinary crystals in cats.  Feline urinary crystals are a major cause of cat urinary problems.  Here are three natural ways you can prevent these crystals from forming in the first place.

Your Cat’s Diet Is Very Important

Most people who are owned by felines are very conscientious these days about feeding their cats a diet low in magnesium.Struvite stones in cats were quite common in the 1970’s and 80’s.  It was found that if a cat was fed a diet high in magnesium, he was more prone to developing mineral crystals in his bladder, which often led to a feline urinary tract infection.  Cat food manufacturers changed their formulas, and everyone thought the problem was solved.

But do you realize that if your cat is fed only dry food, he may be chronically dehydrated?  Since kidney failure is the leading cause of death in older cats, it makes sense to put these two things together.

Dry cat food has a very low moisture level, usually under 10%.  This is great if your only concern is to keep mold from growing on it, but if you’re worried about the amount of water your cat is taking in, it’s not so good. 

Cats normally don’t seem to drink a lot of water.  This is because a cat in the wild gets most of his water from the prey he eats.  Did you know a mouse is 98% water?  Canned cat food has a moisture level of around 75%.To increase the moisture level even more, you can add a little water to it.

Of course, your cat should always have plenty of clean, fresh water to drink at all times.

Stress Causes Feline Urinary Crystals

Your kitty is a creature of habit.  They really don’t like change at all.Your kitty may become stressed if you move, or add a new pet or new baby to your home, or even take him to the vet.

A stressed cat can develop many different types of health problems, including urinary crystals in cats.Your stressed cat needs extra love, reassurance, and attention from you.

Natural Remedies For Pets Can Prevent Cat Urinary Problems

Many cat owners use herbs and homeopathic remedies to treat their own ailments, so it’s only natural that there would be rising interest in natural remedies for pets. 

People have treated their bladder infections for centuries with barberry and uva ursi.  Homeopathic remedies used for urinary tract infections in people include Cantharis and Staphysagria.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could give these safe, effective remedies to your kitty to support bladder health and prevent inflammation from urinary crystals in cats?  Well, now you can. 

There’s a remedy available now that combines all four of these traditional remedies for urinary problems.  This product has been specially formulated for pets, which is a very important safety consideration.  It’s made by a long-established company that has a sterling reputation for producing only the highest quality natural remedies for pets. 

So there you have it; three natural ways to prevent feline urinary crystals and support your cat’s bladder health.

If you’re like me, you probably haven’t thought too much about urinary crystals in cats.  But if you have a cat who’s prone to cat urinary problems, you need to know more about cat bladder crystals.

Why Are Feline Urinary Crystals Important?

Even though these crystals are hard to see without a microscope, they have sharp edges which rub against the bladder walls, causing your cat’s bladder to become inflamed and irritated.  This inflammation causes your kitty to show signs of a feline bladder infection.

Because a male cat has a long narrow urethra, it can easily become plugged if large numbers of feline urinary crystals are present.  This is a veterinary emergency, as a cat that can’t pass urine will fall victim to a fatal case of uremic poisoning within a couple of days.  Since it’s hard for an owner to tell if the cat is blocked or not, it’s important to have your cat examined by the vet if he has a feline urinary tract infection.

Out of the many different types of urinary crystals, struvite and calcium oxalate are the types that are most common.

Struvite Crystals In Cats

Struvite crystals, which contain magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate, used to be very common in cats.  This problem was thought to be a result of a diet with high levels of magnesium.  Cat food manufacturers responded by producing diets lower in magnesium.  Cats eating this food also produce more acidic urine. This helps to prevent the formation of struvite crystals, which are still the most common type of crystal that causes feline urinary blockage.

Although this dietary change helped to lower the incidence of struvite crystals in cats, now vets are seeing calcium oxalate crystals more often.   

Why Do Some Cats Get Calcium Oxalate Crystals Instead?

Certain breeds of cats seem to have a genetic predisposition to developing calcium oxalate crystals if they’re fed a diet low in magnesium.  This problem is often seen in Himalayans.  It’s ironic that if you feed these cats a diet to prevent struvite stones, you’ll encourage the formation of calcium oxalate crystals instead.  

This is the reason you should always have a urinalysis done so that the crystals present can be identified.  You don’t want to feed your cat a diet that will encourage his body to form feline urinary crystals.

Can Urinary Crystals In Cats Be Prevented?

Cat owners can do several things to prevent their felines from developing cat urinary problems.  The first is to feed your cat a high-quality canned food.  People don’t realize that cats are meant to get most of their water from their food, which is why cats don’t seem to drink much water.  

Canned food has a moisture level that’s much closer to what your cat would eat in the wild.  You can also add a little water to the canned food to increase the moisture even more.It’s essential that your cat always have access to plenty of clean, fresh water.

You may want to give your cat one of the many natural remedies for pets that are available now.You can lower your cat’s risk of developing a feline bladder infection by giving a remedy that supports bladder health.In order to find a remedy that’s safe enough to give your kitty every day, you’ll want to find one that been specially formulated for pets.

Make no mistake about it, if your cat has already had a feline urinary tract infection, you can’t afford to be ignorant about urinary crystals in cats.  Take steps now to protect your cat’s health.

cat bladder infection symptoms

Has your cat ever been blindsided by a feline bladder infection?  Don’t let this happen to your kitty.Discover how to protect your feline friend from bladder infection in cats.

Your Cat’s Urinary Tract

The kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra make up your cat’s urinary tract.  The kidneys are constantly filtering waste products out of your cat’s blood.  These waste products are carried out of the kidneys into the bladder by the ureters, tubes that run between your cat’s kidneys and his bladder.

The bladder is a muscular little bag that holds the urine until it leaves the body.  The urine passes out of the body through the urethra.

This system usually works with no problems, but sometimes trouble arises in the form of a bladder infection.

Cat Bladder Infection Symptoms

Your cat’s bladder is a sterile environment that, under normal conditions, doesn’t have any bacteria in it.  However, if bacteria find a way in, they can cause a bladder infection in your cat.

• Symptoms of a feline bladder infection include:
• Urinating outside the litter box
• Straining to urinate or having trouble passing urine
• Crying out in pain when trying to urinate
• Bloody urine
• Drinking a lot of water

Inflammation in the bladder is what causes these symptoms, not the infection itself.It’s possible for your cat to have a bladder infection with no inflammation if he’s being given anti-inflamatory drugs like cortisone.

Be aware that if your cat can’t urinate at all, this is a blockage, which is a veterinary emergency.  Get your cat to the vet as soon as possible.

How Your Vet Treats Cat Bladder Infection

Your vet will probably prescribe antibiotics to clear up the infection.  Tests ordered may include a urinalysis to check for white blood cells and crystals in the urine, and a urine culture to identify which bacteria is causing the problem.  The results of the urine culture can help determine which is the best antibiotic to use.

Tips For Preventing Cat Urinary Problems

There are several ways to prevent your cat from getting a bladder infection in the first place. 

First, try to feed your cat canned food.  A cat that eats only dry food is more prone to a bladder infection.  Cats are meant to get most of their water from their food, and moisture levels are much too low in dry cat food.

Second, your cat must have access to lots of pure, clean water at all times.Cats are more susceptible to contaminants in their drinking water, so giving him filtered water to drink is a good idea.

Natural Remedies For Pets Can Prevent Cat Bladder Infection

People have been using herbal and homeopathic remedies for bladder problems for centuries.The question many cat owners want answered is, “Are these remedies available for cats?”. 

The answer is yes.Find a remedy that has been produced especially for companion animals, not humans.  The remedy should include the herbs uva ursi and barberry, along with the homeopathic remedies Cantharis and Staphysagris.  These ingredients have a proven track record for treating bladder problems.

You’ll also want to find a remedy that’s safe enough to give your cat every day to prevent cat urinary problems.  It needs to be easy to administer, too.If you have to fight your cat every day to get a pill into him, you won’t use the remedy for long.  Be sure you purchase your remedies only from a company with a good reputation that stands behind its products.

Now it’s time for you to put these tips into action so your cat won’t suffer from feline bladder infection.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health.  Here you can discover how herbal and homeopathic remedies can help prevent and treat feline bladder infection.  Find the best place to buy these remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com

If you’ve ever had any experience with a cat bladder stone, you want to know why this happened to your cat and how to prevent it from happening in the future.  By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll have a better understanding of bladder stones in cats.

Why Do Bladder Stones In Cats Happen?

Researchers have several theories on this.One that most agree on is that stones are formed when mineral levels in the urine get too high.  This can be due to a bladder infection or from his diet.  When the mineral levels get too high, crystals form.  These crystals grow and form stones in your cat’s bladder.  These stones can be very small, about the size of a grain of sand, or they can grow to the size of a small pebble.

A stone can block your cat’s urethra or one of his ureters, the tube that goes from his kidney to his bladder, making it very difficult for him to pass urine. 

Tips For Preventing Bladder Stones In Cats

The most important thing you can do is to start feeding your cat a high quality canned food.  Cats who eat dry food exclusively are more prone to developing bladder stones because they are usually chronically dehydrated.  Cats are made to get most of their water from their prey.  A mouse is over 90% water, so a cat in its natural environment doesn’t need to drink as much water.

Most canned foods have a moisture level of about 78%.  You can see that feeding your cat canned food will help prevent him from becoming dehydrated.Dehydration is not good for cats, as it causes the urine to be more concentrated, which can lead to bladder stones.

You need to provide plenty of fresh, clean water for your kitty.  It’s best to give him filtered water to be sure it’s pure.  A cat that drinks plenty of water will have dilute urine, which is helpful in preventing bladder stones.

Some cat owners give their cats a supplement containing cranberry.An herbal remedy that prevents the formation of bladder stones, cranberry works by making your cat’s urine more acidic.  It also helps to prevent cat bladder infections, too.

Herbal Pet Remedies Can Help Prevent Cat Urinary Problems

People have been using herbal remedies like uva ursi and barberry to treat and prevent urinary problems for centuries.Interest in homeopathic remedies is on the rise too. 

Cat owners are wondering if herbal pet remedies can help their pets.  The answer is yes.  The advantages of these remedies is that not only are they safe and effective, but they’re inexpensive, and don’t have any side effects.

However, it’s extremely important to buy products that are formulated especially for animals.  You’ll want to purchase herbal pet remedies only from reputable companies that stand behind their products.

Natural remedies for cat urinary problems can help treat and prevent the problem of cat bladder stones.  This is an easy way to keep your kitty healthy.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health.  Discover how herbal and homeopathic remedies can help treat cat bladder stones, and find the best place to buy these remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com

Has this ever happened to you?  You find your cat in his litter box, straining to urinate, crying out in pain.  He can’t seem to pass any urine.When you take your buddy to the vet, you find out that cat bladder stones are the reason for your cat’s urinary problem. 

Bladder Stones In Cats

A bladder stone, or urolith, is made up from minerals present in your cat’s urine.  These minerals sometimes form crystals that stick together to form a stone in your cat’s bladder.The stones can range in size from a grain of sand to a piece of pea gravel. 

Your feline friend may have only one stone, or he could have several dozen. 

Why do the minerals form crystals?  There are several theories.  Your cat’s urine may be high in minerals due to his diet, or it may be because he has an infection in his bladder.

Bladder stones usually take several months to form, but they can grow in just a couple of weeks.

Symptoms Of Cat Urinary Problems

If your cat suddenly starts urinating in places other than his litter box, this can indicate that he’s having a urinary problem.You may observe him licking his bottom more often than he normally does. 

Blood in the urine is another symptom to watch for.  It can sometimes be hard to see this in cats as they usually go in the litter box.  But if he’s urinating outside his box, you may see it.

If your cat is straining to urinate, or can’t pass any urine, this indicates a blockage.  A urinary blockage is a veterinary emergency, and you need to get your cat to the vet as soon as possible.

Treatment For Cat Bladder Stones

Your vet will probably take some x-rays or do an ultrasound to verify the presence of bladder stones.  Once they are diagnosed, you vet will probably outline two treatment options.

Removing the bladder stones by surgery may be a suggested treatment.The fastest way to get rid of a blockage is to do an operation. 

The second is to try to dissolve the stones with a special diet.Unless the stones are causing blockages, this can be a good treatment option for most cats.  However, it may not work well for all felines.  The major reason is that it’s a slower treatment.  It can take several weeks or months for the stones to dissolve.  During this time your cat will still be passing bloody urine, and may still be straining to urinate.

Diet therapy doesn’t work with all stones.  It’s helpful if the cat passes a stone so that you vet can analyze it to see what it’s made of.  Some types of stones can’t be dissolved.

Some cats won’t eat the special diet food.Unfortunately, if your kitty won’t eat it, it won’t do him any good.

Are Herbal Pet Remedies The Answer To Cat Bladder Stones?

Many cat owners are turning to herbal pet remedies to help solve cat urinary problems.  These herbal and homeopathic remedies have been used by people across the world for centuries.  These remedies work to solve the underlying problem, instead of just treating the symptoms. 

It’s very important to buy these herbal pet remedies only from reputable companies that specialize in producing them.  Do your homework and be sure that the company stands behind its products.  You want to be sure that you find remedies especially formulated for pets.

These natural remedies are inexpensive and readily available.  They have stood the test of time, and there are no side effects to worry about. 

Now that you have this information, you can take action to prevent cat urinary problems.

Darlene Norris has combined her long-time interest in natural healing with her experience working at a vet clinic to bring you her new website, Natural Pet Urinary Health.  Discover how herbal and homeopathic remedies can help treat cat bladder stones, and find the best place to buy these remedies at http://naturalpeturinaryhealth.com