Feline Urinary Infection Prevention In Aging Pets

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Feline urinary infection prevention should be a concern for all pet parents. This is especially true for pet parents with aging pets feline. For those of us in this category feline urinary infection prevention takes on a whole new level of importance due to the heightened level of vulnerability and the possibility of quality of life destruction.

Aging felines are often fighting health battles on a number of different fronts. For example some have mobility problems, others have lost varying degrees of kidney and/or liver function, most have immune systems which are withering away with time, and others have diseases such as diabetes which make the possibility of contracting a bacterial infection of the urinary tract a very realistic possibility.

One recently released pet study concluded that 60 percent of all felines over the age of 10 will contract a bacterial infection of the urinary tract and for over half of those the condition will become chronic.

The key to feline urinary infection prevention in aging pets is not complicated but requires a substantial commitment of time and effort from pets owners. For me, and most cat owners I know, this is a small price to pay for the years of loyal companionship our felines have given us and hopefully by taking steps to prevent an infection of the urinary tract we will be assuring that there will be many more quality years to come.

It is important to point out that sometimes there are contributing factors that are out of our control. For example urinary tract trauma, urinary tract cancer, failing kidneys, or a tired and worn out bladder that no longer empties as it should. The list of possibilities is quite long but even if your feline is facing one or more of these serious challenges you should still implement feline urinary tract prevention steps.

All bacteria that responsible for causing a feline urinary tract infection are opportunistic. They will tend to pick on the weak or invade when your felines defenses are down.

One great example of this is when not enough water is consumed. The most important measure in preventing urinary tract infections in cats is to make sure the cats drinks plenty of purified water. It is a matter of water in and water out. The bottom line is that the more your cat urinates the more bacteria will be flushed out through the urethra and the less chance of pesky bacteria making itself at home. Additionally, there are couple of things you can do to make it more difficult for the invading bacterial to cling to bladder wall or urethra. The first would be to add either cranberry, blueberry, or raspberry juice to their water the second would be to consider one of the highly regarded herbal or homeopathic natural urinary tract tonics.

*Another crucial tip is not to neglect litter boxes, or try to get away with too few litter boxes. Most veterinarians suggest that you should have one litter box for each cat, plus one. Litter boxes are a favorite breeding place for bacteria and if not kept clean present a real risk for aging animals.

*And lastly your pets diet needs to be at least 60 percent wet food. Wet food puts moisture back into their system whereas dry food pulls it out. If you finicky feline insists on dry food consider moistening it with water or chicken broth. You might also consider foods specially formulated for aging cats that are pH neutral (between 6.0 and 6.5).

Other tips for preventing feline urinary infection in aging cats would be to reduce stress levels, make sure litter boxes are easily accessible, avoid seafood flavored foods, avoiding feeding table scraps, set aside five minutes each day for exercise and play, and regular veterinarian visits complete with a urine analysis to identify any health problems earlier rather than later.

Robert D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic consumer advocate for natural pet health and natural living with over 10 years experience in the field. To learn more about pet health along with information about safe and effective herbal and homeopathic remedies for pet urinary tract health Click Here

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