Acidic Diet for Cats With Bladder Stones

Bladder stones, also called uroliths, are stones in the urinary bladder and urinary tract of cats. Formed around crystallized minerals in the cat's urine, uroliths that collect in the bladder can damage the bladder lining, resulting in infections and blood in the urine. Cats with struvite stones, the most common feline urinary crystal, typically have concentrated urine with a too high alkaline content and present with symptoms of urinary tract infection. Forcing the urine to be more acidic through a diet change can often dissolve the stones without surgery.

  1. Acidic Diet

    • A veterinary prescription diet contains low levels of magnesium and phosphorus to increase acid content of the cat's urine and hopefully dissolve struvites. The food has a high caloric density causing the cat to eat less and excrete fewer of these needed minerals in the feces. Higher sodium levels increase the animal's urine output allowing the cat to rid its urinary tract of crystals and the bacteria that causes urinary tract disease.

      The affected cat needs periodic veterinary monitoring during the time it is on the diet. Vets will normally run laboratory tests on the animal's urine checking for bacteria and new crystal formation. They may also take abdominal radiographs to look for reduction and dissolution of the bladder stones.

      Veterinarians do not recommend feeding this diet longer than two to three months because the animal's potassium levels, acid-base balance and renal function can become compromised because of its high salt content. Once the struvite stones have been dissolved, the cat can be fed a prescription food that will normalize its urine and prevent recurring infections and further stone formation. The animal can go back on the acidic diet if the urinary tract infection or bladder stones come back.

      The cat will recover faster if it is fed canned food instead of dry. The higher water content in canned food promotes urination and helps in preventing dehydration, particularly in older animals. Vets will recommend gradually transitioning from the old to the new food over a period of a week to avoid stomach problems. How much of the food the cat should get at mealtime depends on the animal's weight, temperament, levels of exercise and stress factors and will need to be determined by the veterinarian.

      This acidic diet is contraindicated for kittens and pregnant or nursing mothers. Animals with kidney disease, congestive heart failure and high blood pressure should not eat this food because of the high salt content. It is also not recommended for cats with other kinds of bladder stones as the acidity promotes formation of those stones.