Feline Diet for the Urinary Tract

If your cat has been diagnosed with a urinary tract disease called feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD), you may have been told that you need to put your cat on a special diet. FLUTD is not just one condition, but a group of diseases that affects a cat's ability to urinate. Diet can often remedy some of these conditions.

  1. What is FLUTD?

    • Symptoms of feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) include straining to urinate, urinating frequently, bloody urine, urinating outside the litter box and constant licking at the genital area. It has several causes, including feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC), urinary stones (urolithiasis), urinary tract infection, urethral blockage and urinary tract cancer. Of these, FIC and urinary stones can be helped with a special diet.

    Diets for FIC

    • Veterinarians don't know the exact cause of feline idiopathic cystitis, but according to Cornell Veterinary University, the disease is similar in many aspects to interstitial cystitis in humans. Cats who suffer from FIC are often stressed and need to have stress reduced in their lives. That means clean litter boxes, lower environmental stresses, and enough litter boxes (at least one more than the number of cats.)
      Feed your cat the same food at the same times to help reduce the stress and reduce the possible recurrence of FIC. Some cats can benefit from urinary health diets produced by commercial pet food manufacturers. These haven't been shown to eliminate FIC, but they can help prevent urinary stones that may develop and further complicate the condition.

    Diets for Urinary Stones

    • Urinary stones or urolithiasis are painful crystals or stones in the bladder. Your veterinarian will need to diagnose the condition with an X-ray or ultrasound. Struvite and calcium oxalate stones are most common in cats. Struvite stones can be dissolved through a special diet your veterinarian will prescribe. If the stones are calcium oxalate or if the diet fails to dissolve the stones, then the only option is surgery.
      While most premium cat foods do this, since your cat now will be more likely to have stones again, she will need to be on a special urinary diet that helps prevent stones.