What do you think of this advice re: cat urinary tract problems. See link.

[Paper Roses]

My kitty is not sick but she seems to be having same strange events. Visits the litter box, does not do much.Sits with a strange posture, walks around and now-and-then cries with no real reason that I can see.
Her nose is cold and wet, she eats her food and poops every day or two. She does have to be fed Miralax every 2 days(1/4 tsp) because she gets constipated.

I have been feeding her Fancy Feast Chicken with garden greens. It is all she will eat for wet food. I've tried everything and this is all she will eat.

As a supplement, I have been giving her Purina Complete dry kibble, about a teaspoon every AM and PM in addition to her wet food. I wonder if she is having some kind of problem relating to the dry food.

It may seem selfish of me to ask advice but, to walk in the door of the Vets office costs me about $125.00 or more and I have very limited funds(Social Security only).

She no longer plays with her kitty toys and seems to be slightly lethargic. I don't know how old she is because I adopted her from a shelter about 6 years ago and they did not know how old she was, Just another wonderful abandoned shelter kitty.
I want to do what is right and wonder if the link is good info and if I should eliminate the dry food. I don't even know what I would tell the Vet except that she is not what she used to be.

Your thoughts please.
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

[shenmue]

1. Have you tried clean-wipes?

Or vitamins in the water?

Maybe she just caught a little virus or something.

Hope kitty is okay very soon.

[iscooterliberally]

2. I have 5 cats. The oldest just turned 20 this month.

I did have one male cat about 10 years ago that had a blocked urinary tract. It required surgery for the treatment plan. He got through it and lived to be about 8 years old. He had a lot of other health problems and heart failure finally did him in. I don't know that I agree with the advice on the link. My cats eat Purina Naturals dry kibble. They do get wet food from time to time as a treat, but they all really love the Purina Naturals. I have read that cats came from the deserts originally. My cats drink water like crazy. I have one that's about 4 and came from a feral cat colony and she drinks at least a quart a day on her own. It sounds to me like your kitty needs to get to a vet. If you can borrow money from family or friends, you should do that. You might want to look for a free clinic in your area, or maybe try the Humane Society. When I lived in Boston there was a clinic that operated on donations, and handed out free medications. I moved back to South Florida and there are some vets that will help folks on a fixed income. I hope that your kitty gets better soon. Good luck to you!

[LiberalEsto]

3. Does any of the cat food contain corn?

If it does, try switching to a food that does not include corn.

Second, offer your cat some plain yogurt. This helped my cats when they had UT problems. It was suggested by a veterinarian.

Good luck!

[okasha]

4. This sounds like a UTI.

If you can manage a doctor visit, please take her. A UTI needs antibiotics.

Years ago, I had a tomkitty who blocked repeatedly. A new vet unplugged him and suggested giving him only distilled water. He never blocked again.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I completely disagree with the article at the link.

I have had several cats through the years, and every one of them was fed a mostly dry food diet, with canned only as a treat about once a week. My longest living cat was 18. Another was 17. I had those cats almost all of their lives.

I have two cats now, neither of them will even eat wet food. They do drink a lot of water, and I make sure to keep water very fresh.

There are several reasons for the problem you are seeing, but the most common one would be a urinary tract infection, and you really do need to go to the vet to get that resolved. She is sick.

One of my cats had a bad urinary infection when I found her, and it was caused by crystals forming in her bladder. She is on a special prescription diet (dry food), and after antibiotics and a change to this diet, she is now doing fine. She would not be ok without this diet to keep the crystals from forming. Without lab work, we would not have known about the infection or the crystals. It was important.

Please go to the vet.

[LiberalElite]

6. If kitty is getting

lethargic I think whatever's wrong with her is getting worse. I have a cat in kidney failure and the vet told me to stop feeding dry food. Please take her to the vet and tell them what you told us.

P.S. For a way to pay the bill, there is Care Credit which is a provides no-interest payment plans. Not all vets participate though.
It can also be used for medical and dental bills. http://www.carecredit.com/

[Paper Roses]

7. Kitty is now at the Vet for a full check-up.

I hope they find something easy to treat. I told them what I know and hope they will be able to find her problem.
I was asked to sign the estimate for $215.00 for the check-up and same day appointment.
The vet will do the check-up today and I will get her later this afternoon. (any Meds will be additional.)

I was asked what I wanted to do if the Vet suggests an ultrasound. Yikes, that is another $300.00. I sure hope it is not required. I asked them to call me if they thought that was necessary. As it is, I will have to charge the visit.

Sigh............poor kitty.