Cat urinary tract infection?

[SquirelNutkin]

hi-babe in hand and so this will be short and prob. mispelled.
i think our inside/ outside cat has a UTI-
he keeps peeinbg in same place, every 15 minutes or so. i dont see anythong coming out,

its hot here, and we feed him generic food (too much salt?)
why do cats get uti? What cheaply and naturally can we do? can i get hiom to drink cranberry juice? LOL!
could it be something else.

if this thread needs to be moved, please feel free. It didnt quite fit anywhere- like my family! HHHHeeeehe.

any advice or experience would be great!
thanks
b

[EmsMom]

If your cat does have a UTI, it can be potentially life threatening, especially for a male cat and needs to be treated by a vet. Once it is cleared up, there are some things that can be done to prevent reoccurence, such as a special prescription food (very expensive). When our older male cat developed a UTI, someone told us that vitamin C crystals mixed into the food would help also. Anyway, he never got another one and lived to 19! I have also read recently that you should totally avoid all fish based cat foods because they can increase risk of UTI and choose a low ash food for all cats. I hope your cat feels better soon.

[OneTrickPony]

Huh. My cat has a UTI right now. Same issue - frequent peeing outside the litterbox! The vet said I shouldn't worry too much about the cause - likely some bacteria got into her urinary tract that should not have (just like with humans). We have her on clavamox, an antibiotic. The vet visit cost around $80 - $45 for the consultation, $20 for a urinalysis and the rest for the medication. I'm not aware of any "natural" things you can do - I would recommend a vet visit if you can swing it.