Cat with Lower urinary infection

[Heatherm4]

My cat is 4...very close to 16lbs. He just got out of the vet from having trouble not being able to pee. lt ended up being a urinary tract infection and he had a lot of crystals in his urine. He was quite blocked up...it was even hard to get a catheter in him.
Are there alternatives to prevent this from happening again? I have him on special food and cut down on the amount but is there anything I can give him to help?

[HelpinUtah]

Yes, the fountain water bowls are fabulous!  A lot of work to keep clean though - but worth it!  My cats love it!  And, I did notice they drink more when they have the fountain than without.  

I had a male cat with the same problem once - he almost died from it.  We just followed the vets advice and gave him the special food and honestly never had a problem again.  So, I wish the same for your baby!  

[Thomas Dock, CVJ, Vet. Technician]

Hi Heather...I am very sorry to hear about your cat's urinary problems.  Unfortunately, we do see a lot of cats with this condition.

FIrst, continue the special diet as recommended by your veterinarian and look for canned varieties of the same food.  Increasing the amount of canned food in the diet can help increase the amount of moisture your cat is intaking.  Second...your cat likely needs to lose weight.   16 lbs is pretty heavy for most cats and I bet your veterinarian would like to see him closer to 11-12 lbs.

You might consider a fountain water bowl to help encourage drinking.

Above all, continued monitoring through exams, bloodwork and urinalysis can help catch the problem early if it does become an issue again.

[opus88]

Heather I'm not sure what else you can do?
Get more advice from your vet....you are giving him the recommended food and thats the only thing I know of, maybe someone else can post that will know more...keep him on the good food and make sure he has lots of water....
best of luck to you both!!