Urinary health is an important consideration for all pets, regardless of diet. Maintaining proper hydration, supporting a healthy urinary pH, and monitoring for changes can help reduce the risk of urinary issues and keep your pet feeling their best.
In this guide, we'll share 3 simple ways to support your pet's urinary health.
#1. Increase Moisture Intake
The best solution to avoid urinary tract obstruction is to keep your pets well-hydrated. Water flushes out any debris and crystals that may be forming blockages.
There are several easy ways to increase your pet's water intake:
- Feed moisture-rich wet food (which is 76% moisture)
- Add water to dry kibble
- Mix wet food and dry food
- Ensure fresh water is available at all times
If you have a male cat who likes to eat only dry kibble, then you have to be especially diligent in making sure that they get enough water outside of their dry meals. Dry kibble only contains 10% moisture, whereas in nature, mice and other prey would have a moisture level of around 70-80%. So what you can do at home is you can start using a special water fountain for pets to encourage them to drink more.
*Add water to Dry Kibble (1:1 ratio)
- Add 1-part kibble to 1-part water
- Let this mixture stand for at least 30 minutes for dry food to soak in the water (Use distilled water whenever possible)
- Add nutritional yeast for a nice cheesy flavour
- This mix is around 50% moisture by volume and is much closer to what cats/dogs would be eating in nature than the dry kibble
*Use Moist Food
Moist food in cans or tetra paks contains 70-76% moisture and is a great way to improve hydration. You can serve moist food in cans as is, or mix with dry food to increase moisture intake.
All these hydration techniques help to bring more water into petâs body, which helps to flush out any crystals or debris from the urinary system.
#2. Support Healthy Urinary Environment
Hydration is important, but there are other ways to support urinary wellness and specifically by maintaining the correct pH balance. Healthy urine is slightly acidic and by introducing âsourâ foods/supplements, you can effectively achieve the correct balance.
For additional urinary support, consider adding Cranberry Treats to your pet's diet. Made with cranberry, they help support urinary tract health and are an easy, delicious daily treat. Products such as VegeYeast can also help support a healthy urinary pH and overall urinary wellness.
#3. Keep an Eye on Urinary pH at Home
Urine pH is one of the key indicators of urinary health. When urine becomes too alkaline, it may increase the risk of certain urinary issues. You should monitor your pet's pH.Â
For cats, a healthy urine pH typically falls between 6.0 and 6.5, while for dogs, it is generally between 6.0 and 7.0.
Monitoring urine pH can help you track the effectiveness of hydration, diet, and urinary support products. One of the easiest ways to do this is with the CheckUp Kit, which allows you to measure urine pH at home and proactively monitor your pet's urinary health.
Be sure to also watch for signs of urinary discomfort, such as frequent urination, straining, or blood in the urine, and consult your veterinarian if you have concerns.
The video below explains how to use the kit.
| CheckUp Kit for Cats | CheckUp Kit for Dogs |
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We recommend testing your pet's urine pH before transitioning to a plant-based diet to establish a baseline. After the transition, test again after one month, then continue monitoring every two months. For male cats eating primarily dry food, monthly pH testing is recommended due to their higher risk of urinary issues.
Signs of trouble & when to ask for help
How do you know that your cat might be experiencing cystitis or urethral obstruction?
There are a number of symptoms that can indicate that your pet might be in trouble.
If you observe any of these symptoms, you should talk to your vet right away.
- Straining to urinate - with or without production of urine
- Frequent trips to the litter box
- If you are using clumping litter, cats with cystitis will often have many small urine balls (small clumps) in the litter box
- Crying while urinating
- Excessive licking of the genital area
- Blood in the urine
- Urinating in places other than in the litter box
- Posturing (squatting) in the litter box for a long period of time
- (Note that sometimes people think that their cat is constipated when he/she is really showing signs of a lower urinary tract problem.)
Again, if you see any of the symptoms, you should consult your vet right away.
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