Feline urinary tract infection (FLUID) refers to disorders, diseases or conditions that affect a cat’s bladder or urethra i.e., the lower urinary tract. Some of their causes include urinary stones, infection, obstruction, feline idiopathic cystitis, among others.
Common symptoms these UTIs shows include your pet straining while it is urinating, trying to urinate frequently, irritability, crying while urinating (painful urination), genital area licking, blood in urine, inability to urinate inside its litter box, among other symptoms.
With that overview, it is time to look at whether vitamin C or ascorbic acid can help in treating FLUID and if so, which specific cases can it be used to treat?
Can I use it?
There are many testimonies of the use of this vitamin to treat FLUID in cats. They include Three Million Dogs as well as the use of cranberry extract, which contains Vitamin C and hippuric acid, and antioxidants suggested by PetCareRx when the cause is not bladder stones.
Yes, research has shown that cranberry can help inhibit Escherichia coli, a possible cause of FLUID. However, its efficacy is not based on the fact that it has ascorbic acid but it having a substance which prevents bacteria for holding onto the bladder and urethra walls, a Cochrane research conducted in humans has shown that.
Note that cranberry has oxalates and ascorbic acid that can contribute to the formation of urinary oxalate in cats since, during ascorbic acid and amino acid breakdown, urinary oxalates are formed.
Furthermore, these pets do not need vitamin supplementation under normal circumstances.
Bottomline
You will find many sources supporting the use of this vitamin in treating some causes of FLUID. However, echoing the words of Dr. Mark Russak, formerly the president of Animal Hospital Association who acknowledges the fact that there have been rumors that ascorbic acid may help treat cat UTIs.
However, Dr. Mark Russak notes that “over all that time, there’s never been definitive proof. In fact, the suggestion is that it does not work.”
On the issue of vitamin c for cats with struvite crystals, although it was initially used a urine acidifier for cats with struvite stones, there are specialized diets that perform this role.
If you note any of the FLUID symptoms we have noted, visit for a veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment. Do not opt for home remedies as you may not know what exactly caused the UTI.
Hi, May I ask if LC Vit can affect to our cat while he suffering urinary tract infection?
Going by its ingredients, LC Vit has Retinol Palmitate (vit. A), cholecalciferol (vit. D3), thiamine HCI (vit. B1), riboflavin PO4 (vit. B2), nicotinamide (vit. B3) pyridoxine HCI (vit. B6), cyanocobalamin (vit. B12), ascorbic Acid (vit. C) and Lysine HCI.
If given following the right dosages, it shouldn’t have any effects. Additionally, since it has well as vitamin D3 which may help preventing urinary crystals from forming, one of the causes of urinary infections is urinary crystals.
We know of studies on human, i.e., a study on Association between vitamin D and urinary tract infection in children associated 25(OH)D which the form of vitamin D present in blood plasma plays a role in the pathogenesis of UTIs.
Similarly, another study shows that “high-dose intakes of vitamin C and calcium were positively associated with urinary storage or incontinence” which are lower urinary tract symptoms.