Urinary health in cats. The emergency check first, the supplement second

This category starts with a sentence that matters more than everything after it.

First: the emergency

A male cat who goes to the tray and passes no urine is an emergency. Not tomorrow, now. The same goes for blood in the urine, for repeated trips to the tray with no result, and for restlessness or vocalising while trying. Male cats are affected more often than females because their urethra is narrower. No supplement helps in that situation, and losing time is dangerous.

Everything below concerns the daily life of a cat where a vet has established that nothing acute is going on.

Water is the biggest lever

The most effective contribution to a cat's urinary health is how much fluid she takes in, and wet food is the simplest route to it. Cats fed mostly on dry food take in noticeably less water overall, even when they drink more.

What does more in practice than any powder:

• Raise the share of wet food, and stir water into it if needed.
• Several water stations, away from the food bowl and away from the litter tray.
• A fountain, if your cat prefers running water.
• Enough litter trays, clean and quietly placed. A cat who avoids the tray holds on.

Cranberry and D-mannose in figures

We use 20 mg of cranberry per kilogram of body weight per day, so around 80 mg for a 4 kg cat. We rate the evidence as moderate, and preparations differ widely: what matters is the proanthocyanidin content, not the amount of fruit powder. If the content is not on the pack, the milligram figure is worth little.

D-mannose is a simple sugar. We work with 50 mg per kilogram per day, so 200 mg for the same cat. We mark the evidence as traditional: there is little feline data, and the use comes from human medicine.

Both are supplements and not a medicine. They cannot treat any condition.

How to spot a usable product

The amount per serving is on the pack in milligrams, cranberry products state the extract content, and the feeding guidance is banded for cat weights under 10 kg rather than carried over from dogs.