A feline Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) often causes cats to stop using their litter boxes. This is a very painful condition for kitty. Using her logic, she thinks that because it hurts to use the litter box, maybe she should urinate someplace else. It might not hurt to urinate in another part of the house. And so the problems begin...

Feline UTIs are quite preventable and treatable. Your vet will prescribe antibiotics to clear up the infection. But the deeper cause is most often the food your cat eats.

Most commercial pet foods contain only meat by products and carbohydrates. Cats are pure carnivores - they must eat meat to stay healthy. Cats don't need carbohydrates, but unfortunately from their youngest days, they're fed commercial pet foods that are chock full of everything but meat. Many experts believe carbohydrates contribute to feline UTIs.

Along with the antibiotics, your vet will often prescribe special cat food to prevent UTIs.

But, cats being the creatures they are sometimes reject what's good for them. This doesn't mean you have to despair and give up, because many pet food manufacturers sell high quality cat food that doesn't promote feline UTI episodes.

One diet option that is very successful in stopping feline UTIs is a raw meat diet for your cat.

Raw meat! Why?

Because feral cats exist on whatever they can hunt down. Wild kitties subsist on protein - mice, moles, rats, and any other creature they can kill and eat. Because ferals eat pure protein, they usually don't end up with feline UTIs.

I like the idea of a raw food diet, but there are special considerations you must know.

First, raw food is very prone to spoiling quickly, so whatever amount you put out for your cat must be eaten in one session. This will take some guessing on your part to determine a consistent amount to thaw out for each meal.

Next, you need to be sure the quality of the raw food you buy for kitty is pure and safe, and not already spoiled. Check around your neighborhood for merchants who specialize in raw pet diets. They purchase extremely high quality raw rabbit, turkey, chicken, duck, and mutton.

But the real joker in the deck regarding a raw food diet is kitty herself. Will she even eat raw food? Soon after diagnosing my cat Scout with a feline UTI, I did the research on raw food and decided to try to switch her over. I found a local pet food store that sold raw meat. I picked up a small amount of rabbit and chicken for her.

Well, I got home all excited and put the raw chicken down for Scout. I crossed my fingers, hoping this would relieve me of trying to do more research on cat food that wouldn't infect her urinary tract.

Scout crouched over the chicken, sniffed it and gagged! Then she gave me a look of pure misery and slunk away.

Her step brother JJ wolfed it down and asked for more. Sheesh!

OK...back to the drawing board! I then fell back on Plan B for getting Scout to eat better and prevent future feline UTI problems. I'll share that with you next week.

If you think you'd like to try a raw food diet for your kitty, please consult with your vet before doing so. Follow her advice and instructions on how to transition your cat safely. And don't forget - the biggest veto resides with your kitty!