Science Diet Question.....

Hi, I've been reading on here how science diet isn't a great cat food after all. Well I'm about to get mad again at my old vet . About a year and a half ago I took in my cat, Tyler, for a UTI, spent over 200 dollars on him, they had to insert a catheter and drain his bladder because he was blocked up and couldn't urinate, He was very sick and I was heart broken over the situation. They sent me home with a bag of science diet specially formulated for cats with urinary problems and said I had to put him on that diet for the rest of his life or he could get very sick again. six months ago my poor baby got sick again, even though I was feeding him only science diet for urinary tract problems, and the dumb vet(different vet same vet office) wouldn't examine him because he was hissing at her and growling at her. She was scared, I offered to take him out of the cage and hold him, she said no, that sometimes they can attack their owners too which I thought was so stupid because first of all he was in a lot of pain, of course he wasn't happy, and she didn't seem to know what she was doing and was nervous and he could probably sense that. Well she sent me home with some antibiotic for the uti because she only went by what i told her without doing an exam. 2 days later he was even worse, poor thing couldn't even walk, he was throwing up, wouldn't eat or drink water. of course i took him back, it was the vet that examined him the first time(a yr before) and they needed to do the same thing with the catheter. I left him there, 2 hrs later got a call from the vet tech saying he was too blocked up and they couldn't get the catheter in. The only options we had was to do a surgery that would cost over 7,000 dollars or to put him to sleep. I of course didn't have the money so I had to have them put him to sleep. I was devastated. I loved him so much and I still miss him. He knew I was sad though and less than a week LATER he sent my misty to my back door, he was a great angel to send her to me . My tyler always wanted me to be happy lol

My question is the science diet food didn't help at all did it? The vet had my trust so of course I listened to her when she told me to feed him science diet.
But I've seen some posts where people have said it's grainy, which caused him to get blocked up I know.

I work for a vet - I have to tell you, we usually recommend Royal Canin Urinary SO for felines and for canines... We've never seen a problem with pets on that prescription pet food. Actually my dog is on the Canine version for crystals and less then a year later, we tested his urine again and he was free and clear of any and all crystals...

I would also say if you don't trust your vet, don't go there, find another one, if you can't trust your vet then you won't listen to them and they can be invaluable for information (if you trust them)...

On the food issue... We recommend Royal Canine, Eukaneuba, Iams - Royal Canin is the best Pet food out there that we know of, we've seen the studies that they do and so forth. They were the first ones to start breed specific food. They do some awsome studies.. you can go on their website (royalcanin.com) and read all about them. I know it is a little more expensive food, but it is so much better for them..

Thanks. Yeah I don't go to that vet anymore. I just don't trust them at all anymore. I'll remember that, about the Royal Canin.

And crystals is the word, thanks, I was trying to remember but I couldn't....

while science diest doesnt generally have great ingridents alot of their prescp. formulas do help. but you can find better brands with the same purpose. good luck.

Not a problem - most people that work at vets do it because they care... Trust me its no for the money... LOL

All the RX s out there are for a purpose ... my current vet will on occation use RC ... my old one prefered Purina ....

I'm sorry to hear that you lost Tyler.

Urinary tract problems are fairly common in cats. There are a lot of factors that cause the problem. Age, genetics, diet, environment, and more...each play a part. The problem can get more severe in male cats, as it did with Tyler. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that.

My cat was blocked one time, and there's not a day that goes by that I don't worry about a repeat episode. I feed him and medicate him the best way I know how...with my vet's help. That's all I can do, but I do still worry about him all the time. FLUTD is a very poorly understood problem, even by the experts. What works for one cat may not work for another.

I'm not excusing your vet's actions...what you described was complelely innappropriate.

The purpose of any of those prescription urinary diets is to encourage the proper pH, and to encourage frequent "flushing" of the bladder. Regardless of brand, the prescription food formulas are there to help stabilize a problem, they aren't the cure IMO. With that said, I have used them and still believe that they are usually worthwhile. I agree, I would not return to that vet, though.

Originally Posted by emhammer0506

Not a problem - most people that work at vets do it because they care... Trust me its no for the money... LOL

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Yeah, I know, I have a friend who works as a vet tech, lol, so I know exactly what u mean

Originally Posted by emhammer0506

I work for a vet - I have to tell you, we usually recommend Royal Canin Urinary SO for felines and for canines... We've never seen a problem with pets on that prescription pet food. Actually my dog is on the Canine version for crystals and less then a year later, we tested his urine again and he was free and clear of any and all crystals...

I would also say if you don't trust your vet, don't go there, find another one, if you can't trust your vet then you won't listen to them and they can be invaluable for information (if you trust them)...

On the food issue... We recommend Royal Canine, Eukaneuba, Iams - Royal Canin is the best Pet food out there that we know of, we've seen the studies that they do and so forth. They were the first ones to start breed specific food. They do some awsome studies.. you can go on their website (royalcanin.com) and read all about them. I know it is a little more expensive food, but it is so much better for them..

Click to expand...

I love my vet, I trust my vet, and when it came to a UTI, I am taking my vet's advice and feeding Henry the Royal Canin food, but it's pretty much just to humor her. That being said, I am pretty sure that vet's know next to squat about food. Vets get paid to carry and recommend certain foods. All the foods, with the exception of SOME ROyal Canin, listed in the quoted post above, are crap. Iams and Eukanuba are horrid foods, as is Science Diet. I will not feed any of those to my animals. I chose to do the RC SO because it seemed like th elesser of the evils. BUT, prescription diets are there for a reason. I do not think that the food is what caused your cat to block, but the actions of the vet did not help it. The surgery should have been done for free, because it was not your fault.

Popeye was blocked also and I almost lost him. The vet wanted me to feed science diet too, but I wouldn't. I bought a fountain, gave him a cranbury pill daily and softened all his Chicken soup food with water.. added Organic ACV to the water for a while also. he recovered and has been fine on dry ever since.

Vets are not trained in nutrition and have limited knowledge..they get a kick back for selling certain foods so they push it...that's about it.

Originally Posted by beandip

I'm sorry to hear that you lost Tyler.

Urinary tract problems are fairly common in cats. There are a lot of factors that cause the problem. Age, genetics, diet, environment, and more...each play a part.

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I read somewhere that male cats are prone to UTI`s because sometimes they are neutered too early so the penis doesn`t get the chance to develop properly and is small so it gets blocked more.
Just thought I`d add that.

While I don't care for Science Diet as a regular everyday food for cats, the prescription formulas have been known to treat certain conditions fairly effectively. Although my kitties eat Innova EVO (which is like the Mercedes Benz of cat food, apparently), I wouldn't hesitate to switch them to a Hill's Prescription Diet if something came up.

But, for every day food, Science Diet (along with many of the other brands listed in this thread...sorry! Not trying to be a poop!!!), contain too many grains, and by-products. It's like feeding your carnivore (your kitty) meat-flavored cereal, with a lot of corn, and other unnecessary and harmful fillers. Your best bet is to stick with something that has no by-products, contains real MEAT, and is not full of corn and wheat.

Try:

Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (really affordable)
Innova
Innova EVO (not so affordable, but REALLY good)
Wellness
Solid Gold
California Natural
Merrick's
Felidae

Originally Posted by Jaffacake

I read somewhere that male cats are prone to UTI`s because sometimes they are neutered too early so the penis doesn`t get the chance to develop properly and is small so it gets blocked more.
Just thought I`d add that.

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In addition, male cats' urinary tracts are conducive to blockages by virtue of their anatomy. After exiting the bladder, the urethra curves back towards the tail and then curves forward out of the penis. Aside from being very narrow, the male urethra also has a complicated exit point, so that's one of the reasons male cats are more prone to UTI-related problems than females.

I'm very sorry to hear about your kitty. Severe kidney/renal-related illnessess ARE so common in felines and are poorly understood by the veterinary community. My boy Pico had a minor struvite crystal blockage about 6 months ago and we had him flushed with a catheter at the pet ER. Lucky for us, we caught it very early so it was only a 15 min procedure under general anesthesia.

He was on Hill's S/D for 6 weeks and then after a clean urinalysis, has been on Royal Canin Urinary S/O (mix of wet and dry) since then. We've had no problems but have put both of our boys on lots of wet food, plus a water fountain to promote the production of a dilute urine. In my opinion, increasing their water uptake through the use of canned foods and/or addition of extra water to their meals is one of the more important things that one should do for a FLUTD-prone kitty.

I had a dog who had to be on the Hill's (SD) prescription C/D, and he didn't have anymore problems with blockages (he lived to be 14 yrs, and was diagnosed at about 2 years. I think the problem was (IMHO ) that the vet didn't properly diagnose the severity of your kitty's problem in a timely manner. It may have helped, it may not have...I am so sorry you lost him .

When I took Butterbean to the vet when she was sick and crazy with a fever (and it was after hours, just me and the vet), Butterbean scared our vet like that (screaming, growling, the whole shebang), she muzzled her and duct taped her feet together! Did I mind? Heck no! I saw what Butterbean did to the emergency clinic vets last time she was that sick (and told my vet, of course)- I was just glad she came up with a solution so she could be treated. She was a large animal vet, so she was used to unruly animals that are hard to control . I hope your new vet is braver, and I hope you never have to find out .