Cat Food, unsure of what to do.

gaprofitt

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Hi All, a little background first before I ask my question. We have a male cat, his name is Totis, he is 5 years old. When he was a baby we fed him Kitten Chow and then switched to Cat chow as he got older. About a year and a half ago he starting having issues. He would sit on anything smooth he could find, plastic bag etc and he would urinate but only a few drops would come out. He would still urinate in his litter box also. We took him to the vet, we were told his urine had crystals in it and his PH was incorrect. The vet gave us Methigel, antibiotics, even though he had no infection. He stated he needed a food for UTI. He suggested we get Purina one urinary tract formula, we bought this and the problems went away for about a year. He then started throwing up the food pretty consistently. We took him back to the wet, they did a urinalysis and everything looked fine then, this has been about 4-5 months ago, he suggested we switch the food to Science Diet sensitive stomach. We switched and the throw up problems went away, everything seemed fine until last week. My wife notice he had urinated a small amount on some of her work clothing scrubs.. (a little background, he is excellent about going in the box, no mistakes or anything). We took him back to the vet, another urine check, the vet was a little concerned that his bladder was full, he stated his PH was high and recommended we switch him back to the old science diet food, but I feel like this isn't good advice, he also gave us methigel and antibiotics again, no infection present.

In my opinion my cat needs a food to help lower his PH and one that is easily digestable and will not upset his stomach. I am considering Nutro MAX and Innova EVO, this seems like high quality, but will all that protein be hard on his kidneys etc. The vet wants us to switch food and bring him back in 2-3 weeks for another urine check. Note our cat will not eat wet food at all.

What do you guys think? Should I stay with a urinary track formula food or just go with a high quality non-grain food?

Greg
 

momto3cats

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I would try the Nutro Max. It has a good reputation for helping cats with UTI issues and for being easy on the tummy. Evo does not have the right amount of minerals for UTI-prone cats, plus it's very rich and some cats can't digest it well. Good luck!
 

jen

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Simply put, he needs a food higher in quality then Science Diet and especially any sort of "chow" and one also for sensitive stomachs might work too. But it is important for you to increase his water intake. Many cats don't drink enough water, particularly males, which leads to urinary tract problems and crystals. Get him on a high quality of wet food and even add more water to it to make it a little soupy.
 
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gaprofitt

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Originally Posted by momto3cats

I would try the Nutro Max. It has a good reputation for helping cats with UTI issues and for being easy on the tummy. Evo does not have the right amount of minerals for UTI-prone cats, plus it's very rich and some cats can't digest it well. Good luck!
Hi,

I tried the Nutro Max and starting mixing it in slowly but he is throwing it up. Apparently it isn't sensitive enough, any other recommendations?
 
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gaprofitt

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I found another pet store tonight locally that carries all kinds of brands, how do I determine which would be good for sensitive stomach and keeping the PH low, am I just looking for a good quality food for him to try or is there a way of determining what ingredient is making him throw up. The wellness dry and the california natural seemed to look the best as far as ingredients but I have no ideal if he will throw them up or if they will lower his PH..
 

white cat lover

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I like Nutro MAX roasted chicken for UTI health. It will help maintain his urine pH....and has worked well for my Ophelia who had a UTI/crystals a few years ago.
 

sharky

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try the "hairball" max ... wheat may be a issue....

UTI certified foods often have ingrediants some of us ??? and often are not sensitive tummy ...

EVO and UTI is a NO GO
 

aquarius

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Did your vet recommend switching to all-canned diets? The moisture is good for cats -- they are not famously big drinkers, and water is really good for flushing the whole urinary system. I'm assuming you were dealing with struvite crystals, since the urine was too alkaline? If your vet isn't recommending a prescription diet specifically, I would think the problem hasn't gotten too out of hand yet. Here is what I would do:

1. Buy a fountain (I think drinkwell is the best brand -- http://www.vetventures.com/original.asp). This will encourage drinking more water, which is good for the whole urinary tract. If he doesn't drink readily, try locating the fountain farther from the food bowl. I don't know why, but cats seem to prefer to drink away from their food source.

2. Eliminate dry food from the diet, as much as possible. Feed an all-canned diet. Try high quality canned food brands, like Merrick (http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/canned_cat_food.php), Innova/California Natural (http://www.naturapet.com/),

3. Go in for follow up U/A's in a couple weeks, and then again 2 weeks later, whether or not your cat shows any symptoms.

My cat had a bout with UTI's about 5 years ago, and that is what prompted me to make the switch to canned food (and research the heck out of the pet food industry). I did all of the things I just recommended to you, and he has not had one relapse since. Oh, and I have his urine checked now every 6 months when he has his regular exams.

By the Bye, lower quality pet foods (and I include Science Diet in these) lower the ph of urine by adding corn gluten meal as a protein source. A lot of nutritionists feel this is irresponsible because it is a protein source that cat's cannot digest very well... additionally, we have now seen a resurgence of urine crystals caused by TOO LOW urine ph (oxalate). And that was the problem my kitty faced.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Aquarius

Did your vet recommend switching to all-canned diets? The moisture is good for cats -- they are not famously big drinkers, and water is really good for flushing the whole urinary system. I'm assuming you were dealing with struvite crystals, since the urine was too alkaline? If your vet isn't recommending a prescription diet specifically, I would think the problem hasn't gotten too out of hand yet. Here is what I would do:

1. Buy a fountain (I think drinkwell is the best brand -- http://www.vetventures.com/original.asp). This will encourage drinking more water, which is good for the whole urinary tract. If he doesn't drink readily, try locating the fountain farther from the food bowl. I don't know why, but cats seem to prefer to drink away from their food source.

2. Eliminate dry food from the diet, as much as possible. Feed an all-canned diet. Try high quality canned food brands, like Merrick (http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/canned_cat_food.php), Innova/California Natural (http://www.naturapet.com/),

3. Go in for follow up U/A's in a couple weeks, and then again 2 weeks later, whether or not your cat shows any symptoms.

My cat had a bout with UTI's about 5 years ago, and that is what prompted me to make the switch to canned food (and research the heck out of the pet food industry). I did all of the things I just recommended to you, and he has not had one relapse since. Oh, and I have his urine checked now every 6 months when he has his regular exams.

By the Bye, lower quality pet foods (and I include Science Diet in these) lower the ph of urine by adding corn gluten meal as a protein source. A lot of nutritionists feel this is irresponsible because it is a protein source that cat's cannot digest very well... additionally, we have now seen a resurgence of urine crystals caused by TOO LOW urine ph (oxalate). And that was the problem my kitty faced.
YOU are recommending wets WAY out of the guidelines for UTI health ... some of these actually are out of range for a healthy cat ...

Corn gluten is used in dry to balence chn s calcium and phos ... it itself is 66-75% digestable ... THIS is english makes it more digestable than all grain other than rice
.. this is only for dry ... IMHO wets should have little to no grain and that should be rice
 

aquarius

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Originally Posted by sharky

YOU are recommending wets WAY out of the guidelines for UTI health ... some of these actually are out of range for a healthy cat ...
How are they out of the guidelines for UTI health? Unless there is kidney disease, of course. My kitty has been doing really well on them (former UTI kitty). Perhaps we will have to agree to disagree?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Aquarius

How are they out of the guidelines for UTI health? Unless there is kidney disease, of course. My kitty has been doing really well on them (former UTI kitty). Perhaps we will have to agree to disagree?
the research has established SAFE UTI levels ... Kidney disease is a TOTALLY different ball game ... Yes we can agree that food s not normally considered UTI safe can be fine for some cats with issue
.. there is always the margin oustide of the BOX
 

aquarius

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Originally Posted by sharky

the research has established SAFE UTI levels ... Kidney disease is a TOTALLY different ball game ... Yes we can agree that food s not normally considered UTI safe can be fine for some cats with issue
.. there is always the margin oustide of the BOX
I am not saying you are wrong, just curious to see the source/recommended levels of which you speak.

Doesn't seem to jibe with my research, although I know there are a lot of conflicting opinions in the nutrition field... especially as of late.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Aquarius

I am not saying you are wrong, just curious to see the source/recommended levels of which you speak.

Doesn't seem to jibe with my research, although I know there are a lot of conflicting opinions in the nutrition field... especially as of late.
Vet journals from my vet///

also oriental medicine ...

common knowledge and then verified by multiple vets ( ie natural , holistic and conventional...

FDA results... they actually are the ones saying UTI certified or not and seem to produce much of the criteria

I know about differing ... lol.. one day I read in a human medical journal that brocoli was bad for you,,,lmao,,,
 

aquarius

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Originally Posted by sharky

Vet journals from my vet///

also oriental medicine ...

common knowledge and then verified by multiple vets ( ie natural , holistic and conventional...

FDA results... they actually are the ones saying UTI certified or not and seem to produce much of the criteria

I know about differing ... lol.. one day I read in a human medical journal that brocoli was bad for you,,,lmao,,,
Honestly curious... So do they only tell you which brands are okay? Or protein/carb/fat percentages, etc? I would be curious to check this out. Is there a certain textbook where I could look? I could check it out when I get to work tomorrow, or even order one if need be.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Aquarius

Honestly curious... So do they only tell you which brands are okay? Or protein/carb/fat percentages, etc? I would be curious to check this out. Is there a certain textbook where I could look? I could check it out when I get to work tomorrow, or even order one if need be.
If you have access the FDA site is one to check out... I have lots of books( would nt guess would you)... and papers .... For the Macro nutrients AFFCO makes the standards but now they make you pay to use the site .. you can order the book ( very useful but at 70 ish $ I have to borrow ..)

No they give the % ... ONLY certified one can state

http://www.nutroproducts.com/mcgcdry-arc.shtml

Helps maintain urinary tract
health, lowers urinary pH,
low magnesium


It takes 18 months to 2 years of testing before the FDA will allow it on the FRONT of the bag ...

I know ALL the certified fall within the same % to like .003 on certain items
 

kittytales

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A food does not need to be certified UT friendly to be UT friendly in terms of what is widely understood to mean "UT friendly." Many of the cat foods available today are low in magnesium and contain acidifiers and/or food ingredients known to promote acidic urine.

Sharky, I'm curious as to what criteria you use when deciding wether or not a food is appropriate for UTD. Which of the above foods you would not recommend and why?

I would switch your kitty to a high quality, simply formulated all canned diet if possible. You might also want to purchase urine strips so you can monitor ph and get an early warning if things are headed in the wrong direction.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by kittyTales

A food does not need to be certified UT friendly to be UT friendly in terms of what is widely understood to mean "UT friendly." Many of the cat foods available today are low in magnesium and contain acidifiers and/or food ingredients known to promote acidic urine.

Sharky, I'm curious as to what criteria you use when deciding wether or not a food is appropriate for UTD. Which of the above foods you would not recommend and why?

I would switch your kitty to a high quality, simply formulated all canned diet if possible. You might also want to purchase urine strips so you can monitor ph and get an early warning if things are headed in the wrong direction.
the certified ones are

DRY

mag are .085%

mag in the UTI safe range is .09

Wet

.022 mag is best

.025 is uti safe range

I prefer CERIFIED as they are THROUGHLY tested and KNOWN to help... the non certifieds are going off % and possibilitys ....

Unfortunately for certified drys have ingrediants I normally dont recommend but they DO WORK...

Max cat adult( IMHO the best ingrediants )

Purina s pro plan and One urinary formulas

...........

I DO NOT recommend any GRAIN frees since non are in the safe range ...

.......

Phos and ca also play a part in this uti issue ...

......

MORE later
 

kitytize

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Royal Canin Special 33 has magnesium at .o8%. It is not UTI certified but is a sensitive stomach food also. After 9 years feeding my UTI prone cat Purina One Urinary Tract Health I switched to this Royal Canin Special 33. Fed this for one year with no problems.

http://www.royalcanin.us/catfood/special.html
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by kitytize

Royal Canin Special 33 has magnesium at .o8%. It is not UTI certified but is a sensitive stomach food also. After 9 years feeding my UTI prone cat Purina One Urinary Tract Health I switched to this Royal Canin Special 33. Fed this for one year with no problems.

http://www.royalcanin.us/catfood/special.html
Yes many fall into that .. and some work others dont... I would figure RC would be wise enough to balence the other things making it safe
 
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