Phosphate crystals?

Roofus (not me ) was just diagnosed with phosphate crystals...I haven't been able to find much info on this site about this. The vet is recommending a prescription diet, although we don't know which one yet since we haven't spoken to her. The vet put the cat on baytril and a relaxant to help him pee. We are currently feeding Mutro Max roasted chicken dry, which is a UTI friendly food...we bought it for another one of our cats who is just getting over a UTI(previously feeding Innova dry). We prefer not to change their food again and I really don't like Hill's which is what the vet will probably recommend. The cats (3) are free fed dry so we really don't want to feed them all prescription food if we don't have to. Recommendations? I'm all for feeding some wet but the fiancee is not a fan. Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by Roofus

Roofus (not me

) was just diagnosed with phosphate crystals...I haven't been able to find much info on this site about this. The vet is recommending a prescription diet, although we don't know which one yet since we haven't spoken to her. The vet put the cat on baytril and a relaxant to help him pee. We are currently feeding Mutro Max roasted chicken dry, which is a UTI friendly food...we bought it for another one of our cats who is just getting over a UTI(previously feeding Innova dry). We prefer not to change their food again and I really don't like Hill's which is what the vet will probably recommend. The cats (3) are free fed dry so we really don't want to feed them all prescription food if we don't have to. Recommendations? I'm all for feeding some wet but the fiancee is not a fan. Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I just did a quick search and from what I gather, phosphate crystals are another name for struvite crystals and there is a lot of information on this site about struvite crystals. Try another search for "struvite crystals".

add wet food...

look for .022 to .025 mag

Thanks for the feedback. Would any wet food help dissolve the crystals or will I need a prescription wet? Would adding wet a couple nights a week be sufficient? Roofie drinks more than any cat I've seen, so I just don't understand how he got this.

You'll probably need a prescription wet food to actually dissolve the crystals. Or you can discuss the possibility of adding a urinary acidifier to Roofie's regular food with the vet. I buy L-Methionine capsules at the health food store, break them open and add about 200mg/day to wet food for Eric and Kolohe. I'm using this method because I, too, am not a fan of Hills food.

They should really get some wet food every day. My cats are on an all wet diet- no kibble at all.

Some cats are able to switch to regular food after the crystals are dissolved but some need so be on a special diet the rest of their lives. Don't be surprised if Roofie is in the latter category.

You may also want to ask the vet about Methigel. It's a gel that contains DL-Methionine and helps to acidify the urine so struvite crystals don't form. Here's a link to information about it.
http://www.1800petmeds.com/pdetail.asp?SK=10470

I'm sorry if this post is a bit rambling. I just kept typing as thoughts occurred to me.

Depending on serverity a RX for crystals may be advised for 4-12 weeks...

Just go to the pet store and read... MANY non FISH based foods have the right mag... Max cat has.022

Well, the fiancee picked up the food today from the vet and it is Hill's c/d fish flavor. I thought that fish should be avoided with UTI prone cats but I guess this stuff is UTI friendly so we should be OK. Roofus' ph, btw, was 6.0 when we had him tested, which was probably a day after we noticed the symptons and 2 or 3 days after we switched the food to Nutro. Mystique, our other UTI cat had a ph of 8 when she developed her infection. 6.0 is on the wrong side of the scale for developing struvite crystals, isn't it? Could the Nutro have gotten his ph that low so quicky? Thanks.

6 is a smidge low ... it could have but not likely since its target ph is 6.5

Fish can contibute to UTI ... but fish and fish flavor could be two very different things..

True...here are the ingredients...fish doesn't seem to be a major one in comparison to pork. Not a fan of the pork by-products, but this doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it would. I definitely don't want to feed this full time.

Pork By-Products, Water, Pork Liver, Fish, Rice, Oat Fiber, Corn Starch, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Fish Meal, Guar Gum, Calcium Sulfate, Glucose, Fish Oil, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Cysteine, Taurine, Dried Egg Yolk, Glycine, Potassium Citrate, Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Niacin, Beta-Carotene, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate.

Originally Posted by Roofus

True...here are the ingredients...fish doesn't seem to be a major one in comparison to pork. Not a fan of the pork by-products, but this doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it would. I definitely don't want to feed this full time.

Pork By-Products, Water, Pork Liver, Fish, Rice, Oat Fiber, Corn Starch, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Fish Meal, Guar Gum, Calcium Sulfate, Glucose, Fish Oil, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Cysteine, Taurine, Dried Egg Yolk, Glycine, Potassium Citrate, Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Niacin, Beta-Carotene, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate.

Click to expand...

HOLDS tongue about pork would rather see fish

Are there issues with pork? I know some people say not to feed it raw, but is canned pork not the greatest?

the fat is TOTALLY indigestable ( ie they cant digest it

Ughhh... My baby Cody was recently put on HIlls c/d dry too.... ANy ideas on some similar foods, with better ingredients? Cody's Ph was 8. He's on 2 meds too, Amoxicillion and I cannot remember the other.

On a search for the right food, again! I am going to finish up his Hills bag (4# of it) Then I am going to put him on a strictly wet diet, but I am not even sure where to begin. I know that ash and magnesium needs to be low, from all of the things I have researched on Cystitis, but this is stil very new too me.

Sorry for the hijak!