CAn U really get rid of Struvite Crystals?

ginava

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back to the vet cause poor Gina has so many of those crystals. She also isnt drinking enough water, so she got fluids and now we are on Urinary SO food by Royal Canin, which she seems to love and is drinking more. My vet is way homeopathic so he also gave her some drops to take. Those crystals seem to be so hard to get rid of!
 

mews2much

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Everytime my Coco gets a Bladder Infection it takes 6 bottles of Meds to get rid of them. How old is your Cat? Coco had Struvite Stones in 2006. Coco is on C/D but is making me mad. They changed the formala and she refuses teh Can C/D now.
 

littleraven7726

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When my cats had struvite crystals the vet put them on Hill's s/d and that usually took care of the problem. Then they usually went on Hill's c/d (the maintenance diet) for a while.

Everytime my Coco gets a Bladder Infection it takes 6 bottles of Meds to get rid of them. How old is your Cat? Coco had Struvite Stones in 2006. Coco is on C/D but is making me mad. They changed the formala and she refuses teh Can C/D now.
Have you tried Pro Plan for Urinary Health canned? I used that quite a bit when my cats had bladder problems. They really liked it. The target urine pH is 6.3, which is in the same range as Hill's c/d (which is 6.2-6.4).
 
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ginava

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So far just the dry, but I have a sample of the wet to try also. If this food doesn't work, I will try those. I have a great vet.
 

catsallover

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I had a vet once (many years ago) tell me that the crystals would not go away- however, mine haven't had them in over 10 years after a diet change, and after reading here, I would say that yes it is possible for them to go away. My cats are all on dry food too, with occasional canned food for treats. We did the prescription food for a while, then mixed it with a "no fish" dry food, and then went to just the "no fish" dry food. I had to get a food that had no fish in it to get our cats' bladder problems under control, however. Good luck!
 

mews2much

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Coco can not have anything with fish because she is Allergic. I am going to ask the Vet if she can have the Pro Plan Urinary Health Can Food. I will keep the Dry C/D since she eats that with no problems. She used to eat a whole Can with no problem. littleraven7726 she had the S/D first to get rid of the Struvite Stones and he worked Great. She has not had Stones since just the Infection. She was put on C/D after the S/D. Her last Infection was last Nov-Jan.
 
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ginava

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Gina is 6, she was a runt from a foster litter and she was born with a Herpes Virus, she would definately not have made it if I had not acted quckly and gotten her vet care immediately.I got very attached and kept her!(that always happens with little runts around here) She has a few health problems from time to time. The vet said she needs to drink way more water, her urine is too concentrated. Should I get her a fountain?
 

sharky

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I would suggest a fountain and wet food... get the most moisture you can... Have your read the guest forum???
 

zirkel

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I recently went through this with my cat. She's been on Innova weight management (dry) for the past year. She suddenly developed difficulty urinating, which resulted in a vet visit. They found tons of struvite crystals and an inflammed bladder.

She was put on Hills C/D (wet) for two weeks, then recommended Hills S/D (wet) after that. After reading the ingredients of S/D, I thought I could provide something with better ingredients.

After a little research, I found to look for foods that met the following criteria:

-wet food
-no seafood
-low magnesium
-low phosphate

I've switched to Felidae chicken with rice and my cat gobbles it up, and no more crytals. Many UTI-friendly formulas tend to be chicken with rice.

http://www.canidae.com/cats/chicken_...ce/canned.html

Additionally, using strictly wet food reduces the necessity for hydration. Very informative reading:

http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html
 

jackieg

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The Wellness brand moist foods are also highly recommended for cats with crystals. In general, the research seems to indicate that moist foods in general are better than prescription dry foods for keeping crystals at bay. The s/d is stronger than the c/d and when my vet has recommended the s/d because of severity of the condition, I have done the s/d until the condition is under control and then switched to frequent feedings of moist food. When I took this course of action instead of sticking with the prescription food, I actually had far better results with my two cats with crystals.
 

blueyedgirl5946

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I have two male cats who have had urinary problems. The eat prescription dry food. Also, two years ago I started giving them filtered water only to drink. Since then, they have not had a recurrrence.
 

colemancat

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Originally Posted by zirkel

I recently went through this with my cat. She's been on Innova weight management (dry) for the past year. She suddenly developed difficulty urinating, which resulted in a vet visit. They found tons of struvite crystals and an inflammed bladder.

She was put on Hills C/D (wet) for two weeks, then recommended Hills S/D (wet) after that. After reading the ingredients of S/D, I thought I could provide something with better ingredients.

After a little research, I found to look for foods that met the following criteria:

-wet food
-no seafood
-low magnesium
-low phosphate

I've switched to Felidae chicken with rice and my cat gobbles it up, and no more crytals. Many UTI-friendly formulas tend to be chicken with rice.

http://www.canidae.com/cats/chicken_...ce/canned.html

Additionally, using strictly wet food reduces the necessity for hydration. Very informative reading:

http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html
this was my exact line of thought...I feed my cat innova, he presented with difficulty urinating and blood in his urine. After a trip to the vet hospital at 2 am, he was diagnosed with idiopathic cystitis, though he is currently at the vet so a better urine sample can be tested to ensure no crystals/bacteria.

I feed my dog canidae (i have for years; absolutely the most palatable dry dog food on the market), so I looked at the felidae products, saw the chicken and rice and thought "that's it." good to hear your results, as I would NEVER feed my animals any Hill's product.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by ColeManCat

this was my exact line of thought...I feed my cat innova, he presented with difficulty urinating and blood in his urine. After a trip to the vet hospital at 2 am, he was diagnosed with idiopathic cystitis, though he is currently at the vet so a better urine sample can be tested to ensure no crystals/bacteria.

I feed my dog canidae (i have for years; absolutely the most palatable dry dog food on the market), so I looked at the felidae products, saw the chicken and rice and thought "that's it." good to hear your results, as I would NEVER feed my animals any Hill's product.
Felidea actually does not fit the uiti health guidlines.. it borders them
 

catsallover

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Just FYI
, I had to switch my cats from the Felidae Chicken and Rice to Nutro Max roasted chicken for the idiopathic stuff.
 
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ginava

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Arrrgh, I went and bought Wellness AND Felidae, and Gina wont eat them, little picky cat! She has however been eating fresh chicken bits we cook, I dont know if that will help but fresh food is always better. I think she is feeling better tho on the Royal Canin prescription dry, she seems happier and is using her box as usual. I have been giving her the homeopathic drops although she hates medicine time and is sooooo smart she runs under the bed when I even pick up the bottle! But I thnk they are helping. I am thinking about a fountain, too.
 

rone

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Originally Posted by ginava

I went and bought Wellness AND Felidae, and Gina wont eat them
Probably because of the smell/texture- try sprinkle his favorite food and/or add some warm water to bring out the aroma.

Just me but if the cat was diagnosed with crystals I'd never feed dry food again. Somewhere I read that no matter how much water a healthy cat drinks while on dry, he's still not getting enough fluid compare to a cat on canned food.
 
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