hills w/d

kittenson

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hi! this is only my second time posting, but i frequent often when i feel like something is wrong with my little katie (she is 14). you guys have helped me tremendously without even knowing it!

anyway, the past few days have been rough on katie. she had been hospitalized because she wasn't eating and she was severely dehydrated. all her bloodwork came back fine (phew!), but she had some constipation issues. i've known this for a while, and i thought i had it regulated, but i guess not. they gave me prescription diet w/d and t/d for treats. they also gave me some wet food of the same nature. now, i've been reading up on the food, and there are mixed reviews for it. i don't want it to make her constipation worse. right now, i am feeding her blue select mature formula and natural balance wet (grain free). anyone have good experiences with the w/d and t/d? your help is much appreciated!
 
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kittenson

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oh, woops! i should have put this in the nutrition forum, shouldn't i? please forgive me!
 

sharky

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Many will come with experience . I just wanted to remind you that w/d and t/d are prescriptions, just like human asthma medicine


My question would be why did your vet precribe those food? normally w/d is used for weight control and t/d is a dental diet
 
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kittenson

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well, she has dental issues (she had some redness on her gums which, i think, was causing her to not want to eat. they gave her an antibiotic for that) and her weight is on the low normal side (they didn't mention anything to me about weight control. i just assumed this was for the constipation issue). she's on the small side, but she always has been.

the wet food they gave me is the hairball control formula. they said she just gobbled that up.
 

chris10

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w/d states its higher in fiber. So that may be why your vet told you to feed. To help with constipation. But if the weight is good then maybe ask your vet about adding fiber to non prescription food. If that is indeed the reason why he prescribed it.
 

sharky

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Okay that does make sense , higher fiber sometimes alliviates constipation issues and t/d should help with her teeth

hairball formulas also usually have higher fiber
 

sharky

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I would ask you to discuss what this site says about the w/d with your vet

http://www.hillspet.com/products/pre...eline-dry.html

w/dÂ[emoji]174[/emoji] Feline

Weight control, diabetic, and digestive support for cats prone to excess weight gain

Some cats can be more prone to gain weight than others. Weight problems can be successfully managed through changes in your cat's food.

At Hill's, nutritionists and veterinarians have developed clinical nutrition especially formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition to manage cats prone to weight gain. Prescription DietÂ[emoji]174[/emoji] w/dÂ[emoji]174[/emoji] also helps cats maintain normal blood glucose levels and promotes healthy digestion.

Hills has a few others that aid with digestion but are not for wt control
 

darlili

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When my Dharma was on Clavomox and not eating much, and not pooping for a few days, my vet gave me a couple of cans of Hills W/D wet - due to the fiber and that it tends to be attractive to a lot of cats. Worked like a charm for Dharma.

BTW, we got a urine sample on my Dante after two months on Hills C/D for struvite crystal issues - yay, urine is fine, no sign of crystals.

I'm with Sharky - if the vet has prescribed a food, definitely discuss your questions with the vet. Ingredients may not look that great to us - but seems the vets often have good reason for using the prescription diets.
 
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kittenson

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thanks for your response, guys! i think i'll see how this works for a bit, then make my decision.

she hasn't eaten much since she's been home, but i'm sure she's stressed from the hospital.
 

stephanietx

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I have a cat with constipation issues (from some kidney problems) but she's on w/d dry. She won't touch the w/d canned with a 10-ft. pole! What we've had success with is increasing her canned food intake and adding some plain canned pumpkin, raw chicken, and a couple of teaspoons of water.

Dry food tends to absorb the water from a kitty's body, thus making the stool drier and harder to pass. Increasing water intake by adding or upping their canned food intake helps add water to their diet. Also adding pumpkin, which is full of fiber and good for kitties, and water add more liquid to their bodies and their stool, thus making bowels move easier.

For the canned food, my girl gets some of whatever my other cat's eating, usually Wellness grain free of some variety. She probably gets less than 1/16 of a can a day because my girl's just not a fan of canned food. If your girl likes canned food, then you can give her more. Then, as I mentioned previously, I add the pumpkin and raw chicken with extra water to make it the consistency of oatmeal.
 
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kittenson

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thanks, i have tried the pumpkin, and she just loves it. it seems to be helping, however, now she apparently has a UTI. she has been going in her box for what seems to be hundreds of times since yesterday, and i noticed miniscule blood in her urine. i was going to wait it out, but i have been worrying so much i had to take her to the vet this morning.

well, i just got back from the vet, and she told me that this may be what caused her to be ill at first but they just didn't detect it, or that she was so stressed out that she held it in for way too long. either way, they gave her a shot of baytril and i have pills to give her for 21 days (which seems like a lot). i need to go back in two weeks if the symptoms don't subside. she said that her bloodwork and physical exams were just so great for her age. i was encouraged by that.

my poor baby. i really hope this is the last time i need to go back to the vet until she gets her next dental.


thanks for your help, guys.
 

stephanietx

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Did they do a urine test? That's really the best way to test for a UTI. Stress can cause a urinary tract infection as well as several other problems, so it's not out of the ordinary for her to have developed a UTI if she's been stressed.

Also meant to say that depending on her age, UTI are more common. Also, if she's having any kind of bladder, kidney, or urinary issues, constipation is also common. Did they do bloodwork on her today to check her BUN and Creatinine levels?
 
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