I just can't win with either of my boys.. Urinary tract issues & foods

This is probably more of a vent more than anything.. but any input would be great!

I posted awhile back about one of my cats, Sneak, and his UT issues. After about a month of trying different meds. to clear him up, we FINALLY got him to settle down when we put him on Science Diet S/D (100% wet). That was back at the end of June, and he's been *knock on wood* great ever since.

However, he's definitely lost weight and when I try to up the amount he eats, he won't finish it. Vet wants to put him on Science Diet C/D now as a maintenance diet, so I ordered both canned & dry this time. I know dry isn't recommended, but I want to put some weight on him and I think that's the only way I can. I really hate the thought of him being on C/D crap for the rest of his life though..

But now onto my other cat, Brody. He just turned 4 in June, and is a Ragdoll from a breeder. Has never had ANY urinary issues. In fact, I just recently (I'd say in the past 2 1/2 months) FINALLY got him to eat wet food and he's been eating dry (a mix of Chicken Soup & Wysong Uretic, I had bought the Wysong for Sneak before he went on prescription food) in the AM, and wet in the PM.

This past Saturday, I noticed he had diarrhea. Weird. Then, he came downstairs and peed on one of my dogs beds. Weird again. So I follow him upstairs, back in the litter box. Ugh! So I immediately fed him some of Sneak's S/D. He ate it up, and was otherwise acting normal, so I let it go. By Sunday night, he was back to normal. I continued the S/D through Monday night and Tuesday, fed him his normal food.
Well, this AM, back in the litter box constantly. And also diarrhea again. I have no clue if the diarrhea is just from him getting himself worked up because he hurts, or what. Sneak or my other cat, Toby, who also had chronic UTI's never got diarrhea from them.
So he has a vet appt. for tomorrow morning (vet doesn't work on Wed.). He's acting fairly normal still, fed him the S/D again today and he eats it right up.

I'm just so frustrated. I feel like I do everything "right", and yet my cats are still having these problems. I'm not sure if my vet will suggest putting Brody on prescription food yet, since this is his first occurrence. I just want my boys to be 100% healthy again and have no clue what to do

Annnd I just realized I posted this in Nutrition and not Health.. mods, you can move this if you want. I guess it has to do with nutrition too though..

FWIW, my boy cat, who had struvite crystals, is on Hills C/D wet and dry (because he loves loves loves his dry food and always has - adopted him as an adult). Vet and I agreed not worth stressing him if he simply doesn't feel wet food is really 'food'.

Girl cat gets Hills C/D because boy cat is on it. She has never had urinary issues to date. C/D is a maintenance diet.

For me and my cats, Hills C/D is not 'crap' - it's the food that has made my boy healthy. For me, that gets me far beyond any internet prejudice I may find (and there's a lot of it).

Both of them are a good weight (ok, he could lose a few ounces), and have shiny fur and are very happy and active at about 7 years old (again. both adopted as adults, and both were picked up as strays).

There is no perfect diet out there - the 'best' food is the food that the cats will eat and are healthy on. If that's Science Diet, or the Hills prescription line, well, for me, that's doing the right thing. I honestly thank God that Hills C/D exists and that my cats like it.

I'd work with the vet - I know a lot of people feel that vets don't know anything about nutrition, but, IMO, any given vet does know a whole lot about sick cats and sees hundreds, if not thousands, in the course of a year.

Good luck - I know it's frustrating for both you and your vet, but some a lot of GI and urinary issues aren't the easiest things to diagnose and cure.

Originally Posted by darlili

There is no perfect diet out there - the 'best' food is the food that the cats will eat and are healthy on.

Click to expand...

I agree.. I just have to stop looking at the ingredients of the S/D & C/D I guess. I fully admit that prescription diets serve a purpose, I just hate the thought of my cats being on them for the rest of their lives.

Brody went to the vet today. We opted to just give him some pain meds. til we got the results of his urinalysis. Figured there was no sense in putting him on antibiotics if he doesn't need them. Will get those results tomorrow!

Good luck with this situation.. I had similar feelings of angst when I thought I had done everything right with my kittens (I had them since 4 weeks old, they're now 5 ) by rotating foods, doing wet/ dry, and switching them to a grain-free dry diet (while getting expensive all meat wet food as well)... But, lo and behold, Niles developed a UTI even on this "good" food... He was on S/D for a while.

What I finally ended up doing was switching him and all the other cats to a totally non-fish diet...no fish meal, fish, or fish oil of any kind in their wet or dry and only feeding foods lower in magnesium.. They now eat the friskies "special diet" wet food (beef/chicken and beef/liver) and either nutro max cat roasted chicken dry or authority (petsmart brand) dry adult chicken foods...none of which have fish. Now I've had no UTI issues (crosses fingers) and they're at a deacent weight, although Niles is still a lot skinier than the other cats...If I could find him a no-fish grain free dry I'd definately include some to help him gain weight.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution that works for all of your cats.

Artgecko

It is frustrating - I took a look at the ingredients in C/D and talked to my vet about them as well - to me, as a layperson, didn't look all that great. But, she reassured me, and honestly, for me, the proof has been in the pudding - so far, Dante has had great urine samples.

Good luck with your baby - it's so hard to know what is truly the right course, but all we can do is try out best.

Well, Brody did have a UTI. No crystals though. Vet put him on 7 days of antibiotics and wants him on the S/D for 2-3wks., then onto the C/D. Ugh. He's 100% back to normal now though, so that's a good thing!

I'll definitely be keeping them on the prescription food for awhile.. but I'm seriously considering a switch to raw for them. I'm switching one of my dogs over soon and feel it might be a good option.

I would suggest keeping your vet in the loop before you make any diet changes. Prescription food is just that - a medical prescription. Raw may, or may not, be a good option, but I'm sure your vet will work with you for your cats' health.