Stopping urinary s/o

Hi,

My male cat had a urethral blockage a few years ago in summer and the vet unblocked it and gave him muscle relaxants and painkillers which worked for a few days only it came back even worse and I saw a new better vet. He checked under the microscope and confirmed it was crystals in his urine but I forgot to ask which type. The vet didn't mention any thing about an infection and I don't think he had one. He was put on urinary s/o food and the problem never came back. I now feed him Royal Canin urinary s/o or c/d (the Hills one makes him throw up) which he loves mixed with Bozita wet food. He has put on a lot of weight but my vets don't stock the moderate calorie urinary food.

The problem is he used to hold his in urine for a long time and when he got the blockage it was during a really hot summer and he refused to eat wet food. I tried only giving him wet food several times in the past and noticed he was urinating less so I put him straight back on the s/o out of fear he would get a blockage again.  He also tends to only go when I'm sitting on the toilet (sorry tmi) so I pretend and sit on it for ages waiting for him to use the litter tray. However,  the problem goes when he's on s/o which makes him urinate more regularly and he goes on his own.

I am worried about the calorie content and quality of ingredients in the urinary food and he was not supposed to be on it for long. Do you think I can risk stopping the urinary food completely? 

Thanks.

I had two male cats who had history of struvite crystals. They were put on Hills kibble and ate it from then on. They never had any more blockages or problems. If I were you, I wouldn't chance it.

My vet says my boy should eat the urinary diet for life.  It has been her experience that switching back to regular food causes the problems to return. 

At first I had a real hard time getting him to eat the wet. He refused to eat the pate form.  But since he would eat the chunky form of regular food I found Royal Canin s/o chunks and gravy.

To get him to eat it I started by mixing some of the dry ts/o the he will eat with the wet.  One he started eating it I decreased the dry until I got to all wet.  Now he eats wet food twice a day and munches the dry in between.  

I completely understand you wanting to stop feeding the prescription foods. When my Jeta developed struvite crystals it was the final motivation I needed to switch to a raw diet. There was no way I was going to feed her the rx food my vet wanted me to feed. The first ingredient was corn!

But, you have to be *very* careful. The rx foods *are* effective at preventing the crystals. You might be able to find regular foods that do also but you would have to keep a close eye on him for a long time to be sure. I read someplace that the average recurrance time for struvite crystals is 18 months. Also, you have to consider that even if you do find a regular food that seems to work pet food manufacturers change their formulas all the time without notice. A change in the formula may result in it not working anymore.

If you decide to try a non-rx food, please be *very* careful. Especially with a male cat. They completely block more easily than females and that is life threatening. 

I just noticed this:

I am worried about the calorie content and quality of ingredients in the urinary food and he was not supposed to be on it for long.

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What do you mean he wasn't supposed to be on it for long? Normally cats that develop struvite crystals require a permanent diet change to prevent them from recurring.

Thanks for the replies.

I just assumed that the prescription food would be temporary as my vet mentioned feeding him more wet food in the future when it was cleared up.  His last check up was good but the vet said he could lose some weight.

I will continue to buy the prescription food so I don't run out and mix it with good quality wet food. I keep forgetting just how bad his blockage was, he was in so much pain and only passing blood so I can't let that happen again.

Meww said:

Thanks for the replies.

I just assumed that the prescription food would be temporary as my vet mentioned feeding him more wet food in the future when it was cleared up.  His last check up was good but the vet said he could lose some weight.

I will continue to buy the prescription food so I don't run out and mix it with good quality wet food. I keep forgetting just how bad his blockage was, he was in so much pain and only passing blood so I can't let that happen again.

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Are you talking about mxing your prescription food with food that is not prescription food here. If so, that would negate the benefit of feeding it to your cat. unless you mix it with wet food that is also prescription food. Work closely with your vet and follow the advice you get there.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

Are you talking about mxing your prescription food with food that is not prescription food here. If so, that would negate the benefit of feeding it to your cat. unless you mix it with wet food that is also prescription food. Work closely with your vet and follow the advice you get there.

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A TCS member thought she could control the crystal formation by mixing rx and non-rx foods. It seemed to work for a long time (several months or so) until the cat suffered a fatal blockage.

I can't emphasis enough how careful you have to be if you decide not to follow your vets instructions to a T. The crystals can form very slowly over a long period of time without any obvious symptoms until, in some cases, they get to the point where they are life threatening. I'm not being overly dramatic here. These crystals are nothing to mess with. 

Thanks for the advice. I have been giving him prescription food mixed with regular food for a couple of years and so far there's been no problems. I definitely won't stop giving him the prescription food now and I'll look for an alternative prescription wet food as he won't eat the two I've tried.

I jumped in this conversation because I have had two cats with history of struvite crystals. One has been totally blocked and that was a serious problem. He survives. He eats Purina UR wet food after trying two others and he also eats prescription Hills dry. It works for him. As a very young cat he was put on the dry kibble from the vet's office. He ate is and only for years, up until last year when as an older cat he has developed some other problems. We tried unsuccessfully last year to switch him to an all wet food diet, but he would not do it. He still holds out for the dry kibble sometimes, so I keep it on hand. However, his entire life, and he is 14 now, he has only had prescription food with no variations. Another thing I did, which I feel helped my cats is, I only give them filtered water. Since I started doing that, they never had another blockage.