cat has developed crystals in urinary tract

My male cat had been on Science Diet adult indoor for 7 years, and was interested in the best food so I gradually changed his food to Blue adult indoor. All he has ever had was dry food.  He developed crystals to the point of a three day stay at the vets and considerable expense. Will be on Royal Canin urinary SO per the vet. My question is was this crystal problem caused by the food change, it seems like it. But I am afraid to change his food back to the Science diet because of the pain and discomfort he went through.interested

  I want the best for my rescue kitty, but looking for some opinions. 

Dry food is not good for a cat with urinary tract issues. Please go to www.catinfo.org if you would like to read a vet's take on it.

thank you vball91,

   My cat had been on science diet adult indoor for 8 years and just 4-5 weeks ago I put him on blue indoor adult, then he developed the blockage. Just coincidence ? Just curious if you or anyone else have seen something similar.

Well, my cat had been on a combination of dry and some canned for 6 years. She developed a urinary tract problem this past December which is when I started researching and learned a lot about cat nutrition. Now I am trying to feed her a much more species appropriate diet to hopefully prevent more of the same issues as well as give her a better quality of life overall.

Although the change in diet may have had an impact, the primary factor was probably that the food switched to was dry. Had you switched to a regular, wet food, chances of a UTI would be much lower. The prescription diets limit the amount of magnesium and phosphorus so that stone formation is not likely. You should think carefully about whether or not you want your cat on prescription food, as magnesium is an essential nutrient and many feel the lack of it in prescription diets eventually causes much more serious diseases.

My kitty had a stone last year. I did not feed her the prescription diet, as recommended. I switched her to 100% wet with extra water added. I also test her urine pH with urine strips.

Hi I’m Lori and I work at Hill’s. I saw your question and want to provide you with a little bit of info, too. It sounds like your cat was doing well on Science Diet. I want to assure you that we take into consideration urinary tract health for cats. We absolutely know how important that is.

Minerals like magnesium and phosphorus need to be at levels that are beneficial, but not excessive that can lead to the development of stones or crystals. Additionally, it’s important that the urinary pH be normal acid for adult cats.

There are many factors that can lead to stone/crystal formation. Some cats can develop them due to being nervous (afraid of storms, etc), or even if their water source is high in minerals. So, it is not an easy condition to pinpoint the cause.

Sufficient water intake is key to helping cats with UTI. Sometimes we recommend providing distilled water. Also, alternating dry with canned food is helpful. I give my cat Roady a treat of canned food every evening and I add water to it to assure he gets plenty. He is happy and just loves that he gets the extra special treatment! 

With regard to Prescription Diet foods from Hill’s, you can rest assured that the level of magnesium is not deficient in any way. If your veterinarian recommends one of our products, we’re more than happy to take you through the nutrient profile and explain how it works. We want you to feel completely comfortable with feeding our food to your cat. I’m a cat parent too and feel the same way. J Thanks for the opportunity to respond and I hope this helps.

jadedogr said:

thank you vball91,

   My cat had been on science diet adult indoor for 8 years and just 4-5 weeks ago I put him on blue indoor adult, then he developed the blockage. Just coincidence ? Just curious if you or anyone else have seen something similar.

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No, it is not a coincidence at all. A cat that is prone to urinary crystals requires a permanent diet change to a food that is formulated in a way to prevent the crystals.

mschauer said:

No, it is not a coincidence at all. A cat that is prone to urinary crystals requires a permanent diet change to a food that is formulated in a way to prevent the crystals.

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Welcome to TCS! 

I think mschauer is saying that the crystals becoming evident after the switch

to another DRY FOOD is not a coincidence...

it is very unlikely that it is related specifically to the Blue Buffalo.

As others have said, the best thing you can do for your Kitty is to eliminate Dry food altogether,

or at least provide 2 canned meals per day (with added warm water)

and use the dry as a small between meal snack.

IMO, as for the dry food, I'd make avoiding corn and soy my #1 priority.

They are almost certainly Genetically modified (over 90% of corn and soy grown in the USA are now GM)

and have either been sprayed directly with pesticides, or contain pesticide DNA,

which has been shown to pass to the digestive system of the animal who consumes it.

If you do a search of the forums, you can find lots more helpful info

on preventing crystals and Urinary Tract issues.  

In my own personal opinion the food switch and onset of crystals is not a coincidence. But I'm not a vet and that is just an opinion. You might want to check with your vet and see if there is a wet food you can transition your cat to. UTI infections, crystals etc. are common in cats on an all kibble diet if they do not drink enough water. Check with your vet and see what he/she will recommend for an all wet diet and then maybe transition slowly.