Help a fireman and his puss pick a good UTI friendly food

sugarwookie

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 I have a 12 year old girl, who is the light of my life. She has a history of UTI's and Struvite Crystals. Sadie had to have surgery last year, and I was never more terrified in all my life that I would lose my best friend, and room mate. 

 I have since tried very hard to find the best food for her. It's been a nightmare because if I find something that I think is healthy enough, she'll generally only eat half a small can of it.

 I thought I had things licked when I put her on Weruva pouch foods. She was getting three to four a day, and her clumps were great! I also started supplementing her with Fortiflora, which ended 12 years of vomit about every other meal. The problem was loose stool with this protocol. After many different attempts to bulk up the stool, I gave up, and went back to studying her food. I determined that it was the tapioca starch that was causing her to have ribbon like poo. After putting her on Canidae pure, the poo went back to normal almost overnight. The problem with this is that she won't eat as much, and her urine clumps are getting smaller, which worries me that we're heading back down the crystal road again.

 Tonight i tried a can of Blue, and a  can of Instinct duck. She ate at each for about two minutes, and then went back to lounging. She will finish the pouch of Weruva that I lay out (Left overs) and so I'm at a loss. I have had some success with tiki cat chicken with tuna, but I know that fish is a nono, but she'll eat the whole can. 

 i have a fountain, and change her water daily, so I'm not sure what else to try. Have any of you had similar issues? Any food you can recommend that might be worth a shot?

Thanks!
 

thehistorian

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Okay, so here is something you might find shocking.

Try Fancy Feast or Sheba wet food with her. I know they are on the cheaper end and a lot of so called higher end food companies talk down about these foods, BUT Fancy Feast and Sheba actually meet far more of the requirements for good cat nutrition than foods like Blue Buffalo and Wellness.

The reason being is this: Fancy Feast  classics and Sheba pates are not only grain free, but also carbohydrate free. Foods like Blue Buffalo and Wellness are often stuffed with crap like potatoes, peas, and other cheap sources of plant protein. Carbohydrates are not good for cats in high amounts and often, are a big part of the reason for obesity, diabetes etc. Basically, dry food should NEVER be a cat's exclusive diet - but I can see you already caught onto that with your cat's issues.

I really don't think they (carbohydrates) help much with urinary issues, either. In addition, the cheaper foods have often proven to be extremely palatable to cats. SO, if you want to at least get her eating more, I would try good old Fancy Feast or Sheba. As for more specific foods that are good specifically for urinary tract issues, check out this website: 

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

I personally rotate Sheba, Nature's Variety Instinct, and Nutro Natural Choice, and Natural Balance wet foods because I cannot always afford to buy strictly Nature's Variety. Luckily, my cat seems to love all of these. 
 

sparkly1girl

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Hi,

I had two bengal females that had a lot of UTI's. I have been used Newman's Organic Turkey & Veg flavor on and off with quite good results. I believe this particular flavor (Not Turkey, or obviously Turkey & Salmon) is fish free. This food does have the carageenan? which there is some questions about.

The Tiki Cat - I just bought some that is purely Chicken that has high customer ratings. There is

Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau Succulent Chicken in Chicken Consomme Canned Cat Food

Tiki Cat Koolina Luau Succulent Chicken with Egg in Chicken Consomme Canned Cat Food


I personally believe strongly in small amounts of Organic Plain Kefir, or Yogurt - that it has helped my kitties digestive health - & overall health. I would give fresh kefir or yogurt over any powders with fillers. For the probiotics. Sometimes they will just lick a little up off a plate. Or you can take a food syringe (the kind for medicine, not with a needle) and just put a little in their mouth - well that's what I did when my rescue boy was on deaths door - and I believe it helped get him through.

You can add small amounts of water to their food to try and get more liquids in them - though too much and they might not like it watering down their food.

It seems like you are not but I wouldn't feed any dry or dry snacks ever. I have started buying small amounts (1/2 pound) of fresh ground lamb from Whole Food, cooking it on (about a tablespoon) Low heat with about 1/2 or less inch of water in a frying pan (no oil or anything) So cooking very lightly for about 5+ minutes until it's cooked but not over cooked. Then I give my male rescue this with the water/broth about once a day in addition to his canned food and I feel this is helping him. The liquid - rich with the lamb - alone I think helps him. His allergies are clearing up rapidly. Igive him canned aa the main food and this lamb stew once a day - about a tablespoon of lamb. I keep the rest in the fridge, nice and cold for up to 4-5 days to cook and then buy more.

I'm afraid to try raw - but only because I don't know if I can do it properly and also because he is FIV positive - though many swear by it.

If you feel your cat is on the cusp of a UTI you could mix warm water with a little food and give that to her throughout the day- like a teaspoon amount with the feeding syringe - what I mean is you can squirt just a tiny amount in her mouth so she's getting the liquid in her. It's what I do when he is not doing as well and he seems fine with it.

I really rinse his water bowls well to make sure there is no soap residue. I use Electrolyte water and occasionally distilled water - Smart water or it's cheaper at Whole Foods (they have their own version) or Trader Joes. Some people think I'm nuts for giving cat's bottled water but I really don't care.My bengals drank that water much more happily over tap water and seemed better health & UTI wise. My rescue cat also.

I would also occasionally take a small towel, put a little warm water on it, and just kind of gently wash their faces and fur - because they were indoors a lot and I think they can feel dry and irritated and this made them happy. I use a humidifier too. I know this is external - clearly not directly related to a UTI but I feelthat keeping things comfortable humidity wise just helps with overall health. Brushing them gently including their bellies I think keeps their bodies stimulated - kind of a kitty massage.

There are companies that sell raw food or also food that you can cook at home for your cat. I haven't gotten this far - but it seems like this fresh lamb is helping.  Sorry this is massive. I just know how it feels to love your pet so dearly and wanting them to feel well. <3 Best.
 

sparkly1girl

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Oh, sorry - more thoughts..

Do you really wash out the water container daily when you put the fresh water in? I noticed with mine that the bowls can start having a cat food odor within a day - I guess just from the small amouts of food from when the cats drink - and they don't want the water when this happens.

I try sometimes to put more than one water bowl around - & it's like they see it and get a drink instead of just when they happen to be in the kitchen.
 

bonepicker

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This is what I rotate Pride by Instinct Rockstar Rabbit, Tiki cat Puka chicken, nutro natural choice chunky chicken loaf, Natural Balance Catatouille Stew, weruva Peking duck, Merrick duck or chicken pate. They seem to like all Merrick even Grammys pot pie and Cowboy cookout. Merrick has carageenan, the others ones mentioned do not. I have a male and female middle aged cat with no issues. I do NOT feed dry.
 
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sparkly1girl

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Hi bonepicker,

I'm not going to hijack the thread, but I'm writing all of these down to check out for my kitty -I'm leaning towards no fish whatsoever . I worry about my male cat's  urinary health too.The good health of your cats says a lot.  Thanks.
 

bonepicker

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. I like to rotate proteins, brands, and textures in case of recalls, boredom, allergies, recipe changes. I feed different one every day for a week or twice a day for a week. They split 5.5 oz can am and pm and split 3 oz can at bedtime. They like rabbit and pork in both pride and natures variety (same company). Pride is more stew like, less pate. They like chunky chicken loaf in nutro natural choice (it is more pate) They eat chicken shreds in tiki puka and weruva Peking Duck. They eat beef in Merricks Cowboy Cookout which is small chunks. They eat pate in merrick duck or chicken pate. In natural balance they like catatouille stew which is chicken and liver. The like wellness Devine duos chicken/duck which is minced and pate combo. When they want a treat I give them 5 or 6 bits of high grade kibble every other day or so. NO Temptations I find chewy.com has best prices. One 5 lb bag of kibble lasts more than a year fed only as a treat, I toss a piece and they chase it.
 
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sugarwookie

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 You know, I'd thought about checking into Sheba just to see what they have in theirs. I appreciate the thoughtful advice, and I'm not above going cheap when it comes to food, lol. I think she eats better than I do! I think the key is getting them to actually "eat", and if I had to sacrifice a little quality for a full tummy, and possibly less problems I'm all for it. I'll definitely look into it, and thanks again!
 
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sugarwookie

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Hey Sparkly,

 Thank you for taking the time. I agree that Tiki seems to have it nailed with the ingredients minus the bad stuff, but she really won't eat it. My Mom comes by to feed her when I'm on duty, and only then will she clean her plate because I'm gone for about 14 hours from her last feed. When I'm around, she might pick at it, but will leave half a can, and won't touch the chicken with egg for some reason (Those damn names they give their foods!) She currently will eat a whole can of the chicken and tuna, and I know it's not a great idea. I'm only hoping that they don't mix in fish meal, or bones, as Tiki seems to be legit with the meat they use.

 The Weruva pouches all have tapioca starch, which makes her stool soft and she cries, but the flip side is she pees a lot, and finishes her meal when I put it down. It's definitely not an easy road to take, and we've had more misses than hits, but thank you again for the advice. I'm going to try and add a smaller fountain in another part of the apartment, and also make sure the water is extra clean. I've been using an electric kettle to boil it the night before, but maybe I should try some of the smart water and see if she takes to it more.

Thanks!
 
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sugarwookie

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Hey Bonepicker,

 Thank you for the suggestions. I've tried quite a few of those, mostly with no luck. For some reason she didn't like the Nine liver, but I may try the Peking duck and see what she thinks. I've given her rockstar rabbit before and she eats it, so maybe I'll try that. I have had some luck with Canidae Duck/rabbit, but her urine has gone from two almost baseball sized clumps in a 24 hour period, to two about the size of a small lime.
 

cnorman126

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Our vet just told us to give our cats Blue Buffalo wet food its got less fillers and the most protien. They have a mature cat blend for wet food to aid in uti problems. Also fancy feast came out with a broth type food our kitten gobbled it up but its mostly liquid so it might assist your cat too.
 
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