Male Cat Urine Crystals and Stress

Hi... my 7 year old male cat had a stressful event 6 days ago. When I was in the garage, he got into a closet with some plastic shopping bags and he got one of the handles stuck around his neck. That particular bag had other bags inside of it. My husband heard him after a few minutes of running around. Apparently he ran all over the house trying to remove the bag from his neck, and the other bags fell out along the way. There were even ripped, clawed pieces of the bag laying around the house. My husband caught him and removed the bag from around his neck. Apparently, to a cat, the bag can seam as if they have been caught by another animal and can be very stressful. We gave him lots of love and helped him to calm down.

A few days ago I noticed him squatting outside the litter box like has was going to pee there. I shoo'd him twice and thought that was weird, because he never went outside the box before. When I found him squatting the 3rd time, he ran but I saw a small amount of red clear liquid on the mat. I dabbed it up with a tissue and googled it. It sounded like a UTI and we headed out to the vet.

The vet tested him and said he has urinary crystals, but didn't say which kind. She said he did not have stones yet, but had a lot of blood in his urine. He also has been eating dry cat food all of his 7 years, but higher quality food without corn, wheat or soy. He does like water and I see him drinking it quite often.

So the vet sent me home with Royal Cain urinary dry food. Well, the first 2 ingredients are rice and corn..... GMO corn of course. I asked her how this could be good and she practically yelled at me that I have to feed him this or stones could form and he would have to have surgery. This just doesn't make sense to me that GMO food is going to solve my cat's problem. The vet also had 2 emergencies that day (so sorry to the lady who's dog died) and I don't think I got the vets full attention due to the emergencies.

So I've been doing more research for the past 24 hours and it seems most vet recommendations are a strict wet food diet for any cat, sick or not. Apparently crystals get out of control with a dry diet. I went to the store and bought some FreshPet refrigerated chicken that's all natural and 65% moisture. I have a 2nd cat who is allergic to beef, and I couldn't find a canned food without meat byproducts in it. Both cats have to eat the same food.

Do you think his crystals are just stress related from the bag incident and shouldn't be a problem once it's cleared up? I read that crystals are completely naturally occurring in all cats, it's just the high level that causes problems in males. What wet food do any of you recommend? Any advice from other male cat owners with crystals? Thanks in advance.

I learned that crystals can be the result of a not drinking enough water. It was reccomended to me to always have a regular water bowl kept in the same place. And, to have a 'floating' water bowl that is moved regularily It was explained that because cats are originally desert creatures when they happen upon water it is instinct to drink some. I noticed an increase in my cats water intake when i did this.

Here's a good web site with info on urinary issues and diet: http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Jackie FL said:

 
So I've been doing more research for the past 24 hours and it seems most vet recommendations are a strict wet food diet for any cat, sick or not. Apparently crystals get out of control with a dry diet. I went to the store and bought some FreshPet refrigerated chicken that's all natural and 65% moisture. I have a 2nd cat who is allergic to beef, and I couldn't find a canned food without meat byproducts in it. Both cats have to eat the same food.

Do you think his crystals are just stress related from the bag incident and shouldn't be a problem once it's cleared up? I read that crystals are completely naturally occurring in all cats, it's just the high level that causes problems in males. What wet food do any of you recommend? Any advice from other male cat owners with crystals? Thanks in advance.

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Stress can play a role. More often, though, it's because of a dry food diet. The urinary system needs water to work at its optimal level. Dry food has no water so it leaves the body too dehydrated. A cat just won't drink enough water to meet its needs. A canned fod diet can help because of the high moisure content. Some people even add extra water to the canned food.

Try any of the Weruva foods. There are no by products. http:/www.weruva.com Weruva is sold at non chain independent pet stores. They also make Soulistic which is sold at Petco. Nature's Variety Instinct is another good brand. You can check the Food and Nutrition forum for other brands or post a question there.

My boy has had partial blockages twice about a year ago. After the first one, I tried an OTC Urinary Tract dry food. When his second partial blockage came two months later, I started my research. He was (and sometimes still is) a very skiddish kitty, and can get stressed so easily. On top of that, the dry food diet was part of the problem, too. I was on a strict budget, so I had to cut in other places in order to feed all canned.

So, I switched all my cats to an all-canned diet, and made the water fountain (which I highly recommend) was always full of fresh water. 

Several months ago, after no signs of crystals or blockages since the second one, I've begun to introduce dry food back into their diets. However, I will not make it more than 50% of their diet. When I weigh the pros and cons, it just isn't worth risking it more.  Anywho, so far, so good! The dry food I have them on is Simply Nourish Source Rabbit and Chicken, but I'm changing it because his coat is getting dull and coarse from the dry food. I would recommend a high-grade food with no grains, by-products, and has good meat sources, if you do end up trying to keep dry in his diet. However! I also, like your vet did, recommend doing the wet food only diet for a while, to make sure that solution works. I know it's more expensive  to feed all canned, but it's way cheaper than the vet bills you would incur and the pain your baby would go through getting crystals again.

Edit: I hope this post doesn't come off as "I think you need to do this." These are just my experiences and advice/suggestions. ^_^

Hi! I had a similar experience, my 4 year old female cat peed on my bed unexpectedly Thursday night, took her to the vet Friday and they said she didn't have a uti but had crystals in her urine (didn't say what kind). They have me switching her to c/d multicare urinary stress dry food. They did ask about wet food but I cannot get her to touch wet food at all and money is very very tight right now. She had a normal amount of pee in her box Friday and Saturday and She did a normal sized pee at about 6am this morning and another one at about 330pm this afternoon. I have a water fountain for her and I see her drinking on a regular basis. As long as she is eating, drinking, and peeing normal amounts without a problem will she be alright? I do plan on taking her back in 3 to 4 weeks as long as she continues to act normally. What kinds of signs should I look for beyond frequent trips to the box/trouble in the box/unusually small pees? I'm just worried about her I hate thinking that she's uncomfortable. Thanks in advance.

Your poor kitty! My cat had a similar bag handle around the neck trauma happen...twice. Poor thing ran like lightening through the house! Fortunately, that cat is not the one with urinary issues, or else we'd be in trouble. 

I do have a cat with FLUTD. He's had crystals and been completely blocked twice. I can understand your apprehension with the Royal Canin SO dry food suggestion. As your research has shown, dry food is a major contributor to urinary issues. I wish I knew this earlier. I've been feeding my boy Hills Rx dry food since his blockages, and he still had occasional issues. He is now on Hills Rx wet (50%) and other high quality grain free wet the other 50%. He's doing great.

I'm more concerned about the fact that the food is dry than the GMO ingredients. Yes, they're not ideal, but the dry v wet is the bigger issue with these cats. Since your cats urine had crystals in it, I'd really suggest that you go back to the vet and get the wet version of the Royal Canin SO or Hills C/D. They vet may even suggest Hills S/D at first to break down the crystals & then C/D for maintenance. Once the cats urine is cleared up, then look to gradually switch to a high quality, grain free wet food. If you believe that vet didn't give you the best advice, perhaps another is available for a second opinion.