Hill's prescription c/d=1 very stinky cat

 About 7 years ago my cat, Zephyr, had a urinary blockage. The vet at the time had him put on Hill's S/D, and then said just to supplement his diet with it from time to time afterward. Recently Zephyr had a relapse. The new vet switched him over to Hill's C/D and said to keep him on it permanently.

 If it keeps him peeing, I'm fine with it.

BUT- holy tamales- does he stink when he has a bowel movement. I'm not talking a little unpleasant smell either. The other day I came home from work and walked in the door and it smelled like someone had vomited all over the house.  It's really that bad. It certainly doesn't help that he doesn't bury his business. One of my other cats used to do it for him, but  now he won't go near the little box after Zephyr has had a trip in there.

 So, my question: is there anything that works well for struvite crystals that won't be so offensive when it comes back out? This is the first time he's ever been on a diet that has grains, and I think that might be part of the issue. Is there a grainless food for urinary tract health? or maybe there's a supplement that can help him digest the food better?

 If I have to just deal with it I will. I'd rather have a stinky cat that can pee than another emergency visit to the vet. Especially since the vet said that if he relapsed again it might be time for euthanasia. 

  I'm really hoping that there might be something out there that will at least tone down the smell a bit.

 Other info: He's a 10 year old, large breed. He's at his proper weight of around 15 pounds. Like I said before, other than when he was getting the s/d as a supplement, he's been mostly grainfree his entire life. The vet said I could also try the Royal Canin SO, but it seems to have similar ingredients to the C/D. 

Read this: http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

 Many prescription foods are full of poor quality ingredients and that results in stinky poop. Some cats are sensitive to grains and will have stinky poop, even if it's regular non-prescription food.

Can you feed only commercial canned food? Or add more canned food to the diet? Getting more water into the cat through diet will help keep the urinary system working. If dry food must be fed, feed any grain-free brand. It doesn't need to be a urinary tract specific formula.

I had a cat who was put on C/D dry because of urinary issues. I bought the food for a few years and then switched to a non-prescription dry food. My cat never had a urinary issue on the non-prescription food. So I don't think your cat *needs* to be on prescription food for life.

 Okay, so looking at that link, it sounds like he's saying that the only thing that matters at all for crystals is the water content. So magnesium, ph,  etc. doesn't matter? Zephyr does get the sludge type, not actual stones, which the link says really is just a matter of water.

 Another question: what if I took a higher quality dry food and soaked it overnight? It would be cheaper than the canned, but still have extra moisture. Does that help, or does it have to be canned food for some reason?

 My other cats are currently on Blue Basics Fish and potato. Would soaking that be appropriate ?  I'm just nervous because I don't want him to go through that pain ever again, and it's been drilled into my head that the special low ph, low magnesium foods are what he needs to keep him healthy.

  He is a good water drinker. But, being that he is such a large cat, what I see as him drinking plenty might not actually be enough for his size, I guess.

 One more question: he mentions making "tuna water" to help get them to drink more. While I do let my cats have the liquid drained off of a can, I was of the understanding that tuna should only be occasional? So, i assume that "tuna water" shouldn't be used as a daily thing to get more liquid into them? Or is a can split into 32 "servings" not going to hurt them even if they get a serving daily?

I'm not sure about the tuna water - I used to let my previous tabby girls drink it to up their water intake but no more than once a week even in their older years (16 +) by which time the vet said they should eat and drink anything they wanted to keep their weight up.   On the odour issues - have you talked to this vet about the undesireable 'side effect' of this food?  Seems to me they should be informed about this and talk about what if any alternatives there are if this diet doesn't suit your cat.

jikin said:

 
 Okay, so looking at that link, it sounds like he's saying that the only thing that matters at all for crystals is the water content. So magnesium, ph,  etc. doesn't matter? Zephyr does get the sludge type, not actual stones, which the link says really is just a matter of water.

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Well, you need water to keep the urine diluted and the kidneys working optimally so bacteria and crystals and other things don't clump up and potentially cause problems.

jikin said:

 
 Another question: what if I took a higher quality dry food and soaked it overnight? It would be cheaper than the canned, but still have extra moisture. Does that help, or does it have to be canned food for some reason?

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No, never soak dry food and let it sit for hours. Bacteria will happily grow in it and may cause tummy issues. Someone on another board tried it once and the result was dubbed "cocoa mold" and there was a picture of the food

Canned food already has a high moisture content so it's best to feed that. I know some people feed raw to their urinary issue prone cats but raw feeding isn't for everyone.

If you have to feed dry, could you also feed some canned food? That would be more ideal thant 100% dry food. You don't need to feed an expensive premium brand of canned food. Any canned food that your cat likes to eat and you can afford will help. There's nothing wrong with Fancy Feast and Friskies and other inexpensive brands, IMO. Adding some extra water to the canned food will help ensure that your cat is getting water. The food doesn't need to be soup-liike unless your cat likes that.

A small amount of tuna water daily should be ok. Be sure to use the tuna in water type, not the type in oil. Some brands of tuna may have other ingredients added so read the label and choose one just has tuna and water listed. You could also poach some skinless boneless chicken in plain water and give some of the cooking water (now more like broth) to the cat. Freeze the water in an ice cube tray to use later. The poached chicken can be given as treats or you can use it for your own meal.

I don't think there is any grain-less prescription dry food for urinary tract health  There is a wet food, Purina UR St/ox, that just has rice and oat fiber (not sure about other cats, but my cat seems to just have a problem with gluten, not all grains), but it is really expensive.  My cat had crystals and was put on Hills c/d but I couldn't deal with his stool anymore - it not only smelled horrible, but was always loose or diarrhea.  I ended up putting him on an all-wet diet with added extra water.  He hasn't had any problems so far.  I have him on Friskies pate, which just has rice and no other grains and is very affordable.  I know Fancy Feast Classics (pate) is grain-free.  I have heard different things about if water content is the only thing you need to worry about or if magnesium, etc. is important too.  However it is my understanding that foods high in phosphorus are generally high in magnesium too - the link below gives phosphorus contents of different wet foods so if you decide on wet food you could try finding one low in phosphorus.  Also be sure to avoid fish flavors because those tend to be higher in magnesium/phosphorus/etc.

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/SortableCatFoodChartCatinfo.org2-22-13.htm

The problem with urinary issues is that each cat has different experiences. So no one here can tell you what the perfect answer is. For example, my cat ate c/d dry food for years & his poop barely smelled. Now that I know that dry food is bad for cats with these issues (need more moisture), I switched him over to c/d wet. No change in smell of poop. So they're all different & often changing foods causes tummy upset, regardless of which food is actually better for them.

Right now, these are the foods that I feel my Rocky:  Hills C/d wet stew chicken, Cats in the Kitchen Pumpkin Lickin Chicken & Love me Tender, Tiki Cat Succulent Chicken in Consumme, Nature's Variety Pride Rockstar Rabbit & Lucky Lamb. I always add about 1/4c water into each meal. He's been doing great now for 6 months.

My new vet also agreed with Dr. Pierson from catinfo in that water is the #1 concern, stress the #2. The levels of magnesium, phosphorous & other things are no longer considered important. I would never tell you that your cat doesn't need Rx food. You cat needs the combination of food that works best for him. I certainly hope that you do find it!