Urinary acidifiers- found in food?

Hi,

My cat has previously had urinary crystals (struvite) and  also has food allergies. He cannot tolerate prescription urinary diets due to the corn. Currently he get crushed methionine tablets added to his food.

Obviously long term use of methionine (especially high amounts) has been linked to metabolic acidosis and renal failure. So keeping him on this supplement the rest of his life is not ideal. He does well on the supplement (ph around 6.4) but without it his ph shoots up to 8.0.

What are some foods I can add to his diet that will help acidify his urine and keep it in the proper ph range?

I've heard cranberry is a minor urinary acidifier, but am wondering what other foods may help?

Has anyone used ammonium chloride or other urinary acidifiers for their cat?

Simply using a pure-meat diet is not enough for my cat. We tried that and it didn't work, as his ph was still too high and he relapsed with another episode of cystitis.

Right now he is on Pork dog food by natural balance as it is the only food that he is not allergic too. He gets methionine and some vitamins added to that. Again not ideal, but his health issues are so complex. I literally cannot find a food he is not allergic to. All poultry is out, so is beef, and lamb. But he does well on Pork.

You might try Feline Caviar. They claim that their food helps prevent crystals, and that it has a PH level between 6.1 and 6.4. They make this claim about their dry food. I'm not sure about the wet.

http://felinecaviar.com/products/

Most of their products contain chicken, but there is a venison one.

Sarah Ann said:

 
Right now he is on Pork dog food by natural balance as it is the only food that he is not allergic too. He gets methionine and some vitamins added to that.

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Are you a adding taurine? Dog food does not contain taurine or not enough taurine for a cat's needs.

Why not try to get more water into the cat to keep the urine diluted enough to prevent crystals from clumping up? Canned foods will help with this. I think Dr. Lisa had info on urinary issues and pH and diet on her web site http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Have you tried the Nature's Variety Limited Ingredients foods?

Trying a raw or homecooked diet may be something worth considering since you have control over what ingredients go into the diet. You can find more into on this on the Raw and Home Cooked diet forum here on TCS.