Foster on Urinary Tract Food Issues

Hi there

I started fostering a very sweet black cat named Lexi last week. 7 years old and very dainty. From what I can tell, she started having some problems, and her owner took her to the vet. When she was diagnosed with urinary tract problems, her owner dumped her at the shelter. The vet helped us spring her out, my rescue covered her bills, and now she is with me.

She came with cans of wet food and two bags of dry. It is special urinary tract food. It's Royal Canine. She will only touch the wet food. She has maybe eaten a little of the dry. She eats about half a can a day. She appears to go to the bathroom fine. She is happy.

My worry is trying to adopt her out on this expensive food. I worry. Are their cheaper options? My rescue is covering the food now, but if we find a good adoptee on a fixed budget, I'm unsure what to tell them about food.

Any thoughts?

If she has a history of struvite crystals, which is likely the case from your description, a diet that will prevent the crystals from forming is absolutely critical. It is possible that a  non-rx food will do the trick but there is no guarantee of that. Even if a non-rx food is found that works today the formulation could change in the future such that it doesn't work.

In my opinion any prospective adopter must be told that she requires the rx food. Yes, that will make it more difficult to find her a forever home but your organization must be up front about her special needs. You mustn't tell them that they might be able to get away with feeding a non-rx food. They may experiment and not being familiar with urinary issues they might miss the signs that she is having difficulty and she could suffer greatly for it.

I have a cat with a history of struvite crystals and I feed a raw diet to keep her clear of the crystals.  Despite that I can't overstate how important I think it is  for a shelter (or rescue) cat to be fed the food that is safest for them and the most convenient for a prospective adopter. If they are told it is OK to feed something other than an rx diet and she then requires expensive vet treatment because the non-rx diet didn't work, they likely will just return her to the shelter.

Bottom line, she is a special needs cat. If an adopter can't afford to feed her the food she requires then she isn't the cat  for them. 

Thank you. Per my post, are there cheaper options?

I'm not aware of cheaper options, but in the uk it's possible to get the rx food from veterinary supplies websites, and even some online general pet food sites. Its significantly cheaper than buying direct from the vet. My boy is on a little of the Royal Canin urinary s/o dry (he refused point blank to eat any of the prescription wet foods ), alongside a primarily wet diet. He's been crystal free for 10 years.

Having said that, I absolutely agree with mschauer - you need to adopt out saying she has to be on the prescription diet. Then, if her owners decide to explore non prescription options further down the line, they can't blame you if she has a flare up.

Well you don't have to worry about disclosure.

Are there any other brands besides Royal Canine?

The other prescription brand is Hills. I can't tell you the exact food name as I've never used it. I don't think it's any cheaper though. I really would recommend keeping Lexi on a prescription diet for now. Stress can trigger a crystals flare, and this must be a stressful time for her.