My 11 yo kitty Mandy has a combo of issues. All have been present to one degree or another since I adopted her when she was 5 yo. She's had chronic UTI's (primarily bacterial infections but also had crystals one time), chronic constipation, and issues with her anal glands filling up.
UTI's have occurred fairly frequently. Lately she seems to develop one every 2 months or so. She is no longer responsive to Clavamox. For a while, Convenia seemed to be the magic bullet but this last time she experienced a severe reaction to the drug so no more Convenia for her. Now we're left with Orbax Beyond treating the active infection with drugs, she also eats Royal Canin Prescription Urinary S/O Dry and a variety of wet foods (primarily EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey canned and ProPlan Urinary Health canned). Her daily diet is approximately half wet, half dry.
Constipation is another thing that she's had to one degree or another since I adopted her. She used to have fairly regular semi-dry, marble-sized poos. That has changed in the last year or so. Now she can go days without pooping. She has had an enema and now she takes once daily lactulose as well as daily laxatone. The vet said no pumpkin but I think that's because of her urinary tract issues. I keep seeing a lot of discussion regarding the pros and cons of increasing fiber to cure constipation versus simply increasing the quantity of wet food (low fiber). Mandy eats significantly more wet food in her diet than ever before and, if anything, the constipation seems to be worse as we are now treating regularly with Lactulose and Laxatone. So is more fiber the way to go?
Finally, Mandy's anal glands get full frequently. We get them expressed every 2 months or so. When I read about this problem, one of the common solutions recommended is to increase fiber so that the anal glands express themselves.
Other things that I've tried: water fountain (she refused to drink from it or get near it) and Dasuquin (chondroitin & glucosamine combo which vet says is the last thing that he can think to try to help with her chronic UTI's) - we only just started giving her Dasuquin 1 month ago so the jury is still out on whether or not this helps with her UTI's.
I really don't know what to do at this point. Today I emailed my vet to ask him if he thinks that Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Fiber Response food might be a good solution. From the reviews, it sounds like many people have had success with this food to cure their kitty's constipation issues. The food also seems to be formulated to reduce urinary tract issues (crystals). And the increased fiber should (in theory) be a good thing for her anal glands. I guess that the only remaining question is if high fiber is the right solution for her constipation.
Are there any others out there who have dealt with this triad of issues? If so, did you find anything that worked? Treating my kitty has become very expensive very fast. It's rare that I don't spend at least $100-200 on vet visits each month. But right now I'm willing to spend more if we can just make her healthy.
UTI's have occurred fairly frequently. Lately she seems to develop one every 2 months or so. She is no longer responsive to Clavamox. For a while, Convenia seemed to be the magic bullet but this last time she experienced a severe reaction to the drug so no more Convenia for her. Now we're left with Orbax Beyond treating the active infection with drugs, she also eats Royal Canin Prescription Urinary S/O Dry and a variety of wet foods (primarily EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey canned and ProPlan Urinary Health canned). Her daily diet is approximately half wet, half dry.
Constipation is another thing that she's had to one degree or another since I adopted her. She used to have fairly regular semi-dry, marble-sized poos. That has changed in the last year or so. Now she can go days without pooping. She has had an enema and now she takes once daily lactulose as well as daily laxatone. The vet said no pumpkin but I think that's because of her urinary tract issues. I keep seeing a lot of discussion regarding the pros and cons of increasing fiber to cure constipation versus simply increasing the quantity of wet food (low fiber). Mandy eats significantly more wet food in her diet than ever before and, if anything, the constipation seems to be worse as we are now treating regularly with Lactulose and Laxatone. So is more fiber the way to go?
Finally, Mandy's anal glands get full frequently. We get them expressed every 2 months or so. When I read about this problem, one of the common solutions recommended is to increase fiber so that the anal glands express themselves.
Other things that I've tried: water fountain (she refused to drink from it or get near it) and Dasuquin (chondroitin & glucosamine combo which vet says is the last thing that he can think to try to help with her chronic UTI's) - we only just started giving her Dasuquin 1 month ago so the jury is still out on whether or not this helps with her UTI's.
I really don't know what to do at this point. Today I emailed my vet to ask him if he thinks that Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Fiber Response food might be a good solution. From the reviews, it sounds like many people have had success with this food to cure their kitty's constipation issues. The food also seems to be formulated to reduce urinary tract issues (crystals). And the increased fiber should (in theory) be a good thing for her anal glands. I guess that the only remaining question is if high fiber is the right solution for her constipation.
Are there any others out there who have dealt with this triad of issues? If so, did you find anything that worked? Treating my kitty has become very expensive very fast. It's rare that I don't spend at least $100-200 on vet visits each month. But right now I'm willing to spend more if we can just make her healthy.
