Struvite Crystals.. help

I hope i put this in the right section.....

Hello all, looking for some advice.... My male kitty ( i have 3 cats total ) started acting funny on Monday night.. Tuesday my son said Nado ( the cat ) was using the litter box very often, so i began to watch him and check after each time, only to find small ( jelly bean size ) deposits of urine clumped.. I called the vet wednesday morning and they told me to bring him in thursday for an overnight stay so they could get a urine sample. all activity was normal in him other then the excessive litter box use with little results ( I might add we are in the process of moving so we thought his slight behavior change was stress related from that ) 

We took him to the vet yesterday as instructed, and first thing this morning the called and said they were able to get a sample and that Nado was loaded with crystals and they were surprised he wasnt blocked! but that we could come pick him up... we immediately went, to get him home to be more comfortable , when we got there i asked many questions... and was told it was Struvite crystals and he was put on an antibiotic ( i dont know the name, it isnt on the bottle ) and a special diet to dissolve the crystals... and they handed me a bag of dry hills diet SD. told me to bring him back in 2 weeks for another overnight stay for a urine sample and if he stopped urinating all together to call immediately, I mentioned i read dry cat food was not good for cats with this condition, but she insisted he needed to be on it, more then likely permanently ( I have 3 cats total, so now i will need to separate them to feed? )  I asked if it came in a wet food and she handed me 2 cans.... ugh

My question is, if dry food is not good for cats with struvite crystals why did my vet insist my cat eat this and ONLY this.  i was told to keep him away from the other cats food, and that he could have NONE!

Any help or input appreciated.  

Thanks !

Nado's Mom " Teri" 

Hi, and welcome to TCS 

Cat nutrition is always a thorny subject, and never more so when it comes to FLUTD. The prescription diets formulated for crystals all come in wet and dry forms. It is really important to give these foods because, as your vet said, they are specifically designed to dissolve the struvite crystals to allow them to be excreted in the urine (thereby hopefully removing the need for surgery, or in preventing re blocking post surgery). No other foods can do this.

You'd be perfectly within your rights to request the wet formulation of the Hills, and imo that would be preferable. Having said that, when my guy blocked 10 years ago the ONLY prescription diet he'd eat was the Royal Canin Urinary S/O kibble 

The most important thing with cats is hydration. The problem with kibble is that its dry, and a cat's thirst drive just isn't strong enough to compensate. If feeding kibble, I would always take extra measures to ensure the cat was sufficiently hydrated. This article has great ideas  [article="30756"]Tips To Increase Your Cat S Water Intake​[/article]  

Looking long term (once your boy is well and truly recovered) people have had a lot of success feeding a raw diet as an alternative way to keep their cats crystal free. My boy won't touch raw, but I've successfully maintained him on a mix of 80% (ish) normal wet food (ideally grain free, low carb, high meat) and 20% (ish) prescription kibble. I think its a case of finding a balance that works of you and your cat.

For now, though, stick to the Hills prescription food in one of its forms - the Hills is the most effective at breaking down large struvite build ups.
[article="29715"]Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease Flutd  [/article]
http://www.catinfo.org

Thank you for your reply ! I think I will go back and ask for more cans of the wet, I put down a few spoons of it with added extra water and he loved it, so that made me happy! Is it ok for my other 2 healthy cats to eat this special diet too, or should i separate and feed them their normal ( all my cats have been on a 40% dry, 60% wet diet all their lives ) no issues ever til this time ( my cats are 14, 11, and 6) and of course its the youngest one with the crystals.... go figure ! I did call the vet and asked if it was ok to leave this dry out if the other cats ate it and she said that was fine... but i imagine 3 cats eating RX food wet and dry will get expensive real fast ! 

Thanks again !!!

We always let Shad and his brother share the royal canin. I'm not sure I'd want them all eating 100% prescription diet though. I personally don't love the ingredients, and I'd be concerned about potentially unbalancing something in the healthy cats. If it were me, I'd stick to the hills dry for all of them, but feed your boy his wet separately or supervise feeding times. 

6 years old is within the age range FLUTD tends to start up. As they get older, the likelihood of a first presentation decreases. My boy was 3 when he got blocked.

I have 1 cat with crystals that is on the Royal Canine SO-he eats the wet and dry food. I also have two female cats, trying to separate them for feeding became a nightmare so all three of mine eat the wet and dry RC SO and have been for two years with no problems.

sueasinsue said:

 
I have 1 cat with crystals that is on the Royal Canine SO-he eats the wet and dry food. I also have two female cats, trying to separate them for feeding became a nightmare so all three of mine eat the wet and dry RC SO and have been for two years with no problems.

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I double checked this before posting - the Hills s/d diet is

 ....the most acidifying diet on the market.

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Dr Lisa Pierson - http://www.catinfo.org

The RC urinary diet and the Hills c/d are fine for long term use, and shouldn't cause too many (if any) issues when fed to non crystals cats as part of the diet. Because of the acidifying nature of the s/d, I would be very, very uncomfortable feeding it as a complete diet to non crystals cats.

I am NOT a vet  - I'm just going off the information I've found online and from personal experiences. It seems very clear to me, though, that there is a significant difference between the s/d and the other prescription diets. I think that the one is a treatment, and the others are for maintenance/for much lower quantities of crystals.

what is the differance between the Hills SD and the hills CD ,,,, I ask because the vets office said my cat would need to remain on this SD even after his crystals are cleared up.... should I ask for the CD instead?

Did the vets say he'd have to be on the s/d specifically,  or that he'd have to be on a prescription diet? I don't fully understand the difference between the two, but the Hills product info does say that the s/d is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only.  Its in tiny letters at the bottom of the page, but it is there.

That's good to know!

I haven't used s/d since 2003, but it was intended for short term use only due to it's high fat content, which my 2 cats gained a large amount of weight on, and the doctor didn't want to induce the other common stones, calcium oxalates, by maintaining them on s/d.  They were maintained on c/d, but I did transition them to ProPlan urinary diet, then canned only by 2005. They are now deceased, but never obstructed again. They were brothers, and within days obstructed at the same time.  Stress and household/schedule changes led to their inflammation, hiding more, not drinking and urinating enough. All per the doctor, who had seen the pattern many times before.

I and friends have had our vets primarily advise the Royal Canin SO in the last 10 years. They consider it the best rx urinary diet now. And these are vets from all over, their being all over the states, as my previous vets were, and my current vet across the pond.

Articdoll said:

 
what is the differance between the Hills SD and the hills CD ,,,, I ask because the vets office said my cat would need to remain on this SD even after his crystals are cleared up.... should I ask for the CD instead?

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I think after this episode with the crystals is squared away, then you might want to have a clearer discussion with your Vet about long term care, ie food.  And probably, because of the expense, feed your other cats their regular canned food, and just let them all free feed on the prescription kibble. 

Once a determination is made of exactly which foods to feed, you can order it by the case online via different sites, probably much less expensive than through your Vet .  They'll just need a copy of your prescription.

@Columbine  brought this thread to my attention (thank you!  ) so I contacted Hill's and asked them about the difference between the c/d and the s/d formulas. Here's their reply - 

The Prescription Diet[emoji]174[/emoji] s/d[emoji]174[/emoji] Feline Urinary Care is intended to be a short term diet that is clinically tested to dissolve struvite stones in as little as 7 days (Average 13 days). It has a urine pH of 5.9-6.1 which helps increase the solubility of struvite crystals which aids in dissolution.

Our Prescription Diet[emoji]174[/emoji] c/d[emoji]174[/emoji] Multicare Feline reduces the risk of recurrence/occurrence of struvite and calcium oxalate urolithiasis. It is ideal for long-term feeding and multiple cat households. It has lower levels of magnesium, phosphorus and calcium as these are building blocks of crystals and uroliths. It also added potassium citrate to help inhibit  calcium oxalate crystals. This product has a urine pH of 6.2-6.4.

Every situation and pet is a little different and we would certainly recommend checking with your veterinarian to determine which product would be most suitable for your pet.

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