(Grainfree) nutrition for bladder problems in cats

Hey.
I once posted before about nutrition for cats with a predisposition to bladder problems , and for that matter I keep searching and yet still didn't found the 'perfect' diet. 
My cat Daisy is prone to bladder problems and therefore she now stays on special food that prevents bladder problems, in consultation with the veterinarian.
Currently I give her Hills Urinary Stress. I am quite satisfied about  this food as she likes to eat it and it's good that it also prevents stress. The problem is that Daisy easily gains weight and now really need to lose some weight. There is a new version of Hills on the market, something with Metabolic urinary.

The problem is that I heard that grains are not good for cats, especially if they have bladder problems.
From what I have seen until now is that all types of bladder stones dry food for cats contains grain, and is often even the first ingredient.

Raw food is even better but unfortunately all three of my cats don't eat even a bit of it. I've tried various brands and offered it combined with their favorite food or snacks.

I am looking for dry food for cats that are prone to bladder problems (struvite, bladder infection), preferably without grains, or at least not as the first ingredient. A high percentage of meat is important to me. It does not necessarily have to be grain-free but in any case, not as the main ingredient.
Does anyone have experience or tips?

Thank you in advance

I think what you may need is to try once again to transition all your furkids to a wet diet.  Obviously wet is better for a cat with urinary issues as well.

Have you seen these articles?

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade

I was able to transition my free fed kibble cats to raw, and one of them was 12 years old at the time, and had only eaten kibble her entire life.  I figure if I can do it, anyone can.  Now, NONE of them will touch kibble.  Funny how that is.  Anyway, what I found is that I just needed to find the right wet food to get them started, and believe me, that was no easy feat.  But I perservered and it all worked out.  Once they got used to wet food, then we worked on converting to raw.  That took another several months, but it happened.  Even if you only get them on canned food, so much the better for everyone. 

BTW, I don't have ANY suggestions for what you are looking for in kibble.  The only thing I can suggest is to cut down on portions if she is gaining.

I agree with the comment above, your best bet is to transition your cats onto wet, homemade, or raw food. I know you said they don't like raw, but I had success transitioning my oldest cat that's a kibble addict to mostly raw that I make. He refuses all commercial raw, but likes homemade. Ultimately, there isn't any good dry food for cats that are prone to urinary issues unless you want to keep with the RX food. I personally think RX food is crap and you can do much better making your own food or buying high quality wet food. Some cats are hard to transition, it's all about being persistent and trying different flavors/textures/brands/toppers to entice them. 

I think if you want to still feed some kibble you want to feed the highest quality you can afford. I feed a combination of Orijen and Ziwipeak air dried. Both are grain-free and contain few fillers. 

Have you tried freeze dried raw? Many cats seem to prefer that over frozen or homemade raw. Freeze dried raw is stinky and is almost as crunchy as dry food. Stella and Chewy's is a good brand if you want to give it a try.

Just because a food is grain free does not mean it will work with a cat with urinary issues.  Not even a homemade diet will necessarily work for a cat with urinary issues.

The reason people recommend grain free is that Pure meat contains higher levels of a urinary acidifer/amino acid known as Methionine.  But not all cat foods are created equal.  Depending on the meat source, how much carbohydrate is added (rice/potato, peas or pumpkin) etc, different foods will have different methionine levels. This means that just because a food is grain free does not mean that it will prevent crystals from developing in your cat.

I switched one of my cats off of purina urinary. He blocked within 3 weeks of switching his diet to By Nature.  I spent $600 in vet fees.  This cat is 12 years old and has been with me since he was a kitten. I have fed Purina urinary for several years and he did not have any issues until I switched him off of it.  He will be staying on purina urinary for life, with a few chunks of chicken added on top.

Ask yourself, is it worth risking your cats life to switch cat foods?  If he does well on the urinary food, keep him on it. 

If you do decide to change foods, feed the new food for one week and take in a urine sample to the vet. Get them to test the sample and tell you what the ph value is. If the ph is too high (7.0-8.0) or too low than it is only a matter of time before your cat has another problem. (assuming this is struvite crystals).  The problem with this approach is that you will have to keep trying new foods (and testing urine samples) until you find one that gives your cat the right urinary ph. 

My one cat (even on a home-made diet) will have a urinary ph around 8.0.  For some reason his body does not acidify urine the way healthy cats do. For him, he has to be on the urinary food to keep his urinary ph in the right range.  8.0 is way way to high and will cause crystals to develop!!!

Thanks for all your feedback.

I'm going to try a different brand of raw food, but I fear it will be a problem. However, I can give it a try.

With homemade raw food it seems that you really need some knowledge otherwise they do not recommend it.
I've never heard of Stella and Chewy's. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to see if it is available over here.

It remains a difficult issue. The perfect food unfortunately does not exist, and indeed, if she does well on this food, I might just keep doing it this way. I always keep thinking about what's right or what is wrong as I want to keep my cats as healthy as possible , but as I said, I think I will never find an answer because there is no perfect food.

Anne3007 said:

 
With homemade raw food it seems that you really need some knowledge otherwise they do not recommend it.

I've never heard of Stella and Chewy's. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to see if it is available over here.

Click to expand...

Homemade raw has to be done correctly so a lot of reading is needed to get an understanding how how to make a complete diet. One of the easiest ways to do homemade raw it to use raw meat with a pre-mix such as TC Feline. The pre-mix has all of the vitamins and minerals a cat needs. You just mix X amount of raw meat with X amount of the pre-mix and X amount of water then portion the mixture into serving sized portions. The food can be frozen for future meals.

Commercial raw pet food is also an option. There's a forum here on TCS with more info about raw and home cooked diets: http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-amp-home-cooked-cat-food

Here's the web site for Stella and Chewy's: http://www.stellaandchewys.com/products/cat-dinners/ It is available as both frozen and freeze dried. You'll find Stella and Chewy's at independent pet stores, not chain stores, and at many places online. Nature's Variety Instinct is another good brand of raw, also in frozen and freeze dried options http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-raw-food-cats You might be able to find the NV raw at Petco and Pets Supplies Plus stores but sometimes it's only the dog food

Some cats are just prone to urinary issues no matter what is fed. You just have to manage the flare ups they happen.