Is medication an option for FLUTD?

Hi guys! So my cat was recently diagnosed with FLUTD and my vet put him on a prescription diet for it, insisting there is no medication option to treat this issue. Is this actually the case or are they trying to push the prescription diet on me because of how expensive they are?

You may want to read this: http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

Depending on the type or urinary issue your cat has, the vet may prescribe an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory medicine for a couple of days to ease symptoms. There is no medicine for long term management of urinary issues.

Many cats who are prone to urinary issues can be managed with a canned food only diet. It does not need to be prescription canned food even if the vet insists on it. Keeping the cat well hydrated will keep the urinary system working properly and minimize inflammation and crystals and other things from happening.

Cats with struvite crystals and bladder stones and other issues may need prescription food. There may be alternatives to expenesive prescription foods as discussed in this thread. You should discuss alternatives diets with the vet first.

Some cats will always have a urinary issue flare up due to stress or no apparent reason at all. You just manage it as best as you can.

Thank you for this I will check out the other thread and he does have struvite crystals. I'm having a really hard time getting him to eat the prescribed food though, he doesn't like the patte that the wet food comes in, he likes the stew kinds.

Many of the prescription canned foods are heavy on liver which some cats don't like. I found some threads on commerical canned foods for struvite crystal prone cats:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/268561/best-canned-food-for-preventing-struvite-crystals

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/301527/...endations-for-prevention-of-struvite-crystals

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/318521/7-month-neutered-male-with-struvite-crystals

MistyMagicite said:

Thank you for this I will check out the other thread and he does have struvite crystals. I'm having a really hard time getting him to eat the prescribed food though, he doesn't like the patte that the wet food comes in, he likes the stew kinds.

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Which prescription food was he given? Royal Canin SO comes in a "morsels" which my girl seemed to like better than the pate:

https://www.chewy.com/royal-canin-veterinary-diet-urinary/dp/35159

My Kitty was on RC SO after struvite crystals. After having her on the prescription food, I switched her to Natures Variety Instict Rabbit and Duck and Dave's restricted diet (with my vets ok first!):

https://www.chewy.com/daves-pet-food-restricted-diet/dp/101618

The started me on hill's science and I just got him changed to Royal canin after calling and begging multiple times to speak to a vet about his diet. They were pushing to keep me on hills

Thank you so much!! I'm going to look into them! My vet for some reason is super pushy on the prescribed food they sell at the office.

My vet was as well but I armed myself with information and agreed to do a urinalysis a month after the food switch (to make sure the food switch did cause crystals) and she was fine with it. It did take some discussion but I made sure to be knowledgeable so I could have a good discussion with her.