hills CD or Felidae?

Heya all! Please, help my problem! Cannot decide what will be better for my cat Hills CD canned or Felidae canned... ? 3 months ago we had a severe FLUD (urinary tract problems) and underwent an operation
after that we had only Royal Canin Urinary and now we need to change it to something else.. out vet suggests Hills CD....... and what do you think?

Originally Posted by Lensa

Heya all!

Please, help my problem! Cannot decide what will be better for my cat Hills CD canned or Felidae canned... ? 3 months ago we had a severe FLUD (urinary tract problems) and underwent an operation

after that we had only Royal Canin Urinary and now we need to change it to something else.. out vet suggests Hills CD....... and what do you think?

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Why do you need to change from royal canin?

cuz we've been on it since May and our vet said it's long enough for the veterinary diet food of this type... now she suggests we need to switch to profilactic food or something similar.... and I am not sure what to do..... should I add anything to RC urinary or change to Hills or Felidae(heard, Felidae is good, but not sure if it can be fed to cats with FLUD problems).......... hmmmm....
We eat only canned food now (before we had problems we ate only natural food..... chicken, beaf, etc.... ) no dry food at all.....

flud can be controlled by some over the counter brands Nutro and Purina have certified ones ... but if the vet says Rx is needed purina , Eukanuba and Walthum( Royal Canin ) make excellent Rxs as well as Science diet

Originally Posted by Lensa

cuz we've been on it since May and our vet said it's long enough for the veterinary diet food of this type... now she suggests we need to switch to profilactic food or something similar.... and I am not sure what to do..... should I add anything to RC urinary or change to Hills or Felidae(heard, Felidae is good, but not sure if it can be fed to cats with FLUD problems).......... hmmmm....
We eat only canned food now (before we had problems we ate only natural food..... chicken, beaf, etc.... ) no dry food at all.....

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That's weird, because my cat is on Waltham's SO (which is also made by Royal Canin) and I think he just will be on it for the rest of his life.
I don't think SD is the best food, Felidae is better for sure, but for cat with FLUTD? I don't know.
My cat has been doing good on Waltham's SO dry. They claim they have very high success rate ~89% for canned food and no FLUTD relapses on Waltham's SO. Dry, not so good, only ~ 60% no relapses, but my cats don't like canned.

I'd say ask your vet if Felidae is OK - if he wants your cat to be on a prescription diet, it's best to follow his advice & only feed the prescription food. As Sharky said, there are multiple brands of prescription foods - you could ask your vet which is best, or try to get some samples & see which your cat likes best.

http://www.prescriptiondiets.com/pd.html

Thank you! yeah... on the box of PC urinary is written you can give it up to 6 months... for struvite dissolution --- 5-12 weeks... reduction of recurrence up to 6 months... but not all the time...
we have limited choice of cats food here... Hills, RC, Purina, Nutro.. and of course Wiskas and type of....
also my cat doesn't drink water.. nearly at all.. so I need to do something to put some water in him that's why no dry food ... and now I use a syringe to put an additional water in him...

I'm sorry, I was doing some research for you, but just got some bad news, and I'm rattled. All I would say is that yes, feeding canned would be best...feeding small frequent meals will help in keeping the urine acidic, which is what you want when dealing with struvite crystals (there is an alkaline response after a meal, so they recommend free feeding, which works great for dry but not for perishable wet food...hence my suggesting frequent small meals - of course, get your vets approval for any change in your current feeding routine).

I would suggest you try a homecooked diet - one of the diets by Dr. Strombeck - he has a book out, a search on amazon.com should bring it up, and he is well respected. His diets are for a variety of conditions - high protein, low protein, lower phosphorus or not...one would be suitable and perhaps more doable for you given the limitations you mentioned in getting some brands of food.

hth, sorry to have this be far shorter than I meant it to be.

Thank you all!!!! yeah, sure I'll be doing more research aslo to find the best option for my cat.
so, you think Hills CD is not the best thing I can feed him?
I usually feed him several times in the morning small portions (2-3) and then several times in the evening (also 2-3) and he eats once at night. It's just his habit to eat like that. But I let him have a food break during a day time. Our vets here still are not too much familiar with different diets and brands of cat food.... They prescribe out of what they've got... and now the best they've got is Royal Canin and Hills.. they don't know too much about Felidae, cuz it's rare here.
will look for the Dr. Strombeck's book
thank you again!

Go with the vets advice

Originally Posted by Lensa

so, you think Hills CD is not the best thing I can feed him?
I usually feed him several times in the morning small portions (2-3) and then several times in the evening (also 2-3) and he eats once at night. It's just his habit to eat like that. But I let him have a food break during a day time. Our vets here still are not too much familiar with different diets and brands of cat food.... They prescribe out of what they've got... and now the best they've got is Royal Canin and Hills.. they don't know too much about Felidae, cuz it's rare here.

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I fed one of my cats c/d for years and she did quite well on it. My current vet doesn't carry Hill's, though, so my one cat that is on a urinary diet is getting Eukanuba prescription food. My other cats who aren't on a special diet get Royal Canin, and are doing very well on it.

Long story short, I don't think there's anything wrong with Hill's or with Royal Canin - they're both very good foods. It's just that you seemed specifically interested in Felidae, so I tried to address that, and offer as many choices to you as possible.

As Pat said, wet food is probably best. I know Hill's c/d comes in a canned version, but I'm not sure about Royal Canin. Eukanuba does, though.

And of course a home-cooked diet is fabulous, but don't feel like you must cook cat food at home if it's too much. It's an excellent option, though, if you want to try it. If you can't find Dr. Strombeck's book, in the meantime Hill's also has recipes for home-cooked prescription diets - your vet should be able to get them for you.

(I just realized you may be addressing your c/d question to Pat, so I hope I'm not butting in here - just wanted to let you know that I've had fine results with both c/d and Royal Canin.)

Hey, Tuxedokitties! Thank you for your answer! I haven't been addressing my c/d question to anybody particularly, but just wanted to hear different opnions so could make some decision!
yeah, I am considering to start giving Hills C/d canned... (if he would eat it, of course ) not sure if we have Eukanuba canned here. And RC they don't have canned profilactic as I am aware of.
And yes, I was interested in Felidae, cuz seems it's a good stuff and I can get it here, but I am really not sure if it's good for cats with FLUD. Heard that it has a lot of fat and brown rice, which is not too great for cats with urinary problems.. but at the same time Felidae has cranberry juice which is good ... kinda confusing
But I am a little scared about home-made food now... cuz before our problems he ate only natural food.. but I haven't been using any recepies cuz I didn't even knew that they exist! so I just was boiling chicken, beef, fish and different poridges for him.....
But now more I read more questions I get!

Originally Posted by Lensa

Thank you all!!!! yeah, sure I'll be doing more research aslo to find the best option for my cat.

so, you think Hills CD is not the best thing I can feed him?
I usually feed him several times in the morning small portions (2-3) and then several times in the evening (also 2-3) and he eats once at night. It's just his habit to eat like that. But I let him have a food break during a day time. Our vets here still are not too much familiar with different diets and brands of cat food.... They prescribe out of what they've got... and now the best they've got is Royal Canin and Hills.. they don't know too much about Felidae, cuz it's rare here.
will look for the Dr. Strombeck's book

thank you again!

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Hi Lensa,

If I had a healthy kitty, and was looking at all food options, then Hills Science Diet foods are not my first choice. But, when I've had an ill kitty, and my vet has prescribed a Hill's prescription food - in my case Hills Z/D - it was a life saver! My only advice is if one does not want to use a prescription food with ingredients you do not like, ask your vet for recommendations of foods that are comparable (which is how I handle my kitty with chronic renal failure).

Felidae is a good brand (the canned is what I am familiar with) but I'm not sure if it accomplishes what the Hills C/D is designed to do.
click here for Hills Page on canned chicken c/d This site lists all the prescription foods - what their goal is, their ingredients etc. I would compare it directly to the felidae canned (in this case, compare the felidae chicken and rice)...if felidae's site does not mention what urine ph the food will help cause, then write to felidae and ask.
(Here is the general page of all Hill's Prescription foods
Here is the page for the Felidae (it comes up as Canidae, then on the side menu you can choose Felidae Canned to be taken to the ingredients page)
click here

hth a bit, I'm off to get a much needed first cup of coffee of the day

yeah... just was comparing Hills CD and Felidae canned....
Hills CD Felidae
protein 8,5% 11%
fat 3,5 7
magnesium 0,02 0,03
phosphorus 0,08 min not indicated
taurine 0,08 0,05min

yeah, too much protein in Felidae.... and phosphorus not indicated....
magnesium is a bit more... main factors for FLUD and kidneys problems...

Thank you, Pat!

and we are already having our glass of wine for the Friday night time difference!

Originally Posted by Lensa

and we are already having our glass of wine for the Friday night

time difference!

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LOL..don't you love it? I have my plans in place for our Friday fish meal but am hours away from making it

Roayl canin/ Walthem has puches instead of canned for most of its line... the ingrediants are a bit more appealing.... Homecooking is great if you can.. put in sceience diet in your browser and youll find there homemade stuff ( I have had no tea yet)

yeah, you are right! We are eating right now Royal Canin urinary (Veterinary Diet Feline Moist) in pouches.. http://royalcanin.com/produits/gb_chat_felhum.asp
but he cannot eat it all the time.. only up to 6 months. and then RC doesn't have any prophylactic moist diet like Hills has got (Hills has got s/d canned.. and then c/d canned )
need to study more about home cooked and see if I can
thank you, Sharky!

Originally Posted by Lensa

Heya all!

Please, help my problem! Cannot decide what will be better for my cat Hills CD canned or Felidae canned... ? 3 months ago we had a severe FLUD (urinary tract problems) and underwent an operation

after that we had only Royal Canin Urinary and now we need to change it to something else.. out vet suggests Hills CD....... and what do you think?

Click to expand...

you need to be VERY careful with this. i have 3 cats with histories of various FLUTD episodes. we have it under control, but we are going with the recommendations of our vet. i am able to control their troubles through non-prescription diet management (at this time--they have been on Rx foods & medications & supplements in the past when needed). the non-prescription foods they are on, are either recommended or ok'ed by the vet.

felidae has a high target urine pH of 6.5 for their dry food. their canned is 6.0 just be very careful. i would recommend joining Cats With FLUTD group on yahoo. hill's c/d has a very different target pH range than felidae, so there is a reason that the vet is recommending c/d. there is a complete list of foods and their target urine pH's in the group's files. the members on that group are quite helpful.

What brand wet foods have low pH and low ash?

Originally Posted by Lensa

yeah, you are right! We are eating right now Royal Canin urinary (Veterinary Diet Feline Moist) in pouches.. http://royalcanin.com/produits/gb_chat_felhum.asp
but he cannot eat it all the time.. only up to 6 months. and then RC doesn't have any prophylactic moist diet like Hills has got

(Hills has got s/d canned.. and then c/d canned )
need to study more about home cooked and see if I can

thank you, Sharky!

Click to expand...

I believe Waltham's SO (also made by royal canine) is the prophylactic diet. My vet never said my cat will have to stop eating it in 6 months.
http://www.petrx.com/browseproducts/...-oz.-Cans.HTML