Jupiter has crystals

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

my heart really goes out to you hareting

i feel so guilty like its something i've done.

the vet said that its common in overweight cats and that Jupiter weighed 5.5kg and should weigh 5kg. i found out thats only 1lb and he lost that the next day

i'm going to do some research into home-made or raw diets after jupiters of the prescription diet as i think it'll be far healthier in the long run.

i really hope Nana gets better soon.

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I know how you feel. In my head, I know that I take good care of her, and that I haven't done anything wrong. But I still feel like I've failed her somehow.

Originally Posted by hareting

taken directly from the bladder, does it mean inserting a needle and take the sample? my vet took Nana's sample with his bare hands, he pressed somewhere on Nana's tummy and then she urinated. Is this method a good method for checking crystals? My vet wants Nana to go on prescription diet c/d FOREVER, which really sounds horrible to me, she's only 8 months now. I'll seek a second opinion from another vet later this month or early next month, please advise on the method, so i could specifically asked the vet to take the sample in the proper way.

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Well, if she urinated on the table and he took the sample that way, there could be any number of things on the table, that could look like crystals, such as Comet cleanser...I would just ask him to use a needle to get it....good luck!

Mittens has crystals, and they got to be so bad we had to have an emergency surgery on Wednesday morning. He cannot be on C/D because it is really high in calories and he is already a 19 pound cat. We are sticking to the original diet of IVD Hi-Factor because after this surgery, the vet thinks we should worry more about his weight than the crystals since the surgery. It's pretty nerveracking, isn't it?

Anyone that does not want to feed their cat hills should not give up on prescription diets all together! Their are other diets out there and if your vet doesn't have it- they can get it- so don't be afraid to ask. Also- if your cat is on c/d, preventive, urinary s/o and you are finding that they are gainig weight- check the feeding guidelines- perhaps you should be feeding less. If they are just prone to being heavy- any of the weight loss/weight management diets from any of the major companies should also work to maintain urinary tract health. Just ask your vet.

My vet actually prefers you to get your own sample (and says that crystals aren't an issue, so as long as it is there within 4 hours it is fine). My foster had to go to the vets for the day for his though, and they were told to do anything to get a sample out of him. In the end they squeezed his bladder and 5 mins later he went in the tray with the special litter.
And for the person who said their cat will have to be on c/d forever - the packaging actually says they should be on it for a maximum of 6 months.

as soon as i dropped my sample (jupiter's sample!) the vet examined it herself under a microscope then the next day sent it off for further tests.

we have to go back in two months but the treatment seems to be working as he no longer cries when he pees and is doing big wee's again instead of teeny ones!

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

as soon as i dropped my sample (jupiter's sample!) the vet examined it herself under a microscope then the next day sent it off for further tests.

we have to go back in two months but the treatment seems to be working as he no longer cries when he pees and is doing big wee's again instead of teeny ones!

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good for you, Jupiter!

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

Anyone that does not want to feed their cat hills should not give up on prescription diets all together! Their are other diets out there and if your vet doesn't have it- they can get it- so don't be afraid to ask. Also- if your cat is on c/d, preventive, urinary s/o and you are finding that they are gainig weight- check the feeding guidelines- perhaps you should be feeding less. If they are just prone to being heavy- any of the weight loss/weight management diets from any of the major companies should also work to maintain urinary tract health. Just ask your vet.

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my vet gave me hills c/d, medi cal preventive and royal canin urinary s/o to try (canned ones), he says all three basically do the same thing and asked me to see which one my cat likes best. (i'm not too concern about her gaining weight as she's tiny and eat very little)

I look at the label and asked if thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s something without by-product, he tells me that by-product is not really that bad for pets if you think about wild animal do comsume the whole body of their prey. But Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m still not too sure about by-product.

I put Nana on prescription diet, after 1 week I notice her poo become really really stinky and her coat is not as shinny and silky as before. Are there any prescription diet out there that has no by-product? And what is the main difference for the prescription diets vs regular diet? I read online that those diet helps make their urine more acidic therefore reduce the chance for crystals to form, also it has a lower ash content. When I compare the Ash content of the prescription diets and the ash content of my regular Wellness canned, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s basically the same. So would Wellness do the job?

My vet did suggest to put Nana on prescription diet FOREVER, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll go home and check the label again tonite, if it says maximum 6 months, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll go back and ask him why he wants her to be on it forever.

Our vet recommends it forever, because it seems once a pet who is prone to crystals is taken off the food, the crystals or stones come back....

I too would be interested in why the special diet works better if it is the same ash content... and then why my vet would say that a high quality food works fine if the cat was eating a low quality food before *as long as the cat hasn't had chronic problems.*

Not sure why vets are recommending cats to stay on c/d forever when the packaging states otherwise, unless it is just in the UK. I did think the ingredients in c/d were rather poor, but most vets can order most of the premium brands - some cats seem to really like the Royal Canin - but my foster preferred prescription dry to wet.

Originally Posted by laureen227

good for you, Jupiter!

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thanks! for some reason my friends and famiyl werent so enthusiastic!

i knew you guys would understand!

I am not sure if Hills in the UK is different, but as far as I know c/d is a maintenance diet and can be fed indefinitely. S/d, and Dissolution however are formulated to dissolve crystals and should only be fed short term. They should also never be fed to cats that do not have lower urinary tract disease.

I am pretty sure that Medi cal does not use by-products. In fact I just checked all of my cat food bags (Royal Canin and Medi Cal) and I couldn't find any by-products listed on any of them (I am not sure about the wet food- My cans are outside). Prescription diets are made with very high quality ingredients. The vet was right in saying that by-products are not all bad. They include blood and organ meats that animals would normally eat in the wild and that have high nutritional value. That said, not all by-products are created equally, and pet food labelling can be very confusing and misleading. The by-products in a bag of Hills food are not going to be of the same quality as the by-products in a bag of Alley Cat, or Special Kitty.

Prescription diets are formulated with specific illnesses in mind. A lot of research goes into their making and they are submitted to a lot of testing and quality control. One batch of Preventive is guaranteed to be exactly the same as the next. This quality control is extremely important for sick pets, especially when dealing with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. Commercial pet foods are not subjected to the same standards of quality control. One batch of food is not guaranteed to be the same as the next. Does your pet care?- probably not. Does his urinary tract care?- yes, if he has FLUTD.

That does not mean that premium foods like Wellness and Innova... are not good foods. I am sure they are. If your pet does well on it- feed it! But, some pets (like certain cats with FLUTD) require the consistency and special formulation of prescription diets. As a general rule, cheap foods should be avoided. Feeding a premium food from the start will keep most common cat illnesses at bay.

(edited to remove brand names)

So if I'm feeding my cat Complete Care Nutro and he only had crystals once, then he's fine? He actually seems to be doing better on this food because he's playing more and is sleeker. Sorry for the re-reasking, I just want to confirm what you are saying. And thank you for the expanation.

If your cat got crystals while eating Nutro, then he may very well develop crystals again. He might just be one of those cats that needs a prescription diet for the rest of his life.
If he got crystals while eating a cheaper food, then you switched him and he has been fine for a long time, then you might be safe. You may even want to have your vet do a urinalysis while he is healthy and on the Nutro. If he doesn't have any crystals and his pH is good then no need for a prescription diet!

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

If your cat got crystals while eating Nutro, then he may very well develop crystals again. He might just be one of those cats that needs a prescription diet for the rest of his life.
If he got crystals while eating a cheaper food, then you switched him and he has been fine for a long time, then you might be safe. You may even want to have your vet do a urinalysis while he is healthy and on the Nutro. If he doesn't have any crystals and his pH is good then no need for a prescription diet!

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I adopted Nana from the Shelter on Nov 5th, and I gave her Science Diet Kitten Dry. I've no idea what she's been eating at the shelter, but i suspect it's a cheaper food, becuz the free sample I got from the shelter is one of the cheap brand. she's 7 months old when i adopted her. She has hairball symptons after 5 days she arrived. making retching and coughing sound like 5-6 times a day, but did not throw up. 2 weeks after i adopted her I learned about the premium brands and started her on Wellness canned and eagle pack dry. And once i switch her food for 1 week, her hairball symptons disappear, poo and pee not as stinky as before, pooing seems a lot easier for her too, becuz i found piece of hairband, my fallen hair, feather from toys that she ate up , got pass thru and come out with her solid waste.
2 weeks after i switch her food, i bring her in for booster for vacination, and i mentioned to the vet that she's going peeing 3-5 times a day, he said it was a bit exccessive, so take some urine sample and send to the lab. (he took the sample by pressing her tummy and make her urinate in a stainless steel container). Result came back stating she has Triple Phosphate Crystal in her Urine, but she DOES NOT have any infection. he suggest to put her on prescription diet FOREVER. (hills prescription diet c/d OR Medi Cal Preventive OR Royal Canin Urinary s/o)

I know this is a bit confusing, here's the timeline of what happened

Nov 5 - adopted nana from shelter
week 1 - feed sample diet from shelter mix with science diet dry
week 2 - feed science diet dry, hairball symptons, retching and coughing 5-6 times a day, did not throw up
week 3 - science diet mix with eagle pack dry, wellness canned.
week 4 - eagle pack dry, wellness canned. dramatic change in appearance, coat shinnier and softer, look healtheir, less stinky poo, no more hairball symptons.
week 5 - eagle pack dry, wellness canned. Vet found triple phosphate crystal in urine, NO infection, vet recommend to go on prescription diet FOREVER.
week 6 - feed medi cal preventive can.
week 7 - medi cal preventive. stinky poo, less shinny coat.

now should i give her wellness instead of prescription diet, and have my vet do a urinalysis? becuz i suspect she got cheaper food while in shelter and i wanna see if her crystal is gonna diappear while on Wellness



And about the igredients on prescription diets, this is what it says on the label of my cans

Medi Cal Preventive
the first 3 ingredients listed on there is Water, Beef, Chicken by-product

first 3 on Royal Canin Urinary s/o
water, meat by-product, chicken by-product

Hill's prescription c/d
pork by-product, water, pork liver


Now when i go on Medi cal's website,
it says they use beef, chicken, salmon, does not mentioned about using by-product. And you guys says royal canin / medi cal doesn't use by-product either. Even the owner of the pet store i frequent was surprised to hear that royal canin has by-product in their cans too, so i really wonder why those ones i got has by-product...maybe the one i got here from toronto is different from the ones ppl get elsewhere in the world??


and thanks dr doolittle very very much for the explanation and help!

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

If your cat got crystals while eating Nutro, then he may very well develop crystals again. He might just be one of those cats that needs a prescription diet for the rest of his life.
If he got crystals while eating a cheaper food, then you switched him and he has been fine for a long time, then you might be safe. You may even want to have your vet do a urinalysis while he is healthy and on the Nutro. If he doesn't have any crystals and his pH is good then no need for a prescription diet!

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... the Urinary care in Nutro( only the max is certified) is only for one type of crystals not the other type... that may play a role too

I am not Dr Doolittle but I may have some light to shed..

I know Royal canins wet food has some by products in the wet Rx ( in the US) ... I would call the company it may be that these are organ meats and in there for taste and digestability...

Rx food ingrediants may not be appealing but they are formulated for a specific reason/illness not for generally healthy animals whose guardians can be picky about what goes in

Shenandoah and Humble went to the vet for something else and it turns out they have crystals! I am scared! I took them in for something else: loose bowels. The xray determined that they had the crystals. Vet is giving antibiotics and is keeping them there. I miss them. I live alone but for my angels. PLEASE PRAY IT IS OK!

sending vibes for your babies.

Jupiter seems to be doing fine now, he's doing big pees in the litter box and no obvious signs of pain.

the only thing is he still licks his bits after he goes. i cant remember if he did that before though? he's not excessivly licking, so maybe he's just cleaning up after he's pee?