Hi everyone, I had a few questions about bladder stones in cats and was wondering if you can help!
My cat is female and at least 16. She was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2012 but has been doing very well since then and is on the K/D diet. We had a really caring, expert vet back home who I trust but unfortunately we're 3h away for school and I haven't found a great vet's office here.
Recently my cat was urinating outside the litterbox and howling. I took her in to the new vet and while he was getting a urine sample, he discovered a bladder stone on the ultrasound. He didn't give any advice other than we can't do anything because the diets for the two conditions are different. I thought I should do nothing until I got home and looked it up online.
I called the vet back at home and he suggested trying a stone dissolution diet just for a month, and then if it doesn't work I may take her to have the stone surgically removed there. I talked to the new vet and he said he'd set aside the food for me. I came in to pick it up and the receptionists ignored me for about 15 minutes to gossip (this seems to happen every time I go to buy food there). It hadn't been set aside, so when they heard "bladder" they just gave me the C/D, and I was feeling so uncomfortable that I walked out with C/D without checking closely. The front of the package says it's clinically tested to dissolve struvite stones but the back says that it just "discourages" them.
Am I right in thinking that I should actually have gotten S/D? I found a graph online showing S/D dissolves it more quickly.
Also, is wet food any better for stones? She wouldn't eat the Hill's K/D wet food so maybe it's not an option.
I really need to find a new vet around here! Is it unheard of to drive 1.5-2 hours for a good vet? I don't want to make my cat uncomfortable with the drive but I want to get her good care, so I'm considering driving to the city.
Thank you so much for any help or advice. I'm so glad this forum exists! I hate seeing my cat in pain
My cat is female and at least 16. She was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2012 but has been doing very well since then and is on the K/D diet. We had a really caring, expert vet back home who I trust but unfortunately we're 3h away for school and I haven't found a great vet's office here.
Recently my cat was urinating outside the litterbox and howling. I took her in to the new vet and while he was getting a urine sample, he discovered a bladder stone on the ultrasound. He didn't give any advice other than we can't do anything because the diets for the two conditions are different. I thought I should do nothing until I got home and looked it up online.
I called the vet back at home and he suggested trying a stone dissolution diet just for a month, and then if it doesn't work I may take her to have the stone surgically removed there. I talked to the new vet and he said he'd set aside the food for me. I came in to pick it up and the receptionists ignored me for about 15 minutes to gossip (this seems to happen every time I go to buy food there). It hadn't been set aside, so when they heard "bladder" they just gave me the C/D, and I was feeling so uncomfortable that I walked out with C/D without checking closely. The front of the package says it's clinically tested to dissolve struvite stones but the back says that it just "discourages" them.
Am I right in thinking that I should actually have gotten S/D? I found a graph online showing S/D dissolves it more quickly.
Also, is wet food any better for stones? She wouldn't eat the Hill's K/D wet food so maybe it's not an option.
I really need to find a new vet around here! Is it unheard of to drive 1.5-2 hours for a good vet? I don't want to make my cat uncomfortable with the drive but I want to get her good care, so I'm considering driving to the city.
Thank you so much for any help or advice. I'm so glad this forum exists! I hate seeing my cat in pain