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Can anyone help me?
- Thread starter catdancing1
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- Jul 25, 2012
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I'm only a newbie here but starting to feel like the odd one out. But the idea here is to share opinions, ideas & experiences so we can make our own decisions
My first cat got blocked many years ago & after hospitalisation was sent home on Hills s/d then onto a home cooked diet. Years later when Eddie had trouble there were more options available. Although he never actually got blocked he was at great risk. He also had an infection which took months on antibiotics to treat. But we got on top of it. Ed was on Eukanuba Low p/h for years until there was a supply problem when we switched to Royal Canin Urinary OS. Jack also developed crystals 3 years ago & went onto the same diet. Neither has had an issue since.
I do not believe in wet food as the sole diet. I see it as paying for water. Fountains are a good method to entice your cat to drink more however my boys are doing fine. Dry food also helps prevent dental problems.
Yes, it's prescription & yes, it's expensive & yes, some people think I'm nuts spending so much on CATS but it is working & my boys are my family, I love them & think they are worth it.
Just some more "food" for thought
My first cat got blocked many years ago & after hospitalisation was sent home on Hills s/d then onto a home cooked diet. Years later when Eddie had trouble there were more options available. Although he never actually got blocked he was at great risk. He also had an infection which took months on antibiotics to treat. But we got on top of it. Ed was on Eukanuba Low p/h for years until there was a supply problem when we switched to Royal Canin Urinary OS. Jack also developed crystals 3 years ago & went onto the same diet. Neither has had an issue since.
I do not believe in wet food as the sole diet. I see it as paying for water. Fountains are a good method to entice your cat to drink more however my boys are doing fine. Dry food also helps prevent dental problems.
Yes, it's prescription & yes, it's expensive & yes, some people think I'm nuts spending so much on CATS but it is working & my boys are my family, I love them & think they are worth it.
Just some more "food" for thought
Fountains for cats may not actually result in increased water intake, so I wouldn't rely on them to make up for the lack of moisture in a dry food diet. http://winnfelinehealth.blogspot.ca/2010/09/water-fountains-for-cats.html
Also, ALL cats may indeed be "doing fine" on dry food......until one day they aren't. You can't see the gradual damage that is being done internally until it becomes significant enough to cause symptoms. There are an astounding number of cats that have become diabetic from eating dry prescription urinary tract diets for a few years.
That would be one of the great big myths of dry pet food. Kibble can actually cause dental problems, since most are high in sugary carbs which get stuck under the gum-line and between teeth, where they feed oral bacteria. It's no better for cleaning teeth than you eating pretzles would be.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/does-dry-food-clean-the-teeth/
http://www.allourpets.com/holistic/dental-care.shtml
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Welcome to tthe forum!
[quote name="Pascall" url="/t/246865/can-anyone-help-me#post_323]
I do not believe in wet food as the sole diet. I see it as paying for water. [/quote]
Well, yes, that's kind of the point. Especially for cats who have had urinary or kidney issues. But you're also paying for (usually) more meat and far fewer carbs.
Glad to hear your boys are doing well on the diet you've chosen. That's what really counts, after all!
[quote name="Pascall" url="/t/246865/can-anyone-help-me#post_323]
I do not believe in wet food as the sole diet. I see it as paying for water. [/quote]
Well, yes, that's kind of the point
. Especially for cats who have had urinary or kidney issues. But you're also paying for (usually) more meat and far fewer carbs.Even the kibble manufacturers will tell you that only special dental kibble has any dental benefits. Otherwise it's just like humans eating crackers. :dk:
Glad to hear your boys are doing well on the diet you've chosen. That's what really counts, after all!
Hi Pascall! There are other members that use prescription foods to manage the crystal problem. :nod: They're more active in the health forum, I think?
I have three boys that had problems with crystals - two were struvite, one was calcium oxalate. We used the prescription food on the vet's advice for many years. We rescued a cat in 2010 that had a number of health problems. We've been involved in rescue for many years, and so work with a number of vets. None of them were able to resolve his health problems (which included what seemed like allergies, rodent ulcers, and he's FIV+ ). So we searched to see if we could find a holistic vet in our area. We did. She's a D.V.M. that is also trained in nutrition, Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, and western herbs. When we met her, the first thing she did was review his diet with us. Makes sense, because of the apparent allergies. :nod:
When she found we were feeding kibble and two wet meals of canned, she gave us a lecture on feeding kibble. I'd never paid attention to cat nutrition, so it was a real eye opener. I then began researching.
You're choosing to pay for a prescription food. Others choose to pay for the water, because when a moist diet that derives its protein and fat from an animal source is fed with the right mineral content, this also resolves the crystal problem. The real issue with kibble is that cats are genetically designed to get the water they need from the food they eat. They do not have a thirst drive like dogs do. Cats fed primarily kibble are typically chronically dehydrated.
Most cats do not chew their food: they are designed to rip, tear, and swallow (they have no digestive enzymes present in their saliva, so the process of digestion does not start in their mouth). If they do chew kibble, most kibble is so brittle, it just shatters, providing no dental benefit. If you want your cat to receive dental benefit from kibble, it has to be a food specifically designed for this. I think there are 7? Something like that. There are also a treat, the Greenies dental chews, that have been shown in clinical trials to provide limited dental benefit. :nod:
But back to the crystals... one reason it's not such a great idea to feed kibble when this is an issue is that crystals in urine is normal, actually. It's the overproduction of crystals OR the urine concentration that causes the problem. So keeping the urine as dilute as possible is very important when a kitty faces ongoing problems with crystals.
A great place for information on this is a site written by a vet, based on years of clinical experience: http://www.catinfo.org
Hope this helps!
I have three boys that had problems with crystals - two were struvite, one was calcium oxalate. We used the prescription food on the vet's advice for many years. We rescued a cat in 2010 that had a number of health problems. We've been involved in rescue for many years, and so work with a number of vets. None of them were able to resolve his health problems (which included what seemed like allergies, rodent ulcers, and he's FIV+ ). So we searched to see if we could find a holistic vet in our area. We did. She's a D.V.M. that is also trained in nutrition, Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, and western herbs. When we met her, the first thing she did was review his diet with us. Makes sense, because of the apparent allergies. :nod:
When she found we were feeding kibble and two wet meals of canned, she gave us a lecture on feeding kibble. I'd never paid attention to cat nutrition, so it was a real eye opener. I then began researching.
You're choosing to pay for a prescription food. Others choose to pay for the water, because when a moist diet that derives its protein and fat from an animal source is fed with the right mineral content, this also resolves the crystal problem. The real issue with kibble is that cats are genetically designed to get the water they need from the food they eat. They do not have a thirst drive like dogs do. Cats fed primarily kibble are typically chronically dehydrated.
Most cats do not chew their food: they are designed to rip, tear, and swallow (they have no digestive enzymes present in their saliva, so the process of digestion does not start in their mouth). If they do chew kibble, most kibble is so brittle, it just shatters, providing no dental benefit. If you want your cat to receive dental benefit from kibble, it has to be a food specifically designed for this. I think there are 7? Something like that. There are also a treat, the Greenies dental chews, that have been shown in clinical trials to provide limited dental benefit. :nod:
But back to the crystals... one reason it's not such a great idea to feed kibble when this is an issue is that crystals in urine is normal, actually. It's the overproduction of crystals OR the urine concentration that causes the problem. So keeping the urine as dilute as possible is very important when a kitty faces ongoing problems with crystals.
A great place for information on this is a site written by a vet, based on years of clinical experience: http://www.catinfo.org
Hope this helps!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
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Well, it was an interesting week. Mimi spent the night at the vet, received 24 hours of hydration, a vitamin shot, and some antibiotics. When I picked her up on Friday SHE WAS MAD. Didn't speak to me for several hours, finally allowed herself to be hand fed a tablespoon of wet food and a teaspoon of crunchies. The vet also sent me home with some kitty valium and suggested I keep her "stress" free for a few days. Mimi does not do drugs well, I gave her an 1/8 of the dose and she mooned around for almost 24 hours, no more valium for her! On Sunday she had one mouthful of lamb & something, decided it wasn't to her taste and went over and muscled Raffles away from his dish and ate his chicken (did I mention she hates chicken). Dinner time, after surveying the approximately six bowls of food available for her selection (none of them fish), she finally agreed to eat some chicken stew - if I hand fed her, she later managed to consume another helping all on her own when I wasn't looking (but under protest). Raffles & Nefra think they have hit the cat lottery as they are both very young rescues all this food must be eaten immediately as fast a possible. I may end up with two very fat young cats at this rate. Madame was served the balance of the warmed chicken stew this morning with some flori forta sprinkled on top to make it extra tasty - when I left for work she was studiously ignoring it. I also purchased a "allergic" cat kibble which is much lower in protein although this is a treat portion so I know she is getting a few calories in. Will purchase some bonito flakes this week and see how it goes. I have decided that if we get to this place again the first thing to happen is to leave her at the vet for 24 hours of hydration to flush her out, that seems to be the most effective way to get her on the mend right away, will continue with the "food" search and hope for the best!
I also purchased several months ago a cat fountain from Amazon, I find that all the cats drink quite a bit more than just using a bowl so it was well worth the $100. Filters are changed every month and fountain is cleaned once a week, I bought a ceramic "rain drop" on Amazon and am extremely pleased with it.
I also purchased several months ago a cat fountain from Amazon, I find that all the cats drink quite a bit more than just using a bowl so it was well worth the $100. Filters are changed every month and fountain is cleaned once a week, I bought a ceramic "rain drop" on Amazon and am extremely pleased with it.
There is a possibility that acidifiers cause or assist in causing feline idiopathic hypercalcemia, so I would only use as a last resort.
Meat produces an acid environment, the one natural to a cat. Any wet high protein, low carb diet would help. Naturally, a raw diet (w/o vegetables and fruits) would be best.
Carbohydrates produce an alkaline environment which leads to struvite formation. It has been shown that magnesium, even in high percentages, does not cause crystal formation.
Lack of water and carbohydrates are the two worst culprits to urinary health in the cat.
Meat produces an acid environment, the one natural to a cat. Any wet high protein, low carb diet would help. Naturally, a raw diet (w/o vegetables and fruits) would be best.
Carbohydrates produce an alkaline environment which leads to struvite formation. It has been shown that magnesium, even in high percentages, does not cause crystal formation.
Lack of water and carbohydrates are the two worst culprits to urinary health in the cat.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
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Am just going with as much wet food as possible at the moment. When she is upset she begs for dry food but I have realized that when she is hungry she will eat what I have left out. She really doesn't like beef, but found some pheasant, and a variety of lamb mixtures so will limit the fishy foods to once a week and eventually she will get the idea. A friend brought me a small bit of bonito flakes and she dived right in - I am beginning to suspect that she does not smell things as the other cats do - it's entirely possible given her very rough start in life, not sure what you can do about that probably nothing!
The bonito flakes should help a lot - alter the smell enough for her to want to dig in, yet not provide the same amount of fish as if it were a fishy food. 
I'm way late coming to this thread, glad to see some progress has been made. I have used Kitty Kaviar very often to boost one of my kitties appetites, and Wildside Salmon (cubes of alaskan caught wild salmon). Another product I like is Dr. Becker's Bites Appetite Flakes - which is bison and beef liver dried in tiny flakes (and nothing else).
Best wishes, I'm currently doing the appetite dance with my Denebola (aka Dee), so truly can empathize!
Best wishes, I'm currently doing the appetite dance with my Denebola (aka Dee), so truly can empathize!
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