cosequin for bladder health?

sharky

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Originally Posted by blueandfrodo

if you have a feed store then that is great. i live in newfoundland. i DO NOT have a feed store. we don't have live stock and therefore no need for a feed store. i also live in a remote area so shipping is a lot of money. just check it out for yourself, my postal code is a0k 1b0.
you have a grocery store? check the store label ... surprisingly many are actually decent foods for a bargain price
 
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blueandfrodo

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but why would i switch from a grain free canned food that i am happy with to a canned food from the grocery store that is chock full of grains and other gross things that i can't ever imagine feeding. i am not the one unhappy with the canned food i am feeding, you guys are. if i switch to anything it will be raw, which i hope to start when i get home on tuesday.
 

violet

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Are you in close contact with successful raw feeders? Do you know how to do a raw diet safely? Do you have all the advice and guidance you need for starting a raw diet? Do you have the info you need for balancing calcium and phosphorus? Using taurine? (And a lot of other things.)

Just in case, if you ever want to include rabbit in the diet, please read this article for important information

http://www.felineinstincts.com/order...yinrabbit.html
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by blueandfrodo

but why would i switch from a grain free canned food that i am happy with to a canned food from the grocery store that is chock full of grains and other gross things that i can't ever imagine feeding. i am not the one unhappy with the canned food i am feeding, you guys are. if i switch to anything it will be raw, which i hope to start when i get home on tuesday.
The fact that you, personally are happy about it, doesn't mean it is working for your cat, which, IMHO, it is not, if she continues to have UTIs... so that's why... If your plan is not working, you change plans... It is as simple as that. Corn might be nasty on your mind, but it works for UTI when in a food with chicken, and that is the problem you are dealing with it, so... Why fight against it, and keep doing what clearly is not working?
By the way, there is a member here, who lost her young cat who was prone to UTIs... she is pretty sure the raw diet had a big contribution to his death. She is a very knowledgeable cat owner and raw feeder, ex-breeder, and still disaster hit home. Be VERY careful with that - her cat was only 2 years old. She had vets close by... IMHO you are putting yourself into a very very risky situation with that, by doing this without a close vet guidance.
I have watched this thread without saying anything, but now I feel like I just have to say it...
There are about what, seven pages of this thread?
Seven pages of members who have experience with UTIs, who care about you and your cat, trying to give you advice, and you are not listening... You just want to keep going on your plan..... which is NOT working.

If what you were doing was working, I would not have any problem with it... I believe in not changing a team that is winning (in sports).... But when it is losing, you HAVE to do something about it. You are defending a losing team, IMHO, and the only one who suffers here, is your cat.
Your cat doesn't care if there is corn in the food... she cares that she is healthy, and she doesn't have an UTI. She cares that she is not in pain... So, if I were you, for your and her own good... I would highly recommend start listening...
 
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blueandfrodo

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Originally Posted by Carolina

The fact that you, personally are happy about it, doesn't mean it is working for your cat, which, IMHO, it is not, if she continues to have UTIs... so that's why... If your plan is not working, you change plans... It is as simple as that. Corn might be nasty on your mind, but it works for UTI when in a food with chicken, and that is the problem you are dealing with it, so... Why fight against it, and keep doing what clearly is not working?
By the way, there is a member here, who lost her young cat who was prone to UTIs... she is pretty sure the raw diet had a big contribution to his death. She is a very knowledgeable cat owner and raw feeder, ex-breeder, and still disaster hit home. Be VERY careful with that - her cat was only 2 years old. She had vets close by... IMHO you are putting yourself into a very very risky situation with that, by doing this without a close vet guidance.
I have watched this thread without saying anything, but now I feel like I just have to say it...
There are about what, seven pages of this thread?
Seven pages of members who have experience with UTIs, who care about you and your cat, trying to give you advice, and you are not listening... You just want to keep going on your plan..... which is NOT working.

If what you were doing was working, I would not have any problem with it... I believe in not changing a team that is winning (in sports).... But when it is losing, you HAVE to do something about it. You are defending a losing team, IMHO, and the only one who suffers here, is your cat.
Your cat doesn't care if there is corn in the food... she cares that she is healthy, and she doesn't have an UTI. She cares that she is not in pain... So, if I were you, for your and her own good... I would highly recommend start listening...
personally, i feel that this post is very rude.

i don't feel that you guys are listening to me. i DO NOT have the ability to get any other food for my cat unless i get canned crap from the grocery store. that is it. i can't figure out why you all keep pressuring me to do something that i can't do.

i don't think that putting her back on the food that makes her vomit EVERY day is a good choice.

my vet does not promote a raw diet so asking her for guidance for it is not going to work. i know way more about it than she does.

i feed my dogs raw and have been doing so for 2 years now. i understand that raw for cats is a little different and i do have some people that i trust on another forum to help me with any issues that i might have. i have already done a lot of research on my own.

i also don't know what you guys are all trying to pressure me to do, one person says that corn is the only thing that will help, someone else says grain free only, and then someone else says not even fruit and veggies. i can't make all of you happy. all i can do it make my cat happy.

i don't appreciate being told that i am going to kill my cat because i am too stubborn to change anything.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by blueandfrodo

personally, i feel that this post is very rude.



i don't appreciate being told that i am going to kill my cat because i am too stubborn to change anything.
I do not think I was rude, just honest - and very careful to not be rude actually, and nowhere I said you where going to kill your cat because your are stubborn - those are your words, not mine.
If you are talking about the raw, well... it is the truth... it is believed that it had a high contribution in a cat's death here, who had a UTI at the time, and that is a fact. That cat was UTI prone like yours. It is not a pretty fact, but it is one. If you think that bringing up this fact is rude of, me... oh well... If it was my cat, I would simply view this as sound advice.
 

violet

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blueandfrodo, I'd just like to tell you how sorry I am that you feel the way you do about our heartfelt attempts to help you and your kitty.

Any condition involving the urinary tract is very, very painful. That in itself is very, very important. Treatment has to be individualized for the patient. If there is a bacterial infection, the appropriate antibiotic is absolutely necessary to kill the bacteria. Untreated bacterial infection will spread to the kidneys and eventually cause a deadly systemic infection. A change of diet without medication will not treat the infection, will not kill the bacteria. Treating the infection with the appropriate antibiotic is vitally important.

If allergy is causing inflammation - and with that inflammation tremendous pain - the ingredients that are causing the inflammation must be eliminated from the diet.

If alkalinizing ingredients (fruits and vegetables) are raising the pH, the higher pH can cause bacterial infection and it can also cause struvites. A cat can have crystals and a cat can have stones. Stones can cause horrific, life-threatening complications that come on suddenly, without warning. They also cause ongoing problems (because they are constantly irritating the lining of the bladder), including pain. Sometimes stones show up on X-rays, but many times they don't and they only show up on an ultrasound. (That's why with an ongoing urinary problem doing X-rays and an ultrasound is vitally important.)

I've been thinking a lot about your situation. Your location and the veterinary care available to you. In your circumstances I would go out of my mind. I just couldn't take it.

In a previous post you wrote: "my cat has never had an ultrasound done and i actually doubt that there is an ultrasound machine for pet use anywhere even close to me."

I have to say something about this. Find out what's available to your vet and insist that your vet does whatever is necessary to help your kitty, to get to the bottom of this problem. Also insist on a fasting level urinalysis and, if necessary, a culture and sensitivity test. Plus X-rays for starters. Assert yourself and be the determined advocate for your kitty that your kitty needs. Your kitty's life depends on it. You can't allow your kitty to suffer or, God forbid, even die, because of inferior, uncaring vet care. Right now you don't exactly know what's wrong. It's essential that you find out and that you treat whatever needs to be treated. Do not hesitate to speak up and be assertive. Do not allow your concerns to be brushed aside. There are potentially life-threatening problems here that must be investigated before you can safely decide that a change of diet to raw is all you need to solve your kitty's problem.

Please, please, please, listen to us, take our advice. We've been there, we couldn't give you the advice you need if we hadn't. And believe me, the advice comes from the heart.
 

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Have you indicated to your vet that you're open to commercial prescription urinary foods if she feels it may do some good?
 

otto

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Originally Posted by darlili

Have you indicated to your vet that you're open to commercial prescription urinary foods if she feels it may do some good?
So far, unfortunately the OP is not willing to consider putting her cat on a prescription diet, regardless if it would be beneficial to the kitty:




Originally Posted by otto

Cats with FLUTD do not do well on grain free foods. They need plant based proteins such as corn; corn gluten meal is a low ash source of protein and acts as a urine acidifier in cat food. While not the best quality source of protein, the use of corn gluten in small amounts offer preventive health benefits for cats with urinary tract problems.

And the cosequin for cats DOES help FLUTD cats. You can find studies that proves it doesn't, and you can find studies that proves it does. You can find studies on anything. the bottom line is, does it help your cat. And in my experience, yes it does.

I agree with the others that you need to not feed any more fish foods to your affected cat, and get her on a food more appropriate for her special needs condition.

Do not start things like cranberry extract or vinegar without speaking to your vet first. Things like that can back fire if not done properly and the urine is not closely monitored.
Originally Posted by blueandfrodo

i cannot and will not feed my cats corn based food. or any other food with grain for that matter.

i have also researched fish based foods and flutd and found out that all fish foods are not bad for flutd cats. they said that previously poor quality fish meal was used and it was mostly bone therefore the problem arose with the crystals. i am not feeding poor quality food.

i am planning to try the switch to raw with my cats when i get back from toronto next week. i really feel this is the best diet for them.



my vet is a 2 1/2 hour drive, one way, from where i live. i am planning to give her the whole course of meds (orbax, 14 days) and if it seems like there is still issues then i will take a day off work and bring her in. it is not as simple as popping down one day after work. i know that her health is the most important thing but i can't be driving 500 km a day to bring her back and forth to the vet.
She has also been warned that switching to a raw diet could make things worse.

Some cats, due to genetic make up, need special foods, and whether the human likes what's in the food or not, the cat's health and well being should come first, in my opinion.
 

peeproblems

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My cat has anxiety issues, very fearful of noise, thunder being the worse. I found him on 2 different occasions urinating on my living room curtains. Dr treated him for a UTI but also gave me a RX for cosequin. I put him on Iams Urinary Health cat food ( white bag with yellow ) via PET360 website.I initially gave him 1 pill every day, it worked well. Few months later while off the cosequin , not the cat food he resumed urinating in the same spot so I went to the vet again and resumed him on 2 pills per day. It worked. The question is will he need it daily for life...probably, since I cant take him to a cat psychologist!  I take a 3ml syringe barrel,pull out the plunger,  cap the end, fill it with 1 ml water, open the cosequin capsules and pour into the syringe, replace the plunger and shake. My cat gets a 1 minute intense petting/back rub immediately after each am dose so he actually comes to me in the kitchen, takes his med and gets loved on. Seems to work easily enough. Hope it works for you.
 

susanlee2253

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My cat, Finn is borderline diabetic which my vet is trying to control with a special diet. He recently developed a UTI and the antibiotics did not seem to work so my vet prescribed cosequin capsules which I open and pour over his food. He goes in in 7 to 10 days to see if it helps. I had never heard of that for bladder issues, but if it helps, Great!!
 
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