Does a healthy food option exist for cats with bladder stones?

[rescuecatparent]

Hi All, in need of some help. We have had cats all our lives but are experiencing our first case of calcium oxalate bladder stones. We recently rescued a 4 year old bengal who had been neglected by his previous owner. It was so bad for this amazing man but to keep relevant to our discussion... apparently prior to joining our family his diet was restricted to only the cheapest food available to his previous owner. It was also only dry with no wet. The 1st night we rescued him we knew something was wrong and (long story short) the next day took him for emergency bladder surgery. He had a large calcium oxalate bladder stone (and the most inflamed bladder the vet had ever operated on). He also had a large stone in his kidney that apparently there is nothing we can do about at this point. As his bladder stone was calcium they believe the kidney stone is as well.

We're transitioning him to wet food (no easy feat!) but he still requires a kernel or two of dry on top before he tucks in to the wet. We have tried every prescription diet available to us currently: Purina UR Urinary St/Ox, Royal Canin Urinary SO, Hills Urinary Care c\d, and Blue Buffalo W+U. Our concern is with the ingredients of these options. For the past 15+ years we have fed our animals as natural/grain-free/real meat and protein a diet as we could find (usually wellness, Best friend, Waruva, etc.) from our local pet store. With the exception of the Blue Buffalo the other brands look to have awful first ingredients. Most have animal by-products as their first ingredients or have high amounts of corn or soy. Also it isn't clear whether or not some are appropriate given they seem to be going after struvite not calcium stones. The more reading we do the more concerned we are that food made to address struvite stones can actually make calcium stones worse. Information out there is sparse and sometimes can be conflicting. Our best/only grain free option, the Blue Buffalo's weight management, is now being rejected by our baby for some unknown reason (he also doesn't need weight management as he's a skinny minny) and we are at a total loss of where to go. Does anyone know a good option that addresses calcium oxalate stones and isn't filled with by-product and grain/soy fillers? We are at a total loss and desperate for help!

Thank you!

 

[LTS3]

Take a read through these:

Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection

A veterinarian discuses canned (not dry food) food with its high water content as the most important way to keep a cat's urinary tract healthy

catinfo.org

Alternatives to expensive Urinary SO food

Hi folks, I have had my kitties (all boys) on Urinary SO food as two of them have had crystals. However, at 100$ a bag it's not practical for me to feed three cats this food. I am continuing to feed it - but in all honesty 100$ is a steep price for a bag of cat food that doesn't even have that...

thecatsite.com

Urinary So Substitute?

Found out Alli has struvite crystals. The bag of urinary so is $75 on chewy. Oddly the cans are more on chewy then the vets office :/ What does that RC have that shrinks the crystals?

thecatsite.com

Alternatives to Royal Canin SO

My 6 month old kitten was having some problems and my vet recommended RC SO she gave me a gallon bag to sample to see if my Ripley would eat it. I started mixing it in to his current dry food which is Iams so either way I have to find him a new food since that was the food he was on when we...

thecatsite.com

 

[rescuecatparent]

Oh thank you LTS3!! That first article is amazing! How wonderful Dr. Pierson is for making that chart and info! We cannot thank you enough!

 

[luda macka]

If your cat has calcium oxalate stones, depending on how big they are- the only options are either they pass through the kitty (like how humans pass kidney stones), or it is taken out of him via operation. Calcium oxalate stones do NOT dissolve via diet. If there is a wet food diet for calcium oxalate stones, it is usually a preventative diet.

Here is some info on calcium oxalate stones: Oxalate Bladder Stones In Cats | VCA Animal Hospitals

Also foods high in magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium can contribute to formation of calcium oxalate stones.

Good luck!

 

[rescuecatparent]

Thank you Luda Macka! Yes, we are all too familiar with the dreaded calcium oxalate stone and have indeed had bladder surgery to remove one extremely large jagged shaped stone. We know there is one in his kidney (assumed to be calcium as the bladder one was) but the doctors say the only thing we can do is watch its size via regular check-ups and xrays (which we are doing).

Our problem is that the food available by prescription is full of mostly terrible ingredients. We believe these stones formed because his previous owner fed him the lowest quality food available... and was likely abusive. If anyone out there is also suffering with calcium oxalate stones and has found/created a healthy stone safe diet that maintains the proper levels of nutrients we would be ever so grateful!

Thanks again

 

[luda macka]

Ahh I see. Yeah, I understand your struggle. I have a cat of my own who 99% of the time deals with struvite crystals, and recently had an episode with calcium oxalate stones and now apparently they're gone, but deals with struvite crytsals still... despite for years being on a medical urinary wet food diet.

I think the only wet food for preventative measure against calcium oxalate stones I've personally found to be are "Hill's Prescription Diet c/d Multicare" like these: one , two , three, four, five, six , seven, eight, nine , ten where they all feature apparently this: "S+OXSHIELD: Formulated to promote a urinary environment that reduces the risk of developing struvite & calcium oxalate crystals"

And the other brand I've encountered to be good is INTEGRA PROTECT Harnsteine (Urinary): link here , which is for both struvite crystals and calcium oxalate stones, although they also do appear to have a version of cat food specific for preventative measure against calcium oxalate stones here and they also have a specific version against struvite crystals as well.

That's the only 2 medical cat wet food manufacturers I can think of, to be honest.

 

[rescuecatparent]

Oh thank you again luda! So very helpful and kind of you!

 

[luda macka]

Also, both Hill's and Animonda Integra have a table listed with analytical ingredients so you can check exactly what the food has before buying. And no problem!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I can only tell you what I know from firsthand experience. Feeby at 5 years old had to have surgery to remove oxalate stones. That was 12+ years ago. She was, as you see is the typical case, put on urinary care food to help neutralize her PH in the hopes of avoiding any more stones from developing. Up until about 2-3 years ago, she ate the dry urinary care food and during that time I also added the canned versions as well. All said and done, never another oxalate stone in her history - and to date (knock on wood). She tired of all of those foods, and I have since had her on various canned food that have nothing to do with urinary care specifically. She is still holding strong with no indication of either oxalate or struvite stones. Why - I have no idea.

But, until you figure it all out on how you want to move forward, use the urinary care foods. They are better than nothing to start out with. I would have probably gone a different route longer ago than I did, but what she ate was working for her, and if she hadn't gotten tired of all those foods, tbh, she would likely still be on them today.