food to reduce crystals in female

[mrspotts66]

i hope i'm putting this is the right forum! feel free to relocate, if needed.

we found that my ruby has crystals in her urine.
so i need to switch her foods.

any recommendations? the vet suggested friskies canned (low pH, low magnesium - it says it on the label).
but it feels wrong feeding her friskies. i think i'm a food snob.

looking for both kibble AND canned brands & formulas.
any help would be greatly appreciated!

~~paula

 

[farleyv]

I feed my cats Friskies. I have a diabetic that cannot have dry food and with 11 cats it is easier to feed everyone the same.

They all do fine on this wet food. It is low in carbs. I got the info off the site for diabetic cats which is run by a veterinarian. I have no probs with feeding it.

I know others will probably disagree, but m;y diabetic is a beautiful, healthy kitty, except for the diabetis which eating the dry kibble probably contributed to it.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

I would follow my vet's advice unless I truly believed it would harm my cat.

 

[mrspotts66]

thanks for your replies!

okay. so the friskies special diet is okay, and i do have about 4 cans in the house. that's good.
and she likes it. even better.

any other suggestions? what about kibble? how is wellness core?
the vet didn't discourage kibble at all. he just said that i need to change which kibble she/they get.

and any other brands of wet that we can try that meet the criteria?
the girls seem to boycott if they get the same 2 or 3 flavors in a row.
cost is not an issue at this point in time.

yes. i know they're spoiled. yes. i know.

 

[strange_wings]

Honestly, for this, I suggest you go with a prescription diet as this is a serious health problem. After the crystals are gone you could try incorporating some other foods, but you always have to be mindful of the risk.

I have one on Hills C/D. Between that and the antibiotics he took for two weeks his urine is clear of crystals. I have started to offer him a little non-c/d canned but only 2-3 times a week and he still gets his c/d dry.

 

[snickerdoodle]

My Boo was put on Dry Hill's C/D (we could use canned wet though too) and I just loved it, it cleared his crystal issue right up, and he loved the taste. So did my other one, even though she didn't need it :T Good luck!

 

[darlili]

In this situation, I'd strongly suggest you work with your vet and go with her suggestion.

My boy is on Hills CD wet and dry, and it's worked great. He had struvite crystals. Your girl may not be in that situation yet, but, again, work with the vet on the food. If nothing else, I'd run any possible choices by her before switching.

 

[sharky]

Please work with your vet..... as a Fyi No grain free to this point is Uti friendly and None are certified for UTI health( meaning they were tested for 18-24 months for that purpose in feeding trials .. this is past the typical AFFCO 6 month test)

Work with your vet and if your vet only can suggest friskies wet then maybe it is time for a second opnion... Yes the UTI health friskies is a Certified food thus I understand the vets recommendation but Communication is key

 

[otto]

In my opinion a cat who forms crystals needs to be on a special prescription diet, and I would be questioning your vet why this was not recommended.

NO commercial diets are "uti friendly" in a way to prevent crystal formation, regardless of what their marketing states.

ESPECIALLY, in my experience, Wellness brand. I tried to switch my FLUTD kitty (female) to a grain free wet Wellness diet based on their claims. Within 8 weeks her urine pH shot up to 7.5 and her urine was full of both struvite and phosphorous.

Mazy will remain on Hills Prescription c/d for life, now.

Canned is better than dry if you are going to feed commercial, because at least the cat will be getting plenty of moisture, but ..as was said..discuss this with your vet.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by otto

In my opinion a cat who forms crystals needs to be on a special prescription diet, and I would be questioning your vet why this was not recommended.

NO commercial diets are "uti friendly" in a way to prevent crystal formation, regardless of what their marketing states.
I would suggest discussing that with a qualified vet or vet school...
Your experience was NOT a food that by the regular standards would be Uti friendly and I will agree has a Major issue with how they were marketing... Facts and figures are readily available to aid folks in learning about % ages for Uti health..
ESPECIALLY, in my experience, Wellness brand. I tried to switch my FLUTD kitty (female) to a grain free wet Wellness diet based on their claims. Within 8 weeks her urine pH shot up to 7.5 and her urine was full of both struvite and phosphorous.

Mazy will remain on Hills Prescription c/d for life, now.

Canned is better than dry if you are going to feed commercial, because at least the cat will be getting plenty of moisture, but ..as was said..discuss this with your vet.

the right above paragraph