Grain Free bad for male cats?

[thecatmoma]

I know that this post has been going for awhile now, however. I JUST got back from spending close 4500 saving my male cats LIFE, Our vet recommended putting them on a grain free diet. and as we kept taking him into the vet for the UTIs she only asked and made SURE we were feeding him grain free.My husband made the point that he thought the grain free dry food was leading him to these utis. Especially since he'd NEVER had a single one in 5 years. Coming here is NOW making me think he may have a valid point! We're doing a urinary tract health formula for him now, But I have 17 cats and as much dry food we go though in a month that would triple our food bills. Plus Charlie loves his family and I've had to isolate him, since we free feed all the others. I'm wondering if I should go back to the regular food. The only reason we went to grain free was because of a kitty acne outbreak.We have all stainless steel bowls now.

 

[paiger8]

Hi @THEcatmoma  - you may want to start your own thread for this, since this one is so old. You may get more advice/suggestions that way.

Are you only feeding dry food? I think only feeding dry food contributes to UTI's, not necessarily "grain free" anything. Cats are desert animals, so in the wild they get the majority of their water from their prey. If you are able to, I'd add in at least one meal of canned food for all your cats and cut back on the dry. And older cats, especially males, are a lot more susceptible to UTI's which is probably why he just now got one and was fine when he was younger. Young cats are a lot more resilient. 

 

[thecatmoma]

Thanks, As I'm reading for about this I'm thinking you're absolutely right! Btw   I think I own your cat twin! My Favorite boy Beaker! Let me look for a picture of him

 

[bellaollie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kittysback /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know the magnesium or ash levels in TOTW? I don't see it listed on their site.

A email to them will yield you every mineral level in the food ...

 

[bellaollie]

What is TOTW? Sorry newbie here

 

[Norachan]

What is TOTW? Sorry newbie here

I think they are talking about Taste of The Wild.

 

[westhovsies]

My 6 1/2 male Bixby has been dealing with urinary infection for a month now.   Way back when he was 1 1/2 years old, he had been eating Chicken Soup For the Cat Lovers Soul & developed a UTI.  The vet said he wasn't metabolizing the fish (there was a small amount of salmon in the food), so we put him on Purina St/Ox Urinary dry food then.  He was eating Fancy Feast grilled meat as well.   He did fine for 4 years with this diet, but then started getting itchy during autumn of 2014.   We did a comprehensive allergy panel & found he was allergic to many things indoors & outdoors, plus food such as corn, rice & beef.   So I switched him from the Purina urinary food to a Grain-Free diet.   He has been eating grain-free Wellness CORE Turkey & Duck dry food and a variety of grain-free canned poultry mostly Weruva, but also Fussy Cat & Earthborn.   He was fine with this diet for a year, but last month started with UTI again.   Two different antibiotics didn't help.  So an ultrasound & more tests were done Friday (no kidney stones, but he does have crystals & bacteria).  We will get the results soon & then make final determination for treatment, but already the vet is talking about putting Bixby back on urinary food, but canned not dry.   Looking at the 2 brands she listed, the Purina St/Ox and Hill's c/d canned, I'm seeing corn meal, corn starch, rice & fish oil ~ all ingredients I know he has issues with.   He loves to eat kibble more than canned, so I'm not sure how much he will eat if I attempt to go with canned only (either the urinary diet or grain-free).  Reading this thread has made me want to take him off grain free dry food for certain, maybe try another high-quality dry food that isn't urinary, and supplement with the urinary canned food (as much as he will eat)?