@LavishSqualor The prescription diets aren't designed to prevent crystals in cats who've never had them. They're specially formulated to break down crystals to enable them to be easily passed in the urine. The main reasoning for keeping a crystals cat on a prescription diet is that crystals very commonly recur, and staying on the diet can help prevent the need for future veterinary intervention.
The primary ingredient for breaking down struvite crystals is DL-methionine. However, too much of this can be harmful, as if the balance is wrong it can actually contribute to the formation of calcite crystals. These are much harder to treat, as they don't break down very easily.
Low phosphorus diets are a cornerstone of kidney disease treatment, but it is thought that a low phosphorus diet can be helpful when treating crystals. I personally haven't paid attention to the phosphorus content of my crystals boy's diet, and it's never caused a problem for us. If he'd had recurrent bouts of crystals I would certainly have looked into it. As things stand, the diet he's on works for him, so I'm not about to change it
@andreiamlm This is a great article on boosting your cat's fluid intake. Remember that cats are designed to get around 80% of their fluid intake from their food, so they'll never be big drinkers
The primary ingredient for breaking down struvite crystals is DL-methionine. However, too much of this can be harmful, as if the balance is wrong it can actually contribute to the formation of calcite crystals. These are much harder to treat, as they don't break down very easily.
Low phosphorus diets are a cornerstone of kidney disease treatment, but it is thought that a low phosphorus diet can be helpful when treating crystals. I personally haven't paid attention to the phosphorus content of my crystals boy's diet, and it's never caused a problem for us. If he'd had recurrent bouts of crystals I would certainly have looked into it. As things stand, the diet he's on works for him, so I'm not about to change it
@andreiamlm This is a great article on boosting your cat's fluid intake. Remember that cats are designed to get around 80% of their fluid intake from their food, so they'll never be big drinkers
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Do you have any go to brands you know are good? I once bought Applaws and when they arrived it had the info "made in thailand" and I was afraid to give it to my cats. =( Sorry for being so inquisitive I find the vets around here are still on the only dry food wagon. So for them canned food it's only for special days. It's nuts!
