URGENT - Felix Urinating EVERYWHERE!

[Margret]

 

I used to have a tomcat with this problem, Nimbus.  It seemed that anything with fish in it also made the crystals more likely.  Our vet did surgery on him, to shorten his urinary tract so that it would be less painful for him, but that didn't exactly cure it.  You can do a lot keeping him on the correct diet.  Follow your vet's advice on this.  If you'd like to put Felix back on raw, ask your vet for ways to do it that won't aggravate the problem.

Margret

Vet has no knowledge of a raw diet. That is why I asked here. She told me to look into it.

In that case, I'm not the one to help you.  Besides strongly suggesting that you avoid any seafood in his diet, I'm pretty much in the dark on this.  Sorry about that.

My best suggestion, besides asking the more knowledgeable people here, is that you do a Google search on "causes of <exact diagnosis>" and "which minerals cause urinary crystals in cats" followed by "dietary sources of <mineral from last search> for cats."  The last two together should give you a great deal of information about which foods you need to avoid feeding him.  They should also tell you why he wasn't having trouble before he was taken off of the raw diet, and why he began having trouble when he was put on kibble.  Chances are that you were already feeding him exactly the right things.

Once you've done as much research as possible, proceed slowly.  Keep him on the prescription food, but start adding in the raw foods one at a time, leaving a month or two in between new foods.  That way, if he starts having trouble again, you'll know exactly which food caused it.

How are you currently keeping him from poaching the other cats' food?

Margret

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Thank you. We are feeding them in different areas of the house. Smokey gets fed in the basement and Felix gets fed upstairs. We monitor both until they have finished and then we take up their dishes.

I also asked the veterinarian what might have caused Felix's crystals and she couldn't tell me. She said that it could be genetic or environmental which I don't understand. Apparently, it's not an isolated incident and he is prone to crystals always.

 

[Margret]

He probably is prone to it genetically; certainly it was genetic with Nimbus, because his mother had the same problem.  But something still triggered it, and that something was almost certainly dietary, considering when the problem started and that the doctor's treatment is dietary.

You need to be reading labels.  Specifically, the labels of the prescription food, and of the kibble that triggered this.  Find out what is in the prescription food.  Given that cats are obligatory carnivores, I can't believe that any prescription cat food is low in meat; the meats that are included in that food should be ones that it's safe for you to feed Felix as raw food.  Also, note any non-meat ingredients.  They're presumably there for a reason, perhaps as supplements that will help his body to avoid making urinary crystals.

(At least, these are the places where I would start.)

Also, remember the basic rules for internet research:

1. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's true.
2. Therefore, if it sounds too good to be true it's probably false.
3. Rely primarily on websites you trust; ones run by good veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, and so forth.  And check them against each other.  Something with two or more trusted sources is more likely to be correct than something with just one source.

Also, for what it's worth, I tend to get better results using duckduckgo as my search engine rather than Google.  Google gets a lot of false hits, and it can be difficult to sort through them.  Duckduckgo is a better search engine, in my opinion.  (You can add their search engine to your browser with a link on this page, which I use as my home page: https://duckduckgo.com)  If duckduckgo isn't finding the answers you need, then you go to Google.

Margret

 

[Graceful-Lily]

He probably is prone to it genetically; certainly it was genetic with Nimbus, because his mother had the same problem.  But something still triggered it, and that something was almost certainly dietary, considering when the problem started and that the doctor's treatment is dietary.

You need to be reading labels.  Specifically, the labels of the prescription food, and of the kibble that triggered this.  Find out what is in the prescription food.  Given that cats are obligatory carnivores, I can't believe that any prescription cat food is low in meat; the meats that are included in that food should be ones that it's safe for you to feed Felix as raw food.  Also, note any non-meat ingredients.  They're presumably there for a reason, perhaps as supplements that will help his body to avoid making urinary crystals.

(At least, these are the places where I would start.)

Also, remember the basic rules for internet research:

1. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's true.
2. Therefore, if it sounds too good to be true it's probably false.
3. Rely primarily on websites you trust; ones run by good veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, and so forth.  And check them against each other.  Something with two or more trusted sources is more likely to be correct than something with just one source.

Also, for what it's worth, I tend to get better results using duckduckgo as my search engine rather than Google.  Google gets a lot of false hits, and it can be difficult to sort through them.  Duckduckgo is a better search engine, in my opinion.  (You can add their search engine to your browser with a link on this page, which I use as my home page: https://duckduckgo.com)  If duckduckgo isn't finding the answers you need, then you go to Google.

Margret

I actually do not like the Urinary SO because the first ingredient is chicken by-product meal and it's filled with grains. Also, long-term, I know this would be the worst thing for Felix because he has urinary issues and the vet said dry food contributes to it. Also, his teeth will be filled with tartar and it'll be expensive to have surgery to remove it.

 

[Margret]

Okay, I agree with you.  I doubt that the grain is useful, and chicken is definitely better than chicken by-product meal (much like the difference between cheese and processed cheese food).  On the other hand, that probably means that chicken is okay.

When I mentioned non-meat ingredients, I was thinking more in terms of added vitamins or minerals.  Of course, if it's like most varieties of kibble, they have to add things to it just so that it can actually sustain life in a cat.

Grains are an easy way to make kibble pellets hang together, and to add calories to an otherwise low-calorie food.  They're also cheap filler, high in carbohydrates, and a good way to make a cat obese and give it diabetes.  And for some cats they can be addictive.

You may want to investigate the ingredients of other prescription foods for cats who have the same diagnosis, and if you find one that looks healthier ask your vet whether Felix could be switched to it.  If the vet says it's not as good as Urinary SO, ask "Why not?".  Don't be challenging about it, just ask for information.  The answer should give you some more clues.

Margret

 

[Margret]

Now that I have the actual name of the prescription food, I just searched for an ingredients list, and found something much more interesting than that:

 Cats often suffer from lower urinary tract disorders that affect the ureter, the bladder or the urethra. One of the most important causes is the development of urinary tract stones, which typically consist of struvite (composed of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate) or calcium oxalate (composed or calcium and oxalate).

Source:  https://www.petflow.com/product/roy...eterinary-diet-feline-urinary-so-dry-cat-food

So there you have a list of the minerals you need to avoid.

Margret

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Thank you so very much! I will look into this. I'm sure plain chicken will be fine because she said to watch out for bone meal in raw food that is already prepared.

 

[Margret]

Check out this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/254489/alternatives-to-expensive-urinary-so-food

Margret

 

[nansiludie]

Urinary SO is also sold in a can version. I have previously fed several of mine Hill's C/d canned until they had gotten over their urinary issues and transferred over to Purina One urinary food, it is a bit cheaper than the c/d and it's done them well. I'll see if I can pull some links for you.

 

[nansiludie]

This is a pretty decent sale on chewy, https://www.chewy.com/royal-canin-veterinary-diet-urinary/dp/35159  $28  for 24 cans. When I bought c/d it was $40 a case. 

Only thing is, that you'll need your vet to fax over the rx so they will send it. 

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Thank you but I'd rather feed Felix raw. That's my goal if it's possible. He did so much better on it.

Felix is a lot better now. Yesterday and today, he was galloping all around the house and being troublesome as usual. Huge improvement.