Urine Crystals -- Is prescription diet needed?

[kittylove1]

Originally Posted by dcgirl79

Hi Karen,

Thanks so much for the suggestion to try SOFT PAWS! They work great and Avery tries to take them off but I have no more damage to my broadloom. They were a bit of a struggle to get on, but so far the glue is doing its job and he hasn't removed any although he has definitely tried.

As for dry treats, I am seeing the vet for the first time on Thursday. I will ask her about dry food that is safe to be used as a treat for training purposes. Thanks again!

Here's a picture of Avery with his Soft Paws on.

Avery looks fabulous with his Sowft Paws! I'm so glad they worked out for you! Let me know what the vet has to say after you see her, okay?!

Karen

 

[renny]

Well Rambo is now off the food. They finally used a needle and got a urine sample. He doesn't have struvite crystals, but he was chock full of bacteria and had a pH of 5 (maybe from the rx food). So he's off the food and back on his old food and 2 weeks of clavamox. I've also heard from the director of the rescue i work with to try putting either a few drops of apple cider vinegar in their water or cranberry powder in their food to help combat future bladder infections. Any one every heard of this? or tried this?

They don't know for sure if he's got stones or not, but since he wasn't blocked I'm just gonna keep an eye on him for the next little while and get him rechecked in 2 weeks.

 

[batgirl2good]

I am so happy to see this thread. My kitties have bladder stones but no crystals.

I am looking to get Royal Canin food for Shenandoah, as he hates the Hills c/d food.

 

[urbantigers]

Just curious - but how do cats scratch if they're wearing soft paws?

Do they go through the motions in the same way as they would if they weren't wearing them? Can they scratch with them on?

 

[kittylove1]

My two cats just started on the Royal Canin and seem to like it

Thank goodness!

Karen

 

[kittylove1]

Originally Posted by urbantigers

Just curious - but how do cats scratch if they're wearing soft paws?

Do they go through the motions in the same way as they would if they weren't wearing them? Can they scratch with them on?

Yeah, they do all the same motions, even scratch on my furniture - but no damage! I don't know what I would've done without them. I was at my wits end before I discovered them a few years back.

Karen

 

[blue ash]

If your vet is adamant about feeding a prescription diet. Ask them to look into the Wysong RX line, the ingredients are far better then that of Hills/Waltham//Purina/Eukanuba RX.
www.wysong.net

 

[candy]

We had quite the issue with our female and struvite crystals. Please remember that a cat should only be given acidifiers (cranberry, Methigel) only if they need pH correction. If given unecessarily, you can actually cause the opposite type of crystal.

If your cat has struvite crystals and you want an alternative to prescription foods, I would look into Methigel (methionine, urine acidifier in gel form) or Berry Balance by Solid Gold. I would also invest in pH strips and test the urine as often as possible (midstream only).

We put Syd on Hill's to begin with because her cause was severe enough to warrant it at the time. Now that she has improved and recovered, we are maintaining the pH with the Berry Balance. She also gets wet food mixed with water (about 1/4 cup) each night. We invested in a Drinkwell pet fountain too.