Using litter tray 30 times a day

[mschauer]

Originally Posted by SoxPD

the only thing is if the vet has said for him to be on the SD prescription diet would it be safe for me to change what he has? ive tried him on the SD wet food and he just does not like it but seems to eat the dry food fine.

You have to be careful what you feed him. A lot of us here don't think much of prescription foods but this is one area where they have a leg up on non-prescription foods. They *are* very effective at controlling the crystals. I think I've heard of cats that have developed crystals while on a prescription diet to prevent them but generally they are effective.

You might be able to control the crystals with a non-prescription diet but it takes some effort to find the right foods. In general, what you want to do is some combination of : 1) feed foods that contain minimal amounts of the minerals that make up the crystals 2) feed foods that result in urine with an acidic pH so crystals can't form 3) maximize water intake to help keep the minerals suspended and flushed out rather than staying in the bladder long enough to coalesce into crystals.

My Jeta is prone to struvite crystals and I chose to deal with it by feeding her a raw food diet to keep her urine acidic enough to prevent the crystals.

You probably want to stick with the prescription food until you research what, if anything, else you want to try.

 

[nance]

I went thru this for years with one of my first male cats...over a year period he was in the animal hospital alot...having a catheter and iv fluids...antibiotics....He was on S/D food...only dry cause like your cat he wouldn't eat canned....then he would get over the crystals...and they would but him on the C/D dry....within a few months he would get blocked again....This went on for close to 2 yrs.....I was at my wists end and thought ok this is it...I can not afford to keep taking him into the vets for days...only to have him blocked again ..then finally the vet suggested urethrostomay surgery....I thought I had invested so much money into him now....I might as well go for it....We went thru struggles afterwards with a lot of infections..but in the end he got healthy..gained weight....ate mostly canned food and lived to be over 17 yrs old....The only thing I would do differently is stick to canned food mostly...because of going thru this I have 6 water bowls around my house...some are flavored with tuna water/milk.....very little it just encourages all my cats to drink more....Plus I again have a cat that suffers from FLUTD..lucky he does well on the meds...and he eats mainly canned food...

Oh I forgot to add what I vet told me the last time I was in with Tigger...he told me that they now are thinking that its a virus and that he isn't even sure feeding the recommended script diet even helps much...in his opinion he said my cat might have been better off eating canned stuff from the grocery store than anything dry....NOT that I agree that stuff should be fed to animals...I buy what I think is a good quailty cat food....I used wellness canned no grains...and mine actually get alittle grain free dry as well...very little..but anyways the vet said to encourage drinking in whatever way you can...helps wash out the bladder....I am thinking of investing in a cat fountain as well....

 

[mschauer]

I meant to ask, when you say you are feeding "SD prescription" do you mean Hill's S/D" The reason I ask is because it sounds like from your posts that is the only prescription food you feed. Is that right? Normally the S/D food is only fed until the existing crystals dissolve and then the C/D food is feed from then on. Feeding the S/D food long term can result in *overly* acidic urine and can cause another type of crystal, oxalate.

 

[mews2much]

Coco was on S/D for 2 months when she had bladder the bladder stones.
After that she was on C/D.Royal Canin Urinary and Purina S/O.
Everytime I took her off the food the crystals would come back.
What antibiotic did your cat get?
Is the vet sure they are struvite crystals?
My sisters cat was on s/d but it turned out he had oxide crystals.
S/D dosent work for them.
He had to have surgery on nov 20th.
He is now on C/D multicare.
I hope your cat will not be like my coco.
Every 2 months her infection is back.

 

[threecatowner]

Originally Posted by mschauer

I meant to ask, when you say you are feeding "SD prescription" do you mean Hill's S/D" The reason I ask is because it sounds like from your posts that is the only prescription food you feed. Is that right? Normally the S/D food is only fed until the existing crystals dissolve and then the C/D food is feed from then on. Feeding the S/D food long term can result in *overly* acidic urine and can cause another type of crystal, oxalate.

My sentiments exactly. When Mickey was blocked my vet had him on S/D for a month, then I was to feed C/D for maintenance - canned as well as dry. As I have 2 cats with recurrent UTI problems, I tried to do this. However, my cats LOVE canned foods with gravy and chunks - something you don't get with C/D. (I often wonder why the Hills people can't do something about this.)

Anyway, after my complaints that my cats just can't stand the BORING C/D, my vet prescribed "Methigel", which is a "supplemental source of Methionine for cats and dogs". Supposedly, a half to full teaspoon of this daily (mixed into their food or put on their paw so they'll lick it off- it comes in a tube) will keep their PH balances normal, and she said they can eat what they want. (NO seafood, though, I've always heard that is a no-no) Also, if they use the Methigel, they CANNOT eat the C/D or the S/D along with it.

Will this work? I have no idea. We've been using it for about a month. Sounds like a miracle cure to me. MUCH cheaper than prescription diet, too. You could ask about it.

I have also heard that for kitties with UTI problems, canned food is necessary to ensure that they'll get much-needed fluids in their diet.

 

[soxpd]

wow

see now i am absoloutly baffled. I think i really need to change vets.
Yes it has been hills prescription that i have been feeding him. The vets never told me of anything else i would need to feed him though.

He wont touch the SD canned food though so i dont really know how to get round that. as even the idea you said about the methionine which sounds great, which would mean i could feed him canned food wouldnt really work as our sox will only eat fish canned foods which i have realised now is not good to feed on a regular basis. But he wont touch anything else. But it is definately something i will look into more if this diet does not seem to help him yet again.

Im not sure if the vets are sure it is struvite though. they said it was the other day when we were there but they have not been the best vets for advice so far!
The antibiotic that he is taking is called 'synulox' if you know anything from that!

So how can you tell when the crystals are getting better and dissolving? do you have to keep going to the vet each time?

Also has anyone whos cat has had infections and crystals noticed that the cat 'poo' is much softer than usual? the reason i ask is because our sox is long haired and everytime he goes to the litter for a poo he gets it stuck in his hair. Lately we have been waking up to it scraped right round the house where he has been trying to get it off!

Thanx Again everyone!!

 

[mschauer]

Originally Posted by SoxPD

wow
see now i am absoloutly baffled. I think i really need to change vets.
Yes it has been hills prescription that i have been feeding him. The vets never told me of anything else i would need to feed him though.

He wont touch the SD canned food though so i dont really know how to get round that. as even the idea you said about the methionine which sounds great, which would mean i could feed him canned food wouldnt really work as our sox will only eat fish canned foods which i have realised now is not good to feed on a regular basis. But he wont touch anything else. But it is definately something i will look into more if this diet does not seem to help him yet again.

I would call the vet and ask some questions based on what you have learned here. It could just be a misunderstanding.

If you try using a supplement like methionine you need to be careful. It is an acidifier and as I said in an earlier post, you don't want the urine to be too acidic. You might ask your vet if this option might be good for you. You can also monitor his urine pH using pH test strips that can be found at most pet stores in the fish section.

Im not sure if the vets are sure it is struvite though. they said it was the other day when we were there but they have not been the best vets for advice so far!
The antibiotic that he is taking is called 'synulox' if you know anything from that!

Hill's S/D would only be used for struvite crystals, not oxalate.

So how can you tell when the crystals are getting better and dissolving? do you have to keep going to the vet each time?

With Jeta, it took a day or 2 but then she was clearly having an easier time urinating. My vet had me take her back in after a week to check that the crystals were dissolved. In her case they were and the vet had me switch to the c/d food.

Also has anyone whos cat has had infections and crystals noticed that the cat 'poo' is much softer than usual? the reason i ask is because our sox is long haired and everytime he goes to the litter for a poo he gets it stuck in his hair. Lately we have been waking up to it scraped right round the house where he has been trying to get it off!

Antibiotics can cause loose stools. They kill the "good bacteria" in the digestive tract and make digestion less efficient. His stools should return to normal some time (I don't know how long) after you stop the anitbiotics. You can give him a probiotic supplement to help his digestive tract recover. [Question for others: Should the probiotics be given at the same time as the antibiotics or only afterwards?]

 

[threecatowner]

Originally Posted by SoxPD

He wont touch the SD canned food though so i dont really know how to get round that. as even the idea you said about the methionine which sounds great, which would mean i could feed him canned food wouldnt really work as our sox will only eat fish canned foods which i have realised now is not good to feed on a regular basis. But he wont touch anything else.

We're not all trying to scare you to death, honest. I bet if you tried some of the canned foods with gravy and chunks or bites, your kitty will find out they are really yummy. Beef, chicken, turkey - my cats love all these. They despised CD & SD because of the texture. Give it time - it will all work out.