would this work for crystals?

[darlili]

Honestly, it's a natural enough question - I think anyone who checks cat food on the internet will come away with the idea that certain ingredients are 'good', and certain are 'bad' - but, when it comes to your cat's health, I think the key thing is to work with your vet as well as conducting your own research. As I mentioned, the ingredients in the C/D didn't strike me as 'great' either - but I asked my vet and got a 10 minute talk about the how's and why's behind the prescription lines (yep, there's a reason for the pork in there).

And, honestly, the evidence will be how your cat is doing - and that's something you and your vet will also be checking regularly. In my case, my two are doing well, thank goodness - look good, act good, and pee well (happy dance!).

I just hope your cats do well going forward - nothing scarier than running to the e-vet with a cat that's not peeing - and hoping that you noticed in time!

 

[sweetpea24]

Wysong makes rx. foods as well as otc foods. Their rx foods are only.available with a prescription from your vet. There is a toll free number that you call to order. Some vets carry wysong's food. Im not a rep for them but their urinary foods contain herbs that are known to support urinary health. Plus the food has meat.

Btw hills c/d is marketed as a urinary food but it is basically a maintenance food which is why you can feed it to any cat. Hills just likes to make that claim to sell product. Yes rx foods are tested and there is a place for them but there is nothing wrong with trying to do whatever you can for your cat. I was supposed to feed my dog cd too but when i saw the mountains of poo i stopped and continued feeding raw with the biotic ph-. Of course I'm talking about my female dog not a male cat but I was lucky to have found a better option.

We are making suggestions, giving eamples of what has worked for us. Ultimately, it is up to the op what she wants to do. I hope it works out whatever you choose. Keep us posted!

 

[maewkaew]

I can't tell you what to do but will share my own cat's story. He was on dry Hill's c/d for 6 years for struvite crystals after having a blockage. He continually gained weight no matter how we reduced the amount -- this cat went from about 11 to 17 pounds! and the vet basically said the weight gain was just a common side effect of this food and there was nothing to be done. Then my cat got diabetes. (Since then I have "met" so many people online whose cats became diabetic on those diets.)

It was only at that point I finally started belatedly trying to learn more about feline nutrition and realized what a low quality food I had been feeding and how totally inappropriate for a cat to eat such a high carb diet. I was scared about changing the diet but needed to find something for both these issues.
It turned out the same diet that was better for his diabetes also worked for the struvite crystals. All wet food, high animal protein, very low carb. More meat tends to naturally lower pH (more acidic), making the struvite crystals less likely to form. I also added a little extra warm water to the food.
He has never again had a problem with crystals in 4.5 years , and has had regular urinalyses. (In fact this is better than on the Hill's c/d when he still sometimes had crystals found in the urine)

But this is MY cat. I do know others who have had the same experience. but of course that's all still anecdotal. I'll share with you some research I did in case there is anything in there you may not have seen : https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0A...cXhiZ2hw&hl=en

I personally would be very cautious about changing unless to all or mostly wet food because I think that's a big part of the picture, keeping them adequately hydrated to help keep the urinary tract flushed out and make things less likely to clump in there and cause a blockage.

If you do change it , IMO it would be a good idea to get a urinalysis a few times a year at first.