Layla has struvite crystals & infection.. Need future food advice!

[SolaMio]

Hi everyone.. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been preoccupied with Layla (my calico ) who was having urinary problems... We took her for urinalysis and had her examined by our vet, and it turned out that she had/has crystals in her urine which have led to an infection. She was urinating anywhere she could in the house (as though she couldn't hold it) and seemed to be straining as if she was in pain. That was last week, and after a week on antibiotics she seems to be doing a bit better. I think she's on the mend

Anyhow, as part of her prescription my vet put her on Royal Canin SO 33 http://www.royalcanin.us/products/pr...il.aspx?ID=107
I know most folks here aren't big fans, and my vet recommended she be on another RC product "for life"... I don't have a problem with the 8 weeks on it for the sake of helping her get better, but I don't know about "for life". Can anyone recommend another cat food (I feed a combination of wet and dry) that would help prevent future infections? I was previously feeding California Naturals dry (Herring and Sweet Potato formula) and EVO cat and kitten formula for wet. Also I am concerned about feeding a really high calorie food (I know EVO is high cal, I only fed a little) since my other cat Millie is gaining a bit of weight lately (maybe a pound or two overweight), and the vet said that Millie could also eat the RC food during the treatment, but might gain another pound

Help!!

[ec140466]

In regarding to your cat with UTI infections I suggest putting her on Wellness with grains. They make a great product including two of the grain varieties that actually contain a triple cranberry system (good for preventing the e.coli infection) in the formula. It comes in a salmon or chicken based flavor. You could also use the wellness wet food in conjunction with the dry. I would also suggest using a supplement to prevent the UTI there is a product that AOR makes called cran-uti which is basically just a very concentrated version of cranberries. It works wonders and I have heard great feedback from this product. Just a few tips there for ya. Best of Luck

[Rottielover]

Tigger has a very sensitive stomach, and very prone to them. he only food that kept them away has been the uretic by wysong

[Love4himies]

I would not recommend feeding dry for a kitty who has a history of fluids or stones as the kidneys and bladder need constant flushing to avoid the crystals from growing. In fact, I would be adding water to canned food. Also any diet that changes the ph balance of a kitties urine to prevent crystals can lead to increased chance of forming oxalate stones in the kidneys:

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00125.htm

[sugarcatmom]

Ditto what Love4himies said. No dry, and you also want to stay away from grains as much as possible. The higher carbohydrate level in foods with grains encourages urine to be alkaline, which sets up the conditions for struvite crystal formation. A diet low in carbs and high in protein (the cat's evolutionary diet) predisposes urine to be naturally acidic (6.0-6.5 ph) which helps prevent struvite crystals. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract

There is nothing magical about the Urinary SO food. All they do is add an acidifier (DL-methionine) and extra salt to make the cat drink more. The ingredients are horrid:

Chicken meal, rice, corn gluten meal, ground corn, chicken fat, natural flavors, cellulose powder, sodium chloride, dried brewers yeast, dried egg powder,

Feeding a quality meat-based, low carb wet food is the best defense against both struvite and calcium oxalate crystals. If you want to monitor Layla's urinary ph to make sure she's staying in the ideal range most of the time, get some ph strips from a pharmacy or health food store. If she consistently has a ph over 7, you can add your own acidifier to her canned food (I can help you with that if needed). But you have to be very careful her urine doesn't become too acidic and set up an environment for calcium oxalate crystals to form, which are way harder to get rid of (ie surgery).

I would be cautious about adding cranberries to her diet. Cranberries contain benzoic acid, which is toxic to cats. She would have to consume a large amount for it to reach dangerous levels, but why even go there. A better idea for dealing with the bacteria aspect of a UTI is adding D-mannose. For the inflammation and irritation caused by crystals, corn silk or marshmallow root are a good idea.

[Goldens4Ever]

I've worked with two dogs with these urinary type of problems. The most important factor in eliminating these is to increase moisture within the diet. The most effective type of diet to get rid of struvite crystals & stones are canned diets. I've found the Nature's Variety INSTINCT canned diets to be extremely useful with this. And, encourage them to drink LOTS of water.