#1
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Cat With Bladder Stones......
Hi,
My friend's cat, Earl, just spent the weekend at the vet due to a blockage from bladder crystals. The vet told her that she had to feed him the Hill's Science Diet food from the vets office in order for him to prevent this from happening again. So she bought the food. I know that there are better quality food out there for Earl's problem and would like to get some opinions on what she should feed him. She can't afford the $30 bag of hill's food and would like a cheaper option. (She has another cat, a budgie and a malamute). She wants me to recommend a brand of food for her. I think she should switch to a wet food- could someone tell me what Earl should be eating....what brand would be best? Thanks!
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__________________________________ Carolyn __________________________________ Monty: You Will Be Forever In My Heart |
#2
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I am sure Sugarcatmom will be here to give some excellent advice soon.
First thing: NO DRY FOOD. Cats should be eating canned food to flush out their kidneys and bladder as they have a very low thirst drive. Second: Species appropriate food to ensure the urine ph is kept at an acceptable level which is 6-6.5. Cats are carnivores and should be eating meat, not grain or potatoes. Raw would be the absolute best food, then my personal favourite, Natures Variety Instinct or Wellness, grain free flavours. http://www.catinfo.org/ http://www.peteducation.com/article....+1402&aid=2729 Some info on cat nutrition. After reading this, you will be wondering why vets are not pushing raw diets as some of cats essential nutrients come from RAW meat, not cooked.: http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm
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Cat maid to: Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs) Jasper RIP (2001-2018) Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014) Puddles RIP (1996-2014) Snowball RIP (1991-2005) In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb “While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey |
#3
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Nothing to add to what you've said already!
CarolynInPEI, dry food is an absolute no-no for any cat that has had a blockage. If Earl doesn't like wet food, there are tips in the catinfo link from Love4himies on transitioning a kibble addict.
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"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler |
#4
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Thanks for the help. I will tell my friend right away.
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__________________________________ Carolyn __________________________________ Monty: You Will Be Forever In My Heart |
#5
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What kind of crystals are they? Struvite or calcium oxylate? With Struvite, you want to acidify the urine, or, in other words, lower the ph. With calcium oxylate, you want to make the urine more alkaline, or raise the ph. My dog just had struvite crystals so what I did was add Wysong's Biotic ph- supplement to her food to lower the ph or her urine (I feed raw) and also some broth to her food and water to encourage her to drink. They also have a Biotic ph+ which is for oxylate crystals and helps raise the ph of the urine. With struvite crystals, an infection usually accompanies it so when the infection goes, the crystals should go. With calcium oxylate, the treatment is more complicated.
Wysong carries an over the counter food called Ureta and it's for urinary health. I'm not sure how expensive it is but I'd rather pay for Wysong than for Hill's crap anyday. The Hill's stuff contains salt to encourage your cat to drink; something I don't agree with because it could create or exacerbate a kidney problem. Wysong also carries prescription food and have formulas for both Struvite crystals (Struvatrol) and oxylate (don't know the name of the food). The only thing is, you have to get a prescription from your vet and the number of refills required and call their 1-800 number to get it shipped. But your friend may want to look into the Ureta food. I saw it at Ren's depot recently. Basically, you want to feed canned food with low magnesium (less than 0.1%) so preferably no fish. The Wellness canned (grain-free) contains 0.025 % magnesium. I think the Nature's Variety Instinct has the same percentage as well. I would look at the nutrient breakdown of the Hill;s food and see if you can find another better quality food with similar mineral levels.
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Give a dog food and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. That is the principal difference between a dog and man. (Mark Twain) |
#6
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Quote:
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"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler |
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