Cheap Alternative To Hills Urninary Care C/d?

laura14801

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Hello everyone!
I have a soon to be 15 year old beautiful, long haired tabby cat who was taken to the vet a few months back for urinary crystals. After spending around $300 (ouch!), which included an overnight hospital stay to get a urine sample from him, the vet recommenced I put him on Hills Urinary Care c/d Stress for the rest of his life. The thing is I'm a low income individual. on Social Security and working part time, and make just over 11k a year. He is doing really well on this very expensive food, but after doing some research I found out the ingredients are mostly junk. And, I don't really want to spend $70 for a 13 pound bag, or $40 for a 24 pack of the wet food, which doesn't last a whole month because the cans are so small. I feel like this is honestly a rip off, and there has to be a cheaper solution to this. I don't have thousand to spend on expensive surgery, but want to keep my baby boy happy, and healthy for the last few years of his life!
 

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Wile

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To be honest I don't think you are going to find any urinary care diets out there that are much cheaper than the prices you are quoting in this thread. If I recall correctly the 13lb bag should last 2 months, which is $35 a month. If there is a urinary care diet out there that is cheaper than that I have not heard of it.

The C/D stress is something that I fed my cat for a while to help manage his interstitial cystitis. It's effective because it has tryptophan in it, which helps reduce anxiety and stress. My cat would still be eating it if it wasn't for the fact that he has a food intolerance to what I think is chicken and was throwing it up.

Instead I have been making my own LID food from a vet-approved recipe and adding tryptophan to the recipe to try and recreate the stress-reducing effects of the C/D stress diet. Tryptophan is expensive though, and this home made food is definitely not cheaper.
 
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laura14801

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To be honest I don't think you are going to find any urinary care diets out there that are much cheaper than the prices you are quoting in this thread. If I recall correctly the 13lb bag should last 2 months, which is $35 a month. If there is a urinary care diet out there that is cheaper than that I have not heard of it.

The C/D stress is something that I fed my cat for a while to help manage his interstitial cystitis. It's effective because it has tryptophan in it, which helps reduce anxiety and stress. My cat would still be eating it if it wasn't for the fact that he has a food intolerance to what I think is chicken and was throwing it up.

Instead I have been making my own LID food from a vet-approved recipe and adding tryptophan to the recipe to try and recreate the stress-reducing effects of the C/D stress diet. Tryptophan is expensive though, and this home made food is definitely not cheaper.
I don't get it. What could my cat possibly be stressed out about? he was acting normal before going on this incredibly expensive food. I am seeing no change in his behavior after consuming it either. He's acting like himself.
 

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I don't know your cat's diagnosis, so I can't really comment if he needs the stress care element of the food or not. Since you mentioned that he was eating c/d stress rather than just c/d I assumed that stress must have been a component of your vet's concern. If you don't think your cat needs the "stress" food it would be better to contact your vet and ask why s/he recommended it over the regular c/d diet.

Personally I would caution you to make sure that any diet you put your cat on is one that is targeted to manage his crystals, since it is potentially a life-threatening condition. Wet food is better than dry, but also will be more expensive.
 
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laura14801

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I don't know your cat's diagnosis, so I can't really comment if he needs the stress care element of the food or not. Since you mentioned that he was eating c/d stress rather than just c/d I assumed that stress must have been a component of your vet's concern. If you don't think your cat needs the "stress" food it would be better to contact your vet and ask why s/he recommended it over the regular c/d diet.

Personally I would caution you to make sure that any diet you put your cat on is one that is targeted to manage his crystals, since it is potentially a life-threatening condition. Wet food is better than dry, but also will be more expensive.
I'm mostly concerned with the ingredients in his prescription diet which include the following:
Chicken, Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Brewers Rice, Pork Fat, Chicken Meal, Egg Product, Pork Flavor, Soybean Oil, Fish Oil, Lactic Acid, L-Lysine, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Potassium Citrate, DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Taurine, Dried Hydrolyzed Casein, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Iodized Salt, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, Beta-Carotene
Cat's are carnivorousness and souldn't be eating whole grains like corn or wheat.
 

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Cat's are carnivorousness and souldn't be eating whole grains like corn or wheat.
I'm not a nutritionist or vet, so take what I say as my opinion. There are many others on this forum that can guide you much better when it comes to nutrition.

I do believe that it's true that there are ingredients in hills foods that are not ideal to feed your cats. I wish that they listened to trends in the marketplace that are demanding higher quality prescription diets. The reality, however, is that the cat food marketplace is deeply flawed. There are a lot of great cat food companies out there that produce nutritious canned or raw foods with high quality ingredients. Unfortunately from what I have seen not a single one of those companies produce diets intended to manage medical conditions.

In an imperfect world, if I personally had to choose between a cat food with lower quality ingredients that was designed to manage my cat's life threatening medical condition, and a cat food that contained high quality nutritious ingredients, I would choose the food that managed my cat's medical condition.

For you there is an added concern of finances. The reality is that you are likely not going to find a cat food with high quality ingredients that can manage your cat's urinary condition that is cheaper than Hills. One cheaper option might be royal canin urinary s/o (not a stress diet, but a urinary care diet). For me, my cat has 2 medical conditions: interstitial cystitis and food intolerance. It's hard to find a diet to manage both conditions and is affordable, so I started making my own high quality human grade urinary stress care LID food, which costs me about $130-$150 a month.

As I said before, Hills (or royal canin) dry food is likely the cheapest urinary care diet you will find.
 
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laura14801

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I'm not a nutritionist or vet, so take what I say as my opinion. There are many others on this forum that can guide you much better when it comes to nutrition.

I do believe that it's true that there are ingredients in hills foods that are not ideal to feed your cats. I wish that they listened to trends in the marketplace that are demanding higher quality prescription diets. The reality, however, is that the cat food marketplace is deeply flawed. There are a lot of great cat food companies out there that produce nutritious canned or raw foods with high quality ingredients. Unfortunately from what I have seen not a single one of those companies produce diets intended to manage medical conditions.

In an imperfect world, if I personally had to choose between a cat food with lower quality ingredients that was designed to manage my cat's life threatening medical condition, and a cat food that contained high quality nutritious ingredients, I would choose the food that managed my cat's medical condition.

For you there is an added concern of finances. The reality is that you are likely not going to find a cat food with high quality ingredients that can manage your cat's urinary condition that is cheaper than Hills. One cheaper option might be royal canin urinary s/o (not a stress diet, but a urinary care diet). For me, my cat has 2 medical conditions: interstitial cystitis and food intolerance. It's hard to find a diet to manage both conditions and is affordable, so I started making my own high quality human grade urinary stress care LID food, which costs me about $130-$150 a month.

As I said before, Hills (or royal canin) dry food is likely the cheapest urinary care diet you will find.
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Urinary SO Morsels in Gravy Canned Cat Food, 3-oz, case of 24
 

Wile

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They also make the royal canin urinary s/o wet in 5.5 oz cans, which will probably work out cheaper in the long term.
 

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What were you feeding before this happened? If it was dry, then switching to all canned might be enough to prevent it happening again. You're right that the prescription food ingredients are complete junk and it's a shame to have to pay so much for it. Feeding such an unhealthy diet could also lead to other health problems in the future.

I encourage you to search the forums here for other threads on this topic. There was one just recently. After Care Tips For Urethra Blockage

Btw I find I get better search results by putting site:thecatsite.com into google, followed by your search terms. Example: site:thecatsite.com urinary crystals
 
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laura14801

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What were you feeding before this happened? If it was dry, then switching to all canned might be enough to prevent it happening again. You're right that the prescription food ingredients are complete junk and it's a shame to have to pay so much for it. Feeding such an unhealthy diet could also lead to other health problems in the future.

I encourage you to search the forums here for other threads on this topic. There was one just recently. After Care Tips For Urethra Blockage

Btw I find I get better search results by putting site:thecatsite.com into google, followed by your search terms. Example: site:thecatsite.com urinary crystals
I used to feed some Special Kitty cheap Walmart brand dry food, but later found out that it was full of crap fillers, dyes, and had no real ingredients, and switched him to Purina Pro Plan Urinary Adult cat food.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Special-Kitty-Gourmet-Formula-Dry-Cat-Food-24-Lb/22004584
Ingredients: Ground Yellow Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Poultry By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavors (Chicken, Crab, Lobster, Tuna, Shrimp), Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Brewers Dried Yeast, Monocalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Added Color (Titanium Dioxide, Red #40, Yellow #6, Yellow #5, Blue #2), Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Cobalt Carbonate.
Soon after the change in diet he was urinating in small amounts, about the size of a drop, and straining to go in the litter box. Took him to the vet, they got a urine sample and found out he had FLUTD and urinary crystals. And was prescribed two weeks of Baytril (antibiotics.) His condition didn't clear up, he still was't peeing. I then took him to another vet for a second opinion....they gave him another round of antibiotics and said he had to be prescribed Hill's for the rest of his life to prevent future urinary crystals...
 

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As someone who has a cat with these severe issues, please feed your cat the prescribed diet. We had to teach him to eat out if his own bowl, away from out other two. We tried going back to regular food and he got sick again immediately. We order from chewy,com and do auto ship which gives an extra credit. You can get dry and wet CD Stress from them with free shipping on $50 order (I get litter and other cats food also). My kid almost died from these issues, cost me $1300 the first and $800 the second. Dont play with it hun.
 

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While I have never had a cat that has blocked, I do have a cat that gets stress UTIs without crystals. I have read on here of plenty of people whose cats block regularly on dry food. All wet food has helped them and my cat also gets switched to completely all wet (she gets dry during the night and when I’m gone otherwise) when she’s showing symptoms of a stress UTI. Stress for cats isn’t always straight forward. It could be another cat outside the house, boredom or other things that could be contributing to stress. I personally dont think the Hills diet is necessary for cats that aren’t blocking and have regular crystal problems on other foods.
 

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I personally dont think the Hills diet is necessary for cats that aren’t blocking and have regular crystal problems on other foods.
I think in this case there is a concern that Laura's cat might block, since she mentioned trying to avoid surgery.
Laura, the C/D stress diet is more expensive than a regular urinary care diet. I would contact your vet and clarify if your cat needs to be on a stress + urinary care diet, or just a urinary care diet. If s/he says a stress diet then I second Indigo and would stick with the Hills C/D stress.
 
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laura14801

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I think in this case there is a concern that Laura's cat might block, since she mentioned trying to avoid surgery.
Laura, the C/D stress diet is more expensive than a regular urinary care diet. I would contact your vet and clarify if your cat needs to be on a stress + urinary care diet, or just a urinary care diet. If s/he says a stress diet then I second Indigo and would stick with the Hills C/D stress.
The veterinarian was surprised he wasn't blocked, just full of crystals. He's peeing regularly on this food, but I honestly don't see any reason for him to be on it the rest of his life. There are similar lower priced foods that have the exact same ingredients that don't require a prescription. I'm starting to think it was just a change in diet that caused him to form the crystals, or maybe he was just dehydrated? not sure on this. I'll talk with the vet in the morning.
 

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Were these vets knowledgeable about cats, or do you think they mostly treat dogs? It makes me want to facepalm when a vet tries to treat urinary blockage in cats with antibiotics. Yes a UTI can result from urine stagnation and bladder irritation caused by the crystals, but I think in most cases there isn't even an infection, nevermind that they're not treating the root problem.

Simply feeding all wet food might be the answer for you. Cats don't typically drink enough water to compensate for the dehydrating effect of dry food. Wet food will not only help with urinary problems but also help keep his kidneys healthy.
 
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laura14801

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Were these vets knowledgeable about cats, or do you think they mostly treat dogs? It makes me want to facepalm when a vet tries to treat urinary blockage in cats with antibiotics. Yes a UTI can result from urine stagnation and bladder irritation caused by the crystals, but I think in most cases there isn't even an infection, nevermind that they're not treating the root problem.

Simply feeding all wet food might be the answer for you. Cats don't typically drink enough water to compensate for the dehydrating effect of dry food. Wet food will not only help with urinary problems but also help keep his kidneys healthy.
What wet food do you recommended? I feel cheated that I spent over $300 to treat my cat, which includes $75/a night to put him in the hospital to get a urine sample. After doing some research, it seems a high protein, low carb, grain free wet food would be best for his nutritional needs. I do want to keep the formation of crystals at bay, while maintaining a good urinary tract health for my senior cat.
 

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I think you'll notice that even the cheapest canned foods don't have corn or soy or gluten etc. as a first ingredient (somebody correct me if they find one). They do tend to have meat byproducts, but in my opinion (and I think many would agree) that while not ideal they are much better for a cat than grains and peas and such. I would say feed the best you can afford and what your cat likes (you're on the right track with high protein, low carb, grain free) but if all you can afford is, say, friskies, it will still be better than dry.
 
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laura14801

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I think you'll notice that even the cheapest canned foods don't have corn or soy or gluten etc. as a first ingredient (somebody correct me if they find one). They do tend to have meat byproducts, but in my opinion (and I think many would agree) that while not ideal they are much better for a cat than grains and peas and such. I would say feed the best you can afford and what your cat likes (you're on the right track with high protein, low carb, grain free) but if all you can afford is, say, friskies, it will still be better than dry.
Is this a good brand?
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kitten Chicken Grain-Free Canned Cat Food, 3-oz, case of 24
If so, I'll purchase this and start mixing in with the crap prescription food to start weeing my cat off it.
 

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It looks good to me. I haven't fed Blue but I know that there are members on here that do. Senior cats can also benefit from the high protein of kitten food. You might want to pick up a can or two from the pet store before buying a case, just in case your cat doesn't like it. I'm currently feeding Wellness Complete Health kitten food, and my adult cat is always trying to steal it from the kitten, so that could be an option too.

If you are ordering from Chewy though, American journey might be one to try. They offer 50% off your first case.

Something I forgot to mention it that it's recommended to avoid fish heavy foods for cats with a history of urinary issues. It may not be necessary, but something to keep in mind.
 

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I do not have experience with urinary health issues, but if it were my cat, and I couldn’t afford the vet prescribed diet, I’d ask the vet about doing an all wet diet and consider this food. More affordable and similar ingredients including the tryptophan if stress is a concern. All wet food would probably be the best way to start in keeping his urinary tract and kidneys healthy.

Hill's Science Diet Adult Urinary Hairball Control Chicken Entree Canned Cat Food
 
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