Feeding My Two Cats, One Has Constant Uti Issues

[darkessence]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping you can help me figure out what I should be feeding my cats.

Currently I feed them both Hills Diet c/d stress prescription food because I live in small apartment and feeding them separately does not work.

The reason for the prescription is because my male cat simba has had a lot of uti issues and has had an almost full blockage where i rushed him to ER only for him to pee on DR and myself there. This has happened twice.

I love them dearly and want to feed what is best for them.

My dilemma is that I recently went off dry food as recommended by multiple vets, and the wet food is costing me a fortune.

Male is 16.5 lbs and female is 14 lbs, both a bit overweight.

Reccomended dosage per day is about 4 cans each, technically more but since they are overweight im doing slightly less.

The hills costs 38ish for 24x 3oz cans. That lasts a week for one cat :/ so 76$ per week for both. Thats around 300 for both cats.

Someone suggested pro plan urinary but i iopened one can and it smelled and looked like crap.

The hills at least looks like food even if it doesnt have the best ingredients.

Ive looked into the applaws since its healthy and costs less than hills, but its not complete diet food.

I want to feed them something healthy with limited ingredients that doesnt cost a fortune, where I can just mix water and hopefully his uti wont flare.

Any suggestions?

Please see this other thread btw about my two cats having issues recently/.(Male uti, female ataxia relatet )

4 Year Old Female Today Started Acting Weird Gllets Out Growls And Jolts Backwards

Thank you for reading all those and for helping me figure this out

 

[Sarthur2]

You are definitely paying a lot for food. Some members who have experience with diets for UTI's should come along before long and offer some suggestions.

 

[maggiedemi]

Four 3oz cans per day for each cat sounds like a lot. I would think 3 cans each would be plenty if you are feeding just wet food. My cats didn't like the Pro Plan urinary canned food either. So I just use regular canned food and Purina Urinary dry food.

 

[darkessence]

Thanks for your replies.

So my male cat Simba is still not eating much for some reason.

Every meal he will take a few bites and then walk away. Ill follow him with the plate and get him to eat a few more bites but thats typically it.

Not sure whats going on with him.

It seems to have happened right after his meds ran out.

He mostly sleeps, but doesnt hide, usually somewhere near me.

Hes thrown up twice total in the last 4-5 days, one time it was biley.

Yesterday i mixed a tiny pinch of canned salmon with his food and he ate more than normal but still not his usualy self amount. He has the nickname fatty for a reason and so its odd that hes not gobbling all of his food.


The only thing i can think of if its not medicine related is that he misses his dry food but vet said absolutely no dry food for him.

I may have to be taking him back to the vet soon :/

 

[Sarthur2]

Have you tried different flavors? It sounds like he does not like his food.

 

[maggiedemi]

Did your vet say you have to use only the urinary wet food? Can you try some other wet foods? My cats love most things made by Purina. If he will only eat dry food, maybe your vet could prescribe a Urinary dry food? Good luck.

 

[pushylady]

Once our cat Pushy's crystals and UTI cleared up, we started to add different brands of wet into a rotation. It helps a lot with the budget, although we don't just buy the cheapest brands. We had him on the c/d for over a year though before we started introducing non-prescription food.

 

[darkessence]

He has been on the c/d wet food for a long time almost 2 years. hes always loved it.

Literally the day his meds ran out i noticed him stopping eating and has been the same since.

He threw up again today i came home on lunch and saw a biley yellow stain.

He eats a bit just not enough.

I dont think he doesnt like the food anymore hes always loved it.

And he wont eat the urinary dry food for some reason, and multiple vets now have said no dry food at all for him.

I think I am just going to have to take him in something is definitely off about him....:/

I will try and buy some different wet food later today and see if that helps first.

Thanks for responses.

 

[Sarthur2]

It does sound as though he's not feeling well now that you mention that he's vomited bile. You really want to make sure he does not get dehydrated.

I'm sorry he's doing poorly.

 

[allisa]

Hi. One thing I remember about 2 cats I had that kept having UTI's was that it is helpful to keep them hydrated. Would it be possible for you to home cook any of his/their food? I'm saying that because when I cook chicken, plain in the oven in a glass lidded Pyrex casserole dish, with a few inches of water, my current cat seems to feel generally better from drinking the broth. (He eats the meat too). I add a special cat home cooked food powdered supplement to it (after it is cooked) and shred the chicken with 2 forks. https://secure.balanceit.com/ I slow cook it on a lower heat so that it is pretty moist. I use either chicken thighs or chicken breasts. (The thighs are juicier). The broth is very nutritious & I thought it might be good for helping him get some hydration. Also it might tempt him to eat a little.
Also I found when my other cats had UTI's and were poorly if the vet gave them fluids (they give it under their skin) it sometimes seemed to help them feel better.
I'm so sorry he's not well & I certainly send best wishes and hugs his way.

 

[Sarthur2]

Excellent suggestion regarding the chicken and broth. It can be boiled as well and the broth used.

 

[darkessence]

THanks alissa and sarthur

So I went and bought some applaws chicken with pumpkin as i remember them liking that and its only 4 ingredients. gave them each maybe a 4th of a 5oz can and he ate maybe halfish of that before he got distracted/walked away.

Not eating much more than the other food.

I would def try cooking him chicken with water if he eats it.

I remember a long time ago for thanksgiving i made them chicken/rice/peas/carrots and they seemed to love it.

Do cats generally like food cold?

I read somewhere to try heating it up but i feel like mine have always preferred chilled over room temperature.

bile throw up is when they have an empty stomach but are technically hungry right? Their acids try to digest food but nothing is there so it irritates their stomach and they throw it up?

Ive been as positive as i can for the last 3 months but im very worried about him :/

 

[darkessence]

I just folloed him into the bathroom and he had a great healthy sounding pee, not licking himself. generally seems okay.

Hes not super active like im used t him but hes not lethargic i would say and not hiding just walking around sitting in his favorite spots. then sleeps somewhere in the open, one of his favorite spots usually or close to me.

Then only thing im seeing of concern is not eating like normal, maybe 1 oz every few hours. and then threw up a total of 3 times in last week hopefully wont see any more :/

 

[Sarthur2]

Give it a couple of days and see how he does. I also think he may still be adjusting to his new diet.

How many days was he on pain meds, and what was he given for pain?

 

[darkessence]

Half an hour later he came back to food himself and is eating more.

Gonna try this food for a couple days.

Anyone know of any additive to make this a complete cat balanced diet?

I think he needs taurine right

 

[darkessence]

He was on (Bupronex and Prazosin) for 5 and 7 days. THje pain one was 5 days.

 

[allisa]

Hi darkessence. How is he doing now? I'm sorry I don't know how to make that food complete. The powdered supplement I add to my cat's food is meant to be added to freshly cooked meat so I don't know what you would add to pre-made food. Yes he absolutely needs taurine.

Half an hour later he came back to food himself and is eating more.

Well that is encouraging that he came back to that food. Maybe continue that but also try adding another food? Since that food is meant to be added to the diet even if he ate a bit of a regular cat food it would help him get more balanced nutrients. In addition to the home cooked meats I feed mine Weruva Pumpkin Lickin Chicken pouches which sounds a similar flavor to what you are feeding him. It has a lot of gravy & my only real concern with it is that it has tapioca which can be slightly stool loosening, but for my cat having it as part of other foods works. (He gets easily constipated.) I also feed him Halo Spots Stew Turkey which has no caragenan. It's a pate & is pretty moist. If you want to know more about home cooked there is a lot of info here or you can ask me or message me & I can tell you what I do. It's pretty easy. The link I gave above also has information about it but there is also an EXCELLENT site by a vet that has the most information.
I'm sending massive wishes & hopefulness to both of you.

 

[darkessence]

Thank you Alissa

I might have to try the home cooked food.

He seemed fine for that oen day but then went back to barely eating. :/

I dont know why hes suddenly being so picky and weird.

trying not to let it stress me out but it definitely is

 

[darkessence]

Sigh now hes hiding in the closet and i went to go pet him and he bit me really hard and made me bleed.

 

[orange&white]

Half an hour later he came back to food himself and is eating more.

Gonna try this food for a couple days.

Anyone know of any additive to make this a complete cat balanced diet?

I think he needs taurine right

Was there a link to a food in that post? I'm not seeing any specific food.

Sigh now hes hiding in the closet and i went to go pet him and he bit me really hard and made me bleed.

Keep an eye on that bite. If you start having a lot of pain/redness from it, you'll need to see a doctor. (I know from personal experience that cat bites can be quite toxic and serious.)