Flutd Diet Question

hazel86

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Hello. My 9 year old little girl Dori was diagnosed with FLUTD a week ago Monday. Her only symptom going into the vet was lots of little clumps of pee in her litterbox on a daily basis. Blood, struvites, & white blood cells all came back positive in her urine. No bacteria were found which is why she was diagnosed with FLUTD/Cystitis and not so much a UTI. We believe the stress of her getting a dental done about 2 months ago has helped cause FLUTD since her urinalysis prior to her dental didn't contain the blood and crystals..

The vet had obviously put her on a special diet to dissolve the crystals as well as an anti-inflammatory shot, and some cosequin to sprinkle on her food to help strengthen the the bladder wall. I've been strictly feeding her the Science Diet C/D (urinary care) canned food since her diagnosis and after just shy of a week her tiny little clumps of pee are almost non-existent. She's peeing far less and each pee clump in her litterbox is about golf-ball sized which tells me that the treatment/diet is working. I am continuing the Rx diet and she is getting her urine re-tested in a week.

My question here is about her diet after the crystals have dissolved and her bladder is back to normal. I've done a lot of reading on FLUTD and I know it can happen again. I know that Dori should be on an all wet food diet and I will be keeping her on that, but I do not want to feed her the Science Diet the rest of her life like the vet told me I should do (of course that's what they're going to tell me since they get $$$ for it), so unfortunately they are of no help regarding my question on her diet. The food is quite pricey for the lack of quality. Is it okay to switch her to a high quality canned instead (high protein, grain-free)? Will a highly nutritional canned diet alone help her ward off future issues with FLUTD (keeping the pH in check/keeping crystals at bay)? Or is it best for her to be on the Science Diet C/D the rest of her life? One food that I know about is Wysong Uretic but I am not going to use that as I've fed her the brand before and she will not touch it. Thank you for reading and I hope someone can help!
 

Mamanyt1953

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My best advice on this is to read the labels carefully, and to choose the best one that you can fit in your budget. I understand (from my reading here) that there are several that will come close to Science Diet in formula. Other than that, I will quote one of our very wise members,

"The very best cat food is the one that your cat will actually eat!"

I will tell you that there is a thing I have notices at TCS. Once one person replies to a thread, others generally follow. I'm hoping that very soon we will have one of our members with hands-on experience on here to help!

Welcome to TCS! When you get a moment, click on this link New Cats on the Block and introduce yourself and your cat to the community!
 

cheeser

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We used Dr. Pierson's chart at catinfo.org for our FLUTD kitty, and started out by trying brands and flavors that didn't contain any kind of fish as an ingredient, and that was no more than 10% carbs (plus, we also added a little extra water to Buddy's meals). If the item we wanted to try wasn't listed on her chart, then we followed her directions here to at least get a ballpark guesstimate of the protein, fat, and carbs as a percentage of calories. And when in doubt, many companies are more than happy to answer your questions because they want your business!

Then it was basically a matter of trial and error until we finally figured out some menu options for Buddy that he liked, and that we could afford. :)

We've had to make adjustments to his menu every once in awhile since Buddy has other health issues. But thank God, he hasn't had any further urinary tract problems.

Wishing you and Dori all the best! :vibes::vibes::vibes:
 

lalagimp

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Well.
I've had two situations on my kitties.
Tommy actually blocked, so I put him on canned, then commercial raw, then I started making homemade for him and his cohort, Stewart. The first time was from crystals. The next 2 times, 2 months later, seems to be from cystitis, and we did the surgery while adding in a cranberry supplement for a month. He's still eating raw food with rabbit and turkey and a bone content a bit lower than the 10%.

Amalie's urine came back with crystals during her last visit. She wouldn't eat canned and she wouldn't eat raw, and she was being stubborn with me, while not really exhibiting any symptoms.
In July, Yue got some dental work done and I starting putting out canned food with a split bowl in their feeder (50/50 dry/wet) and she's been eating a little wet each day all on her own after she started associating it as food. I haven't had her retested because we haven't run into any problems, but I know her urine is more dilute than it was.

The fact that your girl is accepting of wet food is a huge start. From hanging around the forums, I have heard good things about people moving from prescription to an OTC food Dave's Restricted Dave's Pet Food Restricted Diet Magnesium & Phosphorus Grain-Free Pork Recipe Canned Cat Food, 5.5-oz, case of 24 . I'm not saying it's a cure all, because I'm not a vet, but it's an available option.
 
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hazel86

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Thank you so much Cheeser for that website - there is so much helpful info there! I have a lot more reading to do.

And thank you lalagimp for that recommendation on Dave's Pet Food, we will definitely look into that as well. Like you said, I am glad she is eating up the wet food too as I've read that many cats can become dry food "addicts".
 

Mamanyt1953

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There now...we have folks with actual experience now! ~whispers to self~ that always works, for some reason...

Now I can just follow along and be the cheering section!

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