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I am looking for foods that will help my eight year old male cat Hal. He has recurring UTIs and cystitis and I am also worried about him becoming underweight or malnourished. Since he has been taken off kibble he hasn't been eating enough on a regular basis. Hal really preferred to eat kibble, grain-free higher protein foods like Orijen or Acana. He is very fussy when it comes to eating wet food. I don't want him to have urinary tract issues, of course, but then I also don't want him to become too thin or develop fatty liver disease because he doesn't eat enough. Any advice about foods or supplements or anything that could help reduce stress would be appreciated.
Hal's recent history: This past year he had several instances where he had bloody urine outside the litter box. He needed antibiotics twice for UTIs and for the other vet visits he received anti-inflammatory meds and sub-q fluids, as it was determined he had cystitis and not an infection. When he was first diagnosed with cystitis I wanted to wean him off dry food. He lost a lot of weight between August and December, primarily from not eating as much. The vet was concerned there might be another reason for the weight-loss, like he could have diabetes or another serious condition, and blood work revealed he had a high white cell count, but everything else looked good. He had "cat flu" in December, when he had the blood work done. The back of his mouth and throat became inflamed and sore, and his cystitis "flared up," so he ate even less and lost more weight. Just this past week we took him to the vet because he lost his appetite and he had dark urine outside the box-- a urinalysis determined he needed antibiotics and he also got medication for pain and inflammation.
The vet wants Hal to eat the Hill's prescription diet C/D Urinary Care Stress canned food. I also give him a glucosamine supplement and have a couple Feliway diffusers in the house, as the vet recommended. I had tried to get him to eat this Rx diet before, when he was first diagnosed with cystitis, but he didn't eat all the food and primarily liked the liquid/gravy. Right now the vet isn't worried about Hal's weight, but he is thin. He needs to maintain his weight, at the very least. He is actually eating the prescription food, presently. He needs to eat about 12 oz of the 2.9 oz cans a day, though, and I don't know if he will keep that up. I would like to feed him a food higher in calories so he won't have to eat quite as much. And preferably one without all the added carbs that also won't cause him urinary problems. I figure I will continue to feed him the vet's food so long as he will eat it and also offer other foods to him in small amounts. I am monitoring how much he is eating as we live in a multi-cat household and I need to ensure Hal eats what he's supposed to.
It's just been a frustrating cycle of trying to get him to eat enough wet food and then just getting him to eat adequate amounts of food in general, whether hydrated or dry food. I tried following this advice on transitioning cats from dry to wet food, but Hal will hold out for dry kibble and cry for it rather than eat wet food that is offered to him. And if he starts feeling unwell, due to the cystitis or a UTI or stress, he won't even want to eat treats or kibble.
Hal does like dehydrated foods and treats, like freeze-dried chicken breast or Primal or Stella & Chewy's meals, but he won't eat it if water is added. Sometimes I can get him to eat more canned food if I put the dehydrated food on top, though. He also likes shredded chicken, like Weruva or Tiki Cat, and I use it as a topper for other foods as it is high in protein. But he would still have to eat about 12 oz of the food if that was the only food I gave him and I don't know if he'd eat that much. I had some success feeding him Holistic Select turkey and chicken pates-- this has been mostly what my male cat who gets struvite crystals and has also had FIC eats and he has done well on it. I've also tried Halo Impulse, Hound & Gatos, Nature's Variety, Pride, and some Nutro cans and Hal would eat those foods on and off. I just need to find something he will eat consistently that will be good for him. I don't normally feed my cats fish, and fish-based foods can exacerbate problems with UT issues, but I'd be willing to give him a food with fish if it would encourage him to eat more. And I rather give him some fish over a food with a lot of wheat gluten, rice, starch, or corn so long as it doesn't cause him any problems.
Thank you for reading.
Hal's recent history: This past year he had several instances where he had bloody urine outside the litter box. He needed antibiotics twice for UTIs and for the other vet visits he received anti-inflammatory meds and sub-q fluids, as it was determined he had cystitis and not an infection. When he was first diagnosed with cystitis I wanted to wean him off dry food. He lost a lot of weight between August and December, primarily from not eating as much. The vet was concerned there might be another reason for the weight-loss, like he could have diabetes or another serious condition, and blood work revealed he had a high white cell count, but everything else looked good. He had "cat flu" in December, when he had the blood work done. The back of his mouth and throat became inflamed and sore, and his cystitis "flared up," so he ate even less and lost more weight. Just this past week we took him to the vet because he lost his appetite and he had dark urine outside the box-- a urinalysis determined he needed antibiotics and he also got medication for pain and inflammation.
The vet wants Hal to eat the Hill's prescription diet C/D Urinary Care Stress canned food. I also give him a glucosamine supplement and have a couple Feliway diffusers in the house, as the vet recommended. I had tried to get him to eat this Rx diet before, when he was first diagnosed with cystitis, but he didn't eat all the food and primarily liked the liquid/gravy. Right now the vet isn't worried about Hal's weight, but he is thin. He needs to maintain his weight, at the very least. He is actually eating the prescription food, presently. He needs to eat about 12 oz of the 2.9 oz cans a day, though, and I don't know if he will keep that up. I would like to feed him a food higher in calories so he won't have to eat quite as much. And preferably one without all the added carbs that also won't cause him urinary problems. I figure I will continue to feed him the vet's food so long as he will eat it and also offer other foods to him in small amounts. I am monitoring how much he is eating as we live in a multi-cat household and I need to ensure Hal eats what he's supposed to.
It's just been a frustrating cycle of trying to get him to eat enough wet food and then just getting him to eat adequate amounts of food in general, whether hydrated or dry food. I tried following this advice on transitioning cats from dry to wet food, but Hal will hold out for dry kibble and cry for it rather than eat wet food that is offered to him. And if he starts feeling unwell, due to the cystitis or a UTI or stress, he won't even want to eat treats or kibble.
Hal does like dehydrated foods and treats, like freeze-dried chicken breast or Primal or Stella & Chewy's meals, but he won't eat it if water is added. Sometimes I can get him to eat more canned food if I put the dehydrated food on top, though. He also likes shredded chicken, like Weruva or Tiki Cat, and I use it as a topper for other foods as it is high in protein. But he would still have to eat about 12 oz of the food if that was the only food I gave him and I don't know if he'd eat that much. I had some success feeding him Holistic Select turkey and chicken pates-- this has been mostly what my male cat who gets struvite crystals and has also had FIC eats and he has done well on it. I've also tried Halo Impulse, Hound & Gatos, Nature's Variety, Pride, and some Nutro cans and Hal would eat those foods on and off. I just need to find something he will eat consistently that will be good for him. I don't normally feed my cats fish, and fish-based foods can exacerbate problems with UT issues, but I'd be willing to give him a food with fish if it would encourage him to eat more. And I rather give him some fish over a food with a lot of wheat gluten, rice, starch, or corn so long as it doesn't cause him any problems.
Thank you for reading.
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