Is special cat food needed after a bladder infection?

darkxfire

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My vet gave me hills c/d urinary care after my cat had a respiritory and bladder infection. I ran out a while back and I bought him a big bag which ended up costing over $100. Currently my insurance covers 50% for him, but im wondering if its really necessary, as it seems even these brands like royal canin and hills are starting to use cheap ingredients, like by products, and corn/wheat.
 

missmimz

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My opinion is no. As you mentioned these companies overcharge for the food and then load it up with inappropriate ingredients for cats. Most of the time cat's with a history of urinary issues do well on a wet food only diet with added extra water, and access to a fountain to encourage drinking. Some cats may need low phos foods or supplements to help bladder health, but most cats that develop UTIs are on kibble only diets, and simply switching them to wet food solves the issue. 
 

DreamerRose

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Wet food with water does solve the problem, but if your cat insists on some dry food, Purina One makes a Urinary Tract Formula. It's available at the grocery store and on-line and is much cheaper than the food at the vet's. I just bought a 20-lb bag from Amazon for $21.
 

greypaws

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There is a lot of good info in the thread titled, UTI prescription diet rant. Also do a search on this forum for FLUD, many threads with helpful info.

IMO, having just gone thru this with my recently adopted cat, water and canned foods only are the key. It doesn't hurt to feed the 'script foods short term until their urine test comes back clear of blood & crystals, then slowly switch them to the canned food of your choice. Depending on the type of crystals your cat may have, the script foods can help break those up, so don't discount the good those diets can do. Kibble and not drinking enough water is what causes the crystals, so when you remove those, the problem will slowly resolve itself. Cats need to drink 1 cup of water in a 24 hr period when eating kibble only diet. As they have a low thirst drive most drink much less.

There is also a lot of good information of www.catinfo.org   a site written by a vet. Paws crossed your little one is healthy soon.
 
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darkxfire

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I wish we had prices like that on amazon in canada
 
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darkxfire

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Its been snowy the past few days, and he isn't able to go outside to do his business. He does use the litterbox, but usually doesn't urinate very much. It always feels like his bladder is full. He drinks water, and he try to give him as much wet food. He recently also got off clavaseptin for a urinary infection
 

lalagimp

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No one really pushed C/d or S/o on me when Tommy got a blockage. They fed it to him in the hospital. I don't like prescription diets so I put both boys on a raw diet when Tom got home. For a few years they were on Hills Metabolic, and it's crap, but it works if you follow the rules, but it's crap. I moved them from Hills Metabolic to Nature's Variety Healthy Weight and stayed the course and got them to lose steady weight on a food that was much better for them.
Tommy had another blockage even on the raw. This time his pH was at 7, when the first hospital stay showed he was at an 8, so it was still an improvement.
His third blockage 2 days later about made me want to crash my car. His dad said stay strong and move forward and we did the surgery and started him on cranberry extract. Twice a day for 1-2 weeks and then once a day for two days during the week. We do Tuesday and Saturday. He has an appointment with his surgeon for his 1 month follow up tomorrow.
The first four ingredients on any prescription food make me want to toss it in the trash.
 
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