Raw Food and Urinalysis

jedi_baby

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Hi everybody. We got our boy (possible Siberian mix but unsure) when he was approximately 8-10 weeks old back in June of this year.

The first week we got him, he had constant diarrhea. Then he started throwing up so we switched from wet food to commercial raw and it was like a flipped switch. No more diarrhea nor throw up. He also has a fountain he drinks from occasionally. All in all, I felt he was healthy and doing well. Coat is soft and shiny, but could be because he's still a kitten.

Fast forward a few months to a couple days ago when he's getting neutered. He was required to do a blood test prior to the neuter and they said his urea levels were high so he'll be required to do a urinalysis alongside the neuter. We get back the results and it shows trace protein, high pH level of 8, minor struvite crystals, specific gravity of 1.034, and USG of 1.040 on the refractometer from the clinic. The vet tells me that high pH levels cause crystals and that he's dehydrated. The cause is his diet and recommends me to get Royal Canin specialty kibble or wet food.

I'm so upset as I felt we were doing everything right to prevent crystals. He's so young and he already has issues? The vet also said the stones can develop to be fatal for male cats.

Reading online says raw foods should have low pH levels? Why is he so high? Raw food has 75% moisture, why is he dehydrated? I'm at a loss. Is this genetic? Should I get another opinion? Any input is greatly appreciated.

We've fed him a variety of commercial raw brands and proteins but we have settled on Tollden Farms and switching up the proteins. Been on mainly Tollden Farms for approximately a month now. We also feed him the occasional gizzard, chicken heart, and wing tip. He gets a few small pieces of Pure Bites beef liver as treats and dried sardines even rarer as treats (maybe a 1-2 times a week if any).

I've started adding a tablespoon of water to his raw diet. Might slowly add a bit more each time to see how picky he is with how wet his raw food is. We used to give him a lot of water with his canned wet food and he wouldn't eat if it was too soupy.

Has anyone had a similar issue?
 

maggie101

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My cat has struitive crystals. It can also be caused by stress. She was on Prescription for 3 months then was clear. They can come back. Males are more prone to have crystals. She was fed high quality wet before this happened so it's not always the food. Be sure to have numerous water bowls and a fountain. She did not like hills cd or rc so but she did like purina proplan ur. It's possible he was stressed being at a shelter. I'm so upset that I took her off the prescription food because the food desolved the crystals. Now they're back and she has kidney disease. Not sure if that's the reason or not. Don't mean to scare you more but she is 8 years old,not a kitten.so your kitten will get better.

Crystals are hard to get rid of so even though the ingredients are aweful,try the rc, hills,or ppp. If the litter boxes have tops,take them off. If he had a blockage it can be fatal
 
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jedi_baby

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Thanks for your response. I'm sorry to hear about the kidney disease :( I hope she's doing alright. That's what I'm afraid of as well.
 

maggie101

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Kidney disease is not the same as crystals so it could just be an unfortunate coincidence. Her prescription food is low protein so I'm worried about her muscle mass. Since it was only just diagnosed I will keep her on Prescription til her next appointment since it is not totally clear what's going on. Probably see a specialist since it's bothe crystals and kidney. Vet admitted he is not as knowledgable in that area
 

furbulousbunz

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I'm so upset as I felt we were doing everything right to prevent crystals. He's so young and he already has issues? The vet also said the stones can develop to be fatal for male cats.

Has anyone had a similar issue?
Hi, I know this is 2 yrs old hoping I get a reply. My cat, I've fed raw / high quality canned since 2016, sometimes lower quality but only for a day or two. We are getting our bathroom renovated so we moved to our inlaws for the week, taking our 4 cats. Two days later I noticed Leo licking himself down there a lot. Next day, a LOT, like an hour straight. This was very strange to me, I called the vet and explained and she said he may have a blockage and to take him to emergency. So I did. He had a blockage. I caught it very early so he is recovering well, currently in the hospital, hopefully coming home tonight/tomorrow.

However she is blaming my raw diet and says he needs to be on prescription DRY, since he prefers it over the canned. Everything I've researched says dry is what CAUSES these issues! I'm planning to get the canned prescription and feed for one meal a day for a week, and the other meal raw. I've read up on Lisa Pierson's article from catinfo.org, and feel confident I'm making the right choice. (Any input on my decision?)

From what I've read also, I feel like this could've been caused from the stress of new environment,even tho I feel he can typically adapt pretty well. Maybe him aging is making moves like this more stressful, idk. He's 8. His brother is doing fine but he's also the kind of cat with giant balls and no fear...he tried to ambush a deer at my parents once when I had him outside to play. So another reason I'm thinking stress triggered the blockage, and maybe a week of feeding some lower quality canned food, idk...

Have you had any crystal recurrence?
Any advice for me?
 

F+V

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I also follow Dr. Pierson's and catinfo. I'm sure you read this but Tales and Lessons From the Feline Urinary Tract Trenches

If the vet told you to put him on prescription diet, it must be struvite stones. I think the vet recommended kibble because he prefers dry to wet? I think it's safe for you to feed him prescription wet and hold off on giving him raw meat for a month or so till his next urinalysis comes back clean. Mine didn't like prescription diet at all...

Stress definitely contributes to the formation of stones.
 

sophie1

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Very interested in this thread because I've had the same problem, chronically, with my two Siberians. They're now 10 years old, raw fed all their lives, and very healthy/active except for persistently high urine pH and struvite crystals. One of them developed bladder stones and ended up needing surgery.

This started during a kitchen renovation in 2021 that lasted a few months, and included a period when I took them to stay at my mother's house after she had a catastrophic fall, but it did not resolve after we returned home and life went back to normal. It seemed to get a little better after I reduced the bone content of their food to no more than 6%. No more bladder stones or 3+ blood in the urine, but the high pH and crystals have persisted. My vet has me using Pretty Litter to watch for episodes of very high urine pH, and I supplement their food with methionine powder (about 1/4 tsp each daily) and Cranberry Comfort (1 scoop each, twice a week). Urine pH is now in the 7-7.5 range, still high, but the crystals are gone thank goodness.

I wish I knew what's causing this. I doubt feeding them urinary food would make much difference. I did try first Royal Canin urinary formula in canned food, then Forza (fish-based canned). They put up with that for a few weeks, during which there was no noticeable improvement according to the Pretty Litter, then started refusing to eat it, so I had to go back to raw. The vet is calling this early renal disease, and I guess that makes sense. But he's puzzled too, says that raw diets are usually what he recommends to TREAT this problem, and he's mystified about why it developed in raw fed cats.
 

F+V

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Very interested in this thread because I've had the same problem, chronically, with my two Siberians. They're now 10 years old, raw fed all their lives, and very healthy/active except for persistently high urine pH and struvite crystals. One of them developed bladder stones and ended up needing surgery.

This started during a kitchen renovation in 2021 that lasted a few months, and included a period when I took them to stay at my mother's house after she had a catastrophic fall, but it did not resolve after we returned home and life went back to normal. It seemed to get a little better after I reduced the bone content of their food to no more than 6%. No more bladder stones or 3+ blood in the urine, but the high pH and crystals have persisted. My vet has me using Pretty Litter to watch for episodes of very high urine pH, and I supplement their food with methionine powder (about 1/4 tsp each daily) and Cranberry Comfort (1 scoop each, twice a week). Urine pH is now in the 7-7.5 range, still high, but the crystals are gone thank goodness.

I wish I knew what's causing this. I doubt feeding them urinary food would make much difference. I did try first Royal Canin urinary formula in canned food, then Forza (fish-based canned). They put up with that for a few weeks, during which there was no noticeable improvement according to the Pretty Litter, then started refusing to eat it, so I had to go back to raw. The vet is calling this early renal disease, and I guess that makes sense. But he's puzzled too, says that raw diets are usually what he recommends to TREAT this problem, and he's mystified about why it developed in raw fed cats.
Our cats urine PH is also 7, which is a little worrying and I have no idea why because the recent urinalysis didn't suggest my cats had urinary tract infections. Also apparently feeding multiple meals a day instead of one large meal will lower PH. I use PH 7.1 bottled water to make their food and also use in their water bowls. Could this be the reason why their urine PH is 7?

Struvite crystals dissolve on prescription diet in about a month or so, but I've read once diagnosed repeat occurrence is likely. My boy was disagnosed as FLUTD and FIC even though no stone or crystal was found.
 
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