Struvite & Calcium Oxalate Crystals - C/D Multicare is best?

[dkb817]

So the results of Simon's urinalysis came back with both Struvite and Calcium Oxalate crystals (as well as some blood, likely from irritation caused by said crystals). The vet said he typically puts cats with this issue on C/D Multicare for life to help prevent it from getting worse. We'd likely be going with the wet food variant to help with getting some additional moisture into his diet and help with some stool issues.

Do any of y'all have experience with this food? Does it actually work well for that purpose?

 

[Talien]

It may not work so well if he has both types of crystals, because one cause of struvites is low acidity and one cause of CO is high acidity. The prescription "urinary care" foods are just more acidic than normal because struvites are the most common type of bladder crystal/stone, but if he also has CO crystals it can make those worse.

Stress is known to be another cause of struvites, so if there's something that's stressing him out you should look at dealing with that.

 

[dkb817]

He's just a naturally jumpy cat to some degree - He's on prozac for some existing separation anxiety issues that we're working on and I personally still think there's SOMETHING going on to cause his hunger issues (the basic bloodwork came back normal, so it's likely we'll be sending some blood off for more in-depth testing once we see what the stool sample shows).

He's really never had issues with urination or grumpiness prior to this last herpesvirus flare-up (which I believe was caused by a stressful vet visit in which he had a bad reaction to some vaccines), so I think that might have been the tipping point on the crystals front.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't know about the struvite crystals, but Feeby at the age of 5ish had oxalate stones and was required to go through surgical removal. She was put on C/D - initially dry and then I also added Royal Canin SO a number of years later. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I also incorporated the canned versions of both (but, she has always been an avid water drinker). Knock on wood, 10+ years later she is stone free. And, as of the past year she is not even eating any of the above - of her own doing. She now eats all non-prescription wet food; so far so good.

However, Feeby has never had any signs of anxiety - she is a pretty laid back cat. So, that might make a difference in the effect/results of these prescription foods.

What is the 'hunger issue' you referred to? If it is that he is acting hungrier than you think he should, that could also be stressed related. Of course, get the additional testing done to rule out other factors, but if all else is ruled out add it to the list of possible anxiety related symptoms.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to talk to your vet to see if they are aware of any data/history of a correlation between herpes, stress, and bladder issues - up to and including cystitis.

 

[dkb817]

FeebysOwner - The hunger issue is really just that for the last 2-6 months, he has been displaying an increased hunger like he just never fills up all the way (though, with his recent official diagnosis of having Giardia, that could be the culprit as I don't remember him being like this to this degree before). I think if they were bigger crystals or were causing major issues, the vet probably would've broached the idea of surgery, but he really hasn't had many issues and to be frank, I don't know if we could swing surgery costs straight out of the gate. I don't think Simon is necessarily a big water drinker, he sips from his fountain every now and then especially if it is freshly cleaned, but he's been purely on wet food for many, many months now to compensate (The only 'dry' foods he was getting prior to the crystals were the occasional temptations treats and he quite enjoys licking the remnants of small cups of mashed potatoes; I'm not sure if he'll be able to have either one now, I'll likely call the vet and ask him within the next week or two)