Urinary crystals - what to feed dilemma

[Beth Desciak]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I have a 5 year old male cat that recently had a blockage and I'm struggling to decide what to feed him. He's very picky and will not eat any prescription wet food, nor will he eat raw or cooked chicken or steak. He's hooked on Fancy Feast wet food. I tried both dry and wet prescription food and he only ate the dry food (I tried several brands of wet food, adding tuna water, heating, etc. with no luck). He lost weight and wasn't urinating regularly. In desperation, I restarted the FF wet and since then he has been urinating normally and has gained weight. I just spoke with my vet today and she recommended just giving him the prescription dry food only and no wet food. She also recommended a water fountain. This seems contradictive as he was not urinating and losing weight on only the prescription food. Should I keep him on the FF wet food and prescription dry food? Anyone have experience with l-methionine? Can it be giving along with prescription dry food? This is such a frustrating issue to manage and it seems like the vets are hesitant to explore any options other than the prescription diets. One last question. The vet said he can no longer go out and occasionally catch and eat a mouse because the calcium in the bones is enough to cause a urinary blockage. I would think this is the most natural diet available. Any feedback is appreciated.
Thank you!
Beth

 

[verna davies]

Can you get this food

Royal Canin Urinary S/O Cat Food (Wet Morsels in Gravy) 48x85g Pouch

Royal Canin Urinary S/O Cat Food. A complete dietetic feed for cats. Its urine acidifying properties and its low level of magnesium make it suitable for dissolving struvite stones.

www.animeddirect.co.uk

My fussy eater loved it.

Personally I wouldn't feed dry food with a urinary issue but others do successfully. Does your cat drink plenty of water?

I'm presuming your vet did a scan to find the crystals, is he going to do another to check if they have gone?

Look at cornsilk and d-mannose, both natural products so wont interfere with any medications.

 

[Beth Desciak]

Thanks! I'll look into buying your recommendations. He's been cath'd and flushed but we're still finding crystals.

 

[Alldara]

Beth Desciak Yes, it can take up to a year for the crystals to stop. Did the vet say what type of crystals? If no, it's best to call and find out. Food recommendations work best when you know what type of crystals.
What the prescription food does is helps to dissolve the crystals. Short of that, you might have to be on the lookout until they're all gone.

Purina Pro Plan has a urinary food available at pet stores that our cat took to.

If you can remove dry food completely and add some extra water to the wet, that's best. Or give minimal dry food (though a treat ball or puzzle to slow down dry food eating and increase enrichment)

There are many 'over the counter' urinary foods you can try. If you let me know what type of crystals, I can make some recommendations based off of that. Fancy Feast has some types with cheese and dairy in it, I would steer clear of those flavours in the meantime.

Adding: what litter are you using? I would steer clear of clay and pine litters as they can cause flare ups even after crystals are gone.

 

[maggie101]

If you live next door I have purina pro plan ur my cat no longer needs. At least mix wet and dry so eventuality he can be on just wet. Add in churu tubes or tiki sticks