Who can afford cats?

[Nebaug]

Thanks. I did look into that and found what you found, which is probably more than I can handle. I was reading that very good quality dry food is better than low quality wet food, so I was thinking about mixing the two so they will get a lil moisture + quality food.

We drop her off at the vet early in the morning, so at least we'll have her on antibiotics soon. I just hate it that she is so miserable. She's eating and playing ok, but I can tell she is very uncomfy. I was going through the paperwork for her and noticed/remembered that she had a UTI when I first adopted her, so this is the 3rd time.

One thing you can do. Get high quality dry food (still cheaper than wet) and your choice either prepare or buy chicken broth. Make sure if you buying that there is no onions in it. If you cooking keep in refrigerator for up to a week. My DIL grinds dry food and mixes it with warm broth, wait a bit to soak and ……… ta-daaa!!! You may not want it to be every meal but will help with offseting expenses with higher q wet food. Make it soupy.

 

[maggie101]

On chewy I sometimes go to that site,search for a certain food,and look at the questions and answers. Usually ask about phos

 

[FosterFurEver]

One thing you can do. Get high quality dry food (still cheaper than wet) and your choice either prepare or buy chicken broth. Make sure if you buying that there is no onions in it. If you cooking keep in refrigerator for up to a week. My DIL grinds dry food and mixes it with warm broth, wait a bit to soak and ……… ta-daaa!!! You may not want it to be every meal but will help with offseting expenses with higher q wet food. Make it soupy.

I might try this again. I tried it in the past and they looked at me like I was bananas. But that was several years ago before I started feeding them wet food only, so maybe they'll be ok with a soupy mix now.

 

[Furballsmom]

they looked at me like I was bananas.

LOL, hopefully they're a little more open minded this time around

 

[mizzely]

Sometimes we have to remember that even if we are doing our best, we can be fighting other factors, like genetics. It may be even if he were fed the best food on the planet (which, who knows what that is, as it's all subjective) he'd still get them.

My cat won't eat Friskies so I'm forced to shop around. I scan Chewy and Petco's websites for sales often, and take advantage of things like repeat delivery discounts. I try to keep it at $30/month for cat food and usually succeed. Chewy's Tiny Tiger and Petco's Wholehearted have made the bulk of her diet for the last year due to so many other brands being unavailable or too expensive.

 

[maggiedemi]

buy chicken broth. Make sure if you buying that there is no onions in it.

What brand of chicken broth doesn't have onions or garlic? I've never seen any.

 

[Furballsmom]

What brand of chicken broth doesn't have onions or garlic?

These folks have some and I think on Chewy and maybe Petco there's a product or two;
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DFS64S8/?tag=thecatsite

 

[FosterFurEver]

These folks have some and I think on Chewy and maybe Petco there's a product or two;
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DFS64S8/?tag=thecatsite

Oh, nice! Thanks!

She just got home and they said she had blood in her urine. They gave her antibiotics, but I'm to call tomorrow to make sure it's the right kind of meds.

But get this. She comes RIGHT in the door and goes to my pitcher of water and just pigs out on it. She's still drinking quite a bit from that and one of the bowls in the kitchen. Whyyyy lol. I'm guessing she drinks more than we know.

We got 2 cans of the hill's c/d just to see if they will eat it. I will try that broth, too.

So glad she feels better, at least for now.

 

[Furballsmom]

So glad she feels better, at least for now.

 

[maggie101]

My vet also said blood in urine so more tests done at a specialist and she's fine. Probably stress. Hope your kitty's ok

 

[FosterFurEver]

My vet also said blood in urine so more tests done at a specialist and she's fine. Probably stress. Hope your kitty's ok

I think they are growing culture or whatever tonight so they can figure out what's going on. I wonder if there is blood in her urine because she has been licking so much. I found an email I sent to my husband a couple of days ago telling him to watch her butt because it looked swollen to me, so she's been doing it for at least 3 days.

They just said yours was probably stress? Did they give you antibiotics for it?

 

[maggie101]

No antibiotics necessary but that's decided by your vet. Her circumstance is not as bad. He could have been wrong from the beginning. Everything slightly elevated so it could be from stress. Except her white blood count was high which is a sign of a infection. All I can do now is watch her.

 

[Nebaug]

I think they are growing culture or whatever tonight so they can figure out what's going on. I wonder if there is blood in her urine because she has been licking so much. I found an email I sent to my husband a couple of days ago telling him to watch her butt because it looked swollen to me, so she's been doing it for at least 3 days.

They just said yours was probably stress? Did they give you antibiotics for it?

It is very possible this stress related. Cats don’t understand why they are taken out of the house and taken to vet. Once out of their territory they get stressed and no amount of pets and kisses will help. They crave familiarity and routine. Hopefully I’m right.

 

[Novus888]

I'm so upset. My cat has a UTI again. The big orange one has had one and had to have surgery, and this is the second time for this little tabby. The vet always says to feed them better food, but who can afford $250-600 or whatever, a month for food? I don't know what else it could be. They're not stressed, they have their own spots, places to eat, etc. They are fed only wet food, though it's Friskies. They're not great at drinking, so that's another reason we get wet food. Sometimes they do, sometimes they just don't drink water.

Every time this happens, I look at all the foods that are supposed to be better and end up crying, because ... how can people afford cats if that's how it is? And how is this better food SO much more expensive than this other food? Maybe I could afford dry food, I don't know, but everyone is like 'omg no!' I've looked and looked at that chart (I can't find it right now, but I'm sure a lot of you know what I mean), and trying to find more affordable food w/ less phosphorous always leads me to Friskies, though not always the type that is still made.

I don't get it. I was raised w/ cats and they never ever had issues like this and lived for 15-20 years. One would not eat anything but dry deli mix and lived to be 18. I grew up in the south and am now in the very dry NW, so maybe that's something?

I feel like I'm doing something wrong and I feel like someone else should take care of my cats since I can't afford to keep them happy, but who? And how does the shelter adopt so many cats out knowing full well that most of these folks can't afford good food? Like, "here's this cat you can adopt for $40, and btw, it costs $300 a month to feed it, unless you want it to die."

I'm at my wits' end and just don't know what to do.

Any advice?

My Buddy only deigns to eat one kind of Fussy Cat, and Hills Urinary Care C/D. The former is hard-to-find, or being price-gouged by a pet store that does sell it...the latter is dry food that is not good for bladder problems, when the furball refuses to drink any water. The only water Buddy gets is the 2-3 teaspoons I mix into his beloved Fussy Cat. I only use distilled water, as Google research has shown that regular water contains some of the minerals that make up struvite crystals. At his last vet checkup there was no mention of crystals, so I assume the problem has at least lessened, and until I hear different, I'll credit the distilled water for that.

Urine Crystals and Bladder Stones in Cats

Dr. Gollakner explains bladder stones and crystals in cats, including how crystals form, symptoms of stones and crystals in cat urine, and how to treat them.

www.petmd.com

..

There are many forms of UTIs:

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals

Learn about urinary tract infections (utis) in cats. VCA Animal Hospital offers professional guidance to help you ensure the health and happiness of your pet.

vcahospitals.com

Hill's Prescription Diet c/d Multicare Urinary Care with Chicken Wet Cat Food costs about $75 a month. Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Urinary Tract Health Formula costs about $60 a month. Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Urinary costs about $80 a month. I'm not sure where your $300 a month price came from, unless a greedy vet is price-gouging the food. According to the vet I saw recently, dry cat food (Hills Urinary Care C/D) can be fed once a day, if two other meals of wetfood are provided (and spiked with additional water). There are various home remedies one could try:

Top Home Remedies for Cat UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) - Holistic Vet

Worried your cat has a bladder infection? Learn how to use home remedies for your cat's UTI and other cat urine problems.

thenaturalpetdoctor.com

How to Treat a Cat UTI At Home - White Oak Animal Hospital

Often you can learn how to treat a cat UTI at home. Treating at home saves you time and money, and saves kitty from stressful trips to the vet.

whiteoakvet.com

Doubt I'd want to risk it.

 

[FosterFurEver]

I guess I was accidentally exaggerating when I said $250-$300. It would be $244 for 6 weeks. We spend $73 for 6 weeks now. Hoping to cut down on the increase by using high quality dry food. Good news is that we got a couple of cans of the Hill's rx food when we picked her up and both cats like it.

Dr. Google says nope to the distilled water for cats, which I'd have a big issue with anyway due to the amount of plastic used.

Oh, I definitely wouldn't try treating a UTI at home. Noooo way.

I also have a cat called Buddy. He's a big huge orange cuddlebunny. We hadn't named him yet and my husband kept saying, "come on, buddy," and it just stuck. And it's just perfect. I attached a pic of him trying to cuddle with her (the one who's sick) and she's like "nope." He keeps trying, though lol

 

[Furballsmom]

high quality dry food

Take a look at Blue Wilderness True Solution, or Halo or Acana Meadowland