Advice on chronic urinary problems..

[Kirsten]

Hi Justine, and hi Irwin! Irwin is such a handsome guy!

What you describe sounds very much like my Luna's history, she started dealing with UTIs when she was 2, and was eventually diagnosed with struvite crystals.

You've already got a lot of information here, but what I'd like to add is that I think you should contact the vet who diagnosed the crystals and ask which kind of crystals Irwin had. That's important for the treatment. With struvite crystals (the ones Luna has), it's often that the pH-value of the bladder is too basic, so you can help the cat by adding an acidic supplement to the food (I have a paste for Luna called Uro-Cyt). With calcium oxylate crystals, it's the other way around, I think, but I'm not sure.

Additionally, Luna is getting homoeopathic remedies like Cantharis or Berberis when she has an episode, and it seems to help her to recover. Many others made some good experiences with Cranberry extract.

Judging from the fact that your vet recommended Hill's c/d, I think Irwin has most likely struvite crystals as c/d is low on magnesium. Low magnesium is always part of a struvite crystal diet.

Be prepared that Irwin might always have episodes where the UTI and the crystals return. These things can easily become chronic. It's the same with my Luna. It's important to watch these cats closely, as the crystals may cause a blockage, which especially may happen in male cats because of their longer urethra. That's why some males get their penis amputated, which really seems to help them.

Anyway, it's a long road to go, and many here are dealing with it. It's often frustrating, but you'll get a lot of advice and moral support here!

Kirsten

[carole]

Lexie's special food is dry only, she is not supposed to have anything else at all, she does drink plenty though,she does sneak the other cats food on occasion which worries me, they might leave a few biscuits and she is a real sneak , i cannot watch her 24/7, so far so good, been two years now, and her's are the struvite stones, yes you should find out from your vet which kind Irwin has, BTW what a beautiful boy he is indeed.

[Vio&Juni]

Irwin is a very handsome boy and I know how you feel that you can't help him.

We had the same problem with our Pichu for a few times, he had to be catheterized three times, next it was to be the surgery, same as Catnapper mentioned. The vet I took him to the last time suggested I feed him with food that makes his urine more acid - she suggested some kind of wheat grits or porridge - they call it kasha in Russian. I make a pot of grits with chicken good for one week for all three of mine, and just warm some up with some canned food every time I need to feed them. It was difficult to get Pichu to eat it (the other two that didn't need it, loved it), but finally he just accepted it. We also give them only distilled water for drinking, I don't know how much that helps, but it can't hurt.

I have to say that ever since Pichu started this new diet, he's changed so much. You can see it in his eyes that he's healthy, he turned into the mighty hunter, he's playful and loving. And of course, no more stinky spots in the house.

I really do not trust AT ALL the cat food producers - around March, a few months after I started this new diet, I got some diet food that was supposed to be "PH control" from a major cat food brand. "PH control" - yeah, who can check it anyway. A few days after I started giving poor Pichu the dry food, he got sick again. Luckily, I switched back to the home-made food quick enough.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear about Irwin's problems. He sure is a handsome boy. My Storm was blocked 2 times and he then had to have the PU surgery to turn him into a girl. He was on Royal Canin Urinary S/O formula both canned and dry and he seemed to like it. I then started feeding all of my cats this food.

Unfortunately my cat Starr became very sick and now he must be on a grain free diet because he has colitis and IBD. My cat Pearl has also become allergic to grains. Now they're all eating Innova Evo canned and dry food which is a grain free food and they all love it. Both my regular vet and my holisitic vet said that Storm could also eat this food as long as I give him plenty of canned food mixed with water.

Storm's been on this diet for a little over a year and he's done very well on it. His last urinalysis was normal. He had the struvite crystals and he had also been having a few UTI's. Now he loves eating his food and he can't get enough of it. Since this is a high protein food, all of my cats have also lost of little weight so now they're in much better shape. My holistic vet also told me that sometimes grains can cause urinary problems in some animals so I'm glad that I made the switch.

When Storm was on the regular Innova dry and canned food which has rice in it, he did become sick and he developed struvite crystals again so I now know that grain free is the way to go. I hope that you'll be able to find the right diet to put Irwin on and that he'll do well on it. Good luck.

[JustineNYC]

Well I just spoke to the doctor and the good news is he said Irwins bloodwork was perfect. About the urine test, he said obviously the sample was very bloody, he said they didnt find any crystals which he doesnt necessarily believe, and the PH was normal. He said he isnt crazy about C/D, and he'd like to put him on the S/O, so Im going tomorrow to pick some up. Hopefully between the supplements, the new food and keeping him nice and hydrated, Ill see an improvement.

He asked how hes been doing on the medicine and supplements and I told him so far so good. I know he feels better because he is using the litter again.

Can someone direct me to the cranberry powder some of you use?

[Grace]

Well I just spoke to the doctor and the good news is he said Irwins bloodwork was perfect. About the urine test, he said obviously the sample was very bloody, he said they didnt find any crystals which he doesnt necessarily believe, and the PH was normal. He said he isnt crazy about C/D, and he'd like to put him on the S/O, so Im going tomorrow to pick some up. Hopefully between the supplements, the new food and keeping him nice and hydrated, Ill see an improvement.

He asked how hes been doing on the medicine and supplements and I told him so far so good. I know he feels better because he is using the litter again.

Can someone direct me to the cranberry powder some of you use?

I'm glad to hear things are somewhat under control.

I buy cranberry powder in capsules for human use. I got 90 for $10.59. I just pull apart the halves of the capsule and sprinkle a very small amount on some of Grady's food. Mix it in well, and he eats it without any trouble.

Then I put the capsule back together and continue to use it until it is empty. The capsules I buy have 800 mg in each - so you sort of have to estimate. Each capsule should last me about 2 weeks. I give him 50 mg each day.

You can get them at any Health Food store - I got mine at Meijers which is like a Target store. Probably in a pharmacy also.