Food suggestions for cat with uti

[Bon]

Hi!

My cat, Bailey, has an infection which could lead to her having crystals.

Her vet suggested I buy Royal Canin Feline Urinary SO cat food (kibble or canned).

I don't want to buy that just because the vet's office sells it. I know Royal Canin is a good food, though.

I feed our pets Holistic Brands, so I was wondering if anyone else has a similar situation and could recommend some Holistic Brand cat foods that I could try that might be just as good or better than the vet's recommendation.

Also, Bailey is about 6 lbs overweight, so if there is a food that can help with both, even better!

Thanks!

Bonnie

[Barbara]

Only about 20% of the UTIs cats have are due to crystals. Are you sure your cat is one of these 20% ? In all the other cases, the diet has no special positive influence.
About 50% of the UTIs are "idiopathic" which means reasons unknown: could be autoimmune, an unidentified virus or whatsoever. In these cases, the diet doesn't help.

What IS important is that the cat drinks enough. Some people here made good experiences with fresh flow fountains. I put a teaspoon of water in my Tigris' food (he is one of these idiopathic patients) and this has improved his peeing greatly.

If it is about diet (my Filou needs kidney diet) I always had to follow the cats. What they don't eat they don't eat:rolleyes: I am very glad Filou like his Royal Canin Renal food as he is not allowed to loose weight and he didn't accept all the other diets.

Good luck:)

[Bon]

Thank you for your reply. This is so new to me! I've been doing a lot of research on the internet too. Bailey drinks differently than our other cat. Tatiana drinks off and on throughout the day, little bits at a time, kind of how she eats. Bailey, on the other hand, will drink a lot all at once, then not for awhile. She does drink every day though. Maybe I"ll have to look into the fountains.

I spoke with someone that sells Holistic foods, where I buy theirs. She did say to get the vet's food for now, in order to clear up the current problem, and then possibly look into another brand if I want to. She did make sense.

At least both cats like the Royal Canin so far!

Bonnie

[Shady]

Hi Bonnie..Welcome to Pet Talk.

I've always fed my cats (four persians) Royal Canin. Last year Tinkerbelle got a nasty UTI. Hers was very difficult to treat and the vet wanted her to eat Science Diet only. Trouble is she wouldnt, all the others would but not her. During the course of trying to get rid of her UTI, the vet mentioned she was one cat that should not be exclusively on a dry food diet. I feed them all Royal Canin Oral Sensitive now, before they were on the Persian Formula.

Having said that, she has not had a recurrance, however, Kewpie got one three weeks ago, for no apparent reason. I believe we have her all clear now but she will be retested on Monday.

Something I have noticed, I dont see mine drink much, except they all come running when I wash and refill the dish which I am doing three/four times a day now, but they seem to be drinking more that way.

The vet told me that sometimes these are idiopathic, as in there is no specific pinpointable cause. Neither have crystals.

So myself, if it's not recurring over and over I'm hoping it could just be a one time deal.

I give them also one pouch (per four cats) in the morning of Whiskas wet, and one before bed.

[Bon]

Both cats get about a tablespoon of wet food a day (Wellness Beef & Chicken). They've been turning up their noses at anything with fish in it lately. I read that fish isn't that good for cats anyway, so I wonder if they realize that, lol. I'll continue with the wet food and try putting a bit of water in with their dry food.

You're all being so helpful! :)

Bonnie

[Nomilynn]

I find it strange that you wouldn't buy a food "just because the vet office sells it." Royal Canin is a very good food and Walthams doesn't use a bunch of preservatives or byproducts in their food. The Urinary S/O is a great food and if it's working and the cats are sticking to it I wouldn't change it.

[kb2yjx]

My cat Spunky developed a UTI and the crystals and was put on Hills' s/d(I think). I do not like the Hills products becasue they have lots of junk in them(BHA, BHT, Ethyioun(SP)). I have a cat on the Royal Cannin Hypoallergenic diet, and I use their Indoor 27 as treats for the cats! When Spunky had the UTI, I do not think Royal Cannin was out there(that's how long ago!!). But besides the antiobiotic, the cat needs a special diet to help dissolve the crystals. I am surprised that you did not have to give sub q fluids. That was what the vet recommended(strongly)to get extra fluids in for a few days. Good luck with your kitty! Sandra

[Bon]

The only reason I wanted to look into another option than Royal Canin was price. Please don't shoot me ;) I buy holistic brands for our 2 cats and 1 dog - they are expensive. I only had issue with the fact that buying from the vet, the cost was literally double.

However, having said that...I AM going to feed her the Royal Canin from the vet, especially now. Once Bailey gets her next urinary sample done and if she is better, I will discuss food options with the vet again. If there is really no other choice, I will continue with Royal Canin.

I want what is best for my pets, no question.

What are "sub q fluids"? Maybe I should ask the vet about it? I do feed them wet food as well, to help her get more fluids.

Thanks everyone, you are all helping me tremendously!!!

Bonnie

[kb2yjx]

Hello again!! I feed only wet food, which has a good amount of moisture already in it, so the cats do not drink that much water from the bowl. However, if I notice a cat drinking lots of water, then that is a signal for me that something might be going on. Subcutanous fluids, aka, sub q fluids, are given under the skin of the cat, usually in the scruff of the neck area. I have 3 kidney cats who a hydrated via sub q several times a week, they are NOT thrilled to have a nurse for their Mom. It is not that difficult to do, I have even taught my husband how do give the fluids!! Perhaps your kitty is not that bad that the fluids are needed. Trust me, your vet would have let you know!!!

[Bon]

Give a needle to a cat??? You are brave!!! I have a hard enough time giving Bailey a pill - and she has a pretty mild attitude!!

Bonnie

[kb2yjx]

It is not all that bad!!! I imagine that there are others that have given the sub q fluids. Actually the one cat that I thought would be the absolute worse cat to give the fluids to, turned out to to the easiest!! You just have to go with a confident attitude, because the cat KNOWS when you are a skittish person and take full advantage of the situation!!! They are so incredible!!!

[felinefuture]

in my experience, the cause of urinary tract infections is commercial pet foods. The carbohydrate content upsets the Ph level in the urine, and crystals are the result, accompanied with the usual infection. A very serious problem, and quite preventable, if a biologically correct diet of balanced raw feeding is followed. If you want more info, please let me know.

[Bon]

Thanks, I have yet to try raw food for our cats or dog, but if I need to try it, I'll be sure to ask you. They are all fed holistic brands, but whatever ends up being best is what I will do for my furkids.

Bonnie

[felinefuture]

Hello again: We have been feeding raw for several years now, and educating people on the benefits. The reason that cats run into problems is commercial foods, particularly the dry kibble - they are chronically de-hydrated, and the Ph level in the urine becomes too alkaline (a cat's urine should be acidic). It is alkaline, due to the grain (carbohydrate) content of the dry food, and it can become quite serious, if the problem with infection persists, kidney failure can result, and the prognisis for that is not good. We hear about this every day, and it is really completely preventable. Raw feeding can take a little getting used to but it pays off in the end, not to mention fewer vet bills!

Good luck,
Gayle

[Bon]

Where do you get your raw food from? How much does it cost you per month, if you don't mind me asking?

Bonnie

[felinefuture]

Hi Bonnie: I don't want to get into promoting through this chat area, however we are in the business of balancing raw feeding. We have been doing this for the past 12 years, and a number of holistic vets carry our products, for both cats and dogs. Our intention is always to educate, not to promote. If you go to the Feline Future website, you will find some very good information on raw feeding - I believe it is the best cat-related website on the internet - Feline Future has done a very good job of researching.

The cost of feeding this way, is about the price of a cup of coffee, per day - at least that is one way to determine the cost!

It is our belief that cats deserve better than what we have been feeding them - a cat should NEVER be fed a dry kibble diet - the only reason that we feed this way is because we are told that it is healthy, and it is also very easy - just scoop and dump.

If you want to try raw, just pick up some fresh, raw meat (preferably poultry, such as chicken or turkey) and start feeding - over the short term it is OK to feed just raw meat, but over the long term, it must be balanced, and that is what we do. Sometimes it takes a little transitioning for a cat to accept this type of food, because they are conditioned from a very early age to identify with the food they have been given, and they figure that nothing else is edible. Sometimes it takes patience.

Gayle

[KitCat]

Hi,

We give our cat bottled water and I praise him when I see him drinking so he'll drink alot. Also sometimes I give him cold water which he likes. There's usually alot of stuff in tap water people and cats shouldn't drink.
When he had an infection I gave him some liquid cranberry juice (the concentrate with no sugar) watered down and it got rid of the infection just like for people.

[Bon]

We give all our pets, including the Gerbils filtered water, as well.

Bonnie