Another blocked kitty!

[king2005]

I'm a believer that raw foods help prevent most digestion issues, cause dogs & cats were never meant to eat cooked foods, well in the large amounts we feed it to them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear that you have another blocked kitty. When you feed your cats canned food, do you also add some water to it? This is what I've been doing with my cats so that they'll get more moisture. I've heard that stress can also contribute to this problem. The most important thing to do is to make sure that he drinks plenty of water every day. This is why canned food is so important in a cats diet because many of them won't drink enough. I hope he won't have to have the PU surgery and that he'll be able to come home on Monday. I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

[Randi]

If it's Struvite crystals that is the problem, the diet has to have VERY low quantities of Ash, Calcium and Phospheros. Check the food for those numbers. The vet should know that!

Sasvermont posted a very good link years back about this - do a search!

Fingers and paws crossed that he can go on his own very soon!

[Medusa]

I'm sorry to hear this. I've never had this issue w/any of my Fur Posse but I sure can sympathize w/you, though. It really seems to be a common problem. I do hope that Caly is feeling better very soon.

[Prairie Purrs]

I do mix water into their canned food, and they have a water fountain that I know Caly drinks from. I'm beginning to wonder, though, whether the local water could be part of the problem. It's definitely hard water, so maybe the mineral content is an issue. I use a Brita filter on the faucet, and there's a filter in the cats' fountain, but maybe that's not enough.

[Catty1]

Maybe a Brita pitcher just for the kitties' water?

I'm trying to picture a filter on a pet water fountain, and can't picture it...maybe it isn't working as well as it might?

With a pitcher, it would be double-filtered at least.

I think it was Catlady that mentioned she uses filtered water all the time, as the minerals in untreated water can cause these problems.

Hope your baby is home on Monday!

[Prairie Purrs]

Before I installed the Brita faucet filter, I used a Brita pitcher for all their water. Gatsby still blocked, though. The Petmate fountains use charcoal filters.

I think I may start buying gallon jugs of drinking water for the cats. Just in case.