Non-prescrpt food for urinary problems?

[Dogrunner]

Tink had what was diagnosed as a urinary tract infection/crystals 2 years ago. Since then he's been fed Science Diet c/d. Since then, he hasn't had any urinary tract problems, but has been constipated several times, twice so severely I had to take him to the emergency vet.

Talking to my current vet about him, she asked if I was sure it was his urinary tract the first time.....and I'm not. They "squeezed" his bladder empty when I took him in and they never did check for crystals. It's possible he was severely constipated then instead (the "hanging out in the litter box" thing is the same for both conditions--at least, for him it is).

My former vet now has a policy that you can't buy prescription food in his office unless you're a client. My new vet (whom I like very much) doesn't sell food. In case it really was his urinary tract the first time, I want to keep the food in the same low magnesium/low ash ballpark as the prescription kibble and after some research, Natural Balance comes very close. I'm hoping too, that a new food will help him with his constipation problem.

Does anyone else have a cat with urinary tract problems? What do you feed him/her?

[Baylee Golden]

My cats don't have urinary problems, thank goodness, but I have had to deal with the constipation problems. One of my geriatric cats had renal failure and had severe constipation due to his kidney failure. I treated him with lactalose for which my vet gave me a prescription and I purchased it at the local pharmacy.
My vet also suggested adding pumpkin to the food for the constipation problem but my cats wouldn't eat it so that didn't work out.
I have another male cat that has a constipation problem due to scar tissue from a prior surgery. He gets lactalose as well and it is a true life saver.
Don't have any suggestions for the special food, sorry. Where does your new vet suggest that you get the special food from?

[CaynCher]

I had a male cat, who at age 12 had urinary problems & became blocked. After the emergency Vet visit, he was fed Friskies canned mostly turkey & gibblets with Purina Dry for the rest of his life. He lived to age 18 with no further problems. I have two male cats now & they are fed the same way. Neither have had urinary thus far. One is 15years & the other is 5years old. I was told by my Vet to be very careful when switching foods as that can cause urinary blockage in males if it is done too quickly.

:dogbark :reddogx

[Brandy and Charlie's Mom]

The short answer is yes, you can get plenty of really great non-prescription foods that help fight urinary problems. But first you need to know the type of crystals found in the urine.

If they were calcium oxalate, the urine was too acidic and you'd need a food with a higher target urinary pH. If the crystals were struvite, you'd need a food the acidifies the urine more, so it would have a lower target pH.

We went through this with Brandy, so I know the drill. The next move is to investigate the foods you'd like to try. You can e-mail the manufacturers and ask what the target pH is. For Brandy, whose urine needed to be acidified, I wanted the lowest number possible. I looked for foods in the 6..4 to 6.8 range.

Some foods are in the 7.0 and higher range, which is where you want to be if the crystals were calcium oxalate.

Hope this helps!

[Dogrunner]

The short answer is yes, you can get plenty of really great non-prescription foods that help fight urinary problems. But first you need to know the type of crystals found in the urine.

If they were calcium oxalate, the urine was too acidic and you'd need a food with a higher target urinary pH. If the crystals were struvite, you'd need a food the acidifies the urine more, so it would have a lower target pH.

We went through this with Brandy, so I know the drill. The next move is to investigate the foods you'd like to try. You can e-mail the manufacturers and ask what the target pH is. For Brandy, whose urine needed to be acidified, I wanted the lowest number possible. I looked for foods in the 6..4 to 6.8 range.

Some foods are in the 7.0 and higher range, which is where you want to be if the crystals were calcium oxalate.

Hope this helps!

The vet didn't check for crystals (for almost $600 you'd think he would have checked everything including Tink's tonsils :mad: ) but he prescribed the SD c/d, which is for struvite. Tink hasn't had any urinary problems in 2 years, only constipation...and like I said, I'm not sure now that constipation wasn't his original problem). I've been reading about cat food (now that I've pretty much read everything available about dog food (ya know, I can remember reading novels--you know, the kind of books that have made up stories in them--and I used to like them. Maybe one of these days I can read them again instead of researching things like "animal digest" and "brewers rice" :laugh2 ) and there's studies that say that more water is THE answer. In any case, the magnesium (.1) is right on target with the Natural Balance and the ash is ok and certainly the ingredients are better.....

[Belleisgolden]

There are some non-prescription foods with cranberry to help with UTI's. One mentioned on another forum was Wellness:
http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf%5Fid=3012334&dept%5Fid=5&brand%5Fid=913&Page=&mscssid=U8K0SJVV6FBM8N1BG76BU8LASS2J41M4
I also noticed some others had the cranberry. I beliveve Solid Gold, Timberwolf Organics, and Chicken Soup. You can check them out at
www.petfooddirect.com
They list the ingredients of their foods and it is helpful. Many owners also swear by the Drinkwell fountain to increase the water their cats drink. Here is a simular one:
http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf%5Fid=3079202&dept%5Fid=688&brand%5Fid=198&Page=&mscssid=U8K0SJVV6FBM8N1BG76BU8LASS2J41M4
Here is one for all your pets:
http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf%5Fid=3079206&dept%5Fid=688&brand%5Fid=198&Page=&mscssid=U8K0SJVV6FBM8N1BG76BU8LASS2J41M4
I think cats like the running water better. Also many recommend wet food especially for males to increase the fluid in their systems. I've seen this mentioned on other forums.
How about your new vet calling another vet in the area and prescribing your food. He could get your old records sent over and see your cat was on it. Maybe some office would sell it as long as you had a script. ( If you want to stay on it) Just a thought. He may not want to since it wasn't tested for. My cats haven't had a problem but I have been looking into foods to prevent it. You might also check with a health food/Holistic Nutrition shop and see if they have any info.

[Dogrunner]

I'm looking into the fountain thing. I did go get my herd's records from my former vet when I switched (I do it for me and my kids when I change Dr's, why not my furchildren?) and what it says is ......"Jo (that's me) states Tink has UTI, urine expressed in wr" and goes on to say that what they gave him to put him under, they flushed his bladder, and prescribed an antibotic.

I am NOT a vet.

He hasn't been blocked since, so my new vet (who gets on the floor with my dogs and shares kisses) hasn't done anything except give him his shots and a physical. The more I read though, the more I think the drinking fountain and a good quality food will be good for him. I haven't researched cranberries and cats. What a great idea! I'll look into it :029

[KarenZ]

Our cat is on a prescription food for urinary problems - a prescription Purina food. He's been on this food for the last 10 years or so. In the last few years we have started giving him other foods for variety, mostly a non-presciption Purina UR diet. So he gets maybe 3/4 canned prescription food and 1/4 non-prescription canned, plus a little cooked chicken and dry food. I'm afraid to give any less of the prescription food, though.
He is doing great though. At the time he had the urinary crystals he was at the vet hospitalized on and off for over a week total. But he has had no problems since.