cat food advice needed

Samwise has crystals in his urine and the vet has put him on Hills c/d food.
There is no problem getting him to eat it, but the food from the vet's
office is expensive .

Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

Ann

--
read Sam's blog at http://kittens-3.blogspot.com/
see pictures of Sam at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ann791/my_photos

Hi Ann,

Our vet suggested Purina UR too, I think that's less expensive.

We've been using ProPlan Urinary formula. We bought it at PetSmart, I
think it runs about $14 for 8 pounds.

Aberbathy had a flare-up just yesterday, but they tested his urine and
he had a bacterial bladder infection and no crystals. They also said his
urine PH was good, so the food is working in the crystal department! The
infection is something that may be due to thickened bladder walls or
about 10 other things.

Rhonda


Ann wrote:
Samwise has crystals in his urine and the vet has put him on Hills c/d food.
There is no problem getting him to eat it, but the food from the vet's
office is expensive .

Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

Ann

Ann wrote:
Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

First and foremost, feed him wet food. Dry food as a rule of thumb is
not good, particularly for cats with urine crystals issues. Think of dry
food as junk food. They can survive on it, but they will do much better
on more nutritious food.
Look for foods with cranberries in their formulas, those help acidify
the urine and prevent crystal formation.
Good luck!

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"Ann" wrote in
:

Samwise has crystals in his urine and the vet has put him on Hills c/d
food. There is no problem getting him to eat it, but the food from the
vet's office is expensive .

Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for
him.


Pi's vet recommended Purina One Urinary Tract Health Formula after Pi had
a uti. He hasn't had any more.

Chak

--
I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I
usually make the right decision.
--Maya Angelou

Ann wrote:
Samwise has crystals in his urine and the vet has put him on Hills c/d food.
There is no problem getting him to eat it, but the food from the vet's
office is expensive .

Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

Ann

Look for NutraMax brand in the pet store. That's what I did for Fin
when he had the same problem. Unfortunately, Fin didn't drink much
water and never touched wet food, but he never again had a UT problem
with the NutraMax dry food. Read the labels on pet food and look for
the lowest magnesium you can find.

Jane
- owned and operated by Princess Rita

Jane wrote:
Ann wrote:
Samwise has crystals in his urine and the vet has put him on Hills
c/d food. There is no problem getting him to eat it, but the food
from the vet's office is expensive .

Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for
him.

Ann

Look for NutraMax brand in the pet store. That's what I did for Fin
when he had the same problem. Unfortunately, Fin didn't drink much
water and never touched wet food, but he never again had a UT problem
with the NutraMax dry food. Read the labels on pet food and look for
the lowest magnesium you can find.

Jane
- owned and operated by Princess Rita

Is it magnesium that contributes to urinary tract crystals, then?

kili
--
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kilikini

On 2006-12-16 14:34:48 -0600, Victor Martinez said:

Ann wrote:
Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

First and foremost, feed him wet food. Dry food as a rule of thumb is
not good, particularly for cats with urine crystals issues. Think of
dry food as junk food. They can survive on it, but they will do much
better on more nutritious food.
Look for foods with cranberries in their formulas, those help acidify
the urine and prevent crystal formation.
Good luck!

Wet food and lots of water around pretty much solved Grant's problem.
He had blocked twice.

"Karen" wrote in message
news:2006121713362216807%kchuplis@alltelnet...
On 2006-12-16 14:34:48 -0600, Victor Martinez said:

Ann wrote:
Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

First and foremost, feed him wet food. Dry food as a rule of thumb is
not good, particularly for cats with urine crystals issues. Think of
dry food as junk food. They can survive on it, but they will do much
better on more nutritious food.
Look for foods with cranberries in their formulas, those help acidify
the urine and prevent crystal formation.
Good luck!

Wet food and lots of water around pretty much solved Grant's problem.
He had blocked twice.


This is good to know! I feed my kids a mixture of wet and dry, but they
always prefer the dry. I'll try to force more wet on them. Thanks!

kili
--
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kilikini

Thanks every one for the advice on the food for Samwise. I'll look into the
them.

Samwise has to take pills for the next few weeks. I tried to give him one
using a syringe made to pop the pill into his mouth. I practically had to
sit on him to get him to hold still. The vet said I could try giving it to
him in food. With the next dose I put it in some moist food just before
feeding time and gave it to him. He ate it right down and didn't notice the
pill. Happy Mommy and happy Samwise. I told DH Samwise gets an appetizer
now.

Ann

--
read Sam's blog at http://kittens-3.blogspot.com/
see pictures of Sam at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ann791/my_photos
"Jane" wrote in message
ups.com...

Ann wrote:
Samwise has crystals in his urine and the vet has put him on Hills c/d
food.
There is no problem getting him to eat it, but the food from the vet's
office is expensive .

Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

Ann

Look for NutraMax brand in the pet store. That's what I did for Fin
when he had the same problem. Unfortunately, Fin didn't drink much
water and never touched wet food, but he never again had a UT problem
with the NutraMax dry food. Read the labels on pet food and look for
the lowest magnesium you can find.

Jane
- owned and operated by Princess Rita

kilikini wrote:
This is good to know! I feed my kids a mixture of wet and dry, but they
always prefer the dry. I'll try to force more wet on them. Thanks!

I wish Fez and Rufous didn't love kibble so much. They much prefer it
over wet food. We use Innova Evo, so at least it's the absolute best
kibble out there, with no grains whatsoever.

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he