Icarus Going Back To The Vet

"Cat Protector" wrote in message
...
Easier said than done. Isis still will want some of the dry food. Keeping
them out of each other's food is also a problem. I'll be talking with the
vet about the food options today. It would be nice if one of the food
companies came out with a softer dry food so they still get the moisture.
I could try canned food only for a month but the vet will still want him
on the Science Diet SD. Is there any wet food that can be free fed?


Female cats don't have the same type of urinary tract problems that males do
(their urethras are MUCH wider and don't get blocked up with struvite
crystals nearly as often). It won't hurt Isis *at all* to be on a canned
only diet (in fact it will be better for her) and it might help Icarus a
huge amount, so what have you got to lose?

Hugs,

CatNipped

On Mar 24, 12:35 pm, "CatNipped" wrote:
"Cat Protector" wrote in message

...


These are all really good suggestions... I can tell you this much: I
honestly wonder if my Max cat would have needed this horrible surgery
if I had not switched over to the wet food sooner.

If you could see how much he pees now... unbelievable the difference.

I was following the vets advice to a "T" as well... feeding the dry C/
D and Max had not even finished the bag before he had to go back to
the vet again for the surgery.

Good luck with this.

On Mar 24, 12:50 pm, mc wrote:
On Mar 24, 12:35 pm, "CatNipped" wrote:

"Cat Protector" wrote in message



There really truly is no real reason for anyone to "need" to feed dry
food.

The wet food can be left out for awhile at least.

Seems to me dry food is more like a "treat" and you know, treats
aren't good for we people, either, more so as we get older.

I only wish someone would control my intake of food for me.... hahaha

I would worry more about making sure the cat is getting good wet food
and not worry so much about feeding throughout the day.

On Mar 24, 12:58 pm, mc wrote:
On Mar 24, 12:50 pm, mc wrote:

On Mar 24, 12:35 pm, "CatNipped" wrote:



Now for a bit of humor:

On a side note, last night Max and Butterball were eating there usual
nightly dinner... and, as is typical, Max scarfed his food down so
quickly, while Butterball is a much slower eater...

Now Max is bumping Butterball off his dish of food... and of the two
of them, Butterball is the slimmer one (who would have guessed it???).

So I picked up Max and very gently scolded him. I know he understood.
I know he did! I held his face to mine and forced direct eye
contact... Maxes eyes were as big and black and like saucers!

I put Max down and he didn't bother Butterball anymore. He truly is a
gentleman at heart... it is just that sometimes he needs a reminder...
hehehe

On Mar 24, 12:58 pm, mc wrote:
On Mar 24, 12:50 pm, mc wrote:

On Mar 24, 12:35 pm, "CatNipped" wrote:


Also, your doctor may just go ahead and give you the OK to try the
Wellness for a month... Mine did. Unfortunately it was too late.

If you must feed the C/D try the canned form of it...


GOOD LUCK! My heart goes out to you!!!

On Mar 24, 11:56*am, "Cat Protector" wrote:
Easier said than done. Isis still will want some of the dry food. Keeping
them out of each other's food is also a problem. I'll be talking with the
vet about the food options today. It would be nice if one of the food
companies came out with a softer dry food so they still get the moisture. I
could try canned food only for a month but the vet will still want him on
the Science Diet SD. Is there any wet food that can be free fed?

As Catnipped said, it will be best if you completely eliminate the dry
food for both cats. Wet food can NOT be free fed due to the nature of
the product--it can quickly spoil and develop bacteria if left out
more than a short time. What I can't understand is why you feel the
need to have food out all the time. Two canned feedings per day every
12 hours is all they need.

As for talking about to the vet about food, this is not your best bet.
It's been said here many times before (and I know from experience with
one of my cats) that most vets know little about cat nutrition. You've
followed your vet's advice thus far about the food and where has it
gotten you--trips back to the vet for the same problem and Icarus
having continually suffer with a lot of pain and discomfort. It's time
to take action and try something else: feed canned SD only for a while
(and feed Isis a high-quality canned food, such as Wellness). It's
very simple to feed them in separate areas once they are used to the
schedules. My own cats used to free feed on dry food, but I was able
to transition both to 12 hour feedings. I put them in separate rooms
while I get ready for work (about 1/2 hour). Easy to do and each gets
the appropriate amount of food.

Because I know what each cat eats per day, I am able to budget the
food costs down to the last dollar per month. Feeding a food such as
Wellness is actually saving me money long term, as I have had fewer
vet bills and NO recurrances of urinary problems (one of my cats had
this when I fed dry). An added benefit is that canned can help
overweight cats slowly lose weight, as one of mine did. He's since
maintained a healthy weight on wet food for over three years.

I know what you mean about vets not knowing about feline nutrition. My own
vet pushes dry food.

I feed my cats a combo of wet and dry (probably more wet than dry) and that
works out pretty well for them.

S.
--
**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---
"Rene S." wrote in message
...
On Mar 24, 11:56 am, "Cat Protector" wrote:
Easier said than done. Isis still will want some of the dry food. Keeping
them out of each other's food is also a problem. I'll be talking with the
vet about the food options today. It would be nice if one of the food
companies came out with a softer dry food so they still get the moisture.
I
could try canned food only for a month but the vet will still want him on
the Science Diet SD. Is there any wet food that can be free fed?

As Catnipped said, it will be best if you completely eliminate the dry
food for both cats. Wet food can NOT be free fed due to the nature of
the product--it can quickly spoil and develop bacteria if left out
more than a short time. What I can't understand is why you feel the
need to have food out all the time. Two canned feedings per day every
12 hours is all they need.

As for talking about to the vet about food, this is not your best bet.
It's been said here many times before (and I know from experience with
one of my cats) that most vets know little about cat nutrition. You've
followed your vet's advice thus far about the food and where has it
gotten you--trips back to the vet for the same problem and Icarus
having continually suffer with a lot of pain and discomfort. It's time
to take action and try something else: feed canned SD only for a while
(and feed Isis a high-quality canned food, such as Wellness). It's
very simple to feed them in separate areas once they are used to the
schedules. My own cats used to free feed on dry food, but I was able
to transition both to 12 hour feedings. I put them in separate rooms
while I get ready for work (about 1/2 hour). Easy to do and each gets
the appropriate amount of food.

Because I know what each cat eats per day, I am able to budget the
food costs down to the last dollar per month. Feeding a food such as
Wellness is actually saving me money long term, as I have had fewer
vet bills and NO recurrances of urinary problems (one of my cats had
this when I fed dry). An added benefit is that canned can help
overweight cats slowly lose weight, as one of mine did. He's since
maintained a healthy weight on wet food for over three years.

That's pretty much what I've been doing.


"blkcatgal" wrote in message
. ..
I know what you mean about vets not knowing about feline nutrition. My own
vet pushes dry food.

I feed my cats a combo of wet and dry (probably more wet than dry) and
that works out pretty well for them.

S.
--
**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---
"Rene S." wrote in message
...
On Mar 24, 11:56 am, "Cat Protector" wrote:
Easier said than done. Isis still will want some of the dry food. Keeping
them out of each other's food is also a problem. I'll be talking with the
vet about the food options today. It would be nice if one of the food
companies came out with a softer dry food so they still get the moisture.
I
could try canned food only for a month but the vet will still want him on
the Science Diet SD. Is there any wet food that can be free fed?

As Catnipped said, it will be best if you completely eliminate the dry
food for both cats. Wet food can NOT be free fed due to the nature of
the product--it can quickly spoil and develop bacteria if left out
more than a short time. What I can't understand is why you feel the
need to have food out all the time. Two canned feedings per day every
12 hours is all they need.

As for talking about to the vet about food, this is not your best bet.
It's been said here many times before (and I know from experience with
one of my cats) that most vets know little about cat nutrition. You've
followed your vet's advice thus far about the food and where has it
gotten you--trips back to the vet for the same problem and Icarus
having continually suffer with a lot of pain and discomfort. It's time
to take action and try something else: feed canned SD only for a while
(and feed Isis a high-quality canned food, such as Wellness). It's
very simple to feed them in separate areas once they are used to the
schedules. My own cats used to free feed on dry food, but I was able
to transition both to 12 hour feedings. I put them in separate rooms
while I get ready for work (about 1/2 hour). Easy to do and each gets
the appropriate amount of food.

Because I know what each cat eats per day, I am able to budget the
food costs down to the last dollar per month. Feeding a food such as
Wellness is actually saving me money long term, as I have had fewer
vet bills and NO recurrances of urinary problems (one of my cats had
this when I fed dry). An added benefit is that canned can help
overweight cats slowly lose weight, as one of mine did. He's since
maintained a healthy weight on wet food for over three years.

And it's not working. That's why we are all saying eliminate the dry
food! Yes, it's true that some cats can tolerate dry but cats should
not have to tolerate their food--they should thrive on it. Dry food is
making Icarus sick and causing him a lot of pain and costing you a lot
of money.

On Mar 24, 1:21*pm, "Cat Protector" wrote:
That's pretty much what I've been doing.

"blkcatgal" wrote in message

. ..

I know what you mean about vets not knowing about feline nutrition. *My own
vet pushes dry food.

I feed my cats a combo of wet and dry (probably more wet than dry) and
that works out pretty well for them.

S.
--
**Visit me and my cats athttp://www.island-cats.com/**
---
"Rene S." wrote in message
...
On Mar 24, 11:56 am, "Cat Protector" wrote:
Easier said than done. Isis still will want some of the dry food. Keeping
them out of each other's food is also a problem. I'll be talking with the
vet about the food options today. It would be nice if one of the food
companies came out with a softer dry food so they still get the moisture.
I
could try canned food only for a month but the vet will still want him on
the Science Diet SD. Is there any wet food that can be free fed?

As Catnipped said, it will be best if you completely eliminate the dry
food for both cats. Wet food can NOT be free fed due to the nature of
the product--it can quickly spoil and develop bacteria if left out
more than a short time. What I can't understand is why you feel the
need to have food out all the time. Two canned feedings per day every
12 hours is all they need.

As for talking about to the vet about food, this is not your best bet.
It's been said here many times before (and I know from experience with
one of my cats) that most vets know little about cat nutrition. You've
followed your vet's advice thus far about the food and where has it
gotten you--trips back to the vet for the same problem and Icarus
having continually suffer with a lot of pain and discomfort. It's time
to take action and try something else: feed canned SD only for a while
(and feed Isis a high-quality canned food, such as Wellness). It's
very simple to feed them in separate areas once they are used to the
schedules. My own cats used to free feed on dry food, but I was able
to transition both to 12 hour feedings. I put them in separate rooms
while I get ready for work (about 1/2 hour). Easy to do and each gets
the appropriate amount of food.

Because I know what each cat eats per day, I am able to budget the
food costs down to the last dollar per month. Feeding a food such as
Wellness is actually saving me money long term, as I have had fewer
vet bills and NO recurrances of urinary problems (one of my cats had
this when I fed dry). An added benefit is that canned can help
overweight cats slowly lose weight, as one of mine did. He's since
maintained a healthy weight on wet food for over three years.

You may want to seriously consider the PU surgery. Especially if Icarus is
getting blocked continuosly. It may be expensive, but you already are
spending lots every time he gets blocked. I have a friend whose cat was
getting blocked and having urinary infections regularly. Her vet
recommended the PU which they did. Over 3 years later, her cat is doing
fine. One thing I do find amazing, though, is that she feeds this cat dry
c/d. Has been ever since having the surgery (and even before that). And he
is doing fine. No blockages, no urinary infections. I even tried to get
her to switch him to canned food but she said he wouldn't eat it (I don't
think she tried very hard to switch him).

I have another friend whose cat just had the PU surgery but this was out of
necessity....the cat was totally blocked....nearly died. He is doing fine
now too.

S.
--
**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---
"Cat Protector" wrote in message
...
That's pretty much what I've been doing.


"blkcatgal" wrote in message
. ..
I know what you mean about vets not knowing about feline nutrition. My
own vet pushes dry food.

I feed my cats a combo of wet and dry (probably more wet than dry) and
that works out pretty well for them.

S.
--
**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---
"Rene S." wrote in message
...
On Mar 24, 11:56 am, "Cat Protector" wrote:
Easier said than done. Isis still will want some of the dry food.
Keeping
them out of each other's food is also a problem. I'll be talking with
the
vet about the food options today. It would be nice if one of the food
companies came out with a softer dry food so they still get the
moisture. I
could try canned food only for a month but the vet will still want him
on
the Science Diet SD. Is there any wet food that can be free fed?

As Catnipped said, it will be best if you completely eliminate the dry
food for both cats. Wet food can NOT be free fed due to the nature of
the product--it can quickly spoil and develop bacteria if left out
more than a short time. What I can't understand is why you feel the
need to have food out all the time. Two canned feedings per day every
12 hours is all they need.

As for talking about to the vet about food, this is not your best bet.
It's been said here many times before (and I know from experience with
one of my cats) that most vets know little about cat nutrition. You've
followed your vet's advice thus far about the food and where has it
gotten you--trips back to the vet for the same problem and Icarus
having continually suffer with a lot of pain and discomfort. It's time
to take action and try something else: feed canned SD only for a while
(and feed Isis a high-quality canned food, such as Wellness). It's
very simple to feed them in separate areas once they are used to the
schedules. My own cats used to free feed on dry food, but I was able
to transition both to 12 hour feedings. I put them in separate rooms
while I get ready for work (about 1/2 hour). Easy to do and each gets
the appropriate amount of food.

Because I know what each cat eats per day, I am able to budget the
food costs down to the last dollar per month. Feeding a food such as
Wellness is actually saving me money long term, as I have had fewer
vet bills and NO recurrances of urinary problems (one of my cats had
this when I fed dry). An added benefit is that canned can help
overweight cats slowly lose weight, as one of mine did. He's since
maintained a healthy weight on wet food for over three years.