Can someone help me with a question concerning cat food and crystals?

Question

We took our cat to the vet because he was urinating on the floor and there was blood in his urine. She said it was from "crystals" and told us he had to have a certain type of food now. She suggested Hills Perscription Diet c/d (what they carried). This 4 pound bag cost $12!! Are there other LESS EXPENSIVE brands?

And if anyone else's cat has had the same problem and "solution" (he has already been given antibiotics), how long did you continue this diet for?

In America, near Chicago.

Is "c/d" a specific name from the Hills brand or all brands? Like "hairball formula"?

I have found that the "Science Diet" is cheaper than the "Perscription Diet" and can be founf in the pet stores. Is there a difference in the 2 since they're made by the same company?

Answer 1

Okay, I know I'm at the bottom of the list here but I really hope you read this posting. You should really heed what I am going to tell you because I have had significant personal and professional experience with dealing with crystals. I have a few things that really need to be clarified.

First, crystal can be prevented in two ways. The first is by feeding a high quality food and the second is ensuring that your cat drinks a lot of water.

You sould feed a vet prescription diet ONLY when the cat HAS crystals to get rid of them. When the cat does not have crystals you need to be trying to prevent them by the above method.

*Innova (www.naturapet.com) Cat Lite is the only superior quality cat food on the market that has been shown to prevent crystals. Innova is currently the highest quality cat food on the market by far. I have yet to find anything that equals or surpasses this product.

You need to understand that if your vet is telling you to feed Science Diet all the time that they are just trying to make money off of you and do not have your cats health in mind. You also need to keep in mind that vets do not study nutrition so you need to find someone like me that has studied pet nutrition and then works with food for a living.

Here is just something to help show you what your vet is trying to get you to feed:
The c/d formula has these ingredients: BREWERS RICE (low quality grain, grains should never be the first ingredient in a food), CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL (dried chicken feet, feathers, beeks, bones - no meat), CORN GLUTEN MEAL (dried starch from the corn, extremely low grade filler), PORK FAT (low grade, non-digestible flavouring), so there is NO MEAT in this food and cats are carnivours...see the problem? And to top it off Science Diet is STILL preserved with BHA/BHT which are cancer causing chemical preservatives.

Now, let's look at Innova Cat Lite.
WHOLE FRESH CHICKEN, TRUKEY, BARLEY, BROWN RICE, CHICKEN MEAL, POTATOES, RICE, HERRING, APPLES, CARROTS, EGGS, CRANBERRIES, ALFALFA SPROUTS, AND PRESERVED WITH SUNFLOWER OIL. This food uses only whole fresh ingredients. No fillers and nothing that you wouldn't eat.

Here is what I would stongly urge that you do. Once the crystals have cleared up, switch to Innova Cat Lite (or find a product with similar ingredients to the above) and when you feed your cat either put a bit of warm water over the food or substitute a little Innova Cat Lite canned food to ensure that you cat is getting plenty of water.

Anyways, I've gone on for way too long but I am extremely passionate about this issue. I hate the fact that in this day when we have such superior foods like Innova, that vets continue to prescribe and push such low quality foods like Science Diet. I hope that you can keep this info in the back of your mind when purchasing food because it could mean the difference between a healthy cat and one that needs to keep going back to the vet for "prescription diets". Good luck and all the best.

Answer 2

These crystals are most likely kidney stones. Two of my cats had these, and it is not a fun experience for the owner or the cat. The first one would have to be taken to the vet while the stones were surgically removed, and the second one would cry for an hour or so while passing a stone in the litter box. Sorry, not trying to scare you... However, kidney stones usually can be avoided by a better diet, although I don't think you have to buy the $12 one. I would look around petsmart or petco and see if there is a diet for urinary problems, even ask an employee if they know what might work. I don't know if you buy the bottom of the barrel cheap cat food, but if that's what you usually bought, buy the next step higher (quality-wise). Good luck with your cat.

Answer 3

hills diet is good, but expensive. how about forgetting about ready-made food and giving some cooked chicken (unsalted) and so - the point is making the cat drink as much as possible, to dilute the urine and dissolve the crystals. the thing is as the cat is sick it is even less hungry or thirsty. unless the cat is underweight or visibly thin, it is not an issue that it may not eat much.

it may be not kidney stones, but oxalate crystals in the bladder, no need to remove them - it can happen to anybody in a hot day, thing is to drink water, plenty of it - try making the cat watch you pour the water, take a handful of water to his mouth, MAKE HIM DRINK AT ALL COSTS, force the water down his throat with a syringe if anything else fails

we had cat with bad kidneys- he was very very thin so we fed him just premium chicken breasts for long time, which was far more expensive than hills formula, but i would rather starve myself than loosing him. he got over it. however his life was not much long because his condition was in his genes. i had the crystals and bloddy urine myself not long ago and i know very well that indeed one doesnt feel like drinking. so most in¨mportant is to keep the cat from dehydration, dont let it out much if it is too hot.

ask the vet what kind of food (like apart from ready made formulas ) ha can eat or must not get.

good luck

Answer 4

There are some brands that cause crystals, some that don't cause crystals. But I think that c/d might be in a different category altogether, i.e. it will actually help to dissolve crystals. I believe that your vet can give you a pill that will do whatever the c/d is doing, so you can use one of the other foods. If you know how to give you cat the pill that would be an answer. If not, you should try to learn, it is not that hard. Also, I think the c/d may cause weight gain.

Answer 5

There is a certain type of cat food (can't remember the brand name) but it was for urinary tract deficiany - spelling- ). It wasn't to expensive. We have used it in the past but we stopped using it for a while (I know bad pet owners) and our cat has crystals again. The main thing is to stick with a good bag of food that helps with this problem and don't venture from that brand. It's a pain but it's neccesary. I hope your cat feels better and trust me I know how hard it is to pay that much for a small bag of food but it really is best if you can get that brand the vet offers.

Answer 6

This happened to my 4 year old cat this year. They get crystals which are equivalent to kidney stones in humans that clog their urethra or whatever and so they cant't urinate. My cat didn't show any signs that anything was wrong until it was way too late. We found him one day just laying in the litter box. The next day, he was still in it so we took him out and you could tell he was sick. He hadn't eaten and when we put water in front of him he tried to drink it. But then he ended up puking it up because he had nowhere to store it. His puke looked like urine. The doctor said it'd be around 800 or 900 dollars to do surgery and it might not work. So we put him to sleep. My reason for telling you this is just to say that if you've grown attached to your cat, then the $12 for a bag of food isn't much compared to having to put down the cat. But, you might want to maybe see another doctor because my doctor said that if we'd caught it earlier, they could've given the cat medicine that would prevent the crystals from forming.
Good luck, I hope you get your kitty well. Keep an eye out for him...and get him to the doctor if you notice him staying close to his litter box.

Answer 7

People really need to say what country they are in.. so you know what food to suggest...
anyhow HILLS isnt all that good. They market through vets so this inflates the cost and for its quality it simply isnt worth it - there are infact better foods.

in Canada I suggest ACANA or NUTRAM (available only at pet food supply stores) - NUTRAM IS acutally the very best, least magnesium of any foods
in USA I suggest Nutro Natural Choice or Wellness

these brands are not as cheap as Grocery store foods BUT because they have more nutrition and less filler your cat actually will eat LESS therefore a bag will last longer so in the long run they are cheaper (plus most have a "buy 10 get one free" program)
Hills uses filler.... so do ALL Grocery store and Wal Mart foods
fillers are CORN and by-products (beaks feet feathers) etc. stuff the cat cannot easily digest and often there is so little acutal MEAT in a food the cat has to eat ALOT to get a good protein source. Better foods use CHICKEN MEAL, TURKEY MEAL, or LAMB MEAL as #1 ingredient.. Rice second... no filler

now also urinary problems are worsened if you feed MILK or FISH as calcuim contributes to the problems...

also you can get her to increase her water intake which will help
change her water at least twice daily, cats prefer fresh water to water that has any dust on it... AND add water to a small amount of CANNED CHICKEN AND RICE food once daily so you make a soup - 1 teaspoon food +2 tablespoons water, and mush it with a fork.. dont use chunks of chicken canned, use the mush stuff

good luck

Hills Perscription Diet and Science Diet are both foods commonly sold through vets but are both acutally LOW quality foods with a big price tag - vets receive VERY LITTLE education on food brands and ingredients so they sell what ever a rep offers them to sell and they sell it because they make money in doing so..

Answer 8

You will only be able to feed that brand of food. The C/D stands for calcium dry. Your cat must have a form of calcium type crystals. These can quickly turn to stones and you would be looking at a very expensive surgery vs paying $12 a bag for food. I would follow your vet's advice.

Good Luck!

Answer 9

My cat had similar urinary-tract infections on a regular basis from kitten-hood. I always kept the litter box very clean, but once a change of the brand of kitty litter caused an infection. At $350+ per infection (and he got one almost every 3-4 months) it was way more expensive and stressful to buy less costly food for him. So far on the preventive formula from my vet it's been close to 2 years since he's had an infection. I use the Medi-Cal brand it's $34.00 for a 8.8lb bag, but I think it's only available in Canada. Good luck!!!

Answer 10

There are many foods on the market today that are better than what you are told to feed. I don't *do* science diet I think that the food is very low grade with a very high price tag. Learn to read your ingredients. In your food you want low ash because of his problem. There are many OTC counter brands with low ash. One is *Chicken Soup for the cat lovers soul* another is Innova EVO Also stay away from high protein diets where the protein comes from grain. Cats are carnivores of the highest order therefore the protein must come from meat NOT Corn. Science Diet is loaded with corn and sprayed with pork fat.

Also his urine is too alkaline. If he will eat tomato products (like tomato juice over his food) that will go a long way to keep the urine acidic rather than alkaline.