She is currently on Medi-Cal Dissolution cat food for 3 months to absorb the crystals. I just bought a big bag of Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Indoor Adult Cat food a couple of weeks ago. After the 3 months is up, can I feed her the rest of this Nutro food until the bag is done, then put her on the Medi-Cal maintenance food to prevent crystals reoccurring? Or should I suck up my loss of $25 from Nutro and go directly to the Medi-Cal maintenance food after the 3 months is up?
http://www.nutroproducts.com/ncccia.asp
(We got kitty a couple of months ago from SPCA. She is Siamese/Persian mix. Probably was given up because she was peeing outside of the litterbox and the owners probably didn't know better to take her to the vet. I took her to the vet and they found crystals in her urine. Was feeding her premium cat food since we got her.)
2006-09-28 02:55:03 · 7 answers · asked by hello 6 in Pets ➔ Cats
I have been feeding her a bit of wet food with her dry food. Some days she'd eat a teaspoon/day, sometimes none. Today I added water to wet food, heated it, and she ate some of it. (Right now I am just introducing the Medi-Cal into her diet so she doesn't get intestinal problems, will be on a strict Medi-Cal diet on Saturday.)
2006-09-28 03:07:53 · update #1
Canadian I am. Doesn't surprise me that Nutro is better than Medi-Cal, which is why I wanted to ask my question.... thanks.
2006-09-28 03:33:29 · update #2
Talk to the vet.
But, I think you will probably have to suck up the loss. A $25 loss is a lot less than another vet visit and treatment if the crystals re-form because she wasn't kept on the Medi food.
My cat had crystals and we were told to never let her have any cat food other than the prescribed diet again.
Good Luck!
2006-09-28 03:06:21 · answer #1 · answered by Jen 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Methionine is the substance (amino acid) that is used in the special food prescribed by veterinarians to acidify cat urine and dissolve crystals in the bladder. You can use this yourself by adding it to canned food to see if that will change the pH of your cat's urine.
"You can purchase litmus strips through science, laboratory or chemical supply sotes, or ask your local pharmacist...Pink is acid
Blue is alkaline. You want to make the urine slightly on the acidic side, so lavender to pink is the desired color. Simply place a strip in the litterbox where the cat has just urinated. If the strip indicates the urine is neutral or alkaline, then start the methionine. You want to make the urine slightly on the acidic side.
Dosage: 100 milligrams twice daily, or three times if necessary. Check the urine level again in a few days. If the level is not yet slightly acidic, go to the third dose. If you give too much methionine an animal will throw up, but for most cases this is a very safe range." Nancy Scanlon, DVM.
Canned food is important for the additional moisture to keep the urine as dilute as possibly. Cats don't drink enough water to compensate for the dehydration of a dry food diet.
Dr. Scanlon stresses the importance of using the strips every three days or so. You must balance the pH of the urine to be slightly acidic - too much can tip the balance unfavorably and risk the formation of stones, a much more serious condition than the crystals.
You are not available for direct communication so I will add a little here. I don't feel any bag of opened food should hang around for three months. Donate it to a shelter.
I use the Feline Future powder to make a raw meat diet for my cats and have for seven years. Raw meat is the natural diet for the cat and keeps the urine on the slightly acidic side where it should be for the cat. That is available in Canada. The diet supplement powder was originally developed there. I think you will find them at felinefuture.com. The people developing the powder have a book, "The Backyard Predator" which gives you directions for making your own supplement or they sell the powder in Canada. My cat who would spike urines with a pH up to nine (!) never had any further problems when he was started on the raw meat.
2006-09-28 04:15:59 · answer #2 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it might surprise you to know that Medical isnt as good as Nutro (if you are in Canada - NUTRAM is even better)
do not feed the fish formulas, only chicken, turkey or lamb
feed her canned food mixed with water and that will also help
(1 teaspoon canned food - 2 teaspoons water) it increases her water intake which helps prevent crystals - 1 or 2 times a day
seriously though if you are in Canada, you cannot beat the food NUTRAM it exports to Europe and they have even tougher standards for pet food than North America
again - NO FISH (and of course no milk)
2006-09-28 03:26:42 · answer #3 · answered by CF_ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
She is not getting enough water in her system to stay properly hydrated. Cats tend to get most of their moisture from the food they eat. Try adding some wet food to her day if she is on a regular diet of dry cat food. I had a Siamese with a similar situation years ago and added i/2 a can of wet cat food every other day to his diet and it cleared up in about 10 days. No matter how often I changed his water dish, he would not drink enough from it. Cats also tend to prefer running water to standing water in a dish. You could leave a faucet for her at a drip if you are okay with her being on the counters, or you can get her a small decorative fountain and change it daily for fresh flow. Some pet store even sale cat drinking fountains. Try Pet Smart.
2006-09-28 03:04:22 · answer #4 · answered by Pundit Bandit 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
thats not good,you need to go to the vets.
2006-09-28 02:58:31 · answer #5 · answered by B 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
you should check with the vet
2006-09-28 03:22:44 · answer #6 · answered by macleod709 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Ummm, I dunno. What did the vet say??
2006-09-28 03:02:06 · answer #7 · answered by jessiekatsopolous 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋