How can we treat FLUTD in our cat without buying food from the vet?

Question

Our cat was hospitalized last year for having a struvite crystal blockage in his urethra. He almost died, and we ended up with $500 in vet bills plus a $40 per ten pound bag cat food bill for his special prescription diet.

Well, to be honest, we are tired of paying for this ridiculously high-priced cat food. There has to be something we can do to his diet here at home that will solve this problem. They say his urine needs to be kept more acidic and less alkaline to prevent the crystals form forming, hence the special cat food that CONVENIENTLY can only be purchased through our vet!

I'm not saying we don't love our cat, but surely there is something we can change about his diet here at home that will solve this problem. If not, then we need to explore other options.

Answer 1

Read the ingredients listed on the label of the expensive cat food that you buy from the vet. List them down. Then go to a petshop like Petco or Petsmart and check the different varieties of cat food specifically designed to prevent FLUTD (Purina, Eukenuba, etc). Get the one that makes the urine more acidic - it must say that on the label. Also, it will be a good idea if you feed you kitty some wet canned cat food and not just dry kibble. Lots of fluids in the diet go a long way to preventing urinary blockages. Make sure kitty drinks plenty of fresh water everyday. Avoid putting the cat in conditions of stress becuase stress often triggers an episode of urinary track blockage in susceptible cats.

Answer 2

You can try the over the counter urinary diets, but they aren't as reliable as the prescription foods when it comes to acidifying the urine. These prescription urinary diets are only sold through a vet because they can actually harm some cats-it's not a scam, honestly. But there are 3 different prescription brands out there-Hill's, Purina and Eukanuba, so you might find a cheaper brand at another vet. You can also get urine acidifying supplements, again from the vet, that are cheaper than prescription food, but again aren't as reliable. The prescription diets really do make a difference, but if it comes down to feeding the cat or feeding the humans..... well, the humans take priority. And it never hurts to see another vet for a second opinion.

Answer 3

You must have another urinalysis done by the vet to be sure that the urine is properly acidic before abandoning the precription food. Then you must switch the cat to a high quality (no by-product meat) canned food such as Natural Balance, Innova Evo, Blue, Lick Your Chops, By Nature's Organic. Natural Balance is the least expensive and use a variety and cans of the more expensive three times a week.

I feed my cats a raw meat diet and canned food. When I had a cat with the crystals he was just starting the raw diet and he never had any further problems. I was told he would die without the prescription food!

Cats evolved to eat meat and meat alone - not cereal. Meat causes the cat's urine to be slightly acidic. Grains and other carbohydrates cause the imbalance in the urinary tract.

Answer 4

Try a website for alternative care for pets or home remedies for pets, look up all the info you can. They sell ONE cat food with the urinary thing in it and it doesn't coat that much. Make sure the cat has lots of water and maybe there is something on one of these sights that yucan add to the food, I wouldn't be surprised, they do heve alternative care for animals too. I just read one that said high magnesium in food for cats causes this condition. You can feed the cat meat. I know it sounds like a lot of trouble, look on the bag and make sure you buy the lowest magnesium possible and the most snimal product possible. Look on some websites and read, you'll find help. Also, a few drops of apple cider vinegar in the water will help. Start with one drop then two, it will be best to do it gradually. When you get to a teaspoon in a good sized bowl it is good. It will be good for the dogs too. Good luck.

Answer 5

some supermarkets now stock specialized cat foods for different diets. The one for older cats would probably help your cat's problem. You can also just increase your cat's fluid intake, by adding extra water to his canned food. Good luck, my old cat was peeing blood, but after the usual vet attention, I altered his diet, and he lived a long and happy life without another problem.