is it true an all dry food diet for a neutered cat will cause problems w/crystilization in his urinary tract?

Answer 1

I was told the same thing. However, I have 2 male neutered cats. One is 10 the other, 5, and neither of them have had any problems. It's possible that the brand of dry cat food might have something to do with it. My guys get a high end all natural blend that I get from the vet clinic. They haven't always been on high end stuff though. Some people say that changing the type of dry cat food is good. Others say no. Not much help, am I?

Answer 2

No it is not true that ALL dry food will or can cause crystals. The point of the matter is we don't really know why it happens and diet has long been a hot topic of discussion in this debate. We have a brand in Australia called Friskies and it seemed to be the leading brand in causing FUS. (feline urinary tract syndrome) And Chrystal's in the urine.
This problem happens more in boy cat as the Urethra is a lot smaller.
Apparently it predominately caused by a higher Ash content in the cats diet.
If you get a good quality dry cat food you should never have problem with crystallization but it seems that the cheap brands are the reasons for the problem
Some Male cats are just predisposed.

When in doubt always go for the better dry food brands. or one ones that actually say they are Crystal friendly

I have always had all of my animals on veterinary dry food biscuits and i have never had a problem with FUS or other urinary or kidney related problems. And they live for a good amount of years

Answer 3

Canned food is definitely best for cats, but some cats do ok on dry. Being neutered or not has nothing to do with crystal formation, but many neutered males are overweight which can contribute to lower urinary tract disease.
This article explains why canned food is better than dry:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood
(check out the links at the end too)

"Cats evolved as desert creatures and are well adapted (still!) to survive in a dry climate, if fed their natural food. Cats are not thirst driven like dogs and are able to survive on less water than dogs. They compensate for reduced water intake by concentrating their urine. When fed a dry food diet (which has less than 10 percent moisture), unless they drink a lot of water, which most cats do not, they are in a constant state of dehydration. Moreover, although a cat consuming a dry food diet does drink more water than a cat consuming a canned food diet, in the end, when water from all sources is added together — what's in their diet plus what they drink — the cat consumes approximately HALF the amount of water compared with a cat eating canned foods.6 On a dry food diet, a cat's urine becomes overly concentrated which leads to feline lower urinary tract disease. Consumption of dry food is associated with lower urinary tract disease as is increased frequency of feeding (a.k.a "free feeding" which is how most people feed dry food), no matter what type of food is fed and obesity."
Above snip taken from article:http://www.blakkatz.com/dryfood.html

Answer 4

a male cat that has been neutered will not experience a urinary tract problem with dry cat food especially if you get the urinary tract formula food. that is all my cats get and they seem to love it, they never get wet food or table scrapes.
and always supply fresh water.

Answer 5

Hi I questioned my vet about that very question and the answer is that on occasions soften the dry food with a little bit of water, not much. Spayed and neutered cats lose there to desire to run and romp as they get older, so they eat and lay around and eat again, causing the digestive system to not work as rapidly for they are not as active. Crystals can develope in the urinary track and a sign is straining and possibly a small showing of blood. It would be wise to have your pet checked if you notice anything and you can also go on line in Search and type in crystilization in cats urinary track and it will give you much info. Hope this has helped. Our Cats are Our Children.

Answer 6

Yes it does in susceptible cats and cats that won't drink enough water. An all-dry food diet is not the best diet to give cats according to almost every cat nutritionist. Dry cat food is popular becuase it is very convenient for cat owners to just pour it in the cat's food bowl and it does not spoil as fast as wet canned cat food. Some vets insist that dry cat food is good for the cat's teeth - scrapes tartar and all that. But this is disputed by a lot of cat specialists who claim that many vets treat cats as if they were dogs. Myself, I would never never put any of my cats now on a purely dry food diet. Their main food is wet canned food and I do give them a little dry food "on the side." And my greatest authority on this regiment is my own experience: I have lost a beloved male neutered cat to crystals in his kidney becuase I did not know enough then not to feed him exclusively on a dry food diet.

My sister-in-laws cat also developed kidney crystals and guess what - this cat was on a dry food diet for all of her 10 year life.

Answer 7

I have never heard this. I have had three neutered cats all fed dry food their whole lives and never had any problems.

Answer 8

yes, it's true, it will cause him urinary track problems, period. Cats don't drink a lot of water that's why their pee is so concentrated and difficult to get rid of the smell. I recommend you to get one of those cat fountains, they seem to drink more if the water is moving, also complement his diet with wet food twice a week, wet food is 60 % water , they don't notice they are actually EATING water. But yeah, keep track of the amount of water your kitty drinks.

Answer 9

I have never heard of anything like that.