Cat foods and UTI Question?

Question

We just got home from the emergency clinic where our male cat was diagnosed with a UTI. I had a cat previous to this that started out having UTI's with occasional blockage. We had him on the Science Diet perscription diet for years and that kept it in check. Later in life he developed a problem with his kidneys which led to kidney failure. I don't know if there's a connection but I'd sure like to avoid it if possible, and common sense tells me there could be a connection with UTI and kidney problems.

My question is I'd like to research better foods and would be interested to hear any thoughts or good links to start researching. My cat has been eating dry food and I'm reading it's not the best. It's going to be hard to get this cat on a wet diet if it's needed (he doesn't like canned) and if you have suggestions about that it's welcome also. So far I've been looking at Wellness

Thanks in advance...

And yes I am going to talk foods with my vet also.

Sorry. No there were no crystals that showed up. It's just a UTI but it's worrying me.

Answer 1

Good for you! I'm always happy to see questions like this where the querent is obviously open to new ideas.

The prescription food is crap. Technically it may work, but it is NOT good food, and certainly not appropriate for the long-term.

Dry food in general is crap, and not just because it leaves cats dehydrated. It often leads to obesity, doesn't clean the teeth, and often causes digestive upsets due to all the filler used.

The solution is to feed moist food. That can be a properly balanced raw meat diet or a good commercial canned food.

Wellness is definitely one of them - see the What to feed link for other suggestions.

I went through the same thing a year ago - I had to convert two kibble junkies to canned food. It took me two weeks! Part of the problem is that Poppy is a very picky eater and it took me that long to stumble across the one food she would accept. I did waste a certain amount of money and food, but it WAS worth it in the end.

What I did was to get 1-2 cans of some of the brands listed in the What to feed link. If they offered more than one flavor, I got 1 or 2 cans of each flavor - but no fish flavors at all. I didn't see the point in trying them.

I offered them in addition to the regular food, and noted which ones they ate. If there seemed to be a liking for turkey, I would try other brands with turkey. I kept on charting the results, and then I'd buy more of what they seemed to like.

In retrospect, I would do things slightly differently. I'd still buy a variety of the foods to try, but I wouldn't give up so easily. I'd offer a spoonful of the food and keep the remainder refrigerated (but take it out of the can and put in a plastic container) so I could keep offering it. I'd crush the dry food and sprinkle it over the canned to make it smell more familiar.

If you put the leftovers in the fridge, you can warm them up before feeding. Just run the container under warm water until it gets to room temp. That may make it more palatable. Or you could nuke it for just a couple of seconds.

There are other bribe foods that you can mix in or sprinkle on top of the new food. It's just a question of finding what your cat likes. Poppy didn't care for any of the bribes I'd read about - parmesan cheese, soy sauce, salt, baby food, (I didn't try any fish oils or tuna), etc. But see the Switching food link for other suggestions and good advice as you transition.

Good luck! And just remember that the efforts are definitely worthwhile.

Answer 2

The OTC Purina food is restricted slightly, but not enough for a cat prone to developing obstruction from crystal formation. In fact, it changes the PH of the urine enough that another type of crystal, oxalate's, can form. Thus, this food should not be fed without diagnosis. A cat with normal urinary tract could develop problems from eating it. A cat with UTI may benefit somewhat, but without veterinary monitoring of PH and crystal formation, you can do more harm then good. How do you know your cat had an infection? I'm wondering about the "natural" treatments...were they prescribed by your vet? There are holistic medications available for use by experienced vets, but shouldn't be used indiscriminately.

Answer 3

Nobody knows what causes a cat to have uti.
Nobody knows if there is a connection between uti
& kidney failure. It is true, as cats age, kidneys are
among the first thing to wear out/fail. Cats who
never had uti have kidney failure.
Human grade foods for cats can't hurt & are listed below.
1) Eagle Pack
http://www.eaglepack.com/
2) Nature Variety
http://www.naturesvariety.com/
3) Felidae
http://www.canidae.com/
4) solid Gold
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/...
5) Innova or California Natural
http://www.naturapet.com/

Answer 4

Hi, M D!!!

Just from my own personal experience, I like Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. I have a 7 1/2 year old cat that use to have frequent UTIs. Since I had my dogs on the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, I tried the cats (and now there are 4 of them) on the Chicken Soup and the results are wonderful!

Good luck with your kitty!

****Oh, and by the way, I have always ONLY feed dry diets with my animals. My Vet stated that she was amazed at the dental health of my pets (5 dogs and 4 cats) when I just had them in. She stated that it was due to the fact that they were on a dry diet!

Answer 5

Wet diets are definitely better.

There are also supplements for cats to prevent UTIs, they are formulated with cranberry just like human supplements.

Good foods to check into:
-Innova Evo (by far, the best)
-Artemis
-Wellness
-Felidae
-California Natural
-Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul
-Merrick
-Solid Gold
-Fromm
-Drs Foster & Smith

I've heard of a lot of people having problems with Science Diet. It's really not a good brand at all; vets only sell it because they get paid off by the company. Also, I've worked with vets and former vets/techs, and I know 100% they do NOT receive any education in nutrition. They only sell what they're paid to, and they might repeat back any large name brands they've seen commercials for, but they have NO idea what they're talking about when it comes to food- PLEASE skip this altogether. There ARE animal nutrition experts you can find that would be much more helpful in your search.

Other foods to avoid:
-9 Lives
-Meow Mix
-Friskies
-Whiskas
-Fancy Feast
-Iams
-Eukanuba
-anything in a grocery store

Good luck in your search!

Answer 6

Did your vet find any crystals in your cat's urine? And if so, which ones. UTIs are simple bacterial infections in the urinary tract. It can have several causes, one of which is the formation of crystals in the urine which irritates the bladder wall leading to infection. There are several different types of crystals, some found in alkaline urine and others in acidic urine. In female cats, these crystals usually do nothing more than create UTIs. In male cats, however, they can plug up his urethra, preventing him from urinating at all, which can be fatal in only a day or 2 if untreated.

The most common crystal is the struvite and it is found in alkaline urine. Many of the urine diets for cats have acidifiers in them to make the urine acidic to dissolve the crystals and then prevent them from forming. Since your cat is already on Science Diet, switching to the prescription diet C/D, also made by Hill's, will be easy. If your cat is forming the other type of crystals (calcium oxalate), then he needs to be put on Hill's X/D to prevent their formation.

There are other ways to acidify your cat's urine using either tablets (dl-methionine) or a paste (Methigel). Canned food is recommended only to increase the water intake of your cat, but keeping him on dry food only is fine as well.

Other companies make prescription diets to prevent crystals (Purina, Royal Canin, etc), but some may be harder to find than others. Finding Hill's is usually the easiest, and often the most economical of all the prescription diets.

And Hill's Prescription diet Feline C/D is perfectly balanced and can be fed to any and all adult cats without worrying about what cat is eating what food.

And there is no link between UTI and kidney failure. Both happen without the presence of the other.

Answer 7

Hill's is an excellent company, and after working for vets for over 20 years, I've yet to hear anything about vets getting any advantage for selling it. It is a pain to carry, store and sell pet food, but we do because we want good foods to be available to our clients when they are needed. Royal Canin SO is excellent for UTI's, and Purina also makes one. We carry all 3. My vets and I have received a lot of education regarding nutrition so I don't know where that other poster went to school!

Try to increase your cats water consumption by getting a cat water fountain--many cats like these. Also, the only benefit wet food has is it contains more water--otherwise it doesn't matter, wet or dry. Kidney failure is the number one cause of death in pet cats. Cancer is number one in dogs. Things just wear out when we get old, no matter what we do.

http://pet-diseases.suite101.com/article.cfm/cat_urine_issues
http://www.2ndchance.info/fus.htm

p.s. My cat has been on Science diet for the past 18.5 years and is in fine health. :)

Answer 8

Wellness is one of the best.

Wet food isn't necessary if the cat doesn't like it. It contains more protein, which has been implicated in kidney problems.

Look into California Natural, Felidae, Innova, and Artemis too. All are great, all have websites.