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I just wanted to pass along to those who are having issues with urinary tract crystals in their cat(s) that in my instance (and hopefully yours), this product saved the day. One of my cats had a partial blockage with struvite crystals and had to be catheterized after his second incident, just a couple weeks after the first....all due to the fact that I refused to put them on the special diet (hate the ingredients) and instead used Wellness and Taste of The Wild, etc. hoping it would correct the situation. The issue however with crystalization is that it's cumulative and needs to be flushed out to prevent further issue. The vet insisted on either Hill's Presciption Diet C/D formula or Royal Canin S/O formula, dry and/or canned. I started off with Hill's first and found neither cat liked it, besides throwing it up and suffering somewhat severe diarrhea. We then moved onto the Royal Canin products where it was better with the dry food, but no luck on the canned (neither like it and would walk away). By accident while picking up more litter at PETCO I stumbled across the Purina ProPlan Urinary Tract canned food and thought I had to give it a try. They absolutely love it, have no digestive issues, look great.... and the ingredients while not as terrific as I would like, do not lead off with corn or corn-by-products, rather chicken and chicken by-products along with the ingredients necessary to dissolve residual crystal formation. This isn't a long term diet but urge those in the same boat to not ignore the vet recommendation for eradicating the crystals before starting an all premium/low magnesium canned diet. Check out the ingredients on the prescription offerings and compare to Purina ProPlan. It's an easy choice and might I say also nearly half the price!
Most people on here are pretty knowledgeable about feline nutrition and species-inappropriate ingredients in such mainstream "foods" you've mentioned, also of Dr Lisa Pierson's resource which had previously been provided to you, and you apparently ignored
and the ingredients while not as terrific as I would like, do not lead off with corn or corn-by-products, rather chicken and chicken by-products along with the ingredients necessary to dissolve residual crystal formation.
*Yes, note the salt content in the ingredients of any such "Urinary Tract" stuff on the market*
Makes species with naturally low thirst drive drink more than it would.
Water/moisture in an obligate carnivore's diet is necessary to keep things "flowing" thus diluting the formation.
Most people on here are pretty knowledgeable about feline nutrition and species-inappropriate ingredients in such mainstream "foods" you've mentioned, also of Dr Lisa Pierson's resource which had previously been provided to you, and you apparently ignored
*Yes, note the salt content in the ingredients of any such "Urinary Tract" stuff on the market*
Makes species with naturally low thirst drive drink more than it would.
Water/moisture in an obligate carnivore's diet is necessary to keep things "flowing" thus diluting the formation.
Whatever. If I see that link one more time I'm going to yack.
The Dr Lisa Pierson-cult appears to be alive and well on City-Data. Despite your know-it-all assertion that there is only one "right way" many cats have thrived and will continue to thrive on the evil mainstream foods you so rabidly have issue with. The reality is that cats with crystal formations in their urinary tract need the ingredients found in urinary tract formulas to flush them from their system so as to not have blockages. Your approach of telling cat owners to avoid such foods is irresponsible and potentially deadly.
I am not suggesting that cats remain on urinary tract formula foods for the long haul, only until it's been determined by your vet that crystalization is no longer present in a urinalysis. For long term health a canned food diet (high moisture, low magnesium, poultry only) is in fact the way to go, but only after struvite crystals have been eliminated from the urinary tract.
If in fact you're a cat-lover, stop drinking the Pierson Kool-Aid and getting all militant while spreading inaccurate information about the UT formula foods. Thanks!
The reality is that cats with crystal formations in their urinary tract need the ingredients found in urinary tract formulas to flush them from their system so as to not have blockages. Your approach of telling cat owners to avoid such foods is irresponsible and potentially deadly...
For long term health a canned food diet (high moisture, low magnesium, poultry only) is in fact the way to go, but only after struvite crystals have been eliminated from the urinary tract.
Besides the word of the PFI and vets owned by them, do you have any proof to back up those statements?
Try finding anything, preferrably in an encyclopedia, to back up your provincial view. How about you name those ingredients "needed" to flush "them" from their system?
As for the accusation against me and insults towards an expert veterinarian, cite proof a feline is not an obligate carnivore. Matter of fact, try coming up with anything factual to back up those statements.
Only thing deadly is the poison passing for pet 'food', and the uneducated veterinarians in the pockets of the PFI who push it on over-trusting, naive clients like you who post on message boards how "good" it is, so people looking for truthful information have to sift through even more misguided "info" to get down to the truth.
I have listed tons of proof (in previous threads) to back up what I've stated, including referring to an encyclopedia or dictionary for the physiology & biological makeup of felines. All you have are insults and blanket statements with nothing factual to back anything up. All you have is the "word" of the PFI and vets in its pockets.
This forum comes up among the top -- if not the top -- hits in searches, so for the benefit of those looking for information on Urinary Tract Health for felines:
Quote:
Crystals are often a normal finding in a cat's urine and it is not necessarily appropriate to put the cat on a "special urinary tract" formula when these are found in the urine.
Important: I often see too much clinical significance placed on the identification of crystals in the urine without regard to how the urine sample was handled.* It is very important to understand that crystals will often form once outside of the body within a very short (30-60 minutes) period of time.*
If the veterinarian does not examine the urine right away and either sends it to an outside laboratory or uses a free-catch sample that the owner brought from home, an erroneous diagnosis of crystals may be made.* This is called a "false positive" report and results in unnecessary worry on the part of the owner and often leads to the cat being placed on an inappropriate, low quality diet.
Always keep in mind that water flowing through the urinary tract system is the most important factor in keeping it healthy.*
Note that I said "water" - not "crystals" or "urine pH" - or any of the expensive, low-quality, "prescription diets" often recommended by veterinarians.
There are no foods that "dissolve" crystals. Putting a cat on a wet diet helps the cat become properly hydrated, so the bladder stays flushed, so the crystals don't have a chance to accumulate, they get peed out.
Since the food you are feeding is wet, it should keep your cat healthy. I'm glad he's doing better. Just don't put him back on any dry food, ever.
Besides the word of the PFI and vets owned by them, do you have any proof to back up those statements?
Try finding anything, preferrably in an encyclopedia, to back up your provincial view. How about you name those ingredients "needed" to flush "them" from their system?
As for the accusation against me and insults towards an expert veterinarian, cite proof a feline is not an obligate carnivore. Matter of fact, try coming up with anything factual to back up those statements.
Only thing deadly is the poison passing for pet 'food', and the uneducated veterinarians in the pockets of the PFI who push it on over-trusting, naive clients like you who post on message boards how "good" it is, so people looking for truthful information have to sift through even more misguided "info" to get down to the truth.
I have listed tons of proof (in previous threads) to back up what I've stated, including referring to an encyclopedia or dictionary for the physiology & biological makeup of felines. All you have are insults and blanket statements with nothing factual to back anything up. All you have is the "word" of the PFI and vets in its pockets.
Time to take off the tin foil hat, seriously. The PFI and Vets (people who make a career out of helping animals) are in a vast conspiracy to undermine the health of cats to pad their own pockets? Alternatively one is supposed to take everything one self-appointed expert says as gospel, and get to work with the Reynolds Wrap? I don't think so.
According to the information I read, the ingredients utilized to balance a cat's urinary ph at the ideal level of 6.0 requires acidic ingredients to lower alkalinity and stop formation of struvite crytals. When I took my cat off the UTI Prescription Diet food prematurely and placed him on the higher quality canned food he still had residual crytalization occurring which in fact led to a blockage and a painful/unpleasant catheterization procedure. In other words the high-quality canned food was doing nothing for him in terms of balancing urinary tract acidity/alkalinity and stopping formation of new crystals or ridding him of the residuals. Had I gone with your assertions (and your beloved Dr Pierson's) my cat would have died, which I guess is fine with you as long as your beloved theory holds water.
Struvite Stones:
Three distinct types of struvite uroliths are recognized in cats: amorphous urethral plugs with a large quantity of matrix, sterile struvite uroliths (which form perhaps as a result of certain dietary ingredients), and struvite uroliths that form as a sequela of urinary tract infection with urease-producing bacteria. Struvite uroliths induced by infection are less common than sterile struvite uroliths. An additional type of struvite urolith in cats consists of a sterile struvite nidus that predisposes to urinary tract infection with urease-producing bacteria and subsequent formation of infected struvite laminations around the sterile nidus. Treatment of sterile struvite urolithiasis focuses on reducing the urine pH to ≤6.0 and on reducing the urine magnesium concentration by feeding magnesium-restricted diets. Reducing urine pH and magnesium concentration is best accomplished by feeding a commercially available prescription diet formulated for this purpose. *from the Merck Veterinary Manual
There are no foods that "dissolve" crystals. Putting a cat on a wet diet helps the cat become properly hydrated, so the bladder stays flushed, so the crystals don't have a chance to accumulate, they get peed out.
Since the food you are feeding is wet, it should keep your cat healthy. I'm glad he's doing better. Just don't put him back on any dry food, ever.
Hydration has nothing to do with formulation of crystals, it's urinary Ph driven by diet and not through lack of water. Millions of cats subsist nicely on very unhealthy grocery store cat foods and live well into their teens and as late as their twenties, with similar hydration issues....once again pointing toward urinary Ph.
Hydration has nothing to do with formulation of crystals, it's urinary Ph driven by diet and not through lack of water. Millions of cats subsist nicely on very unhealthy grocery store cat foods and live well into their teens and as late as their twenties, with similar hydration issues....once again pointing toward urinary Ph.
Subsist is certainly the word. Cats eating kibble, any kibble, be it grocery store or "prescription" are not going to thrive. They may live a long life, subsisting, but it is not a thriving life.
Hydration has everything to do with it. Of course a properly balanced wet diet will keep a healthy cat at a healthy pH. But all urine has crystals. Keeping the cat properly hydrated keeps the the bladder flushed so the crystals don't multiply and accumulate.
Some cats are more prone to forming them, it's a genetic thing. That's when, like you have done, one has to search for a wet food that the cat will eat, that will keep him healthy and in balance.
I have a cat who forms struvite crystals. She ate that corn laden c/d kibble for years because she wouldn't eat the canned c/d. But the food was costing her too much in other health issues and in her quality of life. It took a long time to find a wet diet that works for her, because her digestion was so messed up she could hardly keep anything down.
Wellness (including the canned) is noted for causing a rise in urine pH and causing crystal formation. Not in any official way, but there is a ton of anecdotal evidence, including my own experience, and yours. That's why careful observation and regular UA is so important when finding the right food for a struvite kitty.
But the foods, none of them , "dissolve" crystals. They help create a healthy environment while the moisture keeps the bladder well flushed, so eventually, the urine stays free of debris, because the crystals are peed out, and not too many are forming, not because they are being "dissolved".
Subsist is certainly the word. Cats eating kibble, any kibble, be it grocery store or "prescription" are not going to thrive. They may live a long life, subsisting, but it is not a thriving life.
Hydration has everything to do with it. Of course a properly balanced wet diet will keep a healthy cat at a healthy pH. But all urine has crystals. Keeping the cat properly hydrated keeps the the bladder flushed so the crystals don't multiply and accumulate.
Some cats are more prone to forming them, it's a genetic thing. That's when, like you have done, one has to search for a wet food that the cat will eat, that will keep him healthy and in balance.
I have a cat who forms struvite crystals. She ate that corn laden c/d kibble for years because she wouldn't eat the canned c/d. But the food was costing her too much in other health issues and in her quality of life. It took a long time to find a wet diet that works for her, because her digestion was so messed up she could hardly keep anything down.
Wellness (including the canned) is noted for causing a rise in urine pH and causing crystal formation. Not in any official way, but there is a ton of anecdotal evidence, including my own experience, and yours. That's why careful observation and regular UA is so important when finding the right food for a struvite kitty.
But the foods, none of them , "dissolve" crystals. They help create a healthy environment while the moisture keeps the bladder well flushed, so eventually, the urine stays free of debris, because the crystals are peed out, and not too many are forming, not because they are being "dissolved".
I agree I misspoke when I said "dissolve" as "flush" is a better term. I know about the genetics as I have read pretty extensively on it and which is why it comes up out of nowhere as the cat gets older...mine didn't show signs until the age of 5. I disagree regarding the solution is simply "hydration" as some cats have chemical imbalances that lead to variances in urinary pH. It's physiologically impossible for all cats (just like humans) to have the same molecular makeup, so treating a symptom or condition uniformly is of course a ridiculous proposition...and where I have huge issues with the one-size-fits-all remedy being pushed on this forum by Pierson's posse. I do agree that feeding a cat a corn-laden diet long term is not the right alternative, but it clearly is over the short term if one wants to correct the urinary tract acidity imbalances....although some cats may be unable to achieve the proper acidity without being on one of the prescription diets. It's certainly feasible if there is an issue biologically and without any other viable alternatives would not hesitate to use it to keep my cat alive and somewhat healthy. As an FYI, some cats do tolerate some brands better than others. Purina ProPlan does not contain corn (some corn starch and wheat gluten to create/thicken the gravy) like Royal Canin or Hills' Prescription Diet and while it does contain some salt, it's the 11th ingredient listed...just before Caramel Color which is used sparingly in food products to color up from gray. I can already hear the tin-foil hats shrieking but would urge rational cat owners to read (a lot of varying sources) and be open to all sides of the argument...ultimately utilizing what's best overall for your particular cat's health.
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If I see that link one more time I'm going to yack.
