The vet says my cat needs prescription cat food?
Specifically, Science Diet CD because he had bladder issues once a couple years ago. He will eat it and has had no problems since.
But is there another cat food I can feed him that will also have the balance he needs for bladder health? Prior to the bloody urine incident I had been buying Natural Balance cat food. I'd like to give him food that doesn't contain corn or other fillers. Surely there's a good brand of cat food out there that will meet his needs but not cost $32 for a 10-pound bag!
Unfortunately Skeeter won't eat canned food, no matter what the flavor or brand. It seems to disgust him.
I bought him his own kitty water fountain and he loves it. He drinks from it often so I feel he is getting enough hydration now that he has his fountain, even though he has a dry food diet - supplemented with bits of meat.
You have many different options, and you're quite right to question this.
The following information is from my blog. It *should* answer most of your questions. If anything needs clarification feel free to contact me.
And also note that I'm not necessarily suggesting a course of action for you - but I am strongly recommending that you learn more about this subject so that you can make an informed decision. If I were in this situation this is what I'd do.
I'm lucky though - I have a very good vet who really knows her stuff! You won't find a single bag or can of prescription food on the premises. Well, maybe you would but they're not out there for resale and are probably only pulled out as a last resort LOL
CATS AND URINARY ISSUES Sep 6, '07 12:39 PM
for everyone
This is not my area of expertise, but this has been my experience: As a kitten, Poppy developed both a weight problem and a UTI. My vet told me to start feeding her special food which he happily sold me *gulp*. Poppy refused to eat it. Back then I was less aware of how to get cats to eat new foods, so I just said the hell with it and bought Purina One's urinary health food, mixed with weight management. She ate that from then until she was 2 years old. She never had another UTI. Does this mean that this food is as good as the overpriced prescription food, or did I just get lucky? I don't know the answer, although I suspect the former statement is probably true.
For various reasons, I soon thereafter began researching cat nutrition. I learned about the benefits of wet food, and found that in many cases, that's all that's required to prevent future UTI's. Even the crappy brands like Friskies would be better than dry food!
I don't claim to be a vet, vet tech, vet student or anything like that. But I know how to research and examine results. I've read a bit on this topic which is how I've reached the conclusions I have.
At the very least, were I to have another cat with urinary problems, I'd sooner try them on a GOOD QUALITY canned food (or properly balanced raw meat diet) before shelling out the dough for a "prescription" dry food (or even their canned varieties). That's because I believe that good nutrition and species appropriate food is much more likely to keep a cat healthy than inferior ingredients which have been tweaked to change their chemical composition.
What should YOU do? If your vet recommends a prescription diet, I can safely recommend that at the very least you get the canned version of that food. That way your cat will get the extra hydration it needs. And don't feel bad about giving your cat this food - temporarily. It will do what it's designed to do, so you can be sure that your cat will do well while you do more research. And I would encourage you to do so. Don't take my word for it - read up on these things for yourself. Stabilize your cat with the prescription food while you look for something better. If canned food (or raw) alone is not helping enough, there are other supplements you could research. I have not done so, but I know that Wysong makes a supplement for urinary issues. "Biotic pH- is designed for cats or dogs needing assistance generating and maintaining an acidic urine to help prevent struvite crystal formulation."
I can't endorse this particular product, but know that it's out there. And if it is, there are sure to be others. Again, I would sooner feed good food, with a supplement such as this, than the crappy prescription foods.
UPDATE: I wanted to quote some info I ran across this morning (3.8.08). This info is taken from discussions in WholeCatHealth. While in and of itself it may not answer any questions, it can at least demonstrate that this group would be an excellent resource for anyone whose cat has a urinary problem.
"S/D and C/D are acidifying diets - meant for short-term use to bring down the urinary pH. There are risks associated with long-term use of these diets....." (see the last paragraph for more info on this).
"Feeding a high-quality, low-carbohydrate, meat-based, high-moisture diet reduces risk of urinary problems, incl crystals. Meat proteins provide the amino acids that naturally keep the urine slightly acidic (desirable for cats is 6.0-6.5 pH)...and the moisture (about 78%
for canned and 68% for the premade raw) helps promote urine volume and pee
frequency, which reduces risk of crystal formation. But some cats, even on a species-appropriate diet, can't maintain pH...so it's important to monitor the urine, which you can do at home with pH paper or urine dipsticks. If the pH consistently stays about 7.0, then you can add an acidifier such as L-methionine or ammonium chloride to the meat-based
food...and then still monitor to see how the pH is doing."
This last bit is from http://vetsites.vin.com/Kidney/FLUTD.doc :
"Chronic use of acidifying diets leads to metabolic acidosis, which can lead
to decreased bone formation and detrimental effects
