Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: bunglycat on August 03, 2008, 18:22:44 PM
-
I have had Smartie on this for a while now -before that he was on Hills S/D due to urinary tract problems and crystals.
I found out online its not good to have them on the S/D long term and took it up with the vet , who put him on C/D .
I have just been reading now that this isn''t good either and has had mixed responses about other health issues it can cause- it also says there is a lot of corn and waste in the actual food ?!
Poor Smartie has enough health issues without adding to them - going to read all this to the vet tomorrow - but wondered if anyone else knew anything!?
Also -i know its better for them to eat wet food and he does eat some as much as i can make him -he will only eat Whiskers supermeat -tin and chicken flavour only and i make sure he has some at least 3 times a day .
-
Think they say a max of 6 monts, but on vets advice. might be worth seeing if he likes the RC Urinary food. My vet prefers people to use wet food only and Cystaid. Think Supermeat is OK, I am sure Gillian has said it doenst have grains in, which is thought to contribute to the problem.
-
I have had Smartie on this for a while now -before that he was on Hills S/D due to urinary tract problems and crystals.
I found out online its not good to have them on the S/D long term and took it up with the vet , who put him on C/D .
I have just been reading now that this isn''t good either and has had mixed responses about other health issues it can cause- it also says there is a lot of corn and waste in the actual food ?!
Poor Smartie has enough health issues without adding to them - going to read all this to the vet tomorrow - but wondered if anyone else knew anything!?
Also -i know its better for them to eat wet food and he does eat some as much as i can make him -he will only eat Whiskers supermeat -tin and chicken flavour only and i make sure he has some at least 3 times a day .
The diet is designed to encourage cats to drink more, the ingredients, to my my mind, seem secondary and they are certainly not top notch! Just feeding an ordinary wet food will give him sufficient moisture in his diet - and actually Whiskas supermeat, despite being fairly low meat content, at least doesnt contain cereals which can exacerbate this condition. To be honest theres not point feeding a prescription diet if you are feeding other foods as well, they are designed to be fed alone and as the ingredients are rubbish I wouldnt bother personally.!
My Ben, who had this problem 5 yrs ago, didnt have any further problems when just fed a raw meat diet, Whiskas supermeat, sometimes Bozita chunks.
-
If your vet would agree, s/he can call Hills' vets directly (their vets won't speak to us punters) to ask them about the food and how long you can feed it for. But I agree that their prescription foods are meant to be that only. They generally say 6 months (as do RC) as a sort of disclaimer to make sure that the vet is still okaying that food, as 'prescription' diets are obviously bought without a vet's prescription & tend to be bought by people whose cats have a problem.
-
Yes, i have spoken to the vet as its by the vets advice he is on this and i buy it from my vet ( he matches online prices for me)
I am going to ring him tomorrow as one of the vet nurses said they would ring Hills and ask about any concerns with using this food.
-
my cat Layla was on s/d and is now on c/d. She has been on this for a year now and the vet says there is no harm in her staying on it permenently and says she definately shouldn't come off of it and needs to be on it for life. I also spoke to my friend's vet (she is a vet nurse) who agreed. My auntie's cat has same issue and her vet told her the same thing. I know that anytime Layla manages to eat anything else she has a flair up and this food i the only thing that has worked. Basically the food has a high acidity which means the crystals can't form so without this acidity the cat would get crystals again.
I understand your concerns as I had exactly the same conversation with my vet not long ago. I hope you get it sorted! Let me know yje outcome as it would be good to have another opinion and to know what to do if it's not advisable for the cat to stay on it.
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
bluto was on hills prescription food for struvite stones for about 7 years while we lived in London, he eventually refused to eat it and when we moved the new vet was happy for him to eat felix senior as it was all he would eat - he never had another flare up thankfully
-
Yes, my vet agreed -its okay for him to stay on the c/d - luckily they all have wet food too.
So, will monitor the cystitis problem with Bungly this week - she eats some of the c/d but not overkeen and much preferred the RC persian -then she had 2 bouts of it !?
-
The problem with high acidity is that you can end up with the opposite problem - oxalate stones. They form in over-acidified urine.
The best diet for cats with this condition is high meat content wet food, no grains, cereals, or veggies and definitely no dry food, prescription or otherwise!
Quote from www.catinfo.org (site written by vet Lisa Pierson)
'Veterinarians often prescribe Science Diet dry c/d and x/d for urinary tract problems but again, these diets are only ten percent water and contain a high level of species-inappropriate ingredients and questionable preservatives. They are also very high in carbohydrates with dry c/d containing 42 percent of its weight as carbohydrates. Please note the first few ingredients in c/d while remembering that your cat is a carnivore:
Brewers rice, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, pork fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), chicken liver flavor, taurine, preserved with BHT and BHA'
-
Any idea about the Royal canin urinary diet food ?
I am trying to give them more wet food too.
-
I don't know about the ingredients in the RC Urinary - but you can be sure it will be full of carbs, and the dry will be high in sodium to encourage more drinking - which wouldnt be needed if a wet diet was eaten in the first place LOL!
-
I thought s/d increased acidity to dissolve the struvite crystals and the c/d was a maintenance diet to reduce reoccurence hence you dont use s/d permanently :-:
Any idea about the Royal canin urinary diet food ?
I am trying to give them more wet food too.
Good luck getting any info on ingredients out of royal canin!
-
I agree, there are issues with even the prescription foods- the main problem with our cat is that she would rather starve herself than eat anything wet at all. I would even be happy to feed her fresh meat to make her diet better but she just won't. If anyone has any tricks to get a cat to eat wet food then please share! :)
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
Gillian converted persians who were dry addicts to eating wet and raw meats so it can be done, im sure she'll happily share her method ;D
All the persians iv known have been incredibly picky with food so i admire her achievement :)
-
I agree, there are issues with even the prescription foods- the main problem with our cat is that she would rather starve herself than eat anything wet at all. I would even be happy to feed her fresh meat to make her diet better but she just won't. If anyone has any tricks to get a cat to eat wet food then please share! :)
I know what you mean - i feed them wet but they still want the biscuits as well !
I also read online RC have been fined for their food quality last year !!!
Thats supposed to be correct Millys mum - thats what i have been led to believe -thats why Smartie was on s/d now c/d - but he hasn''t had cystitis now for around 5 years - Bungly has started with it now and i am convinced it was the RC persian - typical that they all love that too !
She had 2 injections yesterday and 1 tablet today with another to have later ( all baytril inc ijection ) - but she is still in the litter tray a lot and doing little wees- am i expecting too much as i thought 24 hours and she should be feeling a bit better ??? :-:
-
Please share Gill -Phoebe too will only eat RC sensible - i have given her a few different wet foods to try and it just sits there !
-
I thought baytril is given once daily, unless its a split dose but you say 1 tablet as in a whole one?
Hope shes feeling better soon :hug:
-
Yes , its one whole tablet given twice a day for 5 days -then when they are finished -i have to get a sample and take in.
-
http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Bayer_plc/Baytril_Flavour_Tablets/-23529.html (http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Bayer_plc/Baytril_Flavour_Tablets/-23529.html)
Is she a 6 kg cat? Just a worrier over dosage, i remember a vet had given someone aspirin to give and i think it was mark who noticed the dose was too high/too often.
Worth checking as it has its side effects :(
-
Hi,
she is about 5kg i would think - could be 6kg -(i dont have scales as i dont want to get on them myself :rofl:) -smallish but pretty heavy -the tablets are 15mg twice a day .
Smartie has had them before for his snotty nose .
I do have a very good vet and he has been there for around 40 years i think - i can''t remember him not being there and i am 51 !