Kitty kidney problems?

[Biciclista]

If you feed your cat dry food, wet it before you give it to him. My cats don't mind this at all.

I am kind of surprised that the vet is only treating symptoms.

[mayanorange]

Actually, most cats will just decrease their water intake if you put them on wet (or wetted dry food). I talked to many vet school professors as well as general vets, and read a lot about this about my boy through the years. They are descendants of desert animals, so they tend to run low on water intake relative to say a human. This desert adaptation makes their urine inherently concentrated, so it's pretty easy to push them over to crystal formation with a small increase in extra minerals in their food. And with boys, the small urethra means the crystals cause more noticeable irritation. FUS in male cats is extremely common. Different individuals have problems for different reasons, but almost always food related. My boy with chronic FUS is extremely food sensitive- if he sneaks even a small amount of non-prescription food from my kitten, he will show symptoms the next day. My kitten and other boy eat holistic non-prescription food, but the mineral amount consistency in even high quality holistic food does not match the consistency of the prescription food. My other boy, who is of barncat stock, has only been sick once- when I put him on Wellness food he developed crystals. Wellness is a great brand, but for some reason it unbalanced my hearty boy. Switched his food back and one round of antibiootics and never had another problem again. Oh, and back when Jonas's chronic issues started, we tried the Purina prescription for urinary stuff, but even that was not as balanced as Hills and still gave him issues. Sorry this is long, but you really should talk to the vet about food.

[Eden]

Actually, most cats will just decrease their water intake if you put them on wet (or wetted dry food).

Indeed this is true, as is the fact that they evolved in the desert. With free flowing water in very short supply they evolved to take most of their moisture through their prey. Cats don't have a very good sense of thirst, nor are their tongues very well adapted to drinking, so they tend to drink too little when they have to rely on a bowl of water for their moisture needs. Many dry fed cats are chronically dehydrated, even if offered sufficient water. Though I still keep a bowl of water for them, my two no longer drink out of it at all as far as I can tell, but from cleaning out their litter boxes I can tell you that they are taking in far more moisture. They urinate more now that I don't feed them any dry food. They also always have nice cool damp noses.

[wackyjacky1]

Though I still keep a bowl of water for them, my two no longer drink out of it at all as far as I can tell, but from cleaning out their litter boxes I can tell you that they are taking in far more moisture. They urinate more now that I don't feed them any dry food. They also always have nice cool damp noses.

This has been my experience, too. Since I switched to wet food my male cat has had zero urinary tract symptoms.

I've posted this link before, but here again is some excellent info on feeding cats: http://catinfo.org/

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Not only did I switch my 3 cats to canned food instead of dry, but I also mix water into it before feeding to make it even wetter. They like their 'stew' just fine.
I can vouch for the fact that the urine 'patties' that I 'harvest' from the cat boxes are literally twice as much as when they ate only dry food. My cats seem to do much better on wet canned food. We used to have lots of serious kitty kidney problems before, and even lost one kitty to it at 7 years old. Almost lost Pearl too a few years ago, when she was 5. That all occurred when they were on dry food.

[Tuckervill]

This particular cat drinks every day, several times a day, and even stands up to the dogs to get to the common water bowl. In fact, if it weren't for this cat licking the floor under the fridge daily for about 3 days I wouldn't have investigated and found that the icemaker had been leaking for probably weeks! I just thought he was licking up a spill or something, and then I saw a puddle.

I never see my other cat drink.

I'm satisfied with the course we're taking with the UTI. He had a shot and will take pills for 10 days. He's still acting wholly himself, except for peeing more often.

By the way, we only have one veterinary office in our town, and they do large and small animals, and it is a very low-key and "countrified" atmosphere. No appointments--just walk in and take your chances. They have a lot of the modern equipment and methods, but they don't foist its use on you. The doc knew I had been spending big dough on the Weimaraner lately (bronchitis), and didn't want to go straight for expensive tests when it could just be a little infection. I agree and will watch and wait.

Karen