One of my cats is currently suffering a bout of cystitis so i am in the process of switching to a mainly wet food diet, however it's not going very well (fussy cats). My vets have recommended Hills prescription c/d dry food which is specifically for flutd, and is also fine for my other cats. Having bought a bag today and looked at the nutritional info i am slightly dubious and feel they would be better off with mostly wet food.
Does anyone have any extra info regarding this? I am loathe to take vets word as gospel after some poor advice in the past (put them onto complete dry food, whiskas and felix are great foods for them....etc ).

I am also interested in what people use to try to prevent cystitis reoccuring- i am reluctant to go down the route of constant meds like cystaid, but would be open to a daily dose of something more natural-someone has suggested cranberry juice/capsules or apple cider vinegar? Any good?

Any advice appreciated!

First things first, are the bouts of cystitis due to crystals or an infection?

It is the first time he's had it that we know of, the vet has assured us that they found no crystals so are assuming it's an infection? He had a blood clot blocking his bladder and had to be catheterised for a few days, had ab's then came home with metacam and cystaid. It definitely hasn't gone yet, he is still doing very small frequent wees but vet is happy to keep monitoring it for the moment. He has been home for 5 days now, is bright and acting normally but isn't eating anywhere near as much as usual.

Dry food doesnt seem to be the way to go with a cat with cystitis... wet is way better.

Be wary of vets recommending Hills. They sell Hills, and not because they love it so much....

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Well, in all fairness, there is Hills and Hills prescription food, which in my eyes should be considered to be not only food but also meds.

Wet is always better than dry food as it helps to keep the bladder flushed out. Hills do a urinary wet food, so if you want to go with your vet's suggestion than ask them for that.

Having said that, these types of specially formulated urinary diets are particularly for those cats who are crystal formers as they keep the urine ph in a certain range to discourage the formation of crystals and because the mineral levels of the food is low, again to discourage crystal formation. So, if your cat doesn't form those there might be no reason for your cat to get this food but any good quality wet food should do; particularly if you also add some more water to it.

So, I would ask your vet really for their rationale for putting your cat on the special urinary food.

Re the apple vinegar or the cranberry; personally I would stay clear. Cystaid is a natural thing to help reline the bladder. But also look into D-Mannose as an alternative (though not necessarily cheaper). Works in humans and cats, particularly in those who are prone to bacterial infections.

Hope that helps

Thanks, some really useful info there
i will ask my vet for more details when we speak again at the end of the week (hoping he will be improved by then).

Although, cystitis can be caused by an infection most of the time it's idiopathic (ie caused for no particular reason). I have a female cat who had six lots of cystitis over a year, the last lot lasting over a month, so I know how frustrating it can be. I guess the vet took a urine sample from your boy, so if an infection was present it would have shown on that.

My vet (and the others in the practice) were adamant the best thing I could do for her was a 100% wet diet. They said a prescription diet wouldn't help cystitis and wet cat food from supermarket or perhaps one of the quality foods you can buy online. Plenty of liquid stops the urine was being concentrated and irritating the bladder and also flushes the system out quicker.

As my girl gets reoccuring cystitis she is on a maintenace dose of cystease (same as Cystaid) every other day and a wet diet (sometimes with a little water added). Since sticking to this regime she was been cystitis free for seven months so it has greatly helped her. If you look at Hobbs A-Z of wet food at the top of the topics that may give you some ideas.

hello....gloworm - Chemist Direct also recommended for Hills pet food.