[HoneyFern]

My vet has said Smudge (16yrs) should be put on the c/d diet as she has tiny amounts of crystals in her urine but when I worked at the cattery it was hard to get most cats to eat these special diets and I never saw any cat eating the c/d. We don't want to spend a lot of money only for her not to eat it so I wondered if there are any alternatives or beneficial foods I can give her that she will eat (baring in mind she lives with 4 other cats and a dog so it's next to impossible to feed her separately).

 

[Tylah]

She just needs to be moved onto wet food, you don't need any special diet kibble.

Please read this. Feline Urinary Tract Health: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM :: cat urinary tract health

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

She just needs to be moved onto wet food, you don't need any special diet kibble.

Please read this. Feline Urinary Tract Health: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM :: cat urinary tract health

Yep, I absolutely agree with the above post. Increasing the water content in your cat's food could really help. So, I'd suggest a good quality wet food, and, if possible, try to encourage your cat to drink more (maybe water that has been used to poach fish, or a little chicken broth if she won't drink plain water) or add a little water to her food if she will tolerate that.

 

[HoneyFern]

Thanks for the advice . She does like her wet food, I'll try to add some water to it. All of my cats have been good water drinkers, Smudge included, which is why I'm surprised she has problems but the vet did say there was only a small amount of crystals there. I have no problem giving her meds but giving her separate food would have been difficult.

 

[dagny0823]

Just a quick question---how old was the urine sample provided? If it's older than 30 minutes, then it could show signs of false readings for crystals.

All cats, and people, and dogs, have the ingredients for crystals naturally and always occurring in their urine all of the time. It is only when the pH of the urine changes that crystals form. Sometimes the cat's own pH changes because of diet or stress. Then adjustments need to be made in diet, environment, hydration. The pH will also change when urine sits as it's no longer in its natural environment and heated to proper cat temperature. Crystalization forms under these circumstances. In fact, I would be surprised if a vet did not find crystals, since they are going to form by nature.

I would say if they are only tiny and the sample wasn't completely fresh, then try the wet diet and more water. You can get a fountain and you can add warm water to the wet food to make it more soupy and your cat will be forced to drink more.

 

[HoneyFern]

Just a quick question---how old was the urine sample provided? If it's older than 30 minutes, then it could show signs of false readings for crystals.

I wondered this aswell, the sample was taken on a Sunday so didn't get to vets until the Monday. We don't have litter trays as they've always gone outside and although we're trying to introduce them now the cats are older they haven't taken to them and we had to wait for her to pee in the hallway which she'll do if we leave something there (plastic bag did the trick this time ). Also the vet wasn't overly concerned about the crystals, just suggested we tried c/d.

 

[dagny0823]

Well then, I'd totally skip the C/D and just try to feed wet only (or raw) and get her more hydrated and she should be fine. Personally, I think the C/D is crap food. It's got all the ingredients of a hotdog! Lots of fillers. My vet tried to get me to put Gwennie on it (which is when I went and did a ton of reading)--she hated it, the rest loved it, it was wildly expensive, and it didn't seem at all close to anything nutritional to me.

 

[Tylah]

I wondered this aswell, the sample was taken on a Sunday so didn't get to vets until the Monday. We don't have litter trays as they've always gone outside and although we're trying to introduce them now the cats are older they haven't taken to them and we had to wait for her to pee in the hallway which she'll do if we leave something there (plastic bag did the trick this time ). Also the vet wasn't overly concerned about the crystals, just suggested we tried c/d.

One of mine mainly goes outside too. I got the sample by following him out in the morning and holding a saucer under his bum when he was mid flow.