Cat urinary issues strike again

February 24, 2019 8:55 AM

Despite being on urinary feed cat has developed urinary issues. Help?

We have a vet appointment this afternoon. Cat was on royal canin urinary SO for years, I switched him to hills urinary + metabolic last year. And started giving greenies treats a couple times a week. Well now starting yesterday he’s in and out of the box, nothing comes out, licking etc. He peed a few times out of the box last week that should have been my sign.

I switched him back to royal canin urinary SO last night. I know it’ll take a few days to work it’s way through his system. (Just in case the food switch was the issue.)

Last time it was a big mental game to get him back; needed pain meds (kitty Xanax), retrain with treats at the litter box. He could pee at the vet but feared the box at home. It took months. But since then he was OK for six years and I’m kicking myself for changing to Hills urinary (except he was getting quite chubby and I was concerned for other health issues. Vet suggested it).

Any tips and tricks to get through this? Like I said we’re seeing the vet this afternoon.

Im a dinosaur without Instagram or drop box but he’s a black chantilly with green eyes EXACTLY like this

posted by St. Peepsburg to Pets & Animals (7 answers total)

Best answer: Talk to your vet about a drug called Cerenia, which my vet feels has been a game changer in recent years for cat urinary issues. It is labeled for nausea in dogs, but has stress-reducing and urinary irritation-comforting effects on cats. My vet has us give 1/4 tablet per day for four days (just one tablet total) when this happens to our cat, and that is usually enough to get her back on track, though sometimes she needs another pain reliever as well. Good luck!
posted by dayintoday at 9:17 AM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]

Moisten his food before serving if he's still eating dry food or look to feeding wet versions of the food(and add water to it anyway until it's soupy). I'm assuming by Urinary issues you are meaning crystals, if that's the case remember the more water they drink the more dilute their pee the less chance of forming crystals it will also make flushing out any current crystals easier. Even if it's UTI's drinking more helps.

You might want to get a water fountain for him, cats tend to like drinking from moving water more and keep the water bowls super clean as well to encourage drinking. My mum had good luck using homemade chicken broth with no salt etc in to get our cat that had these issues when we were kids to drink. Have heaps of water bowls with lots of fresh clean water in all around the place too. Some cats like drinking out of a trickling faucet if you want to try that.
posted by wwax at 9:38 AM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We have a boy cat who has persistent urinary flare ups. We've had luck consistently feeding royal canin & supplementing with Urinary Gold. The urinary gold has made a world of difference for us and we don't have flare ups when we are consistent with both the food and the supplement.

Our vet didn't have any experience with Urinary Gold but approved using it as a supplement.
posted by countrymod at 9:39 AM on February 24, 2019

Best answer: Even adding a bit of water to the wet food can be useful if your cat will still eat it. Changing litterboxes (from front entrance to top entrance for example) can be enough of a change to get a cat back on track.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:18 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: After our cat had crystals, our vet recommended those same brands of Rx foods, but I wasn't crazy about their ingredients. My vet-tech sister recommended Wysong Biotic pH supplements instead of switching foods, and after checking with our vet, that's what we started using. Depending on the type of crystals, you'd either use their pH+ or their pH-. You sprinkle a little on any cat food, and each canister lasts a very long time. Our cat's been on it for years, likes it, and has done well ever since. The only other thing we've done is add water to her food, as mentioned above. Good luck with your buddy!
posted by daisyace at 4:53 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]

Another vote for Wysong. Our boy got a blockage that almost killed him (always on a weekend so they have to go to the pricey emergency vet *sigh*) and my research using reviews and other online opinions gave me the impression that science diet is as bad as crappy purina trash food for causing struvite crystals. This was a few years ago, and maybe things have changed since, but wysong has always been our default since, and no problems since, soooo
Personal .02
posted by Redhush at 5:49 PM on February 24, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the various advice, lots of things I have never heard of!
My little guy is at emerg with a catheter right now, always on the weekend amirite Redhush. Will try them once he’s back at home.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:23 PM on February 24, 2019