Fancy Cat w/Pee Problems Needs Fancy Cat Pee Food
November 15, 2012 12:42 PM Subscribe
My cat needs a urinary tract health cat food, but will currently only eat dry Purina UR. I'm not fond of Purina and would prefer him to eat something similar to the Newman's Own cat food he was eating before. Any good options out there?
I'd prefer that he eat wet food, and am trying to convert him over to canned, but he won't touch any of the urinary tract wet foods I've tried giving him -- hates Royal Canin, Prescription Diet, canned Purina.
He will eat Newman's Own canned food, and I know that any wet food is better than dry for urinary tract health, but he was on the Newman's Own when he got his blocked bladder, so I'm leery of just going back to that vs. something explicitly promoting urinary health.
Basically, I guess I'd like to find a wet or dry urinary health food along the same lines as the wet/dry Newman's (organic, no animal by-products, no wheat).
I'd prefer that he eat wet food, and am trying to convert him over to canned, but he won't touch any of the urinary tract wet foods I've tried giving him -- hates Royal Canin, Prescription Diet, canned Purina.
He will eat Newman's Own canned food, and I know that any wet food is better than dry for urinary tract health, but he was on the Newman's Own when he got his blocked bladder, so I'm leery of just going back to that vs. something explicitly promoting urinary health.
Basically, I guess I'd like to find a wet or dry urinary health food along the same lines as the wet/dry Newman's (organic, no animal by-products, no wheat).
Best answer: Hmm. I was doing a bit of research to answer your question, and it looks like there has been an overhaul in thinking about the cause of urinary problems in cats. The traditional understanding of cat urinary tract problems is that they are caused by some combination of not enough water in the diet and too much magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate in the diet. Urinary health diets are designed with lower amounts of these minerals. Here's one that meets your requirements.
Newer thinking suggests that the pH of urine is actually more important, and that it should be slighly acidic. Wellness Core is the generally recommended low pH cat food from what my digging suggests. It is not organic but meets your other requirements.
This is a great website, with suggestions for transitioning your cat to wet food (PDF).
Good luck. Sounds like the thinking in the field is kind of a mess right now which makes everything more difficult.
posted by zug at 1:55 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]
Newer thinking suggests that the pH of urine is actually more important, and that it should be slighly acidic. Wellness Core is the generally recommended low pH cat food from what my digging suggests. It is not organic but meets your other requirements.
This is a great website, with suggestions for transitioning your cat to wet food (PDF).
Good luck. Sounds like the thinking in the field is kind of a mess right now which makes everything more difficult.
posted by zug at 1:55 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]
My boy cat won't eat wet food of any kind, but I feed him Wysong Uretic. So far so good.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 4:21 PM on November 15, 2012
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 4:21 PM on November 15, 2012
While I'm not sure this question is answerable without one or more photos of your cat, I'll give it a try...
Also take a look at the source of water - some places can have fairly hard water full of the same minerals you're trying to cut out of their food. My boys felt a lot better once I moved them over to distilled water in their cat fountain. A gallon of distilled water from the store costs sub 50 cents where I am. When they first had their urinary stones, I would mix in extra water to the cat food juices, too.
Canned food, yes, but they refuse anything but Friskies, sadly enough, and even then most of the flavors.
posted by bookdragoness at 7:41 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also take a look at the source of water - some places can have fairly hard water full of the same minerals you're trying to cut out of their food. My boys felt a lot better once I moved them over to distilled water in their cat fountain. A gallon of distilled water from the store costs sub 50 cents where I am. When they first had their urinary stones, I would mix in extra water to the cat food juices, too.
Canned food, yes, but they refuse anything but Friskies, sadly enough, and even then most of the flavors.
posted by bookdragoness at 7:41 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]
This may not be very helpful but I will chime in. I have been using the RC urinary moderate calorie dry food for 2 years and have the same issues with it as you do. My cat used to eat Pet Promise before they went bust, and was then on Newman's and we tried some other organic brands before he got sick. A friend of mine told me some cat food isnt rigorously tested the way Science Diet or RC is, especially for UT issues. I dont know if that is true but I do trust my friend as she recommended the doctor who saved my cat's life and is really inspiring when it comes to animal welfare.
I have had to resign myself to RC because my cat is way more important to me than my ethical devotion to organic food choices. I try to think of it like medication. His illness is very serious and if this makes it better then, it is what it is. I'm not 100% happy with whats in the food, but I am very, very happy my cat is alive today and doing very well.
posted by bookshelves at 9:38 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have had to resign myself to RC because my cat is way more important to me than my ethical devotion to organic food choices. I try to think of it like medication. His illness is very serious and if this makes it better then, it is what it is. I'm not 100% happy with whats in the food, but I am very, very happy my cat is alive today and doing very well.
posted by bookshelves at 9:38 PM on November 15, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Update: we ended up taking zug's suggestion of Young Again, and we've seen great results with our cats.
-- No urinary tract problems after four months.
-- All of our cats like it, which was an issue since they rarely agree on any one food.
-- Two of our cats that were extremely obese have slimmed down considerably (and are in good health, with increased energy). One that is normally skinny, meanwhile, has bulked up some.
-- One of our cats, who had been decreasingly active over the past several years, has become more active.
-- Cats are eating less food overall, with no gorging (which had been a problem before) or begging for food.
-- One cat, who was prone to gorging on food and shortly afterwards vomiting, has stopped doing that.
-- Smaller poops.
At $99 for a 25 lb bag, it's pretty expensive, but pound for pound I think it's comparable to Newman's Own, and lasts significantly longer per pound since they eat less of it. We're pretty happy with this food and can recommend it.
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 9:24 AM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
-- No urinary tract problems after four months.
-- All of our cats like it, which was an issue since they rarely agree on any one food.
-- Two of our cats that were extremely obese have slimmed down considerably (and are in good health, with increased energy). One that is normally skinny, meanwhile, has bulked up some.
-- One of our cats, who had been decreasingly active over the past several years, has become more active.
-- Cats are eating less food overall, with no gorging (which had been a problem before) or begging for food.
-- One cat, who was prone to gorging on food and shortly afterwards vomiting, has stopped doing that.
-- Smaller poops.
At $99 for a 25 lb bag, it's pretty expensive, but pound for pound I think it's comparable to Newman's Own, and lasts significantly longer per pound since they eat less of it. We're pretty happy with this food and can recommend it.
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 9:24 AM on April 3, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by saltwater at 1:46 PM on November 15, 2012