# Struvite crystals - what canned food?



## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

I'm going to be switching my cats over to a raw diet, but in the meantime, I'm looking for a good quality canned food for them. Ace, the smaller of the two, is two weeks out from a total urinary blockage (struvite crystals). 

Prior to the blockage, both cats were eating dry Wellness Core, supplemented occasionally with wet Wellness canned. I freaked out about Wellness and stopped feeding it altogether.

Now, Bogey (20 pound neutered male) has been eating Avoderm, usually with diced raw mixed in for the evening meal. 

Ace (13 pound neutered male) has been eating Hills Prescription s/d, usually with diced raw mixed in for the evening meal.

I tried to give Bogey Hills Prescription c/d and he immediately vomited both times he tried it. I tried to give him s/d once (we were leaving overnight and I wasn't sure my catsitter would be able to tell the two cats apart to feed them separate foods) and he immediately vomited.

Ace has been doing fine on the s/d but this morning he immediately vomited all of it up after eating. I'm thinking that now that he's feeling better.... the s/d is starting to disagree with him just like it disagrees with Bogey.

Additionally, I think Hills is crap food and would rather my cats not eat it. Add to that how horribly overpriced it is. :roll: 

In my long, roundabout way I'm trying to ask what would be a good canned food that would work for both of my cats (particularly Ace, since he has the urinary issue) during the transition to raw. The morning meal will be all canned, and the evening meal will be a mixture, gradually working up to full raw. Once the evening meal is full raw, we'll start working on the morning meal.


----------



## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

He threw up again after tonight's meal.  

Any ideas on what to feed him during the transition to raw?


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

This link might help you to decide. Wellness and Evo, among others, claim there are no fillers. 

http://cats.about.com/od/catfoo1/tp/tpcannedadult.htm


----------



## Muzby (Jan 9, 2008)

EVO has a 95% meat canned line.. and I hear Merrick Before Grain is quite good.. canned tripe perhaps?


----------



## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

I've had 2 cat now with UTIs and struvite crystals. As long as they have been on Wellness canned they have been absolutely fine.
NO DRY! The second, okay, a couple of months, after I got lazy/caved and started giving them a _tiny_ bit of dry Evo , we had problems again. They love it so, I feel awful! But they simply can't have it.


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Muzby said:


> and I hear Merrick Before Grain is quite good.


The wet food is not nutritionally complete, it's formulated to be fed in conjunction with the dry food (which a cat with crystals shouldn't be eating).


----------



## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

Muzby said:


> EVO has a 95% meat canned line.. and I hear Merrick Before Grain is quite good.. canned tripe perhaps?


I looked into the EVO lines but every single darn one of them contains fish. I heard fish was not good for cats with crystals?



nanook said:


> I've had 2 cat now with UTIs and struvite crystals. As long as they have been on Wellness canned they have been absolutely fine.


I'm paranoid about Wellness... I was feeding it and Ace ended up blocked (to be fair, however, I was feeding a lot of dry). I have read several reports online, though, of people feeding all Wellness canned and their cats ended up blocked. Makes me nervous.


----------



## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

nikelodeon79 said:


> I looked into the EVO lines but every single darn one of them contains fish. I heard fish was not good for cats with crystals?


Huh? I don't see fish. I see herring oil, but that's way down the line and for omega 3 fatty acids. . . 

http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1662


----------



## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

I don't think the 95% line has fish...just some herring oil like Hoofmaiden said. That you really can't avoid.

If I am not being blind (which I often seem too be) some of the Instinct's don't have any fish or fish oil.

http://www.naturesvariety.com/instinct_cat_can_duck

Of course they have lots of veggies further down the ingrediant list...


----------



## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

Whoops! I was counting the herring oil as fish. Trying to play it safe!

They both ate raw tonight  so... hopefully the canned food question will become unnecessary.  

Thanks to all who responded, though!


----------



## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

While diet is certainly going to have an impact on urinary tract health, it is by no means the only factor in the development of urinary crystals. For instance, overweight cats (thinking about 20 lb Bogey here) are more prone to urinary problems than lean cats. Also, some cats naturally produce overly acidic or overly alkaline urine, making them susceptible to the development of crystals. Cats with narrow urethras are going to be more likely to block than cats with normal size urethras. Cats who don't take in enough water either through their food or by drinking are a lot more likely to block than those who maintain optimal hydration. Cats whose litterboxes are not meticulously maintained may retain their urine, giving crystals time to clump together and form blockages. Stress can cause inflammation of the urethra, which could result in blockage.

The point is, we can only do so much to try to avoid or minimize urinary crystal development. We can manage some of the risk factors, but not all. Eliminating kibble and promoting more water intake are the two most effective strategies. Vigilant litterbox maintenance can also keep things flowing freely and frequently. And keep your cat happy and stress-free.

Don't forget to address the non-diet risk factors.

Laurie


----------



## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

laurief said:


> Don't forget to address the non-diet risk factors.


Thanks for your post!

As far as non-diet risk factors, we are getting one of those drinking fountain waterers. Ace LOVES playing in water, and since I don't think he drinks a whole lot, I think the drinking fountain will really help. I've been turning the faucets on for him... he loves to drink out of dripping faucets. Bogey tends to be better... he drinks quite a bit of water.

Litter boxes are (and always have been) cleaned out 2x daily. We have two of them, one upstairs and one down. The litter we buy must've gone through a change, because it looks a lot different and I don't think Ace likes it as much, so we're looking for something else. He likes the sandy type litters... the one we're currently using suddenly started looking like little tiny balls rather than grains of sand. I was going to get Cat Attract but for some reason my local Petco doesn't have it. I might have to order it, I guess.

Bogey has been on a diet for awhile... trying to decrease his food and increase his exercise. He positively LOVES to chase a flashlight... is that okay for him to do? (I know in dogs it's not recommended because they tend to get obsessed).

Stress is a huge factor, I know. In the past year, we introduced three dogs into our home (one January 31, one June 28, and one December 8 ). The blockage occurred December 15. We are going to be careful not to make any more changes to his world. (Right now I'm dog-sitting for a friend.... I agreed to do it before any of this ever happened with Ace and I'm FREAKING out, because she's a mean little yippy dog and I don't want Ace to get stressed and re-block  )

I also think he had a UTI for at least a few months before this happened. The signs were there... peeing outside the box, holding his urine for long periods of time... but I didn't pay close enough attention and/or always attributed it to something else. NEVER will I make that mistake again.


----------



## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

nikelodeon79 said:


> As far as non-diet risk factors, we are getting one of those drinking fountain waterers. Ace LOVES playing in water, and since I don't think he drinks a whole lot, I think the drinking fountain will really help. I've been turning the faucets on for him... he loves to drink out of dripping faucets. Bogey tends to be better... he drinks quite a bit of water.


Just a note: Since you say you are currently feeding canned and are considering switching to raw, IMO you don't need a fountain waterer. Cats fed raw or canned will be getting their moisture from their food as nature intended - -you will rarely see them drinking. Getting cats to drink more is only an issue when they are fed dry food.


----------



## MelissaC (Jan 1, 2004)

Just a note: Since you say you are currently feeding canned and are considering switching to raw, IMO you don't need a fountain waterer. Cats fed raw or canned will be getting their moisture from their food as nature intended - -you will rarely see them drinking. Getting cats to drink more is only an issue when they are fed dry food.[/quote]

Cats should have fresh availible water 24/7. I have a cat who eats only canned food but still drinks water. I don't think there would be anything wrong with getting a cat fountain. I have one and my cats love it. So does my dog lol


----------



## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

MelissaC said:


> Cats should have fresh availible water 24/7. I have a cat who eats only canned food but still drinks water. I don't think there would be anything wrong with getting a cat fountain. I have one and my cats love it. So does my dog lol


Well, of course they should have water available.  I'm simply saying that IMO there are better things to spend money on than a pricey fountain. I would worry if I saw my raw-fed cats drinking too much (could mean diabetes, kidney disease, etc.), since cats do not have the well-developed thirst drive of dogs and hence, when fed species-appropriate food, should not drink much from a bowl.

If you want to spend money on a fountain, by all means, do! Just saying that saving the money for high-quality canned food or raw, or for for the vet fund, might be a better idea.


----------



## MelissaC (Jan 1, 2004)

I just find my cats and dog love running water. It does get dry in my house because we have a wood stove so in the winter even with wet food they do seem to be thirstier


----------



## nikelodeon79 (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks for the tip on the fountain. It makes me less nervous about needing to get one asap.... we can't quite afford one at the moment. :wink:

I will likely still get one eventually, though, because Ace positively LOVES playing in water and I think he'll really enjoy it.


----------

