# Need Input!: Best Wet Food for FLUTD?



## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Our oldest boy, Skeeter, was diagnosed this morning with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) after crystals and blood were found in his urine.  The vet has prescribed 10 days of antibiotics and Royal Canin SO (canned wet). I've only fed my boys top-quality food with no by-products or chemicals, so I do not want to stay on the Royal Canin if I don't have to.

Can anyone suggest a better quality (wet) food for cats who are prone to FLUTD?


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## Jack&Harley (Nov 2, 2008)

What were you feeding previously?

Leslie


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

We feed 1/2 dry (Instinct, Rabbit Formula by Nature's Variety) and 1/2 wet (Avoderm, various flavors)


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

I would stay away from dry altogether for a cat prone to crystals. Dry food is dehydrating. His urine will be more concentrated and can make the problem worse.
I would choose a food higher in protein and with few carbs. Carbs contribute to a higher pH, and thats when struvite crystals form. The first food that comes to mind for me is EVO. EVO now has a 95% meat line, which I haven't tried, but looks promising.
I also have a friend with a cat prone to crystals, and they have good luck with Wellness.
Monty was just diagnosed with the same thing. We switched him from Natural Balance (a good food, but higher in carbs) to EVO & Raw, with a plan to eventually go 99% Raw.


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## Jack&Harley (Nov 2, 2008)

Your first bet is to switch to 100% wet. With any of these urinary issues the idea is to get them peeing as much as you can and on a dry diet which is completely dehydrating that isnt going to happen.

My understanding is that there is a great yahoo group that deals with urinary issues and they offer great advice. I'd look into that.

It may be as easy as just offering high quality wet food and no dry but I'm not positive on that.


Leslie


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Thanks for the comments so far! 

I will definitely start feeding them more wet food. I usually to do 1/2 cup dry food for each in the morning (and they'd work on this for most of the day), 1/3 cup of wet food in the evening for each, and 1/4 cup dry over night (which they usually never finish off).

Now, I'm going to start doing wet in the morning, wet at night, and just leave a tiny bit of dry in their bowls to graze on if needed. I'm also going to start mixing filtered water into their wet food just to cover all bases! 

Of course, they both LOVE the Royal Canin SO. It's nothing but water and by-products. :lol: It's like kids getting McDonald's for dinner (something we just don't do in our house).

Nell, I wanted to let you know: Avoderm and Instinct are both extremely low on carbs. You mentioned Evo, which only has 1% carbs. Avoderm only has 2% carbs. And Instinct is a high protein based food that is grain-free and gluten-free. So, it's not his carb intake at all. They were on Wellness Chicken Formula for quite a few years before we switched to Instinct about 8 months ago. Perhaps we'll switch back to that...?

Jack&Harley, thanks for the tip about the Yahoo Group. I tried to find it, but I have no clue about Yahoo.  

*Questions:*
1. I've heard that foods (wet or dry) that are fish-based could increase the risk of FLUTD. I feed the boys cans of Avoderm Tuna & Crab and Avoderm Ocean Whitefish. They love these! But, should I cut it back as an occasional treat?

2. I've read that a diet high in magnesium could increase the risk of FLUTD. None of the foods I give them seem to be high in magnesium, so should I even worry about this?


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

It would really be better if you cut out all dry food. When it comes to UTIs dry food is the number one culprit. Adding spring water to the wet good is great. 
When my cat had his, my vet said that something like 70% of cats that continue to eat dry food (at all) after a UTI have a recurrence as opposed to only 30% who switch to an all wet diet.
Moisture, moisture and more moisture is key.
I don't think you need to worry about magnesium with any of the foods you've mentioned and yes, it's best to stay away from fish as much as possible (better all around anyway) and just stick with a good quality, high protein wet food.


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Thanks, nanook! You have me convinced! :wink: 

But now, I have another question: I'm not sure about feeding portions. You see, Skeeter is 17.5 lbs, and is considered a bit heavy. Binx is only 14 lbs and is a perfect weight for his size. You see above, the portions I've been feeding them. If I switch to an all wet diet, how should I modify their portions (still feeding them once in the morning and once at night) to make sure they get enough without over-feeding?

When the vet gave me the Royal Canin SO, she said Skeeter should get at most two 5.5 cans a day. This seems excessive to me, and I know he would gain even more weight! If it were up to me, he would get (at most) 1/2 a can in the morning and 1/2 a can at night, BUT this still seems like quite a bit to me.

I don't know, though. I need words of wisdom from those experienced in feeding only wet...


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## Jack&Harley (Nov 2, 2008)

I would think for both depending on the brand 6-8 ounces--they say .5-1 ounce per pound of body weight--but some better quality wets are higher calorie. Then monitor weight gain from there.

My boys who weigh about 9.5-10 lbs eat 3 ounces of wet and 1/8 cup dry a day and honestly today I realized are putting on weight--so time to re-evaluate that.

Leslie


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

11oz per day???!! Yowza, that's a lot of food!
Mine get about 4-5 oz each per day (Nanook is not a big eater). Average is 5-6oz. Since you have big babies, I would start at 6 oz per day and see how they do on that. 
Mine get breakfast and dinner and a snack right before bed.
If your guys have been used to grazing, just to make life easier, you may want to start by splitting their food into 4 meals a day and go down to 2 or three after a few weeks.


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## manitu22 (Apr 25, 2003)

My cat Willis had problems with crystals a few times shortly after I first got him. The vet had prescribed the Royal Canin for me too. I was eventually able to get him off of the Royal Canin and FLUTD/crystal free for 5 years now by:

feeding all wet food (except for a handful of dry as an occasional snack)
feeding high quality wet food with no seafood
added extra water to the wet food

I feed mine Eagle Pack Holistic Selects - turkey, duck and lamb flavors.


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Wow! This is great information and advice! 

Thanks, Jack&Harley and Nanook for helping me figure out food portions. I'll start moving them to all wet today! And thanks, Manitu22, for sharing your success with preventing a recurrence or your Willis's crystals. I'll try to follow your regiment. My only problem is that Binx is a very picky eater. Oftentimes, he'll decide, "I don't like that food anymore." So, I'll have to find a new flavor that he does like. It's no surprise that he REALLY likes the Royal Canin b/c when he was a kitten (and I was a poor college student), the boys at Fancy Feast and Binx wouldn't eat any of the better foods I tried to give him as I was able to afford better quality for them. Whatever Binx eats, Skeeter eats, and vice versa. So the wet food we by has to appeal to both.

On a side note: I've been watching for signs of complications (vomiting, straining to urinate, blood, loss of appetite, etc.), and last night Skeeter was just not as interested in food. He eventually ate the Royal Canin and I was able to give him his antibiotic. Then, this morning, he was in the litter box for what seemed longer than usual, so I checked on him and inspected his "business" afterward, and everything looked fine. A few minutes later, I heard him licking his chops the way they do when they need to vomit. "Oh no.... Please let it be a fur ball, PLEASE let it be a fur ball," I repeated in my head. I heard Skeeter heave once, heave twice, and heave three times. When the coast sounded clear, I walked over to the site with my fingers crossed the whole way. I flicked on the light, and there (amongst remnants of Royal Canin) was a partial, hairless, plastic mold of one of their play mice! Skeeter looked quite pleased with himself, and was ready to play. :roll: 

These boys... If I ever have real children, I'll be a nervous wreck. I can't handle all of this worry! :lol:


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

> plastic mold of one of their play mice!


 Yikes! I'd get rid of those.
Also, the antibiotics can make them feel a little queasy. Giving some probiotics will help balance them out again. I usually give it before (if I know) during and for two weeks after any antibiotics. I use 1/4 tsp liquid (not in a dairy base) acidophilus in their food but you can also use powder.


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## lolakitty23 (Aug 17, 2004)

Thanks for the tip, Nanook, about the acidophilus. I'm going to have to try this.

Skeeter will not eat the Royal Canin SO! He ate it fine the first day, but now he just turns his nose up at it. The vet said to feed him his old food to get something in his tummy, and to slowly mix in the Royal Canin to the old food. I'm going to try that.

We got those Greenie Pill Pockets for him because he wasn't taking his pills, either.

This morning, he ate a little food, so I gave him his meds in a Pill Pocket and a few extra Greenies (crunchy) for being a good boy. An hour and a half later, he vomited upstairs. Poor boy.

I'll try mixing the acidophilus in with his food this evening. I can tell he feels miserable this morning.  He's not bounding up and down the stairs like he usually does. He's taking them one at a time.

I hate that he's sick. I feel so guilty, like I messed up with something. I just want to make him all better. atback


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## glassbird (Jun 19, 2009)

You have been given some excellent advice so far, and if I may add one more tip...

Seriously consider buying of of those recirculating water fountains. We have 7 cats. One has FLUTD, and another was born with only one kidney, so proper hydration is a must for both of them. I initially bought a fountain just to keep the water cleaner, but quickly discovered that I was refilling the fountain MUCH more often than I had been refilling the bowl that sat there previously. I estimate that water uptake in our cats has nearly doubled. In fact, we have three very timid cats that rarely ever left my roommates bedroom upstairs, but all three now make regular journeys downstairs to this fountain...ignoring the bowl of water that is kept full and clean for them upstairs.

Get the type that pours the water out into the air and then splashes into the bowl, not the kind where the water slides down a ramp into the bowl. Yes, it is noisier, but you want the water to get as much oxygen into it as possible. We keep a large cup handy to bring water from a nearby bathroom to refill the fountain whenever the level gets low. Once a month or so, I unplug it, and take it all apart for cleaning. I use a nylon sock stretched over the filter frame (that came with the fountain) and fill the sock and frame with aquarium floss instead of using the filter pouches that the manufacturer recomends. This is a cost saving measure for me and it works fine. (Just don't use too much floss!)

But whatever you use for filter material, keep track of when you cleaned it last. It is all too easy to let it go and then discover nastiness inside. The cats keep on drinking the water, but...ew!

Best Wishes..
CT


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