(Vanity) Cat lovers! Need aome advise re: male cat's urinary infection

Dec 01,2009 | Yankeedame

[Clinging Bitterly]

Yup. Most ocean fish I imagine would contain a lot of magnesium, as seawater contains a lot. But in what form, I'm not sure. The form that leads to struvite crystal formation is magnesium oxide.

There are things in this article that I didn't know until I read it today:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1402&aid=2729

The above article suggests these things to lower the risk of struvite crystal formation:
Make sure they drink plenty of water (affecting urine volume and concentration of minerals).
Free feed, rather than feeding only at mealtimes (large meals turn urine more alkaline).

Note here this article suggests diet isn't the most important factor, except with regard to water consumption and method of feeding.

The article also hints that neutering of male cats, especially before full sexual maturity, could be an issue. Of course I wouldn't expect a mainstream vet to abandon the party line that all pets should be neutered (just as human doctors tend to discourage gun ownership), but the plain truth is that most occurrence of struvite crystal blockage is in neutered male cats.

[Scarlet7]

Thanks for the info!

After my kitty’s operation, I now no longer feed him any fish and I add water to his wet food for hydration. I only wish I knew all this sooner as I could have saved myself a pile of money and my cat a ton of grief! ;)