Posted on 12/01/2008 6:40:48 PM PST by yankeedame
No one is saying that feeding your cat food from the grocery store is going to kill him at an early age...we all know people that smoke cigars and drink whiskey all day that live to 110; while healthy ones that exercise and watch what they eat drop dead at 40. Go figure. Incidentally; what has been said of cats and grains does NOT apply to dogs...different systems.
Thank you for your kind words. I was not ready for him to leave me.
I use only filtered water too. For pets, for cooking and drinking water. I can’t drink tap water anymore due to the taste.
My cat had his episode when he was probably 4 or 5 years old and he had to be hospitalized a couple times, but did not need any surgical treatment. Vet sold a prescription diet that I fed him a while (I don't remember the brand), but eventually 9 Lives introduced a “urinary health” dry food which I began feeding him and he did not have any further problems. NO cat treats, NO seafood, just the 9 Lives urinary health food, plus the little shrews and voles, any mouse that dared shelter in the house, and the occasional red squirrel that he loved to catch and eat.
He lived to age 18 before I had to have him euthanized when age related problems made it too difficult for him to eat and swallow. Negotiating that time with him was tough.
He was a good cat, I had him longer than I have been married, and subsequent cats have not been near as good at keeping vermin out.
Good point about the waterer. I moved to SW MO about a year ago, and I noticed that my cats did not like the hard water (lots of lime) that is common here. I started buying them Wal-Mart brand spring water (68 cents a gallon), and they started running to water dish whenever I’d fill it.
Ask your vet about Special Diet cat food. As I understood with our cat, at least part of the problem was an accretion of magnesium in his bladder, and the brand above is part of the approach to handle that. Feeding him table scraps exacerbated the problem, so that had to stop.
He got used to the Special Diet, and he lived to the fairly ripe old age of 17.
You are correct. Once we switched our cats over to an organic non-grain-stuffed wet food (you can alternatively MAKE your own catfood from raw meat if you have the time but I don’t) we have not seen any health problems, and their coats are glossy.
All kibbles, ALL of them, have starchy things in them that cats don’t need, as well as a type of msg-style neurotoxic flavoring (sometimes called “natural” flavor, which it is not). This flavoring stuff is addictive. When you try to wean your cat off of the kibbles, they often refuse all food for a while. Eventually they start eating the healthy stuff. Once they’ve gotten used to their new diet, you may notice something surprising: they suddenly are interested in YOUR food. You grill a steak or roast a chicken, and you nearly have to lock them up while you eat. On the kibble diet, they often are not even interested in natural meat, they are so addicted to their “crack” food.
Good luck and get well to the sick little subject of this thread.
I have found that for my pets, cats and dogs that most commercial pet food is junk which can cause these problems.
I would do what it takes to get him past this crisis and research different diets.
Avoid ingredients that have anything with meal after it
I don't worry about the corn and grains so long as adequate quality protein is also there, and some fat. They eat teeth and hair then throw it up, I have seen plenty. But I looked for labels that specifically addressed urinary health and advertised low magnesium content. I settled on the 9 Lives brand because he liked it.
If he is looking or acting sick you can feel your cat's bladder through his lower belly. If it is soft & squishy he's OK, if it's hard and won't move around under your fingers he's plugged. They don't seem to mind it and working it a bit may help keep them "going".
Cats do prefer water that seems like it is running. We use a gurgler now and the cats love it. My old cat I mentioned above also got more water along with the food change. He always ran for the tub after anybody finished a shower to catch the drips coming down the shower standpipe through the tub faucet (which makes it's own distinct gurgling sound), so I just left the cold water running a trickle and he got plenty to drink.
Oh and I don't have male cats neutered anymore.
An oldtimer told me to add a teaspoon of vinegar to my male cat’s drinking water to solve his urinary problem. The vet laughed at me but it worked. That old cat drank that water like it tasted good and he stopped having a problem urinating.
Around 3:30, I suppose the blockage broke free on its own, because he started peeing all over everything uncontrollably ... he was pretty scared i think because he knew he wasn't supposed to be peeing on the bed, but I was just glad he was able to. I called the vet, and they said to just watch closely for a few days and make sure he stayed unblocked. He did, and was fine after that.
Maybe 6 months later, the same thing happened to the second cat. He was obviously in pain, so I took him right away to the vet. They catheterized him, and he spent the next few days in the vets.
The vet prescribed Hills Prescription Diet C/D. I feed it to both the cats, and have ever since. No more problems of this sort at all now for more than 6 years. The C/D is all they eat, except occasionally when I am cooking bacon and they threaten to scratch me to death unless I share.
“when I am cooking bacon and they threaten to scratch me to death unless I share”. This made me LOL. I’ve got the scars on my legs to prove it.
My cat liked Coke. How strange is that? One day I left my glass of Coke on ice on the coffee table to go to the kitchen. When I came back I found my cat with his face stuck in my glass slurping up Coke. After that I always had to leave just a taste in the glass for him. What really cracked me up one day was when I had to buy Pepsi due to Coke not being on sale. That cat took one taste of Pepsi and the look on his face was priceless. Needless to say, after that he was very suspect of what was in my glass. He did not like Pepsi. Crazy cat!! He was something else. The stories I could tell!
We didn't have money, but the cat was a devoted pet and so I put his vet bill on the credit card. He eventually made a full recovery and I never buy super cheap cat food. I hope your cat will by alright.
Never heard that one before...I'll have to look into it...thanks!
You must feed cats ‘wet’ food to prevent this kind of thing happening. Cats by nature do not drink enough water....and male cats especially get blocked. The wet food contains water to help pass the food more efficiently. I also have several water dishes throughout my house to try to encourage drinking.
Good point. At the time of our conversations (early-mid 90s), I was referring to such products as IAMS and a few others whose names I do not remember off the top of my head.
“No one is saying that feeding your cat food from the grocery store is going to kill him at an early age...we all know people that smoke cigars and drink whiskey all day that live to 110; while healthy ones that exercise and watch what they eat drop dead at 40. Go figure.”
I understand. My point was more about the actual quality of premium cat foods versus their Purina counterparts. As I mentioned in my last post, my discussions with my vet about this issue was in the 90s. Hopefully, cat food quality has improved even more in the last 8-10 years (including Purina One).
Urinary blockage in male cats is usually caused by the ash content in dried foods. Perhaps, once your cat is declared healthy, you might consider switching to canned food or soft food in packets. Whichever you choose, check the ash content on the package. If it is the first or second ingredient, don’t buy it.
I hope your kitty improves!
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