Kris, Pet food question

[a__]

Hey Kris,

My 2 year old boy cat, Riley has had 2 visits to the vet within 5 months for a urinary tract infection.

So the deal is it is food related.

So, I am suppose to feed him Medi CAL for UI full time.

It is only available through the vet.  Is this stuff really THAT good. I don;t mind paying the extortion if it really is a good product.

Comments

[krisnreine]

Well. The Royal Canin UI formula is made of primarily corn, which is difficult (read: impossible) for cats to digest. What I've found out in the last month through research for work is that cats have literally NO thirst drive. Descending from desert-dwellers, cats get their moisture primarily from their food. Cats won't voluntarily drink water until they are technically dehydrated usually to a point where a vet would intervene. Therefore unless cats are fed a canned/raw diet or at least supplemented with same, they will nearly ALWAYS have kidney/urinary tract issues because of the lack of water/moisture.

Adding water to dry food does NOT suffice.

If it were my cat I would not use the Royal Canin because it is a CRAZY expensive bag of cereal. I would switch to a grain free all-canned diet (or, better yet, raw). No, canned food does NOT promote tooth decay. Good quality canned food does NOT make waste stinkier or looser. Cats (and dogs) fed a high quality MEAT diet have waste that is virtually odorless and quite hard and compact, due to the fact that their bodies actually USE the nutrients in the food, rather than just push them out the other end.

With more moisture and no grains (often used as alternate protein sources that tax the organs to try to digest) the food should right the majority of the problem and it will be cheaper and healthier in the long run.

That said, I am most certainly NOT a vet and would never tell anyone to ignore their vet. However as I'm sure you've discovered with human doctors, they are more geared towards treating problems rather than avoiding them. Diet is incredibly important to a degree most vets aren't even aware. Homeopathic or holistic vets are usually much more in tune with using proper diet to avoid issues.

My own vet & I agree to disagree about diet. Bonaparte is eating an entirely raw diet that consists of 1.5lbs of ground chicken or turkey (including organ meat & bone), 1/2 cup of raw fruit/veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, carrots & green beans) a heaping tablespoon of low fat cottage cheese, a heaping tablespoon of lowfat plain yogurt, 2 tsp of a mixture of oils, and 3 tsp of a whole-food supplement. This is split over 2 meals. His coat is amazing and growing so strong. His body sores are almost completely healed over. He's showing less sensitivity to flea bites. The others are on a high quality kibble diet, although I really wish I could afford to feed them all raw.

I don't know what's available up in Canadia but things to look for to try would be: Nature's Variety Instinct (canned & raw), Weruva (canned), Primal (raw), Addiction (canned), Bravo (raw), Merrick (canned).

Switching a cat to a canned diet can be tricky as many are dry food addicted (no joke). But if you are consistent and firm it should be no problem.

All of this is, of course, moot if you are already feeding canned food. At which point I could only suggest raw but with a vet's guidance. :D