food for cat peeing outside the litter box
I have two one year old cats and the one I'm having problems with is a male. He's neutered and territorial but had always behaved himself up until a few weeks ago when he peed in my roommates dirty laundry. Then in my dirty laundry. Then in the closet, then on the pillows, etc. etc. etc. I took him to the vet today to get him tested for bladder problems. He has a high crystal count, but no infection. The high crystal count might just be how he is, the vet said, or it might be the reason he's been peeing out of the litter box. So, to find out if the issue is behavioral or not, he recommended a "special diet" to see if it changes the problem.
Then he plops down a thing of wet food and leaves me with the receptionist before I can object. Awesome. It's wet food, specifically Purina Veterinary Diets for urinary problems. I bring it home and read the ingredients. The FIRST is "meat by products" and going down the list really doesn't get much better. I have been feeding both cats Wellness brand cat food. I feed them a can of wet food a day (sardine, crab and shrimp variety) and half a day's worth of dry Indoor Health food (only because I can't afford that much wet food to feed them only that). I did a lot of research on cat food before deciding that this brand was the best for them, and I'm completely flabbergasted by the vet's recommendation to feed them sub-quality ingredients just because the label says it helps with urinary issues (and it's a major corporation that profits off of sub-quality food)....
So, I want to listen to the vet, but everything I've researched about this food in particular and cat food in general tells me not to, but I don't want him to be in pain and I can't have him peeing all over my stuff... SO: have any of you cat people out there experienced this problem? Any recommendations?
Then he plops down a thing of wet food and leaves me with the receptionist before I can object. Awesome. It's wet food, specifically Purina Veterinary Diets for urinary problems. I bring it home and read the ingredients. The FIRST is "meat by products" and going down the list really doesn't get much better. I have been feeding both cats Wellness brand cat food. I feed them a can of wet food a day (sardine, crab and shrimp variety) and half a day's worth of dry Indoor Health food (only because I can't afford that much wet food to feed them only that). I did a lot of research on cat food before deciding that this brand was the best for them, and I'm completely flabbergasted by the vet's recommendation to feed them sub-quality ingredients just because the label says it helps with urinary issues (and it's a major corporation that profits off of sub-quality food)....
So, I want to listen to the vet, but everything I've researched about this food in particular and cat food in general tells me not to, but I don't want him to be in pain and I can't have him peeing all over my stuff... SO: have any of you cat people out there experienced this problem? Any recommendations?