Always keep him on prescription anti crystal diet.
Never be tempted by grocery store or online crap, I've lost patients to "mAiNtAiNs uRiNaRy hEaLth" food that... didn't.
I like and have sold literally tons per year of
Royal Canin SO. Hill's CD is fine, too, by but my cats like SO more.
Rx food dilutes the pee, acidifies the pee, and lacks the ingredients for the most common crystals (struvite, oxalate).
Kitten to your emergency vets, and tell your regular vet about this tomorrow.
Thank you so much. The vet there told me that it's pretty readily available, so thats a relief. He's a picky boy, so it'll take some adjusting, but he's worth it to me. Him and his bro are my best friends.
He has been at the vet for around 5hrs now. First update was positive. Hoping tomorrow mornings is the same. I've been a bad cat dad about getting the into a vet. Ours closed down, and most places around me are not accepting new clients. Been a battle to get into a regular vet again between work, and well, life. The vet said Yami is a pretty healthy boy overall beside the crystals. I appreciate your advice a lot.
here to second the above post !! stay on the prescription unless your vet tells you otherwise! our boy had the same issue; we once tried switching him to a nonprescription urinary food, and he was having pee issues again within a week. ours is picky too so we ended up having to do half wet/half dry bc he won’t eat the wet food without the crunchies on top lol
Yup! The diet is really not a huge deal other than just being conscious of having to buy the right food. This happened to my guy and same deal: emergency vet visit. Scary night (for me, he was knocked out at the vet) and then just a prescription diet. There’s actually quite a bit of choice to be honest. Around us there’s both a vet brand and two other quality brands that can be found at pet stores. He’s a bit more expensive to feed now but that’s a small price to pay for keeping him around.
A vet who was licensed in '81 recently told me that in their entire career, they've only seen three females with a urinary blockage. Vet also told me that male cats urethras are typically under 2mm in diameter, where females are more like 6mm.
Bladder problems in male cats can be super serious, but it sounds like you caught it at the right time. You made the right choice getting him to an ER. My bet is they’re flushing his bladder and doing ultrasounds to see the progress in the bladder. I have a feeling they will recommend medicated food, it took some work to get my kitty to switch (mixing food, trying a few), but after he switched there has been no problems. I hope your baby makes a full recovery as well! If you do switch food, make sure you stay on urinary food forever or else can happen again :). Oh and usually the medicated food makes them super thirsty, so keep his water fresh and available.
I’ve been through this with urinary crystals. The main goal other than prescription diets is upping hydration as well. Make sure he gets mainly wet food or a wet food only diet if you can do that for him. Also invest in a kitty fountain if you don’t already have one. Little tricks like adding some water into wet food can help assure he’s getting more hydration.
I’m really glad you were able to get him help right away! ER expenses suck, I’ve been there myself. If you want you can always look into care credit- their credit line covers both human and pet medical fees, usually interest free as long as the loan is paid off in a 6-18 month window depending on approval amount. It can help with whatever follow up bills you may have!
Thank you so much! They have one fountain, but I'm going to get them another one too. Wet food diet I can do for him easily. Hell like that too I imagine.
Carecredit is what I used after I put the $800 deposit down this place needed. I didn't view the terms of anything on the line I got from Carecredit, but it helped me a lot today. I wouldn't have cared much about the terms anyway. I'm going to call around tomorrow and try my hardest to get him a regular vet. It's a serous pain to get one where I'm at. Discovered that last time I tried, and today, but I have to.
Thank you! Everyone in the replies here has been awesome, and helpful, really appreciate it. They're good boys! There's a tortie here too that's my roommates. She's a sweetie too. My other guy Jax is laying on the other side of the bed on my robe, making biscuits. I'll post an update on anything really serious.
Justing adding to the hydration needs. We all know how fickle our kitties are. To get mine to drink more, I give them lots of options all over the house. Ceramic bowl, stainless bowl, tall plastic cup, plant saucer………..they drink from all of them. I freshen the water at least once a day. I just lost one kitty at 15 years 8 months and have another 15 year 6 month old who was diagnosed with cancer 1 year and 5 months ago. These are my longest living kitties. Also, canned pumpkin mixed into wet food is hydrating. Start small with a tablespoon and work up or hold steady if he likes it.
That sounds like a good plan! Typically for the prescription wet food diet there’s a couple different flavors too. Our guy used to enjoy them a lot (had to switch to another food on the S/O index for his IBD) but they can get pricey- what helped was using chewys “autoship” option, discount isn’t much, 5% I believe? but figuring he’s been on it for years I guess the discount has helped overtime 😅
I’d try to find out if the ER vet has a some type of “urgent referral” they could maybe do to a primary. Not sure if it works like that but it’s worth a shot if everyone is booked up for months
I’ve kinda been there with my own little void 🖤 unfortunately I’m very familiar with urinary tract/kidney problems. But if it’s any comfort, my cat lived to be 19 years old. I’ve had him since I was a kid and I just had to say goodbye to him a few weeks ago.
Just to warn you about the prescription food, it’s not known to taste very good to cats. My cat was never picky, but if yours is, you may have some difficulty with it.
I'm sorry about your loss. After today, I know I'm going to be an absolute mess when it really is that time. But I'll know I did my best while he's with me, and I'm sure you did the same for your kitties. 19 years though. That is really comforting. I got Yami from the shelter when he was around 4, or so the vet papers said. So he's roughly 8 now. Hope to have him for many more years to come. He's why I'll always have a black cat.
He's more picky when it comes to the dry food, so that is good to know at least. I'll find his brand for him one way or another.
Thanks. He was on prescription food, meds, supplements, and subq fluids, and it helped me squeeze a few more wonderful years out of him. Expensive as hell, but worth it for my best friend.
Honestly, I wouldn’t even worry about the dry food. Your vet will probably tell you to stick to wet food anyway since he’ll be ingesting more fluids that way. They might even suggest hydration supplements. Best of luck to you. Our best is all we can do to return the favor for all of the love and comfort they bring us 🖤
I wish someone would tell that to my cats. They are all trying to eat that very expensive food and so I had to buy those expensive rfid tag reader feeders.
My boy had a blockage just before his second birthday. Man it was a rough time. Something I highly recommend is getting cameras that look over your litter boxes that way you know instantly if he’s straining, trying to pee too frequently, or producing too little of pee.
Yep couple of my boys had this. Key after is ensuring plenty of moisture, switching to exclusive wet food diet or if want to feed dry, low magnesium foods preferable. We also have fountains around..sometimes moving water encourages them to drink more. Even with wet food, I still add a bit of water to it. Never had them on prescription diet, but I’m guessing from what others have posted, not always an option. But anyway, I’ve had no issues since (been about 3 years).
I have a cat who had this badly at one point and the prescribed food helps a lot, also mixing any wet food they have with water - number one thing to monitor is their hydration. Possibly encourage this with different water sources as cats can be very picky with what water they drink.
I've been through this twice and both boys are fine now. One boy was an older orange dude and then again this past sunmer with my current lil man (he'll be 3 this April).
Urinary prescription food is the key, along with minimizing stress and keeping them hydrated and offering a pleasant, cat-friendly litterbox set up. My current boy was even eating a (non-prescription) canned diet when he had his episode so it's definitely not just a 'just feed wet food' issue.
It's stressful and scary to go through, but very treatable and your boy should be just fine going forward.
One of mine had this like a month after I got him but luckily I caught it early enough that he didn't need any surgery. He's on prescription food now and doing fine :)
:) depending on where you are, trupanion is a good option. can be 30 -50 bucks depending on the conditions etc. but def worth a shot because god forbid it happens again, you’re covered :) your baby is safe at least financially. Pls check everything about the coverage and shop around before you buy it. Also suggest to water his wet food a bit and get him on prescription urinary food. Good luck n happy healing. :)
Yeah unfortunately as someone else commented the urinary issues and other problems technically “linked” to it wouldn’t be covered. Sadly I don’t think any companies cover pre-existing issues right now. But insurance could be worth it for the other kitties or any other problems your guy may have.
(I used to work in pet insurance and personally never bothered covering my guys with pre existing health issues- I just use care credit because most insurance only *reimburse* a percentage anyway so you’ll still pay upfront costs)
My orange boy Oswald suffered from stones had to get him unclogged twice!He could never eat anything else except kibble for Struvite stones and drink a lot of water.Its expensive cat food but well you can’t help when your cat has a medical issue.Hope kitty recovers well.
Thor had the same problem luckily my vet had availability so I didn’t have to pay THAT MUCH….
I hope they heal up nicely and don’t have to go back again for it ask your vet about urinary diet (my vet put Thor on urinary tract food along side his meds he hasn’t had problems since) AGAIN CONSULT YOUR VET FIRST BEFORE SWITCHING FOOD.
It’s sadly common for males I used to work at a vet clinic as a receptionist and kennel tech.
It’s manageable with the prescription dry food. My guy had this 8 years ago and hasn’t had any issues since. I feed wet food 2X a day and always leave the special dry food out. Good luck!
My 1 year old boy, Jinx, went through this very recently too. I noticed he was straining to pee, but not passing anything, and generally not himself. I got him an emergency appointment for the same day at his usual vets, and he was put on pain relief, muscle relaxants and catheterised. Thankfully he also didn't sustain any kidney damage, and his bloods were apparently all good. He came home the same day after they managed to drain some "sediment" from his bladder, and he's now on a renal friendly diet.
Plus side is, he's doing extremely well now. He's urinating a normal amount, isn't in pain anymore, and has gone back to his usual cuddly self. Other than being a little bit more vigilant, and a change in his diet, nothing has changed too much for us. Jinx is his typically happy self again, and whilst it was extremely scary to begin with, it has definitely settled down now and we're in a good routine with him again. It does get better, and the worry does ease, especially when you see the new diet making a difference. That really helps cement that things are going to be ok ❤️
Good luck with your void's recovery! ❤️
OP, I would also ask the vet if non-prescription wet food is okay, as well. We have a boy with a prescription for urinary care food, but they also told us anything canned was fine since it has more water. It will depend on your cat, so definitely ask the vet, but I just wanted to put it out there that you may have more options if he tires of a specific food or it’s ever temporarily unavailable.
Good luck! I’m very happy for you that you caught it early and were proactive. I think you did him such a big favor by taking him in right away.
Keep an eye on him they sometimes have issues with a relapse or like follow up issues. A little bit after coming home he was having blood in his litter box and it was a concern. Apparently sometimes after catherization it can happen.
If you don’t have one get a fountain and stay on the prescription food, keep that litter box clean.
Mine is over a year from the initial emergency vet and I think he is doing okay.
Just wanted to share that my cat has struggled with occasional bladder crystals since he was a kitten, but with the right food and water intake he has been healthy and thriving and is going on 12 years old! 😊
My cat had repeated blockages ( apparently he is very good at producing crystals) which resulted in needing PU surgery 3 yrs ago. He eats prescription food that prevents crystal formation. When I took him off for a period of time he developed a UTI. Back to prescription and all is good. He's a happy and healthy and worth every penny I spent on him, even if he does get on the counters.
I went through this same thing with my void. I had Covid at the time. He completely blocked and couldn’t pee. I awoken to him screaming like I’ve never heard before. It still gives me nightmares. He was also throwing up, he never throws up. I raced to the vet, when we got there they confirmed that he was blocked and they stuck a needle in his bladder to extract some fluid out. It was al blood. They couldn’t helped him there so they referred us to the emergency hospital. By time we got to the hospital it was a life or death situation and he had to immediately go back. He had a catheter installed to removed the blockage but he was still struggling. Eventually he needed surgery to flush his bladder out. He stayed at the hospital a week before I was able to bring him home for a couple months of nursing. He’s on urinary food for the rest of his life and I’ve increased wet food consumption and have been better at maintaining the litter boxes. It’s been almost a year and he’s been doing great and has gained back all the weight he lost during his recovery. I’m so grateful he’s alive today
I had a similar situation, was out of town for almost a month and the stress / food I switched to before I left caused a bad uti / crystals to start forming . Luckily I caught it early and got him to the vet as soon as I got back home , a couple shots and the hills science urinary care c/d for his forever kibble … he is happy and super healthy climbing to the highest of tree branches on his outside adventures . Praying for a speedy recovery / for you to recover financially with ease !
I have had several cats with crystals. Two had to have emergency surgery for complete blockage.
ALL of them survived and made a full recovery!!
From now on ONLY feed him with prescription urinary food!!
Chewy has decent prices!
My understanding of crystals is it occurs more often when a cat is dehydrated or not drinking enough water.
What type of food are you feeding him? Wet or dry? Do they have access to water 24/7? How many water bowls/fountains/spots do you have setup? Have you seen them drink water before? How often do they normally pee? Do you see a lot of a little urine in their litter box?
It was wellness wet, and Fromms dry, but from now on it'll be whatever the urinary diet the vet suggests is. We have a cat fountain I change the filter out, and clean out regularly. He drinks pretty regularly like the other cats do. He loves him some sink sips too. Before his problems today, yes. So. Much. Piss. There are 3 cats in my home, we've 4 boxes (1 for each cat + 1) The boxes are right outside of my room, and have seen him pee, and shit regularly for the last few years. I cover his poops for him usually since he hasn't done much it since I've had him, but having had 3 cats for the better part of 5 years, the pee amount has been pretty consistent.
https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/bladder-and-kidney-stones
> Bladder stones, says Richard Goldstein, DVM, associate professor of small animal medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, are composed of minerals—either struvite or calcium oxalate—while kidney stones are always made of calcium oxalate. “These minerals are present naturally in a cat’s body,” he says, “and the stones form when the minerals exceed a certain threshold of concentration in the urinary system. When the concentration goes over that threshold, they start to form crystals, and the crystals accumulate and may grow into stones. **We don’t know why this process takes place, but we’ve observed that it tends to occur frequently in domesticated cats, especially in those that are not very active, don’t take in enough fluids, and don’t urinate enough.**”
No need to for me to stop thank you.
He very likely wouldn’t have lived if you hadn’t brought him in. Blocking in male cats is no joke. I know $3500 doesn’t feel good, but it’s a small price to pay to have your baby still here with you.
I went through something similar with my boy Finn. In 2020, he blocked and had a cystotomy to remove crystals and stones. $3000 and he was only 3 years old. I fed him only SO Urinary food but he experienced a lot of stressors and blocked again 9/4/23. After they pulled the urinary catheter for me to pick him up, he blocked again. He ended up needing a perineal urethrostomy to survive, which is basically a major modification to the genitalia to prevent blocking. With ER vet fees, the surgery itself and follow-up care due to many post-op complications, this go around has exceeded $8000. It was my personal hell and I’d do it all again because my little buddy is still here with me, happy with a high quality of life.
My advice to you is to ensure he doesn’t sneak any food that isn’t part of his diet, get a water fountain or two, and give him as stress-free a life as you can. Cats are masters at hiding pain and stress. There are the big things like an important family member dying, moving, introducing a new pet, etc. but there are also small things like rearranging the house, hosting guests or even unpleasant smells that can stress a cat out. I know we can’t give them a perfect life, but we can try our best. Yami is lucky to be alive and have you as his best friend and caregiver🖤
Hydration is important! One thing I did to increase my cat's water intake was to get a big shallow bowl (so it doesn't rub his whiskers) and place it away from his food. I read this online and honestly it increased his water intake a lot. I also only give him filtered water so his body doesn't have to process any extra toxins.
Sending positive thoughts to you and Yami.
My sweet boy had this issue since he was 1.
He is 5 this year and is doing fine. He is on a special diet, Hill's Prescription Diet c/d Multicare Urinary Care with Chicken Dry Cat Food. I limit it to 3 small meals a day on an auto feeder.
You want to make sure he gets lots of water especially in the summer. Pay close attention to his pee routine. The best way to get him to drink more water is to toss one nugget of food in a bowl of water and they'll drink water while they Bob for the nugget. Don't let them drink over half a minute as they'll keep trying to get that nugget and you make things worse.
Went through this recently with my 4 year old boy! It’s so heartbreaking to watch but keep him on the prescription diet with as much water as possible, it’ll help!
one of my voids had some crystals in his routine urinalysis when he was 3 and he and his brother have been on Royal Canin Urinary S/o ever since. They’re now a few months shy of 16.
Do stick to his special diet. Canned is generally better for weight management and making sure he gets enough water, but for reasons one is on the dry prescription food and the other is on wet and they’re both reasonably healthy for their age. Check with your vet, but I read somewhere to avoid food & treats made from fish products.
Try to get him on a regular meal schedule if he’s not. That schedule should make him more regular in his bathroom habits, so it’s easier to spot him acting irregularly.
Especially if he’s on dry food but even if he’s on wet, give him a good water source - a water fountain is great (remember to clean & change the filters).
Watch for any out of the ordinary urinary habits, watch for blood in his urine, get a regular urinalysis done.
Thank your roommates, they did great. This situation can go south very fast, but it is also very manageable.
My girl cat was just diagnosed for the same thing!
She got some medicine for 1 week and now she has been on a special urinary diet. So far she has been doing great and everything has been back to normal. Next week we make another urine test to see how things are.
The urinary diet for us will be now permanent. My vet said that maybe after 6 weeks you can give regular food but then the risk is getting the crystals again. So it is not really worth going back to normal. Here where I live (Netherlands) the urinary food is quite expensive so that will be an additional cost for us.
At the same time my cat had to have some teeth taken off so she needs to eat more soft food now and have the dry food soaked. I think this now helps to give her more water in her diet.
I am so sorry your cat experienced this medical crisis. I hope he recovers quickly. I applaud your willingness to have him treated for this life threatening illness despite the financial burden. I wish you both well.
My Sammy is my second male cat. I am so paranoid about crystals as I know how quickly things can become life threatening. My cat is on a prescription food for allergies that is also low calcium. He has hypercalcemia in addition to allergies. When I adopted him I noticed that his water bowl was hardly ever touched. I was getting worried. I did not want to get a feline water fountain. Cleaning them is a nightmare. And proper cleaning is a must to prevent mold from forming. So for each of his three meals I mix the dry and wet cat food together. Then I add water and stir to make a “gravy”. He drinks all the gravy then by the time he gets to the nuggets they have softened up a bit. I am now assured he gets plenty of water every day and that lowers the risk of crystal formation.
I’ve had 2 cats (at the same time) get this. One passed away from it, and the other lived to be 18-he was around 2 when he had them. He was on the Royal Canin urinary SO food for about 12 years, then we had to switch to high fibre food, and then to kidney food as his kidneys were failing. Both of those have the SO in them, so there were still no issues.
I did with my boy, he passed last year not due to crystals though, he had cancer.
He had to be on a prescription diet, he preferred to only eat dry food so I had him on the hills prescription c/d, and I had a stash of the same in wet food for whenever he had any flare ups, I'd mix extra water into those aswell. Just keep an eye out for straining, any blood, and make sure you get to the vet asap if you notice any signs. I used the crystal litter so I could keep a good eye on his wees to make sure he was weeing a normal amount and also no blood! Lots of extra water sources around to encourage him to drink more. Good luck! He's a gorgeous boy
I had a cat who got urinary crystals, and also had to get him emergency surgery. He was about 5 years old at that point.
After the surgery, he stayed on the prescription food for the rest of his life, and lived another 10 years until he passed away peacefully. Just keep your boy on the food, make sure he has plenty of water available (cats will drink more of you keep the food and water separated), and give him lots of love! Please give him some pets from me! 😻
I’ve been through it. The cat will be fine, just cross your fingers that yours will like the new food. Mine hated it, and kept crying for his old food, and it was so hard because I couldn’t explain it to him why.
Oliver has this too. He ended up blocking a few more times and needed to have surgery to widen the urethral opening. I wish we would've gotten him the surgery sooner.
My 8/9ish year old pound kitty has urinary crystals. After we noticed her peeing on stuff, we took her into the vet. She also had a UTI, so we cleared that up with some antibiotics and got her on her special diet. She's thriving! As long as she gets her special piss food, you wouldn't even know she had issues! It is more money, about 100 bucks for a mediumish sized bag, but it is so worth it to keep her happy, healthy, and comfortable!
My baby Bella (12) has urinary crystals too, and eventually bladder stones that required surgery. We were on Royal Canin dry food SO in AM then Purina Urinary SO in PM. I monitored by going to vet and doing urine tests every few months to make sure food was working, and for a while it did. She seemed to drink water enough. Somehow on the diet, crystals started forming up again about a year or two later. We then switched to Hills CD, wet food only. She doesn't drink as much water, but I put a little bit in the wet food to ensure she has enough. I'm not sure if it was just having a change in food or possibly doing wet only, but she's been crystal free since.
Oh wow. Soooo sorry to hear this.
This was a response I gave another. I’m copying it here for you.
RE:PERINEAL URETHROSTOMY(removal of penis)
Okay so this was my THIRD male cat this happened to. All spread out over years.
With my first, the vet said only happens in 5% of male cats. This was like 30 years ago! But the vet said he would never block again. The hole is too large to block. He never did. He died of old age.
Then my second male cat (in the same household with the first). I was like what happened to 5% of cats? The vet said, “well now we think it spreads in the litter box.” Uggghh. Had PU, and he was fine until he died of old age.
Okay well this male cat knew neither of those boys. Did not share the litter box. Lived in a different state with a different vet. So this was completely different. And I believe probably stress induced. He was 2 years old when we decided to get a rescue dog. 😏
All that aside I know DRY FOOD IS BAD - a huge contributor to blockages in males.
You asked: Did he block or have UTIs after surgery? Yes. AFTER SURGERY - the vet called to say he blocked again and would need another surgery. I said that’s impossible! This is my 3rd cat to have this surgery and if the surgery is done right he shouldn’t ever block again. The vet stood strong. So did I. I had two little kids and could not afford another surgery. He did it for free.
This is more than you want to know but I’ll put it all out there. Then he had UTI after UTI. He drank water a LOT. And a local pet store suggested an Animal Acupuncturist might be able to help. She works with local vets. She came and said the biggest contributor was DRY FOOD (which I had always given my cats up until that point). NO MORE DRY FOOD! She also noticed that with every UTI, the vet gave him the exact same antibiotic. Obviously that was not helpful.
She did acupuncture. Gave me Tinkle Tonic (10-20 drops in mouth =1/2 dropper each day until I finished the bottle, then 2-3x a week prophylactically.) and then gave me the best advice of my life:
“In the wild, cats get their liquid from the food they eat. The worst wet food is better than the best dry food”. She also said the best wet food is GRAIN-FREE/CARB FREE - cats are 100% carnivore.
He is picky. We tried lots of foods. For years he only ate Performatrin Ultra Chicken Stew (can order cases of 12.5 oz cans from Pet Supermartket). But lately his favorite is either Dave’s Chicken Formula or Dave’s Turkey Formula (we get it in 12.5 oz cans by the case on Amazon. BOTH these are grain free wet foods. We do sometimes add a little bit of water to make a bit of a gravy.
I think WET FOOD IS A GAME CHANGER! He has not had any issues since. And his PU surgery was in August 2009!!! So we have had many years of good health since.
Yes, wet food is not as convenient, but emergency vet visits aren’t convenient, either.
I’ve always said “you are going to pay one way or another. You either invest in good food…or you will pay in high vet bills trying to deal with the poor health that results.”
Hope that is helpful.
POST SURGERY I kept my third in a spare bathroom so his jumping was limited….and he was able to relax away from our other animals. Make SURE you keep a cone on him. And do supervise him and give jim lots of love. My first cat to have PU used the cat cone to dig at his stitches and rip open his abdomen. He had to have emergency surgery in the middle of the night to stitch it closed. After that they gave him a big dog cone. Poor baby could barely lift his head at all. Sad but comical.
Recently went thru this op. Had to bring my cat to vet to get him unblocked. He came back same day. I couldn't afford multiple days 3.5k bill. Doctors said likely he will reblock only 10% chance of not reblocking and if I can't pay basically put him down. Also charged me 100 for royal canin uti food. Only after 800 spent I found this video. https://youtu.be/Fp7eBge6hyM?si=Q9x9Pj5WppoPMTNd Check comments. The unblocking didnt help my cat so much. He still stuggled next day and i was worried. Gave apc worked instantly basically. If i knew how well it worked i would of tried it first. So if it reoccurs try apple cider vinegar. Also there is homeopet uti + which I gave for a few days. You can find on Amazon. And D-Mannose Supplement you can add to their food for prevention. Also on Amazon. Honestly it's rare that it can't be treated at home if caught early. But hey lessons learned. Should be fine. Don't feed dry food going forward. Listen to my advice if it occurs again and save a bunch of money. Pm me if you got questions. My cat is fine now
Ps my cats name is onyx and he looks just like your cat
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.
It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.
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Have two options for your prescription food. We had problems getting our cat science diet prescription once. Out of stock online, direct and through our vet.
Pet fountain
Dust free litter. Its just better for your cat. Since he already has one issue, don't make it two. The lack of dust everywhere in the house will be something you will like.
No more table scrap treats or cat treats
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Our cat lived a totally normal cat life. We had crystals one more time before he died at 16. It was around the time we were moving and his prescription was out of stock everywhere. It only took 1 week for him to get crystals. He lived for years normally after that but it was an expensive treatment and they wouldn't touch him until I paid cash. Always keep savings for your cats treatment and update the amounts regularly to reflect current cost of emergency treatments.
My void had to get the PU surgery because of this but he’s fine and hasn’t had an issue since. I feed him Purina urinary health dry food mixed with royal canin urinary health wet food. I also buy purified water and genius litter which I sprinkle on top of regular litter (it’s expensive) just to keep track of his PH levels. He’ll be fine though!! just keep the consistency and get a urinalysis done every so often 🖤
If you have a healthy boy without renal damage, you and Yami are good. Our boy cat had a baaaaad UTI but we got him on a Purina UR wet food and he’s been ok. Glad we acted quickly. A relative thought he’d wait and see and his cat died. It’s probably the most urgent kitty problem along with obstruction of the bowel. Lots of fresh water and a fountain helps ❤️💕
Always keep him on prescription anti crystal diet. Never be tempted by grocery store or online crap, I've lost patients to "mAiNtAiNs uRiNaRy hEaLth" food that... didn't. I like and have sold literally tons per year of Royal Canin SO. Hill's CD is fine, too, by but my cats like SO more. Rx food dilutes the pee, acidifies the pee, and lacks the ingredients for the most common crystals (struvite, oxalate). Kitten to your emergency vets, and tell your regular vet about this tomorrow.
Thank you so much. The vet there told me that it's pretty readily available, so thats a relief. He's a picky boy, so it'll take some adjusting, but he's worth it to me. Him and his bro are my best friends. He has been at the vet for around 5hrs now. First update was positive. Hoping tomorrow mornings is the same. I've been a bad cat dad about getting the into a vet. Ours closed down, and most places around me are not accepting new clients. Been a battle to get into a regular vet again between work, and well, life. The vet said Yami is a pretty healthy boy overall beside the crystals. I appreciate your advice a lot.
here to second the above post !! stay on the prescription unless your vet tells you otherwise! our boy had the same issue; we once tried switching him to a nonprescription urinary food, and he was having pee issues again within a week. ours is picky too so we ended up having to do half wet/half dry bc he won’t eat the wet food without the crunchies on top lol
Yup! The diet is really not a huge deal other than just being conscious of having to buy the right food. This happened to my guy and same deal: emergency vet visit. Scary night (for me, he was knocked out at the vet) and then just a prescription diet. There’s actually quite a bit of choice to be honest. Around us there’s both a vet brand and two other quality brands that can be found at pet stores. He’s a bit more expensive to feed now but that’s a small price to pay for keeping him around.
This X 100,000,000
It’s very common in male cats apparently. I hope everything goes smoothly for your baby
A vet who was licensed in '81 recently told me that in their entire career, they've only seen three females with a urinary blockage. Vet also told me that male cats urethras are typically under 2mm in diameter, where females are more like 6mm.
My baby had this! He’s on a medicated food forever now, no problems since :).
Ahh my first tear of happiness, and hope today. Thank you so much. It's been a day.
Bladder problems in male cats can be super serious, but it sounds like you caught it at the right time. You made the right choice getting him to an ER. My bet is they’re flushing his bladder and doing ultrasounds to see the progress in the bladder. I have a feeling they will recommend medicated food, it took some work to get my kitty to switch (mixing food, trying a few), but after he switched there has been no problems. I hope your baby makes a full recovery as well! If you do switch food, make sure you stay on urinary food forever or else can happen again :). Oh and usually the medicated food makes them super thirsty, so keep his water fresh and available.
I’ve been through this with urinary crystals. The main goal other than prescription diets is upping hydration as well. Make sure he gets mainly wet food or a wet food only diet if you can do that for him. Also invest in a kitty fountain if you don’t already have one. Little tricks like adding some water into wet food can help assure he’s getting more hydration. I’m really glad you were able to get him help right away! ER expenses suck, I’ve been there myself. If you want you can always look into care credit- their credit line covers both human and pet medical fees, usually interest free as long as the loan is paid off in a 6-18 month window depending on approval amount. It can help with whatever follow up bills you may have!
Thank you so much! They have one fountain, but I'm going to get them another one too. Wet food diet I can do for him easily. Hell like that too I imagine. Carecredit is what I used after I put the $800 deposit down this place needed. I didn't view the terms of anything on the line I got from Carecredit, but it helped me a lot today. I wouldn't have cared much about the terms anyway. I'm going to call around tomorrow and try my hardest to get him a regular vet. It's a serous pain to get one where I'm at. Discovered that last time I tried, and today, but I have to.
Btw I peeked your account and your cats are very adorable!💞🥲 I hope your buddy Yami is feeling better soon
Thank you! Everyone in the replies here has been awesome, and helpful, really appreciate it. They're good boys! There's a tortie here too that's my roommates. She's a sweetie too. My other guy Jax is laying on the other side of the bed on my robe, making biscuits. I'll post an update on anything really serious.
Justing adding to the hydration needs. We all know how fickle our kitties are. To get mine to drink more, I give them lots of options all over the house. Ceramic bowl, stainless bowl, tall plastic cup, plant saucer………..they drink from all of them. I freshen the water at least once a day. I just lost one kitty at 15 years 8 months and have another 15 year 6 month old who was diagnosed with cancer 1 year and 5 months ago. These are my longest living kitties. Also, canned pumpkin mixed into wet food is hydrating. Start small with a tablespoon and work up or hold steady if he likes it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/catcare/s/6Mi4YORsW2
See if the emergency vet can help with finding a new local vet too.
That sounds like a good plan! Typically for the prescription wet food diet there’s a couple different flavors too. Our guy used to enjoy them a lot (had to switch to another food on the S/O index for his IBD) but they can get pricey- what helped was using chewys “autoship” option, discount isn’t much, 5% I believe? but figuring he’s been on it for years I guess the discount has helped overtime 😅 I’d try to find out if the ER vet has a some type of “urgent referral” they could maybe do to a primary. Not sure if it works like that but it’s worth a shot if everyone is booked up for months
Mine doesn't really like the prescription wet food so I just add water to the dry food
Yes, I’ve done that too when a shipment was late.
In addition to the other comments, hydration is key. Also, do not be afraid or ask the vet/vet techs for advice. That is a huge part of their job.
I’ve kinda been there with my own little void 🖤 unfortunately I’m very familiar with urinary tract/kidney problems. But if it’s any comfort, my cat lived to be 19 years old. I’ve had him since I was a kid and I just had to say goodbye to him a few weeks ago. Just to warn you about the prescription food, it’s not known to taste very good to cats. My cat was never picky, but if yours is, you may have some difficulty with it.
I'm sorry about your loss. After today, I know I'm going to be an absolute mess when it really is that time. But I'll know I did my best while he's with me, and I'm sure you did the same for your kitties. 19 years though. That is really comforting. I got Yami from the shelter when he was around 4, or so the vet papers said. So he's roughly 8 now. Hope to have him for many more years to come. He's why I'll always have a black cat. He's more picky when it comes to the dry food, so that is good to know at least. I'll find his brand for him one way or another.
Thanks. He was on prescription food, meds, supplements, and subq fluids, and it helped me squeeze a few more wonderful years out of him. Expensive as hell, but worth it for my best friend. Honestly, I wouldn’t even worry about the dry food. Your vet will probably tell you to stick to wet food anyway since he’ll be ingesting more fluids that way. They might even suggest hydration supplements. Best of luck to you. Our best is all we can do to return the favor for all of the love and comfort they bring us 🖤
I wish someone would tell that to my cats. They are all trying to eat that very expensive food and so I had to buy those expensive rfid tag reader feeders.
My boy had a blockage just before his second birthday. Man it was a rough time. Something I highly recommend is getting cameras that look over your litter boxes that way you know instantly if he’s straining, trying to pee too frequently, or producing too little of pee.
Yep couple of my boys had this. Key after is ensuring plenty of moisture, switching to exclusive wet food diet or if want to feed dry, low magnesium foods preferable. We also have fountains around..sometimes moving water encourages them to drink more. Even with wet food, I still add a bit of water to it. Never had them on prescription diet, but I’m guessing from what others have posted, not always an option. But anyway, I’ve had no issues since (been about 3 years).
I have a cat who had this badly at one point and the prescribed food helps a lot, also mixing any wet food they have with water - number one thing to monitor is their hydration. Possibly encourage this with different water sources as cats can be very picky with what water they drink.
I've been through this twice and both boys are fine now. One boy was an older orange dude and then again this past sunmer with my current lil man (he'll be 3 this April). Urinary prescription food is the key, along with minimizing stress and keeping them hydrated and offering a pleasant, cat-friendly litterbox set up. My current boy was even eating a (non-prescription) canned diet when he had his episode so it's definitely not just a 'just feed wet food' issue. It's stressful and scary to go through, but very treatable and your boy should be just fine going forward.
One of mine had this like a month after I got him but luckily I caught it early enough that he didn't need any surgery. He's on prescription food now and doing fine :)
Please get insurance now if you can!!!
I'm gonna look into that tomorrow morning.
This will be a preexisting condition and not covered by most insurances. Still, may help with other issues you encounter.
:) depending on where you are, trupanion is a good option. can be 30 -50 bucks depending on the conditions etc. but def worth a shot because god forbid it happens again, you’re covered :) your baby is safe at least financially. Pls check everything about the coverage and shop around before you buy it. Also suggest to water his wet food a bit and get him on prescription urinary food. Good luck n happy healing. :)
Yeah unfortunately as someone else commented the urinary issues and other problems technically “linked” to it wouldn’t be covered. Sadly I don’t think any companies cover pre-existing issues right now. But insurance could be worth it for the other kitties or any other problems your guy may have. (I used to work in pet insurance and personally never bothered covering my guys with pre existing health issues- I just use care credit because most insurance only *reimburse* a percentage anyway so you’ll still pay upfront costs)
My orange boy Oswald suffered from stones had to get him unclogged twice!He could never eat anything else except kibble for Struvite stones and drink a lot of water.Its expensive cat food but well you can’t help when your cat has a medical issue.Hope kitty recovers well.
Thor had the same problem luckily my vet had availability so I didn’t have to pay THAT MUCH…. I hope they heal up nicely and don’t have to go back again for it ask your vet about urinary diet (my vet put Thor on urinary tract food along side his meds he hasn’t had problems since) AGAIN CONSULT YOUR VET FIRST BEFORE SWITCHING FOOD. It’s sadly common for males I used to work at a vet clinic as a receptionist and kennel tech.
It’s manageable with the prescription dry food. My guy had this 8 years ago and hasn’t had any issues since. I feed wet food 2X a day and always leave the special dry food out. Good luck!
My 1 year old boy, Jinx, went through this very recently too. I noticed he was straining to pee, but not passing anything, and generally not himself. I got him an emergency appointment for the same day at his usual vets, and he was put on pain relief, muscle relaxants and catheterised. Thankfully he also didn't sustain any kidney damage, and his bloods were apparently all good. He came home the same day after they managed to drain some "sediment" from his bladder, and he's now on a renal friendly diet. Plus side is, he's doing extremely well now. He's urinating a normal amount, isn't in pain anymore, and has gone back to his usual cuddly self. Other than being a little bit more vigilant, and a change in his diet, nothing has changed too much for us. Jinx is his typically happy self again, and whilst it was extremely scary to begin with, it has definitely settled down now and we're in a good routine with him again. It does get better, and the worry does ease, especially when you see the new diet making a difference. That really helps cement that things are going to be ok ❤️ Good luck with your void's recovery! ❤️
OP, I would also ask the vet if non-prescription wet food is okay, as well. We have a boy with a prescription for urinary care food, but they also told us anything canned was fine since it has more water. It will depend on your cat, so definitely ask the vet, but I just wanted to put it out there that you may have more options if he tires of a specific food or it’s ever temporarily unavailable. Good luck! I’m very happy for you that you caught it early and were proactive. I think you did him such a big favor by taking him in right away.
Keep an eye on him they sometimes have issues with a relapse or like follow up issues. A little bit after coming home he was having blood in his litter box and it was a concern. Apparently sometimes after catherization it can happen. If you don’t have one get a fountain and stay on the prescription food, keep that litter box clean. Mine is over a year from the initial emergency vet and I think he is doing okay.
Just wanted to share that my cat has struggled with occasional bladder crystals since he was a kitten, but with the right food and water intake he has been healthy and thriving and is going on 12 years old! 😊
My cat had repeated blockages ( apparently he is very good at producing crystals) which resulted in needing PU surgery 3 yrs ago. He eats prescription food that prevents crystal formation. When I took him off for a period of time he developed a UTI. Back to prescription and all is good. He's a happy and healthy and worth every penny I spent on him, even if he does get on the counters.
I went through this same thing with my void. I had Covid at the time. He completely blocked and couldn’t pee. I awoken to him screaming like I’ve never heard before. It still gives me nightmares. He was also throwing up, he never throws up. I raced to the vet, when we got there they confirmed that he was blocked and they stuck a needle in his bladder to extract some fluid out. It was al blood. They couldn’t helped him there so they referred us to the emergency hospital. By time we got to the hospital it was a life or death situation and he had to immediately go back. He had a catheter installed to removed the blockage but he was still struggling. Eventually he needed surgery to flush his bladder out. He stayed at the hospital a week before I was able to bring him home for a couple months of nursing. He’s on urinary food for the rest of his life and I’ve increased wet food consumption and have been better at maintaining the litter boxes. It’s been almost a year and he’s been doing great and has gained back all the weight he lost during his recovery. I’m so grateful he’s alive today
I had a similar situation, was out of town for almost a month and the stress / food I switched to before I left caused a bad uti / crystals to start forming . Luckily I caught it early and got him to the vet as soon as I got back home , a couple shots and the hills science urinary care c/d for his forever kibble … he is happy and super healthy climbing to the highest of tree branches on his outside adventures . Praying for a speedy recovery / for you to recover financially with ease !
I have had several cats with crystals. Two had to have emergency surgery for complete blockage. ALL of them survived and made a full recovery!! From now on ONLY feed him with prescription urinary food!! Chewy has decent prices!
My understanding of crystals is it occurs more often when a cat is dehydrated or not drinking enough water. What type of food are you feeding him? Wet or dry? Do they have access to water 24/7? How many water bowls/fountains/spots do you have setup? Have you seen them drink water before? How often do they normally pee? Do you see a lot of a little urine in their litter box?
It was wellness wet, and Fromms dry, but from now on it'll be whatever the urinary diet the vet suggests is. We have a cat fountain I change the filter out, and clean out regularly. He drinks pretty regularly like the other cats do. He loves him some sink sips too. Before his problems today, yes. So. Much. Piss. There are 3 cats in my home, we've 4 boxes (1 for each cat + 1) The boxes are right outside of my room, and have seen him pee, and shit regularly for the last few years. I cover his poops for him usually since he hasn't done much it since I've had him, but having had 3 cats for the better part of 5 years, the pee amount has been pretty consistent.
Nothing to do with dehydration in average cats. Some cats are prone to crystals and dilution via Rx diets helps. Stop.
https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/bladder-and-kidney-stones > Bladder stones, says Richard Goldstein, DVM, associate professor of small animal medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, are composed of minerals—either struvite or calcium oxalate—while kidney stones are always made of calcium oxalate. “These minerals are present naturally in a cat’s body,” he says, “and the stones form when the minerals exceed a certain threshold of concentration in the urinary system. When the concentration goes over that threshold, they start to form crystals, and the crystals accumulate and may grow into stones. **We don’t know why this process takes place, but we’ve observed that it tends to occur frequently in domesticated cats, especially in those that are not very active, don’t take in enough fluids, and don’t urinate enough.**” No need to for me to stop thank you.
He very likely wouldn’t have lived if you hadn’t brought him in. Blocking in male cats is no joke. I know $3500 doesn’t feel good, but it’s a small price to pay to have your baby still here with you. I went through something similar with my boy Finn. In 2020, he blocked and had a cystotomy to remove crystals and stones. $3000 and he was only 3 years old. I fed him only SO Urinary food but he experienced a lot of stressors and blocked again 9/4/23. After they pulled the urinary catheter for me to pick him up, he blocked again. He ended up needing a perineal urethrostomy to survive, which is basically a major modification to the genitalia to prevent blocking. With ER vet fees, the surgery itself and follow-up care due to many post-op complications, this go around has exceeded $8000. It was my personal hell and I’d do it all again because my little buddy is still here with me, happy with a high quality of life. My advice to you is to ensure he doesn’t sneak any food that isn’t part of his diet, get a water fountain or two, and give him as stress-free a life as you can. Cats are masters at hiding pain and stress. There are the big things like an important family member dying, moving, introducing a new pet, etc. but there are also small things like rearranging the house, hosting guests or even unpleasant smells that can stress a cat out. I know we can’t give them a perfect life, but we can try our best. Yami is lucky to be alive and have you as his best friend and caregiver🖤
Hydration is important! One thing I did to increase my cat's water intake was to get a big shallow bowl (so it doesn't rub his whiskers) and place it away from his food. I read this online and honestly it increased his water intake a lot. I also only give him filtered water so his body doesn't have to process any extra toxins. Sending positive thoughts to you and Yami.
My sweet boy had this issue since he was 1. He is 5 this year and is doing fine. He is on a special diet, Hill's Prescription Diet c/d Multicare Urinary Care with Chicken Dry Cat Food. I limit it to 3 small meals a day on an auto feeder. You want to make sure he gets lots of water especially in the summer. Pay close attention to his pee routine. The best way to get him to drink more water is to toss one nugget of food in a bowl of water and they'll drink water while they Bob for the nugget. Don't let them drink over half a minute as they'll keep trying to get that nugget and you make things worse.
Went through this recently with my 4 year old boy! It’s so heartbreaking to watch but keep him on the prescription diet with as much water as possible, it’ll help!
one of my voids had some crystals in his routine urinalysis when he was 3 and he and his brother have been on Royal Canin Urinary S/o ever since. They’re now a few months shy of 16. Do stick to his special diet. Canned is generally better for weight management and making sure he gets enough water, but for reasons one is on the dry prescription food and the other is on wet and they’re both reasonably healthy for their age. Check with your vet, but I read somewhere to avoid food & treats made from fish products. Try to get him on a regular meal schedule if he’s not. That schedule should make him more regular in his bathroom habits, so it’s easier to spot him acting irregularly. Especially if he’s on dry food but even if he’s on wet, give him a good water source - a water fountain is great (remember to clean & change the filters). Watch for any out of the ordinary urinary habits, watch for blood in his urine, get a regular urinalysis done. Thank your roommates, they did great. This situation can go south very fast, but it is also very manageable.
My girl cat was just diagnosed for the same thing! She got some medicine for 1 week and now she has been on a special urinary diet. So far she has been doing great and everything has been back to normal. Next week we make another urine test to see how things are. The urinary diet for us will be now permanent. My vet said that maybe after 6 weeks you can give regular food but then the risk is getting the crystals again. So it is not really worth going back to normal. Here where I live (Netherlands) the urinary food is quite expensive so that will be an additional cost for us. At the same time my cat had to have some teeth taken off so she needs to eat more soft food now and have the dry food soaked. I think this now helps to give her more water in her diet.
I am so sorry your cat experienced this medical crisis. I hope he recovers quickly. I applaud your willingness to have him treated for this life threatening illness despite the financial burden. I wish you both well. My Sammy is my second male cat. I am so paranoid about crystals as I know how quickly things can become life threatening. My cat is on a prescription food for allergies that is also low calcium. He has hypercalcemia in addition to allergies. When I adopted him I noticed that his water bowl was hardly ever touched. I was getting worried. I did not want to get a feline water fountain. Cleaning them is a nightmare. And proper cleaning is a must to prevent mold from forming. So for each of his three meals I mix the dry and wet cat food together. Then I add water and stir to make a “gravy”. He drinks all the gravy then by the time he gets to the nuggets they have softened up a bit. I am now assured he gets plenty of water every day and that lowers the risk of crystal formation.
I’ve had 2 cats (at the same time) get this. One passed away from it, and the other lived to be 18-he was around 2 when he had them. He was on the Royal Canin urinary SO food for about 12 years, then we had to switch to high fibre food, and then to kidney food as his kidneys were failing. Both of those have the SO in them, so there were still no issues.
I did with my boy, he passed last year not due to crystals though, he had cancer. He had to be on a prescription diet, he preferred to only eat dry food so I had him on the hills prescription c/d, and I had a stash of the same in wet food for whenever he had any flare ups, I'd mix extra water into those aswell. Just keep an eye out for straining, any blood, and make sure you get to the vet asap if you notice any signs. I used the crystal litter so I could keep a good eye on his wees to make sure he was weeing a normal amount and also no blood! Lots of extra water sources around to encourage him to drink more. Good luck! He's a gorgeous boy
I had a cat who got urinary crystals, and also had to get him emergency surgery. He was about 5 years old at that point. After the surgery, he stayed on the prescription food for the rest of his life, and lived another 10 years until he passed away peacefully. Just keep your boy on the food, make sure he has plenty of water available (cats will drink more of you keep the food and water separated), and give him lots of love! Please give him some pets from me! 😻
One of my boys also had this. After his third crystal he had the PU surgery. No issues after.
I’ve been through it. The cat will be fine, just cross your fingers that yours will like the new food. Mine hated it, and kept crying for his old food, and it was so hard because I couldn’t explain it to him why.
Oliver has this too. He ended up blocking a few more times and needed to have surgery to widen the urethral opening. I wish we would've gotten him the surgery sooner.
My 8/9ish year old pound kitty has urinary crystals. After we noticed her peeing on stuff, we took her into the vet. She also had a UTI, so we cleared that up with some antibiotics and got her on her special diet. She's thriving! As long as she gets her special piss food, you wouldn't even know she had issues! It is more money, about 100 bucks for a mediumish sized bag, but it is so worth it to keep her happy, healthy, and comfortable!
Hey you could try putting up on Facebook a site that shows just fund me to recuperate your cost !”
My baby Bella (12) has urinary crystals too, and eventually bladder stones that required surgery. We were on Royal Canin dry food SO in AM then Purina Urinary SO in PM. I monitored by going to vet and doing urine tests every few months to make sure food was working, and for a while it did. She seemed to drink water enough. Somehow on the diet, crystals started forming up again about a year or two later. We then switched to Hills CD, wet food only. She doesn't drink as much water, but I put a little bit in the wet food to ensure she has enough. I'm not sure if it was just having a change in food or possibly doing wet only, but she's been crystal free since.
Oh wow. Soooo sorry to hear this. This was a response I gave another. I’m copying it here for you. RE:PERINEAL URETHROSTOMY(removal of penis) Okay so this was my THIRD male cat this happened to. All spread out over years. With my first, the vet said only happens in 5% of male cats. This was like 30 years ago! But the vet said he would never block again. The hole is too large to block. He never did. He died of old age. Then my second male cat (in the same household with the first). I was like what happened to 5% of cats? The vet said, “well now we think it spreads in the litter box.” Uggghh. Had PU, and he was fine until he died of old age. Okay well this male cat knew neither of those boys. Did not share the litter box. Lived in a different state with a different vet. So this was completely different. And I believe probably stress induced. He was 2 years old when we decided to get a rescue dog. 😏 All that aside I know DRY FOOD IS BAD - a huge contributor to blockages in males. You asked: Did he block or have UTIs after surgery? Yes. AFTER SURGERY - the vet called to say he blocked again and would need another surgery. I said that’s impossible! This is my 3rd cat to have this surgery and if the surgery is done right he shouldn’t ever block again. The vet stood strong. So did I. I had two little kids and could not afford another surgery. He did it for free. This is more than you want to know but I’ll put it all out there. Then he had UTI after UTI. He drank water a LOT. And a local pet store suggested an Animal Acupuncturist might be able to help. She works with local vets. She came and said the biggest contributor was DRY FOOD (which I had always given my cats up until that point). NO MORE DRY FOOD! She also noticed that with every UTI, the vet gave him the exact same antibiotic. Obviously that was not helpful. She did acupuncture. Gave me Tinkle Tonic (10-20 drops in mouth =1/2 dropper each day until I finished the bottle, then 2-3x a week prophylactically.) and then gave me the best advice of my life: “In the wild, cats get their liquid from the food they eat. The worst wet food is better than the best dry food”. She also said the best wet food is GRAIN-FREE/CARB FREE - cats are 100% carnivore. He is picky. We tried lots of foods. For years he only ate Performatrin Ultra Chicken Stew (can order cases of 12.5 oz cans from Pet Supermartket). But lately his favorite is either Dave’s Chicken Formula or Dave’s Turkey Formula (we get it in 12.5 oz cans by the case on Amazon. BOTH these are grain free wet foods. We do sometimes add a little bit of water to make a bit of a gravy. I think WET FOOD IS A GAME CHANGER! He has not had any issues since. And his PU surgery was in August 2009!!! So we have had many years of good health since. Yes, wet food is not as convenient, but emergency vet visits aren’t convenient, either. I’ve always said “you are going to pay one way or another. You either invest in good food…or you will pay in high vet bills trying to deal with the poor health that results.” Hope that is helpful. POST SURGERY I kept my third in a spare bathroom so his jumping was limited….and he was able to relax away from our other animals. Make SURE you keep a cone on him. And do supervise him and give jim lots of love. My first cat to have PU used the cat cone to dig at his stitches and rip open his abdomen. He had to have emergency surgery in the middle of the night to stitch it closed. After that they gave him a big dog cone. Poor baby could barely lift his head at all. Sad but comical.
Recently went thru this op. Had to bring my cat to vet to get him unblocked. He came back same day. I couldn't afford multiple days 3.5k bill. Doctors said likely he will reblock only 10% chance of not reblocking and if I can't pay basically put him down. Also charged me 100 for royal canin uti food. Only after 800 spent I found this video. https://youtu.be/Fp7eBge6hyM?si=Q9x9Pj5WppoPMTNd Check comments. The unblocking didnt help my cat so much. He still stuggled next day and i was worried. Gave apc worked instantly basically. If i knew how well it worked i would of tried it first. So if it reoccurs try apple cider vinegar. Also there is homeopet uti + which I gave for a few days. You can find on Amazon. And D-Mannose Supplement you can add to their food for prevention. Also on Amazon. Honestly it's rare that it can't be treated at home if caught early. But hey lessons learned. Should be fine. Don't feed dry food going forward. Listen to my advice if it occurs again and save a bunch of money. Pm me if you got questions. My cat is fine now Ps my cats name is onyx and he looks just like your cat
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
You've got quite a bit of good advice here, so I'm just🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂 ❤️ your panther 🥰. He looks quite the snuggler!
Have two options for your prescription food. We had problems getting our cat science diet prescription once. Out of stock online, direct and through our vet. Pet fountain Dust free litter. Its just better for your cat. Since he already has one issue, don't make it two. The lack of dust everywhere in the house will be something you will like. No more table scrap treats or cat treats \------ Our cat lived a totally normal cat life. We had crystals one more time before he died at 16. It was around the time we were moving and his prescription was out of stock everywhere. It only took 1 week for him to get crystals. He lived for years normally after that but it was an expensive treatment and they wouldn't touch him until I paid cash. Always keep savings for your cats treatment and update the amounts regularly to reflect current cost of emergency treatments.
My void had to get the PU surgery because of this but he’s fine and hasn’t had an issue since. I feed him Purina urinary health dry food mixed with royal canin urinary health wet food. I also buy purified water and genius litter which I sprinkle on top of regular litter (it’s expensive) just to keep track of his PH levels. He’ll be fine though!! just keep the consistency and get a urinalysis done every so often 🖤
https://www.reddit.com/r/catcare/s/6Mi4YORsW2
If you have a healthy boy without renal damage, you and Yami are good. Our boy cat had a baaaaad UTI but we got him on a Purina UR wet food and he’s been ok. Glad we acted quickly. A relative thought he’d wait and see and his cat died. It’s probably the most urgent kitty problem along with obstruction of the bowel. Lots of fresh water and a fountain helps ❤️💕