Young Cat with Kidney Crystals

cha97michelle

Hello.

My male cat who is 21 months old has just been diagnosed with kidney crystals and put on a special diet (hills s/d) for the indefinite future. It just cost me £24 for 24 tuna size cans from the vets, which is considerably more than we pay at the moment to feed our two cats. (Don't know if this is relevant, but the cat has a limp as one of his rear legs was injured when he was about 5 months old, and the vets weren't sure if he suffered soft tissue or nerve damage, although no breakage shown on xrays of the leg and hip socket)


I have looked for past threads on this, and realise this is an expensive brand of food, and the cheapest i can find it for on the internet is at vetuk.co.uk for £17.99.

Does anyone buy hills prescription food cheaper than this?

Or, do you use this website and is it good/reliable?

Has anyone else had this problem with their cat? If so how long did the cat have the problem for, and did it have to have a prescription diet permanently or did it eventually go back to shop-bought food (although low potassium/protein brand)

Is this problem likely to be partly my fault for feeding them supermarket branded crunchies along with their wet food?

Is it likely that my other cat will also develop this problem (they are brothers)?

Sorry lots of questions here, i just want to arm myself with a bit more information before going back to the vets for a follow up appointment in a couple of weeks.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Michelle

~Chameleon~

Can't help with the cat's problem I'm afraid, but thought you might like to know that vetuk.co.uk have a discount this month of 5% off if you spend over £30 - code is 'MAY' - so it might be worthwhile stocking up if you can

cha97michelle

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Can't help with the cat's problem I'm afraid, but thought you might like to know that vetuk.co.uk have a discount this month of 5% off if you spend over £30 - code is 'MAY' - so it might be worthwhile stocking up if you can

That is really kind of you to let me know. Can't stock up too far in advance as he might be changed to a different diet after further testing in a couple of weeks, but i will probably need to spend about £30 as the other cat has decided he likes eating that food too.

As they have shared their food for the whole of their life it is impossible to do it any other way really.

Frugal_Fox

Hi Michelle,

My male cat has kidney crystals... We got him from a pet rescue service years ago - he came with Petplan insurance - which was very lucky as he got 'blocked' up by the crystals and needed to be put on a drip etc (v expensive). He isn't a very bright cat - very drippy, but completely soft and adorable with it. We were told to put him on the Hills diet - which we did, but it is very expensive. We had two other cats and it was very very difficult to seperate them and to stop him eating their food and them his.

We fed the other two cats compete dried food - typically Whiskas or Go Cat, and our sickly male cat always tried to eat it! We explained this to the vet and in the end we took him off his 'diet' food and he just has the same dried food as the others.

He has had a further 4 episodes of being completely blocked - the last being last year (he is now 12 years - we think - rescue place were not too sure of their age). You get to recognise the signs - and we took him straight to the main vets each time. His sister has never suffered with it - though I understand male cats are more susceptible to this.

We've been told the kidney crystals have caused damage to his kidneys and been prepared that the next episode may be more traumatic for him - and we may have to let him go. He is a wonderful cat, and I'd be sorry to say goodbye to him, however I really don't want him to suffer.

Best of luck - and sorry I can't be more helpful regarding the pet food diet.

Frugal_Fox

cha97michelle wrote: »

...
Does anyone buy hills prescription food cheaper than this? Get prices from different vets.
Or, do you use this website and is it good/reliable? Sorry - never used.

Has anyone else had this problem with their cat? If so how long did the cat have the problem for, and did it have to have a prescription diet permanently or did it eventually go back to shop-bought food (although low potassium/protein brand) As per my post.

Is this problem likely to be partly my fault for feeding them supermarket branded crunchies along with their wet food? Don't think there is any evidence of this !
Is it likely that my other cat will also develop this problem (they are brothers)? Don't know - sorry !

Sorry - forgot to answer your questions!

cha97michelle

I've just ordered some food from that website and will see how that goes.

My cat is the same,lovely yet dopey, which is i'm sure how his leg got injured originally.

We have had our boys since kittens, and they are my babies and it is really worrying for me that he is ill.

It may sound really daft, but we took him to the vets mainly because we thought he was depressed. I put it down to me having a 7month old baby and not spending as much time fussing over them. Apparently it is a side effect of this problem. Plus he was drinking loads, and using the indoor litter tray which he doesn't normally bother with.

hope your cat is ok frugal fox. 12 is a good age. I'm hoping mine live that long, but not on a diet this expensive. I am hoping i can switch him to something else once a few months are up, particularly as i am not back at work yet.

Michelle,

Frugal_Fox

cha97michelle wrote: »

We have had our boys since kittens, and they are my babies and it is really worrying for me that he is ill.

... Apparently it is a side effect of this problem. Plus he was drinking loads, and using the indoor litter tray which he doesn't normally bother with.

...I'm hoping mine live that long, but not on a diet this expensive. I am hoping i can switch him to something else once a few months are up, particularly as i am not back at work yet.

Michelle,

Hi Michelle,
Ours came to us at about 18 months, then we 'inherited' a third! I worry about our sickly cat - he is so lovely, his sister is very aloof - affectionate only on her terms, our original inherited cat died of old age two years ago - and we inherited another 16 months ago - who is a grump in the mornings, but otherwise very adorable too.

Sickly cat 'tells' me he is poorly by drinking more than usual and sitting in the corner of the kitchen looking sorry for himself. He has a particular 'miaow' as well. He was on the special diet for about 8 months before it just became too expensive. I could justify the costs for one cat - but not three, and all ours are picky eaters - they eat when they want, so I could never really leave the food down as the other two would eat it. Or sickly cat would come along and eat theirs.

Best of luck - and hope he is feeling better soon.
FF

oldandhappy

Look up Feline Urinary Tract Disease for useful info.
One of our Male cats had this disease and he had the special diet food most of his life. He would only have the dry type which did not work out much more expensive than any good cat food but we had to make sure he drank plenty of water. A cat water fountain would be ideal and if like ours was a tad nervous type the feliway plugs ins really do calm them but costly to keep going all the time. Ours had to avoid cheese and fish which can add to the crystal forming problem. We also gave him garlic tablets which where reccomended by the vet as useful for this disease. Hope this is helpful. Mrs Happy

Moon~Shadow

One of my cats has suffered with FLUTD for most of his life, it is not due to a poor diet it is because his urine is not acidic enough.

He has been on a prescription diet and a 'locum' vet said he would be ok to come off it - which we did. Some months later he had a struvite crystal form in his bladder, they tried dissolving it but no joy, eventually he went to cambridge vet hospital with the option of having his penis removed - cost £1000 - but he is insured. Thankfully he did not need the op and they flushed his system with saline which removed the crystal.

Despite him now on a permanent prescription diet, he is lazy, sleeps all day and it is his lack of going for regular wees that hinder the problem.

I now use glass bowls for water dishes - heard they like reflection - and he drinks much more.

The vet did recommend using Cystease tablets which line the bladder but when he has an occasional bout of cystitis I contact the vet who allows me to buy some synulox tablets which clears it up.

I use bestpet pharmacy http://www.bestpetpharmacy.co.uk/ for his food as it is much cheaper than the vet, the service is excellent and my insurance will no longer pay for his food even though it is classed as preventative!!!!

He is now 12 years old and his brother has never had a problem with UTI's. I have had an outside pen built out of aviary panels which has bird feeders on it so they get the fresh air and see the birds.

If anyone is considering buying an outside pen I have been looking at this website http://www.stusanimalhousing.co.uk/catruns.htm as I feel it is time to upgrade the existing one and .......it is their birthdays this month.

cha97michelle

Quick update from me.

I had my delivery from the vetsuk site today, and i was happy with the level of service and would use them again.

I will probably need to as so far the 2 cats have had 3 small tins today, and will probably want a 4th before bed. Both seem so much happier. Fred seems perkier and has enjoyed being out all day, and ginger who is normally really skitty has spent the whole day asleep on my dining table. He didn't even beg while i was cooking dinner like he normally would.

So - although pricier, i guess what does it really matter if my boys are happier and hopefully healthier!

I need to get fred back to the vets soon, so i will hopefully have good news from him as well when we go.

Thanks for the help guys!
Michelle

Eels100

FAB information on urinary disorders in cats

The feline advisory bureau should be your first stop for background advice. Try the above website to help you learn more about the disease process and management strategies.