Male cat with cystitis

Onetwothreefour

hi...I had a female cat who had the struvite crystals problem, she was prescribed the hills diet for struvites, and had either the wet or dried food.
I agree with the other posters, in that it is long term condition that needs to be managed and switching off the diet wasn't an option as they soon come back, and the pain that she went through when she had the struvites in her urine just wasn't worth considering her coming off the diet. As she aged, the episodes became less, although I did notice that when she was stressed out, she drank less water which had a knock on effect.
I ordered my food online too, and saved a fortune, especially when she needed medication, I got a prescription off the vets, and ordered online, which despite having to pay for the prescription, I still saved money for the medication.

ac085

If this is the first time your cat has had cystitis don't panic majorly.
Lots of articles online (and my vets) have said it can be stress related. I have a female cat who had a couple of months with it on and off. The way that I have managed it is with a feliway plug in and I've used suppliments designed for use with cystitis in cats. My vet gave me some suppliments but you can buy then cheaper online as you don't need a prescription.

She is fine now (apart from an unrelated skin irritation, allergic to her favourite treats )

It is very confusing with lots of information but if it happens again call your vet, they should be able to give you special litter so you can get a sample so they can test for why it happens

GeckoGirl1985

As someone who sat through more animal/veterinary nutrition lectures than I care to recall, I can tell you that many surgeries will rope clients into purchasing Hills prescription diets for two main reasons - firstly, the lectures on dog and cat nutrition given in vet schools (certainly London and Bristol anyway) are often given by reps from the pet food manufacturers themselves who of course will recommend their own products, and b) the vet surgery earns a mark-up or commission from such companies when they sell their food.

Personally I would not suggest feeding a dry only diet - cats are evolved to eat large amounts of wet, whole carcass prey, not dry nuggets bulked out with grains, rice and all sorts of other stuff they don't need or want. Also the idea of dry food being better for cleaning their teeth has never convinced me - if anything I often find cats fed on dry diets have more problems with their teeth as particles from the biscuits can work their way down below the gumline. If you must use Hills or another prescription brand then try to move your cat onto the wet food and make sure they are getting plenty of fluid with it - as another poster above has suggested, a splash of tepid water mixed in with a bowl of wet food is a good way of getting extra hydration into a fussy cat.