Cat might have cystitis - what diet would he need

KiKi

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

The problem with kibble is that it can dehydrate pets and, especially for a cat that has urinary / kidney issues, they need loads more water to keep hydrated compared to being on a wet diet - so, even if you manage to get them drinking more through a water fountain / syringing them, you're losing the benefit of this by it be used to combat the dryness of the kibble

Oh, I know - my cats have some kibble in the morning, but that's it. The rest of the day it's wet food. They pee like mad. I should know, I clean it out every day...it's like they think I'm a slave or something...

lisajane8482

Thank you for the kind offer KiKi, I'll pick some up tomorrow and see if I can get him on it asap.

We (well my daughter) found a small puddle of wee on the floor, he'd caught the washing basket and there's blood in it. I've rang the vets and I have to take him in tomorrow afternoon, hopefully with a urine sample.

lisajane8482

Just looked at the fountain you have KiKi and it's the one that I was looking at on zooplus but was in two minds about buying it because of the price. I didn't want to buy it and find the cats weren't keen on it but I think I'll take the chance

KiKi

lisajane8482 wrote: »

Just looked at the fountain you have KiKi and it's the one that I was looking at on zooplus but was in two minds about buying it because of the price. I didn't want to buy it and find the cats weren't keen on it but I think I'll take the chance

I was worried about that. I tried to force it too much with one of my girls (who loved the tap the most), but putting her right by it when I got it, thinking she'd get straight in there. She didn't, and the fact that I tried to make her really put her off and probably made her a bit scared of it.

In the end, I had to put the fountain underneath the tap so she got used to being near it!

I wish I'd just left it, and left her to it rather than trying to make her drink from it, she probably would have done it naturally. So my recommendation is: fill it up, put the motor in (yes, it goes underwater!), and leave it near where your cat would usually drink and leave them to it.

Best decision I made, though - they both love the cold, running water, and I know they will drink when they need to, all day, rather than waiting for me to come home and turn the flippin' tap on!!

p.s. Good luck with the wet food, let us know how you get on. The senior Applaws is the only type my two will eat, now (they're 13, but still very playful). Hope you get the cystitis sorted, too, if that's what it is.

Februarycat

I use to give my cat Katalax which is a paste you can add to their food or some cats eat it on it's own. My old cat use to get cystitis and was constipated sometimes, it did work giving her Katalax and in the end she use to have it every day.

paddypaws101

I have the Lucky kitty fountain and can recommend it. I previously had the Cat mate plastic one which is about half the price and it did serve us well for a couple of years before the limescale became too hard to clean thoroughly.

lisajane8482

The vet thinks that it may be either stress related with Misty joining the family or it could be cystitis. I'm not completely convinced that it's stress related though as he is so laid back and was always following her around and sleeping next to her and never showed any signs if distress.

She did say that the urine sample did have blood and blood clots in it and that his bladder was inflamed. She gave him an antibiotic injection and we've got metacam to give him once a day. She suggested we try getting him to eat some wet food and she gave us a box of Hills C/D urinary stress pouches for free. She said there was an ingredient in it which if he is stressed would help him relax and that they would regulate the ph level. If things don't improve I have to take him back in a couple of days.

We gave him his first dose of Metacam yesterday and a few syringes of water. I ordered a lucky kitty water fountain from zooplus which should be here midweek. I also tried him on the Applwas senior I picked up and he turned his nose up at it.

This morning he's used the litter tray and although it's not as big as usual it's considerably larger than it has been. I mixed 2 teaspoons of the hills pouch with a handful of dry food this morning and he's ate most of it. My plan is to feed him twice a day with a mix of wet and dry and to decrease the dry and increase the wet gradually. I've tried and failed with this so many times over the nearly 3 years we've had him that in the end I just gave up but this time I won't be defeated as his health depends on it.

So I need to get him on to pouches. Are the Hills pouches the vet gave me any good? I know they're not cheap but if they were good enough for him and he would eat them I would gladly pay the price for them. He used to eat Jameswellbeloved pouches as a kitten before he lost interest in wet food, would they be better of he would eat them again? I have realised this morning that he may prefer gravy/sauce over jelly so I should maybes look at buying them.

I have tried Bozita with both our male cats and they never ate it, ended up with a cupboard full of tetra packs which I ended up giving away. Is there any other complete wet food that I could possibly try? My max spend per month would be £70 on his food and he weighs 6kg. Hopefully if I can transition him onto pouches I may eventually be able to get him on to raw but I'll take it one step at at time for now.

Thanks for all the advice, it really is greatly appreciated.