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Food?

1154982

Purred: Sat Sep 18, '10 6:26am PST


	Hi! I'm new to the group. I posted a question about food for cats with UTI and fiber issues and got an invite - THANKS! Question though, I myself have not had a UTI issue but my 2 sisters and brother have, I have really soft poop which requires added fiber. After each of my siblings had at least 1 UTI, our vet told my mom to stop feeding dry food and it helped with the UTI issues but then my sister Ariel started getting really bad diarrhea but with adding some pumpkin in her food that helped but she wouldn't always eat it, it was an off and on issue with the diarrhea. Recently after a few of us catching a virus my mom accidentally brought home from a shelter she volunteers at we went back to the vet who prescribed Prescription Diet w/d for the diarrhea that now me and my sister were having and it has helped A LOT!!! The W/D also mentions that it helps with urinary tract health but my mom is not thrilled with the ingredients, my other 2 siblings love the food as well and seem to be having healthy poops (I know this forum isn't about #2 but I needed to mention it). We also get high quality wet food like Weruva twice a day, the dry food is free fed. Financially the dry food is cutting down on expenses as well and of course we are all concerned with money right now so if possible, my mom would like to keep us on the dry/wet combination. Now here is the concern, will the UTI issues return? It's a huge concern to the whole family. Is there a dry food that you can recommend that helps with UTI issues that my mom can mix in with the W/D so we are getting some healthier food along with our prescription diet? If you have any other suggestions, me and my family would love to hear them! Thanks for reading! purr purr

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Cow!Cat the- Bold♥

Diamond in the- rough

Purred: Tue Sep 28, '10 1:08pm PST


	HI Cooper, I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier. First, I'd like to point out our discussion forum on food here: http://www.catster.com/forums/group/thread/595305 As for your questions, let me see if I can answer at least some of them. If dry food is recommended for reasons of fiber content and controlling diarrhea or other digestive upset, I would definitely recommend a dry food that is either high-quality commercially prepared cat food, or a prescription formulated for urinary problems, like Royal Canin SO or Hills/Science Diet CD. I would NOT recommend any of the supermarket brands. If diarrhea or upset stomach are chronic that also could indicate intestinal problems and/or a food allergy. For that sort of condition a limited-ingredient diet is often preferred, so that the digestive system doesn't have to process so many different things at once, and so an allergen can easily be identified and eliminated from your diet if you DO have an allergic problem. There are high-fiber wet foods available, for example California Natural foods which are made with one meat and one fiber - usually brown rice or sweet potato. There also are prescription limited-ingredient foods available from several different companies, both wet and dry. Royal Canin HP is made from soy and brown rice - plenty of fiber there! It's not an optimal nutritional choice because it has no meat content - just chicken flavoring and fat, and added essential nutrients like taurine - so the protein level is somewhat lower than desirable. But if it keeps a cat's digestion running smoothly, that improves nutrient intake anyway. I don't know if the dry formulas of these foods would be at all acceptable for a cat with urinary issues, so I'd stick to the wet formula or ask the vet. I hope some of this information is helpful to you. Please do check out and post in the food thread, and feel free to pawmail me if I haven't addressed your questions. Bonks, Cow!Cat =^..*=

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