I am OVER cat pee (help w/food recommendations)

[dottyblue]

I'm so done. SO SO done.

I love my cats, but over the past 3 weeks I have seriously considered giving them away (I honestly would never). At 33 weeks pregnant, I just can't handle them peeing outside the box and ruining things. Parts of my house smell like cat pee no matter what I do and it's killing me... I go through so much bleach because it's the only thing that works (even gotpee, fizzion, nature's miracle, vinegar/baking soda just do not work). We are going to have to replace hardwood flooring to get rid of the smell.

With one of my cats, I think he is just prone to urinary distress. It's not an infection, ever, and usually his bladder is empty, it's just his urethra gets irritated and once we flush him with fluids he's fine again.

Our vet has recommended Hill's Prescription Diet for him, but he absolutely will not eat it. Plus, I'm skeptical about the quality of any Hill's food. We have kept them on Wellness.

Does anyone have a food recommendation for any food that is specifically geared towards urinary issues? I am going to talk with our local pet supply store (small mom and pop place that has been awesome on quality recommendations), but I am open to other suggestions too. Thanks.

[mrssavy42112]

I’m not crazy about the quality of Hill’s Prescription Diet either, but it is the only thing that works for my cat. He has had 2 blockages and a bunch of crystals in his bladder. After he started eating the Rx food, he’s been fine. There are 2 flavors & it comes in can or dry. Have you tried all of the options? Our cat absolutely refuses to eat the can. He would rather starve. But he seems to like the dry just fine. There really is nothing comparable OTC.

[dottyblue]

I may see if I can get a sample of the dry. We tried both flavors of the wet. My cat was literally starving to death (hadn't eaten in 4 days and had dropped at least 8 lbs) and walked away from the Prescription Diet.

[sillystraw]

When my cat had a UTI our vet gave us Royal Canin Rx. Also not the best quality food, but if it helps your cat you gotta do what you gotta do. Maybe your cat would like the flavor of the RC better?

[dottyblue]

thank you for the RC suggestion. I'll check it out!

[cookaholicwife]

Seconding Royal Canin. My cat has the Urinary SO brand for dry. She also gets Wellness wet food every other day.

[mrssavy42112]

Aug 23, 2012 12:51:58 GMT -5 dottyblue said:

I may see if I can get a sample of the dry. We tried both flavors of the wet. My cat was literally starving to death (hadn't eaten in 4 days and had dropped at least 8 lbs) and walked away from the Prescription Diet.

8lbs in 4 days? Dang. Yeah, mine won’t eat the wet either. He would rather starve.

[stephanie305]

Will he eat any canned food? My male cat is prone to urinary problems, too, and my vet said it's because he's not getting enough water. My vet told us that any canned food is better than dry food. I was really reluctant to switch to canned food because it's so gross. However, my guy has been eating Trader Joe's canned food for the past 9 months and we've definitely seen an improvement.

[dottyblue]

Aug 23, 2012 14:43:45 GMT -5 mrssavy42112 said:

Aug 23, 2012 12:51:58 GMT -5 dottyblue said:

I may see if I can get a sample of the dry. We tried both flavors of the wet. My cat was literally starving to death (hadn't eaten in 4 days and had dropped at least 8 lbs) and walked away from the Prescription Diet.

8lbs in 4 days? Dang. Yeah, mine won’t eat the wet either. He would rather starve.

yup. He's a big boy (18 lbs and NOT overweight per my vet). He had an infection and hadn't eaten and that weight just melted off him. Poor baby.

[SallySparrow]

The vet suggested Hills for Penny. We went to our local store and asked for other suggestions and we ended up putting her on Pure Vita grain free. We alternate between the chicken and the salmon. She also gets Wellness wet, with extra water added to it, and a cranberry supplement. She wouldn't eat the Hills stuff either.

Have you tried the usual Feliway/Rescue Remedy suggestions? Have you talked to your vet about meds?

[dottyblue]

Aug 23, 2012 14:51:01 GMT -5 stephanie305 said:

Will he eat any canned food? My male cat is prone to urinary problems, too, and my vet said it's because he's not getting enough water. My vet told us that any canned food is better than dry food. I was really reluctant to switch to canned food because it's so gross. However, my guy has been eating Trader Joe's canned food for the past 9 months and we've definitely seen an improvement.

Yeah, he was getting 1/2 can of Wellness per day. Given that I think he's dehydrated I may up that to a full can PLUS some water and cut back on his dry food (although he prefers the dry). I'm hoping that the extra water will help.

[dottyblue]

Aug 23, 2012 15:54:13 GMT -5 SallySparrow said:

The vet suggested Hills for Penny. We went to our local store and asked for other suggestions and we ended up putting her on Pure Vita grain free. We alternate between the chicken and the salmon. She also gets Wellness wet, with extra water added to it, and a cranberry supplement. She wouldn't eat the Hills stuff either.

Have you tried the usual Feliway/Rescue Remedy suggestions? Have you talked to your vet about meds?

We use Feliway and a calming collar for him. Those have helped with the behavioral peeing, but not with the dehydration/irritated urinary tract peeing.

Can I ask what is the cranberry supplement you use?

[SallySparrow]

We used to use this one: www.1800petmeds.com/Cranberry+Relief-prod11018.html

Which was fine, but we switched to one that the local store carries. I can't remember the name of it, and I'm not home to look. I can check later. I think they're all pretty similar--I just make sure it's powder so I can mix it into the wet food.

[dottyblue]

Aug 23, 2012 15:58:51 GMT -5 SallySparrow said:

We used to use this one: www.1800petmeds.com/Cranberry+Relief-prod11018.html

Which was fine, but we switched to one that the local store carries. I can't remember the name of it, and I'm not home to look. I can check later. I think they're all pretty similar--I just make sure it's powder so I can mix it into the wet food.

Thank you. They have this on Amazon, so I may give it a try.

[katietornado]

Our one cat has Feline Interstitial Cystitis. He has been peeing in our house for years and years and years. He's also been completely miserable and in pain and uncomfortable. We went as far as calling a vet to come put him down, because he was so miserable. We had the appointment made, and we decided to make his last week amazing. We bought some premade raw food at our local pet store and...he stopped peeing in the house. He just stopped. He loves the premade raw and has been eating it like a champ, and it's totally working. Maybe it'll work for you?

[Deleted]

My cat used to get UTI's, and I switched to Purina One (dry) cat food- they have one specifically for Urinary Cat Health. She never has problems anymore! You want to find a food that has a LOW Ash content. A lot of labels don't show Ash, so I had to research it.....