Different food ideas for FUS civvies ...

[Beth 73]

Hello everyone...needing advice for 13 yr old civvie siblings. They were diagnosed 2 years ago with FUS . I am going to switch them from Hills Science Diet cd to healthier alternative . Would love info and insight

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

Hi Beth,
What is FUS? I have never heard of that before.

 

[Beth 73]

Hi Beth,
What is FUS? I have never heard of that before.

Hi Lisa..it's the term my vet used for Feline Urinary Syndrome...both my civvies get plugged up with I believe the ash in many foods...unfortunately Science Diet cd is high in carbs , which I want them off of. I'm looking for a quality commercial food that is healthy for urinary tract til I can possibly start making homemade.

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

Do they eat dry food or wet food? Smoky had PU surgery for urinary blockage, they took most of his "boy" parts away. Since then he has to eat a diet which is low ash and now low carbs for his FD.

 

[StephG]

I believe low phosphorus is also a benefit for cats with urinary tract disorders or frequent UTIs... My other cat Kitty use to get frequent UTIs and had crystals in his urine. At the time all 3 of my cats went on Royal canin UR "prescription" kibble. It helped but he was 21 pounds! I switched due to cost to purina otc urinary formula which worked. Then we switched to 4Health grain free indoor kibble. A few months before chuck was diagnosed we switched to friskies pate wet food to help his belly. Kitty is on friskies pate still but I tend to steer clear of the "fish" flavors as much as possible due to higher phos. He hasn't had a problem since switching to only wet food. I add a bit of water here and there for him.
You might find that the wet food will help due to the increase in water/fluid just from the food.
Here's a site that discusses FUS and other urinary issues and what may work. I have never heard of the glycosaminoglycans supplements but they say it looks encouraging.
http://www.uvma.org/cats/urinary-problems.htm

 

[Beth 73]

Do they eat dry food or wet food? Smoky had PU surgery for urinary blockage, they took most of his "boy" parts away. Since then he has to eat a diet which is low ash and now low carbs for his FD.

Ohhhhh, I've read about that surgery...poor boy .....what are you feeding him ? I am interested in lowering the carbs as well...I still imagine that Elmo being on Science Diet yd for thyroid ( with huge carbs) contributed to his diabetes so I'm running away from high carbs for my other two. Thank u for giving info and insight

 

[Beth 73]

I believe low phosphorus is also a benefit for cats with urinary tract disorders or frequent UTIs... My other cat Kitty use to get frequent UTIs and had crystals in his urine. At the time all 3 of my cats went on Royal canin UR "prescription" kibble. It helped but he was 21 pounds! I switched due to cost to purina otc urinary formula which worked. Then we switched to 4Health grain free indoor kibble. A few months before chuck was diagnosed we switched to friskies pate wet food to help his belly. Kitty is on friskies pate still but I tend to steer clear of the "fish" flavors as much as possible due to higher phos. He hasn't had a problem since switching to only wet food. I add a bit of water here and there for him.
You might find that the wet food will help due to the increase in water/fluid just from the food.
Here's a site that discusses FUS and other urinary issues and what may work. I have never heard of the glycosaminoglycans supplements but they say it looks encouraging.
http://www.uvma.org/cats/urinary-problems.htm

Thank u so much , Steph. Both boys are on can Science Diet cd and stay away from anything with fish . This whole diabetes deal with Elmo has had me reevaluating what Chris and Ben eat, making sure it is healthy . Now realizing I have been brain washed for years concerning "prescription" diets. They may work sometimes for some cats but I am done with them. Thanks for sharing your info and I will check out the site.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Teasel had many bouts of idiopathic cystitis before his FD diagnosis. He was fed Royal Canin Urinary S/O prescription canned food for a long time for that reason. After the FD diagnosis I switched him to prescription Purina DM wet food mixed with Friskeys/Fancy Feast pates for flavour variety. I add enough warm water to every meal to make a sort of stew. He hasn't had a single bout of cystitis in the (almost) year since I made the food switch. Lots of extra hydration seems to be very helpful.

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

Smoky was on the Royal Canin SO dry and wet food for years before his diagnosis of diabetes. He had crystals in his urine around five yrs old. The problem is that he put on a ton of weight and it is very pricey food.
I still think that contributed to him getting diabetes along with the frequent steroids for UTI's and bladder infections. Most antibiotics won't work on him anymore.
I feed Smoky low carb FF or Nine Lives wet food. He also gets some Weruva, Tiki cat, some Iams, Merrick, and a few others.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Dr. Lisa has a great page on urinary diseases and diet. Bottom line, low carb/low phosphorus wet or raw with plenty of water added. My civie got his first idiopathic cystitis diagnosis one week after Neko got her diabetes diagnosis. Copycat! He first went on C/D, but it's too high carb and she wanted to steal his food, so his vet suggested raw because it's a very moist diet. Knock on wood, but he's been symptom free after I made the switch almost 5 years ago.

 

[Beth 73]

Dr. Lisa has a great page on urinary diseases and diet. Bottom line, low carb/low phosphorus wet or raw with plenty of water added. My civie got his first idiopathic cystitis diagnosis one week after Neko got her diabetes diagnosis. Copycat! He first went on C/D, but it's too high carb and she wanted to steal his food, so his vet suggested raw because it's a very moist diet. Knock on wood, but he's been symptom free after I made the switch almost 5 years ago.

Oh thank you , Wendy. I am so focused on Elmo I don't want to neglect the brothers. They look just like Elmo, brown tabbies and are the sweetest kitties. Will be collecting all advise cos want to get them off of carb laden cd as soon as we see what the heck Mr Elmo is up to here

 

[Beth 73]

Oh thank you , Wendy. I am so focused on Elmo I don't want to neglect the brothers. They look just like Elmo, brown tabbies and are the sweetest kitties. Will be collecting all advise cos want to get them off of carb laden cd as soon as we see what the heck Mr Elmo is up to here

Oh, also, what raw diet? Commercial or homemade ? What commercial would be good to transition to on way to homemade once we get Elmo squared away ( it says here in small print )

 

[Beth 73]

Smoky was on the Royal Canin SO dry and wet food for years before his diagnosis of diabetes. He had crystals in his urine around five yrs old. The problem is that he put on a ton of weight and it is very pricey food.
I still think that contributed to him getting diabetes along with the frequent steroids for UTI's and bladder infections. Most antibiotics won't work on him anymore.
I feed Smoky low carb FF or Nine Lives wet food. He also gets some Weruva, Tiki cat, some Iams, Merrick, and a few others.

Thank you, Lisa...this helps so much.Just don't want to get so caught up and focused on Elmo that the brothers get neglected. Right now they r doing well but have been on cd for over 2years so want to get changed from that before they get older.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Oh, also, what raw diet? Commercial or homemade ?

As long as it's low carb/low phosphorus, it doesn't matter. Some of the raw commercial diets have a lot of ground bone in them - that means higher phosphorus so not your first choice. Not all with ground bone have high phosphorus, so you'll have to do some research. I started out with commercial cause it was easier and started out with ones that came in small amounts so I wouldn't be wasting anything. I also chose one made in Canada (where I am) and as it turns out, made just a few miles from me. I know a couple of people who work there and they do organic non medicated meats. I've since added some home made raw to the rotation.

Even adding lots of water to a canned low carb/low phosphorus diet will help as a first step. Good luck.

 

[Beth 73]

As long as it's low carb/low phosphorus, it doesn't matter. Some of the raw commercial diets have a lot of ground bone in them - that means higher phosphorus so not your first choice. Not all with ground bone have high phosphorus, so you'll have to do some research. I started out with commercial cause it was easier and started out with ones that came in small amounts so I wouldn't be wasting anything. I also chose one made in Canada (where I am) and as it turns out, made just a few miles from me. I know a couple of people who work there and they do organic non medicated meats. I've since added some home made raw to the rotation.

Even adding lots of water to a canned low carb/low phosphorus diet will help as a first step. Good luck.

Thank u so much for the info, Wendy !!!