Steph & Cuddles (GA)
Very Active Member
Please meet Fiona!
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 6545_n.jpg
I've been approached by another rescue organization (Maine Coon) to foster Fiona and try to get her to a suitable weight for her. She obviously may not be OBESE, but is definitely fat. She can't groom her back end, and obviously isn't healthy. The story of me taking in Cher & her losing weight has spread, and they're hoping I can help Fiona.. as am I! The one huge difference, is Fiona has crystals. They have her on a diet FOR crystals, but at least it's a wet food. It's Royal Canin Urinary SO I believe..? I asked if they knew which KIND of crystals she had, and the tech I met up with today didn't think they tested which kind. Said this food helped with both kinds of crystals. She said the old-style foods from Hills have the different foods for the different crystals, but that's not needed anymore, or updated. She is NOT a fan of Hill's either! (The mutual friend who asked if I'd be willing to help, I made clear to her that I wouldn't foster Fiona if they expected me to feed dry food. I wanted to do it MY way, since it obviously worked so well with Cher!)
So they're paying for her special food, and the vet checks are free for rescues. I have a scale here (that I use for Cher) but they also want monthly checkups obviously, and weigh-ins for their own checks. They say she's eating one 5.5 oz can of this food a day.. so however I want to split it up.. anywhere from 2-4 meals. Figure I'll feed like I do mine.. half a can in the morning, and the other half at night. Mine get low carb Friskies though, so will have to keep feedings separate. Looking it up on J&B food charts, it does look like it's low carb too. (4%?)
But my main question, is if anyone has crystal knowledge? I've never had a cat with crystals, so don't know much more except that there are 2 kinds, struvite, and oxy-something? And that there are levels of acidity or such that you can feed them to help the crystals. So she's on the crystal food now, but will she be on it forever? I'm guessing I should probably add some water to the food as well. It's wet pate food, but not all that watery at all. No 'juice' or anything in the can.. kind of reminds me of Wellness, or some of the more expensive brands (obviously.. this isn't a cheap food either!). But could I possibly cause problems if I gave her some wet Friskies with my group? Down the road, I'd love to get her on just a regular food (for potential adopters) - but I have no idea if that's even an option with an overweight cat with crystals. (& will the crystals eventually go away when she slims down on wet food?)
She IS a sweet cat, but is obviously scared, and not sure what's going on. She's had a hard past, with the last home she was in, with teenagers, and a crazy german shepherd puppy that chased her around. So she's very vocal with meowing at me, but will throw a hiss or growl in there for good measure. :razz: When I got her home this morning, I took her in my room with me, and locked my kitties out. Gave her some food, and took a nap with her. She came out of the carrier, and immediately started rubbing on me & purring! :smile: She wanted to lie where I was going to for a nap though, so I tried moving her. OOPS! Got a couple bites on my hands, but I didn't think it broke the skin at the time. I have 2 small 'scrapes' on my hand where her bottom 2 canines hit my hand/thumb area. That's not a reason to go into the Dr for antibiotics is it? At the time, it just looked like indentations from her teeth, but when it cleared up, there were tiny little scabs that are only maybe 1/8-1/4" long. Hoping it's more like a cat scratch, than a bite. I've never REALLY been bitten before, and I'm allergic to most antibiotics out there except for the family w/ the z-pak. So I get nervous about bites obviously!
Anyway, sorry this is long, but was just hoping to find someone with some knowledge about crystals in overweight kitties! :smile:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 6545_n.jpg
I've been approached by another rescue organization (Maine Coon) to foster Fiona and try to get her to a suitable weight for her. She obviously may not be OBESE, but is definitely fat. She can't groom her back end, and obviously isn't healthy. The story of me taking in Cher & her losing weight has spread, and they're hoping I can help Fiona.. as am I! The one huge difference, is Fiona has crystals. They have her on a diet FOR crystals, but at least it's a wet food. It's Royal Canin Urinary SO I believe..? I asked if they knew which KIND of crystals she had, and the tech I met up with today didn't think they tested which kind. Said this food helped with both kinds of crystals. She said the old-style foods from Hills have the different foods for the different crystals, but that's not needed anymore, or updated. She is NOT a fan of Hill's either! (The mutual friend who asked if I'd be willing to help, I made clear to her that I wouldn't foster Fiona if they expected me to feed dry food. I wanted to do it MY way, since it obviously worked so well with Cher!)
So they're paying for her special food, and the vet checks are free for rescues. I have a scale here (that I use for Cher) but they also want monthly checkups obviously, and weigh-ins for their own checks. They say she's eating one 5.5 oz can of this food a day.. so however I want to split it up.. anywhere from 2-4 meals. Figure I'll feed like I do mine.. half a can in the morning, and the other half at night. Mine get low carb Friskies though, so will have to keep feedings separate. Looking it up on J&B food charts, it does look like it's low carb too. (4%?)
But my main question, is if anyone has crystal knowledge? I've never had a cat with crystals, so don't know much more except that there are 2 kinds, struvite, and oxy-something? And that there are levels of acidity or such that you can feed them to help the crystals. So she's on the crystal food now, but will she be on it forever? I'm guessing I should probably add some water to the food as well. It's wet pate food, but not all that watery at all. No 'juice' or anything in the can.. kind of reminds me of Wellness, or some of the more expensive brands (obviously.. this isn't a cheap food either!). But could I possibly cause problems if I gave her some wet Friskies with my group? Down the road, I'd love to get her on just a regular food (for potential adopters) - but I have no idea if that's even an option with an overweight cat with crystals. (& will the crystals eventually go away when she slims down on wet food?)
She IS a sweet cat, but is obviously scared, and not sure what's going on. She's had a hard past, with the last home she was in, with teenagers, and a crazy german shepherd puppy that chased her around. So she's very vocal with meowing at me, but will throw a hiss or growl in there for good measure. :razz: When I got her home this morning, I took her in my room with me, and locked my kitties out. Gave her some food, and took a nap with her. She came out of the carrier, and immediately started rubbing on me & purring! :smile: She wanted to lie where I was going to for a nap though, so I tried moving her. OOPS! Got a couple bites on my hands, but I didn't think it broke the skin at the time. I have 2 small 'scrapes' on my hand where her bottom 2 canines hit my hand/thumb area. That's not a reason to go into the Dr for antibiotics is it? At the time, it just looked like indentations from her teeth, but when it cleared up, there were tiny little scabs that are only maybe 1/8-1/4" long. Hoping it's more like a cat scratch, than a bite. I've never REALLY been bitten before, and I'm allergic to most antibiotics out there except for the family w/ the z-pak. So I get nervous about bites obviously!
Anyway, sorry this is long, but was just hoping to find someone with some knowledge about crystals in overweight kitties! :smile:
