Bridget & Lord Nelson
Member
Nelson was dx a week ago and after a couple days of being a good patient, went with my gut and ditched the w/d. This has made me more determined now than ever to (1) transition all the rest of my cats to 100% wet (right now it's around 60/40) and (2) get the two civvy cats who are on Hills rx diets off of them.
Muffin, who is Nelson's littermate--both are turning 8 this spring--has been on k/d for about 2 years now. In fact, I had just banished SD from my house at the same time she was dx with bladder stones and was told to put her on rx foods... s/d and c/d first, and then when they did surgery and discovered she had urate stones then k/d ever since. My vet DID recommend wet food over dry, but the Hills wet rx foods are nasty, nasty, nasty and Muffin would not eat them. It's not that she won't eat wet... she won't eat THAT wet. She has gone in for routine testing every 3 months since her surgery in January 2008 and her urine pH is right where the vet wants it and she hasn't developed new stones or symptoms. When Muffin was sick she was miserable and took it all out on a new kitten we had at the time... kitten grew up to be a hyperterritorial diva whose sole goal in life is to Get Muffin. Ever since then Muffin has been "fine" behaviorally and clinically but I feel like I'm dealing with a time bomb feeding her dry k/d.
Pixel is almost 2 y/o and had a near blockage due to stones around Thanksgiving. He's a rescue so he goes to a different vet who deals more with ferals and rescues. Very old school, treat first, test later, but really knows how to handle skittish cats with limited stress on both humans and cats. Pixel is very good with humans unlike a few I have who are pretty bad and almost have to be trapped to go to the vet, so he could have gone to my regular vet, but DH and I wanted to see how this vet would handle Pixel. He was immediately catheterized (saving me a trip to the emergency vet because I caught it early) and the dx was struvite stones. Rx was a bag of c/d dry and a tube of Methagel. The tube says not to feed with an acidifying diet but vet insisted it would be ok. Pixel has been urinating fine ever since. But again, I know I'm dealing with a time bomb here. Also, Pixel really doesn't like c/d very much and has lost weight. He's a healthy weight now so I really would rather he not lose more weight. So while the in-office tx was ok, have serious issues with the rx.
I'm more concerned short term about Pixel because he is a male and know that he could block in a very short period of time on the wrong diet, which apparently was his old diet. But I don't want Muffin to relapse either because the only way to get rid of urate stones is through surgery.
SO... if I just transition Pixel along with the rest of the non-rx cats to a 100% wet (foods in the rotation are Authority and Wellness wet, both on the food charts), would the increased water in the diet alone help prevent a relapse?
What about Muffin? I'm assuming that she would need to be on a different wet food because of the acidifiers in regular wet cat food, but which ones might be an alternative?
Dr. Lisa... do you do consults? Don't know if old school vet would be open to it but regular vet might.
Muffin, who is Nelson's littermate--both are turning 8 this spring--has been on k/d for about 2 years now. In fact, I had just banished SD from my house at the same time she was dx with bladder stones and was told to put her on rx foods... s/d and c/d first, and then when they did surgery and discovered she had urate stones then k/d ever since. My vet DID recommend wet food over dry, but the Hills wet rx foods are nasty, nasty, nasty and Muffin would not eat them. It's not that she won't eat wet... she won't eat THAT wet. She has gone in for routine testing every 3 months since her surgery in January 2008 and her urine pH is right where the vet wants it and she hasn't developed new stones or symptoms. When Muffin was sick she was miserable and took it all out on a new kitten we had at the time... kitten grew up to be a hyperterritorial diva whose sole goal in life is to Get Muffin. Ever since then Muffin has been "fine" behaviorally and clinically but I feel like I'm dealing with a time bomb feeding her dry k/d.
Pixel is almost 2 y/o and had a near blockage due to stones around Thanksgiving. He's a rescue so he goes to a different vet who deals more with ferals and rescues. Very old school, treat first, test later, but really knows how to handle skittish cats with limited stress on both humans and cats. Pixel is very good with humans unlike a few I have who are pretty bad and almost have to be trapped to go to the vet, so he could have gone to my regular vet, but DH and I wanted to see how this vet would handle Pixel. He was immediately catheterized (saving me a trip to the emergency vet because I caught it early) and the dx was struvite stones. Rx was a bag of c/d dry and a tube of Methagel. The tube says not to feed with an acidifying diet but vet insisted it would be ok. Pixel has been urinating fine ever since. But again, I know I'm dealing with a time bomb here. Also, Pixel really doesn't like c/d very much and has lost weight. He's a healthy weight now so I really would rather he not lose more weight. So while the in-office tx was ok, have serious issues with the rx.
I'm more concerned short term about Pixel because he is a male and know that he could block in a very short period of time on the wrong diet, which apparently was his old diet. But I don't want Muffin to relapse either because the only way to get rid of urate stones is through surgery.
SO... if I just transition Pixel along with the rest of the non-rx cats to a 100% wet (foods in the rotation are Authority and Wellness wet, both on the food charts), would the increased water in the diet alone help prevent a relapse?
What about Muffin? I'm assuming that she would need to be on a different wet food because of the acidifiers in regular wet cat food, but which ones might be an alternative?
Dr. Lisa... do you do consults? Don't know if old school vet would be open to it but regular vet might.
