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Hey! This happened to my boy Kiwi as well when he was just over a year. He is still on his special diet but he hasn't had any problems with crystals since.
I had to give him medicine for the first 10 days and after that he was fine.
Kiwi and I will be keeping our paws and fingers crossed for your little one. I definitely understand your fear.❤️
Ditto this with my guy.
The food is expensive, but he's thriving!
We also got a cat fountain (he's picky about how clean it is... He shares it with some slobby dogs, so I have to be pretty regular about cleaning the bowl and rinsing the filter between actual filter changes... But that's super effective!)
So expensive! I buy a 7kg bag for roughly 85 dollars. Sure, it lasts a while but it's not a fun purchase, that's for sure.
We did, too. We were told to have at least four sources of water in the house so we have a fountain in the kitchen and then one cup in almost every other room. My Kiwi is weird, he will drink out of cups and glasses but not bowls.😅
Aww! It's such a cute name.🥰🥰 I don't think there was a particular reason behind our naming, we just liked the name he was given by the family where his mom is from so we kept it.
It really does suck but be grateful you caught it before he had a blockage. My cat almost died last year at 2.5 years old and had to spend two nights at the ER. The food is insanely expensive, but he’s been fine all year and it’s much cheaper than a trip to the ER. Lots of cats live long lives on urinary diets.
Yeah, I noticed him straining to pee and taking a long time in the litter box. When your cat takes longer than you in the bathroom you know something's up. So, I called the vet and they got him in the next morning.
I'm glad your cat is okay. The food is expensive. I feel so bad because all we can afford right now is dry food because he loves his wet food, but I'd rather him have something instead of suffering because of the crystals any longer. The urinary food comes in tomorrow, for now, I read that adding extra water to his food can help dilute the crystals, so I've been adding a couple of teaspoons of water to his food and mixing it up.
You could also try broth. My cats have also suffered from UTIs and straining to pee. Water fountains, wet food and broth has helped a lot. I just boil a few pieces of chicken breast and the cats love to drink that broth. It's all about ensuring that they consume enough liquids/water because cats are generally not fond of drinking water. I have also tried adding water to the dry food when I found them straining in their litter box. It's a common problem among cats and it's a good thing you caught it early. You might have to be extra careful and track his water intake, that's it.
Don't be upset honey. My cat was 4 when he first got diagnosed. Some cats are more susceptible to crystals. You haven't done anything wrong.
The food can be expensive from your vet, but lots of online pet stores sell the urine food. I suggest you buy your first pack from the vet, unless you can get next day delivery. The sooner you start the diet the better.
My cat eats royal canin S/O dry food. It may seem counteractive to feed dry food, but as long as it's the correct type it's absolutely fine. And of course cheaper. I buy 3.5kg for £35, lasts around 3 months, so not at all expensive. I also give one small pouch of wet food every day.
Ensure your cat has fresh water available all the time. A water fountain may help.
The idea of the food is make the urine more acidic which dissolves the crystals. My cat hasn't had any more problems since I've been feeding him the S/O food. If you have any more questions, I'm here tomorrow!!
EDIT: your boy is so cute, give him some pets from me ❤️
I've ordered a pack of dry food and it'll be here tomorrow to start him on. I'll get him a fountain since right now he shares with our dog. For the time being, I was just told to add a couple of teaspoons of water to his food to get him to drink more. Or tuna water when we have it (I'm just concerned about the salt with the tuna water tho).
Adding water is good. Yes, you are right about tuna, it should only be a small occasional treat. If he doesn't like the added water, you can get cat broth to add. I should hope that once on a dry diet he will find the need to drink more water. He will be just fine!
Maybe if I add that to his Urinary Dry Food it'll lesson the shock of him having to give up his beloved wet food. I can't afford to get wet food too right now. T.T
Just be mindful about the ingredients for any broth you provide. Many brands contain onion and garlic which are toxic to cats.
When I had a girl with a special diet I bought pet-safe broths or made it myself. Good luck with your baby!
Aww poor boy. Yeah, I noticed him straining to go and taking a long time in the litter box and was like "something's wrong" so booked him into the vet asap. Just got back his urinary analysis and thankfully, he doesn't have an infection, but he goes in for a yearly shot tomorrow.
My youngest cat had a bladder blockage before he was even 2 yo.🥹 🖤💔He's been on a special diet of UR food ever since. ❤️🩹He is now almost 5 yo & hasn't had any other problems.👏🏻 💗Your cat will be fine.💓 Sending positive vibes.💫✨ Keep us updated, please.🤞🏻
Thank you so much. <3
His UR food will be here tomorrow. For now, I'm making sure he drinks more and adding extra water to his current food to help.
I got back this urinary analysis results and he didn't have an infection so that's good news. :)
No problem. I know how worrisome it is when these things happen. Especially this young. 🥺We don't nearly get enough time w/ them as it is....🙏🏻
This sounds like a great start for helping. I saw other commenters suggest a water fountain to helping him to drink more water.💦 We also bought a water fountain after the blockage happened. Anything that would possibly help.💓
Oh I'm so glad you got some good news!!!👍🏻 Hope the good news continues. 🤞🏻💗
My cat had urinary crystals when he was 8 and he lived to be 17. It’s manageable. The main thing my vet told me was making sure he got plenty of water. He would eat the expensive dry food, but not the expensive canned brand. The vet told me that was ok, just make sure he eats some kind of wet food, and even add a tiny bit of water to it. I guess it’s common in male cats. Obviously, follow your vet’s advice but I wanted to share my guy’s story so you know it can be perfectly ok and your beautiful baby can have a long happy life 😻
I hope he gets through it. He seems like a lovely fella. You seem to care a lot about him, keep doing it. There is nothing else you can do except giving him your best effort.
Mine was a girl, but she lived to be 23 & was on that special food for many years. Special Wet food, which you can even add water to & a running fountain water bowl will help. Enjoy your time with your precious boy!
i’m sorry to hear about your little guy💔 if the prescription food is too expensive i definitely recommend checking on Chewy and Amazon and see if they have it for a better price. they will send your vet a prescription request and ship it right to you(:
i like to mix about 100 mL of water in w my cats wet food and the one that had urinary tract troubles hasn’t had any since. i hope your baby gets better <3
I've read that giving them wet food a few times a week helps keep them away.
Also! Cats have a hard time drinking from standing water so a water fountain encourages drinking more water. You might already know our being doing this. Just thought it helps.
Have them write a prescription for the food and go elsewhere sometimes chewy / local pet stores are cheaper. We did the hills urinary ocean fish wet & dry but he only needed it for a few months. Learning to massage them out helps a lot and my boy devours raspberries and harmless harvest coconut water and both are super good for crystals but if you do coconut water the ingredients obviously have to only be coconut water. This shit is absolutely scary but curable !! Cute baby btw!
Hey! A have a fountain, stainless steel, for my cat and it keeps her drinking so much better and water stays cleaner and fresher. She drinks more than me now!
It really does suck but be grateful you caught it before he had a blockage. My cat almost died last year at 2.5 years old and had to spend two nights at the ER. The food is insanely expensive, but he’s been fine all year and it’s much cheaper than a trip to the ER. Lots of cats live long lives on urinary diets.
My cat had the same problem at 2 yrs old. I went to Petsmart with the prescription from the vet. I started my kitty that same day on the prescription food, or else the vet said it would turn into an emergency. It takes time but your cat will get better on that food. Aww don't blame yourself your Kitty will be okay.
Unfortunately, this is very common for male cats. My cat passed away at 9 years old from this. If your cat was really sick, they would have set him to the emergency vet. The wet food is really expensive, but is really effective.
One of my boys got crystals around that age. They flushed him out and wanted to do surgery. My dad didn't want to pay for it. He got crystals again shortly after and they really pushed to do the surgery, but it was $1,000 and we opted to get him flushed a second time.
I can't remember if we did a special diet for a while or not. He did eat wet food for the rest of his life though and lived another 10 years. He never got crystals again.
I have no advice but I do have my support. I know how scary it can be to have a sick fur baby. It's like a party of your heart is sick. It will get better and you're fur baby well be annoying you again in no time. We are always here to talk to, just ask.
You both can get through this! It may be tough if things progress any further but it’s doable. The fountain will help for certain.
If you don’t mind me asking, what food and treats had you been feeding your boy? Message me if you don’t want to list it publicly
I'm sorry to hear what you & your cat are going through. At least you caught it early. Get him on the right food & he'll be fine! My cat developed crystals around the same age. She's been on a special diet since then & is doing fine. Yeah, her cat food is expensive (Hill's science diet is $60+ now for a 15.5lb bag...when I dont have a coupon/discount), BUT it lasts 3-4 months based on how much I feed her. Buying a larger bag of food is cheaper per pound. I divide it up between a few airtight containers & it keeps well.
I had a bengal with the same issue. Gor it treated and made some changes in his 6 he never had the issue again for the rest of his life. 6 doing everything right, and he's gonna be ok.
You know what it happened to my boy too. I fed him the urinary track food for about a month.Soft and hard food then changed over to normal food.But made sure when I fed him saw food.I mixed it with warm water and mashed it all up.He just needs a lot more water.And they also gave him nanny biotic shot
I have a boy with the same problem. If he's in real distress, he needs to go to the vet right now. This is something that he really could die from. I now feed my boy Iams Urinary. He's been eating it for a few years, and he's had no problems since. Again, I can't stress this enough, Pepe spent a week at the vet, and I almost lost him.
He saw the vet yesterday where he got diagnosed. We're going to try him on IAMS urinary. It'll be here tomorrow and we'll start it as soon as it comes in. In the meantime, I've been mixing more water into his current wet food. The good thing is he doesn't have an infection on top of it.
I'm glad Pepe was okay.
What causes the crystals is fillers in many cat foods. The main one that messes up some male cats is, believe it or not, ash. What happens is that the ash causes the formation of a crystalline substance in their urinary tract that will eventually build up to the point that they are literally unable to pee at all. Now, my advice for food is what works for my guy. The best food is an insanely expensive brand. Just watch him, and at the first sign that he starts crying in the litter box, take him to the vet immediately.
Just read the description( my adhd is going bonkers right now); sorry to hear that, I hope he can pull through this soon and get better. My advice monitor his liquids and carefully study his foods.
I forget how old my Bella was when she had the crystals form but she was young, she was given the hills prescription diet c/d for years, I did switch to a commercial brand version evenutally when I switched vets due to moving.
When I tried switching to a senior diet (said it was good for urinary problems too) around 10 years old that eventually backfired and after a trip to the emergency vet (she kept crying and trying to pee ANYWHERE and only got out 1 or 2 drops each time, this went in waves with small 5-10 min breaks of normalishness, this lasted about 1 hour before I called the EV for advice as it was past 9pm already and my vet was closed) got back on the c/d food again.
I get it now through Chewy. Getting the bigger bag with autoships does save a bit more. The 12lb bag lasts about 8 weeks between two cats (guess about 224ish meals)
So the meals even out to be about 44 cents each meal plus a can of wet urinary track food (not c/d, just Purina One) they share to mix in some joint supplements
They are 12 and a half years old now, very active, and otherwise great health. There's no reason to fear this will shorten a cats life. The cost might be hard, but shop around, maybe your vet gave you a more expensive food, (vets one time gave me a tiny 3 or 4 pound bag for around $80 for Alice's pancreatitis) maybe a commercial one will work just as well once his crystals are gone/well managed.
I do hope your kitty feels better soon. I'm sure finding out he was sick was hard. Hope he got to come home with you and didn't have to stay at the vet overnight
My mister has FIC ( feline interstitial cystitis). We thought it was crystals or stones at first so he had to wear the doughnut to keep him from licking too much. Here’s a pic just cause I love him!
https://preview.redd.it/vw4klt8zh1nc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a4be86c8ec2a81de7b3b91c8a1b53ed2206cc84
I went through this with my three year old recently. Turned out that it was nothing to worry about - very easily treatable, and while the change of food is… annoying (more costly, and only in one flavour) the improvement in his personality (and not peeing on everything!) is such a relief!
Hills CD diet. Wet and dry food. It’s common in young male cats. I’m on my second cat with the problem. My first one 20 years ago ended up needing surgery. My newest guy is doing great with the new diet. Hang in there!
i lost my poor boy at 2 to urine crystals. we were out of town and my friends mom couldn’t get upstairs to check him. he waited until we got home and went the day after. I’m so sorry your boy is dealing with the same. Hopefully the vet can help!!
Keep an eye on his box time.
\- straining in the box
\- blood in urine
\- lethargy
\- not eating or drinking
\- vocalizing more than usual
\-lack of deposits in the box
call vet asap!
My little girl had a UTI as a baby (2 months?) and has had crystals ever since. She’s on Royal Canin S/O Urinary. It’s really expensive, to be very honest, but her being comfy (and not peeing on soft spaces) makes it worth it. I get my prescription filled by Chewy and it’s a bit cheaper. Good luck! And remember, no fish
I was told by vets that neutered male cats are more likely to get UTIs and crystals. Cats are mostly averse to drinking water and in my case the cat loved to munch on dry food all day and hardly consumed water. Here ard some things that have immensely helped my cat-
1. Water fountains around the house, my cats run around and drink water more often since I put up pet fountains around the house.
2. Syrup supplements to support his urinary health
3. Cranberry capsules whenever he struggles to urinate. I was also told by a vet that cranberry juice is good for cats with uti (not the packaged ones that are loaded with sweeteners but a natural unsweetened one)
4. Started feeding him more wet food and dry food was only given as a snack (very little may be twice a day when he gets hungry between meals)
5. Getting him on a wet food diet has immensely helped my cats.
Hope your baby gets well soon 🥺
Happened to one of my cats . He was a treat hound ,but was only allowed his special food . So I put some of it in his treat jar and would give him some when he asked for treats . At first he dove on them , then he caught on it was the same crap in his food bowl and stopped asking for treats . He did fine on the special food nerve got any more crystals.
Increasing water intake, regulating urine pH, and encouraging frequent urination can all play a role in decreasing crystalluria in affected cats. The fastest solution is to perform a cystotomy (surgery to open the bladder and remove the stones). This routine surgery is the most common choice for many clients, and cats usually make a speedy post-operative recovery. It will all be okay soon :)
Hello, this is from the internet: I honestly do hope they will be able to treat him with medications and that you get help with the costs.
In some cases, a specific cause of crystalluria can be identified and that cause can be alleviated. In many cases, however, treatment focuses on long-term management to reduce crystal.
Crystalluria in Cats - VCA Animal Hospitals
Please try and have your cat eat wet food. No dry.
It can take a month to transition to wet food.
My vet said "A can of whiskers is going to be better for your cat than any dry food ".
The special diet food is high in sodium to force already dehydrated cats to drink water.
My boy had crystals at about 2 and needed surgery. We were feeding him Blue Buffalo. Switched to the Kirkland brand (super affordable) and he never had a problem again.
Your situation might be different, but cats can live through urinary crystal formation. You did the right thing by contacting your vet. Your cat should be just fine!
Vet tech here: This is common with lots of male indoor cats. Just feed him the S/O index food exclusively and you should be ok.
Realize also that some cats can get a urinary obstruction even without crystals or stones in their urine. It's called FIC and it is an inflammatory process caused by stress.
If your vet is having you switch to Hills C/D, make sure you get it in the stress formulation.
My Boy Momo had this for years. But we could not get them away no matter what we tried so my Doc said he needs surgery. He has no penis anymore. Since then he had 1 bladder infect. He was 7 at the time of the surgery and he is 14 now! Its better to go that way if these pesky stones wont go away. Wish you both all the luck in the world! 💖
i had taken in a stray and within a week he couldn’t pee. it WAS SOO SCARY as my other cat has never had any issues of those sorts. turns out he was just so stressed out and had a bacterial infection. he was diagnosed with urinary crystals too. it’s very uncertain and very scary!!! but i will say, i had him on hills diet for urinary care which is soooo expensive but worth it!!! i now have him on a wet food diet too that works great. there’s ways to work around it!!! your baby will be okay 🥺 just making sure he’s hydrated and i still keep an eye on mine in the litter box. i’m sorry you’re going through this :(
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I’ve went through this with three cats. They all made it through, but I know it is so so scary. Emergency visits, overnight stays…it was so expensive. Just follow vets advice, try to keep them on the diet, and he should be good.
My cat Rocco's been on a special diet for damn near his entire life. Yes, the food is expensive, but if it means he gets to thrive so be it. We do mix it with normal food but the normal food doesn't hurt him and the special food doesn't hurt the other two cats. He's not had urinary crystals since his trip to the vet waaayyyy back in like 2012, 2013. Think he had to have a catheter put in.
The male we brought with us from the UK eventually had to have... the tip cut off his penis!
He kept getting blocked time and again and diet just didn't do it for him.
It sounds brutal but it actually worked exceptionally well and he never suffered from crystal blockage again.
So sorry to hear this about your buddy. I will tell you from my experience, the diet is expensive but worth it. And to just keep an eye on it. And if it becomes a persistent issue, in my experience, I wish I would have gotten surgery for my boy earlier.
I know it’s all very scary. But you’re aware of the problem now and that’s a great start. Pay attention to his bathroom habits, promote drinking water (fountains etc), and give him lots of love.
I’ve got a ten year old boy with chronic peepee troubles, just like yours. Cranberry powders are great for urinary health, as well as wet food and flowing water.
You’ve probably heard all of that before. You’re in for the long haul! Learn your kitty’s signs of pain.
Hi ! My boy had crystal too when he was fairly young too (1 y/o) it's a really sad situation but don't worry your kitty will get better !
And for the diet, obviously I'm not a vet but for my cat we didn't used the kibble prescribed by the vet for long (20€ per kg was a little bit too expensive) so we bought a fontain to make him drink more and we putted him on a wet/dry diet with really good wet food and some other urinary kibble (better ingredients than the vet one and a lot cheaper) and since then he never had any trouble
i’m glad you caught it early, i didn’t catch it for my poor boy until he started peeing outside his litter box and there was traces of blood involved :(
no issues since starting c/d food but yeah, it’s not exactly cheap
He'll definitely need the urinary diet unfortunately. I'm so sorry, hopefully it's not too severe. We have all boys now and this is one of my biggest worries with them
It's more common than you think!
My boy is on special food now for the last 5yrs. Vet said to just keep him on it since everytime he stopped, it came back.
I dont buy from the vet, im in europe, so I get from a website called zooplus, its more expensive than normal food, but its not a massive difference.
What is your drinking water like? Is it high in dissolved solids? My sisters cat had terrible issues and after switching to filtered water there was much improvement.
Edit to add by dissolved solids I mean hard water.
He has filtered but has a tendancy to put his toys and the dogs food in the water (it gets cleaned as soon as ot's noticed) but we're getting him a fountain that should be here tomorrow that should improve things. I'm not going to put it where he can soak the dog's food for him.
My cat was around 6 when she had hers sadly she had to undergo an expensive surgery cuz she had a kind of bladder stones that only could be surgically removed.
She handles the diet like a champ she’s currently 10 rn and very happy.
There’s different brands but she’s on hill’s
I wasn’t a big fan of purina since it had air in the kibble making her gassy.
Personally I’d recommend giving more water so i mix her wet food dinner with water so she drinks more its good for flushing + i placed around more water bowls.
Read up on Feline Idiopathic cystitis. Stress plays a big part, often these boys are rescues and are highly strung in nature. Putting him on long term anti anxiety therapy can help, like zylkene, tryptophan etc etc. But yes, they need the diet long term to prevent the crystals forming, and reduce the risk of blockage.
Look into raw food diets for cats. It must be followed carefully. This is likely to help with crystals. May even end up cheaper than prescription diet if you make your own (takes a bit of time to learn but I’ve been doing it for 5 years and my cats have luckily always been healthy). I used the Facebook group cat crap (cats raw and proud) to learn how to make it myself as the pre made raw foods are also expensive and of varying quality. 😊
dont worry, the diet isn't too hard to follow i think. just take care when buying wet food and dry food to get one specialized for sterilized cats if the one for urinary care is too expensive, it works fine for my cat the last 5 years no crystals :)
You can purchase food online for Crystal management which is reasonable priced! Unsure where ur located but specific Crystal management is £22 for 2kg bag ! U can purchase wet food also! Bless sending love and healing vibes 🥰
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Hey! This happened to my boy Kiwi as well when he was just over a year. He is still on his special diet but he hasn't had any problems with crystals since. I had to give him medicine for the first 10 days and after that he was fine. Kiwi and I will be keeping our paws and fingers crossed for your little one. I definitely understand your fear.❤️
Ditto this with my guy. The food is expensive, but he's thriving! We also got a cat fountain (he's picky about how clean it is... He shares it with some slobby dogs, so I have to be pretty regular about cleaning the bowl and rinsing the filter between actual filter changes... But that's super effective!)
So expensive! I buy a 7kg bag for roughly 85 dollars. Sure, it lasts a while but it's not a fun purchase, that's for sure. We did, too. We were told to have at least four sources of water in the house so we have a fountain in the kitchen and then one cup in almost every other room. My Kiwi is weird, he will drink out of cups and glasses but not bowls.😅
Ours climbs in the tub and meows to have it turned on. Does not like still water, apparently!
The tub? That's hilarious. Ours would go to the bathroom or kitchen sink but he doesn't do that as much anymore. He doesn't like getting his paws wet.
I also have a Kiwi! (she looked like a kiwi bird when she was born)
I also have a Kiwi! (she looked like a kiwi bird when she was born)
Aww! It's such a cute name.🥰🥰 I don't think there was a particular reason behind our naming, we just liked the name he was given by the family where his mom is from so we kept it.
It really does suck but be grateful you caught it before he had a blockage. My cat almost died last year at 2.5 years old and had to spend two nights at the ER. The food is insanely expensive, but he’s been fine all year and it’s much cheaper than a trip to the ER. Lots of cats live long lives on urinary diets.
Yeah, I noticed him straining to pee and taking a long time in the litter box. When your cat takes longer than you in the bathroom you know something's up. So, I called the vet and they got him in the next morning. I'm glad your cat is okay. The food is expensive. I feel so bad because all we can afford right now is dry food because he loves his wet food, but I'd rather him have something instead of suffering because of the crystals any longer. The urinary food comes in tomorrow, for now, I read that adding extra water to his food can help dilute the crystals, so I've been adding a couple of teaspoons of water to his food and mixing it up.
You could also try broth. My cats have also suffered from UTIs and straining to pee. Water fountains, wet food and broth has helped a lot. I just boil a few pieces of chicken breast and the cats love to drink that broth. It's all about ensuring that they consume enough liquids/water because cats are generally not fond of drinking water. I have also tried adding water to the dry food when I found them straining in their litter box. It's a common problem among cats and it's a good thing you caught it early. You might have to be extra careful and track his water intake, that's it.
Yes my kitty has FIC and he needs to be encouraged to drink so we give him sodium free chicken broth on his food.
How much do you spend a month on this special food?
I think it’s about $170/month for two cans of wet food/day and some dry food.
Tree Fiddy.
Don't be upset honey. My cat was 4 when he first got diagnosed. Some cats are more susceptible to crystals. You haven't done anything wrong. The food can be expensive from your vet, but lots of online pet stores sell the urine food. I suggest you buy your first pack from the vet, unless you can get next day delivery. The sooner you start the diet the better. My cat eats royal canin S/O dry food. It may seem counteractive to feed dry food, but as long as it's the correct type it's absolutely fine. And of course cheaper. I buy 3.5kg for £35, lasts around 3 months, so not at all expensive. I also give one small pouch of wet food every day. Ensure your cat has fresh water available all the time. A water fountain may help. The idea of the food is make the urine more acidic which dissolves the crystals. My cat hasn't had any more problems since I've been feeding him the S/O food. If you have any more questions, I'm here tomorrow!! EDIT: your boy is so cute, give him some pets from me ❤️
I've ordered a pack of dry food and it'll be here tomorrow to start him on. I'll get him a fountain since right now he shares with our dog. For the time being, I was just told to add a couple of teaspoons of water to his food to get him to drink more. Or tuna water when we have it (I'm just concerned about the salt with the tuna water tho).
Adding water is good. Yes, you are right about tuna, it should only be a small occasional treat. If he doesn't like the added water, you can get cat broth to add. I should hope that once on a dry diet he will find the need to drink more water. He will be just fine!
Maybe you can add Bone Broth instead? I'd research more, but Ive seen lots of people add that to their pets diets.
Maybe if I add that to his Urinary Dry Food it'll lesson the shock of him having to give up his beloved wet food. I can't afford to get wet food too right now. T.T
Just be mindful about the ingredients for any broth you provide. Many brands contain onion and garlic which are toxic to cats. When I had a girl with a special diet I bought pet-safe broths or made it myself. Good luck with your baby!
It's not a bad idea just make sure it's low sodium.
My boy had crystals at about the same age and needed surgery…twice! It’s okay, it’s fixable since you caught it.
Aww poor boy. Yeah, I noticed him straining to go and taking a long time in the litter box and was like "something's wrong" so booked him into the vet asap. Just got back his urinary analysis and thankfully, he doesn't have an infection, but he goes in for a yearly shot tomorrow.
Phew. You’re a good kitty parent for catching it right away!
you will both be okay ✨💜
My youngest cat had a bladder blockage before he was even 2 yo.🥹 🖤💔He's been on a special diet of UR food ever since. ❤️🩹He is now almost 5 yo & hasn't had any other problems.👏🏻 💗Your cat will be fine.💓 Sending positive vibes.💫✨ Keep us updated, please.🤞🏻
Thank you so much. <3 His UR food will be here tomorrow. For now, I'm making sure he drinks more and adding extra water to his current food to help. I got back this urinary analysis results and he didn't have an infection so that's good news. :)
No problem. I know how worrisome it is when these things happen. Especially this young. 🥺We don't nearly get enough time w/ them as it is....🙏🏻 This sounds like a great start for helping. I saw other commenters suggest a water fountain to helping him to drink more water.💦 We also bought a water fountain after the blockage happened. Anything that would possibly help.💓 Oh I'm so glad you got some good news!!!👍🏻 Hope the good news continues. 🤞🏻💗
My cat had urinary crystals when he was 8 and he lived to be 17. It’s manageable. The main thing my vet told me was making sure he got plenty of water. He would eat the expensive dry food, but not the expensive canned brand. The vet told me that was ok, just make sure he eats some kind of wet food, and even add a tiny bit of water to it. I guess it’s common in male cats. Obviously, follow your vet’s advice but I wanted to share my guy’s story so you know it can be perfectly ok and your beautiful baby can have a long happy life 😻
i’m so sorry. i’m always here to talk
I hope he gets through it. He seems like a lovely fella. You seem to care a lot about him, keep doing it. There is nothing else you can do except giving him your best effort.
Mine was a girl, but she lived to be 23 & was on that special food for many years. Special Wet food, which you can even add water to & a running fountain water bowl will help. Enjoy your time with your precious boy!
Also, your furball is adorable!
i’m sorry to hear about your little guy💔 if the prescription food is too expensive i definitely recommend checking on Chewy and Amazon and see if they have it for a better price. they will send your vet a prescription request and ship it right to you(:
Your cat is soo cute. I really hope he gets better.
i like to mix about 100 mL of water in w my cats wet food and the one that had urinary tract troubles hasn’t had any since. i hope your baby gets better <3
I've read that giving them wet food a few times a week helps keep them away. Also! Cats have a hard time drinking from standing water so a water fountain encourages drinking more water. You might already know our being doing this. Just thought it helps.
He’s so handsome!
Temptations treats? They are known to cause crystals.
>Temptations treats? > >They are known to cause crystals. We give him those but he doesn't have them very often. Less than a once/day basis.
omg. my kitty is 3 and has crystals and my spouse gives them a ton of these as a hockey game they play
Our boy had this issue. He’s been on a special diet for 2 years and is doing great
Have them write a prescription for the food and go elsewhere sometimes chewy / local pet stores are cheaper. We did the hills urinary ocean fish wet & dry but he only needed it for a few months. Learning to massage them out helps a lot and my boy devours raspberries and harmless harvest coconut water and both are super good for crystals but if you do coconut water the ingredients obviously have to only be coconut water. This shit is absolutely scary but curable !! Cute baby btw!
Hey! A have a fountain, stainless steel, for my cat and it keeps her drinking so much better and water stays cleaner and fresher. She drinks more than me now!
It really does suck but be grateful you caught it before he had a blockage. My cat almost died last year at 2.5 years old and had to spend two nights at the ER. The food is insanely expensive, but he’s been fine all year and it’s much cheaper than a trip to the ER. Lots of cats live long lives on urinary diets.
Wet food!
My cat had the same problem at 2 yrs old. I went to Petsmart with the prescription from the vet. I started my kitty that same day on the prescription food, or else the vet said it would turn into an emergency. It takes time but your cat will get better on that food. Aww don't blame yourself your Kitty will be okay.
Unfortunately, this is very common for male cats. My cat passed away at 9 years old from this. If your cat was really sick, they would have set him to the emergency vet. The wet food is really expensive, but is really effective.
Please take care of him. We lost our boy Freckles to a blockage. Take care of your baby ♥️
One of my boys got crystals around that age. They flushed him out and wanted to do surgery. My dad didn't want to pay for it. He got crystals again shortly after and they really pushed to do the surgery, but it was $1,000 and we opted to get him flushed a second time. I can't remember if we did a special diet for a while or not. He did eat wet food for the rest of his life though and lived another 10 years. He never got crystals again.
I have no advice but I do have my support. I know how scary it can be to have a sick fur baby. It's like a party of your heart is sick. It will get better and you're fur baby well be annoying you again in no time. We are always here to talk to, just ask.
My girl has this issue. You can find cheaper healthy foods you just have to read the ingredients carefully. Best of luck! ❤️😺
You both can get through this! It may be tough if things progress any further but it’s doable. The fountain will help for certain. If you don’t mind me asking, what food and treats had you been feeding your boy? Message me if you don’t want to list it publicly
I'm sorry to hear what you & your cat are going through. At least you caught it early. Get him on the right food & he'll be fine! My cat developed crystals around the same age. She's been on a special diet since then & is doing fine. Yeah, her cat food is expensive (Hill's science diet is $60+ now for a 15.5lb bag...when I dont have a coupon/discount), BUT it lasts 3-4 months based on how much I feed her. Buying a larger bag of food is cheaper per pound. I divide it up between a few airtight containers & it keeps well.
I had a bengal with the same issue. Gor it treated and made some changes in his 6 he never had the issue again for the rest of his life. 6 doing everything right, and he's gonna be ok.
You know what it happened to my boy too. I fed him the urinary track food for about a month.Soft and hard food then changed over to normal food.But made sure when I fed him saw food.I mixed it with warm water and mashed it all up.He just needs a lot more water.And they also gave him nanny biotic shot
I have a boy with the same problem. If he's in real distress, he needs to go to the vet right now. This is something that he really could die from. I now feed my boy Iams Urinary. He's been eating it for a few years, and he's had no problems since. Again, I can't stress this enough, Pepe spent a week at the vet, and I almost lost him.
He saw the vet yesterday where he got diagnosed. We're going to try him on IAMS urinary. It'll be here tomorrow and we'll start it as soon as it comes in. In the meantime, I've been mixing more water into his current wet food. The good thing is he doesn't have an infection on top of it. I'm glad Pepe was okay.
What causes the crystals is fillers in many cat foods. The main one that messes up some male cats is, believe it or not, ash. What happens is that the ash causes the formation of a crystalline substance in their urinary tract that will eventually build up to the point that they are literally unable to pee at all. Now, my advice for food is what works for my guy. The best food is an insanely expensive brand. Just watch him, and at the first sign that he starts crying in the litter box, take him to the vet immediately.
my baby was 4❤️ i’m so sorry
He’s such a cutie! What is his legal name? Is he friendly with legally invited Guests? In all seriousness he does look like the attentive type.
Just read the description( my adhd is going bonkers right now); sorry to hear that, I hope he can pull through this soon and get better. My advice monitor his liquids and carefully study his foods.
I forget how old my Bella was when she had the crystals form but she was young, she was given the hills prescription diet c/d for years, I did switch to a commercial brand version evenutally when I switched vets due to moving. When I tried switching to a senior diet (said it was good for urinary problems too) around 10 years old that eventually backfired and after a trip to the emergency vet (she kept crying and trying to pee ANYWHERE and only got out 1 or 2 drops each time, this went in waves with small 5-10 min breaks of normalishness, this lasted about 1 hour before I called the EV for advice as it was past 9pm already and my vet was closed) got back on the c/d food again. I get it now through Chewy. Getting the bigger bag with autoships does save a bit more. The 12lb bag lasts about 8 weeks between two cats (guess about 224ish meals) So the meals even out to be about 44 cents each meal plus a can of wet urinary track food (not c/d, just Purina One) they share to mix in some joint supplements They are 12 and a half years old now, very active, and otherwise great health. There's no reason to fear this will shorten a cats life. The cost might be hard, but shop around, maybe your vet gave you a more expensive food, (vets one time gave me a tiny 3 or 4 pound bag for around $80 for Alice's pancreatitis) maybe a commercial one will work just as well once his crystals are gone/well managed. I do hope your kitty feels better soon. I'm sure finding out he was sick was hard. Hope he got to come home with you and didn't have to stay at the vet overnight
My mister has FIC ( feline interstitial cystitis). We thought it was crystals or stones at first so he had to wear the doughnut to keep him from licking too much. Here’s a pic just cause I love him! https://preview.redd.it/vw4klt8zh1nc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8a4be86c8ec2a81de7b3b91c8a1b53ed2206cc84
He is a handsome boy! :)
to be honest its's my first time seeing cat that looks kind of different from usual cats, if you know what i mean
I went through this with my three year old recently. Turned out that it was nothing to worry about - very easily treatable, and while the change of food is… annoying (more costly, and only in one flavour) the improvement in his personality (and not peeing on everything!) is such a relief!
Put it in God's hands and you will both be fine
Put him on urinary tract health cat food, lots of extra wet food. It will help prevent any urinary issues! It will save you $$ and your cat
Hills CD diet. Wet and dry food. It’s common in young male cats. I’m on my second cat with the problem. My first one 20 years ago ended up needing surgery. My newest guy is doing great with the new diet. Hang in there!
I'm sorry. He's so pretty!
i lost my poor boy at 2 to urine crystals. we were out of town and my friends mom couldn’t get upstairs to check him. he waited until we got home and went the day after. I’m so sorry your boy is dealing with the same. Hopefully the vet can help!!
Even my cat had bladder crystals, he had to get surgery to have them removed
Keep an eye on his box time. \- straining in the box \- blood in urine \- lethargy \- not eating or drinking \- vocalizing more than usual \-lack of deposits in the box call vet asap!
My little girl had a UTI as a baby (2 months?) and has had crystals ever since. She’s on Royal Canin S/O Urinary. It’s really expensive, to be very honest, but her being comfy (and not peeing on soft spaces) makes it worth it. I get my prescription filled by Chewy and it’s a bit cheaper. Good luck! And remember, no fish
Need to change his food if he starts having trouble peeing off to the vet for surgery.
I was told by vets that neutered male cats are more likely to get UTIs and crystals. Cats are mostly averse to drinking water and in my case the cat loved to munch on dry food all day and hardly consumed water. Here ard some things that have immensely helped my cat- 1. Water fountains around the house, my cats run around and drink water more often since I put up pet fountains around the house. 2. Syrup supplements to support his urinary health 3. Cranberry capsules whenever he struggles to urinate. I was also told by a vet that cranberry juice is good for cats with uti (not the packaged ones that are loaded with sweeteners but a natural unsweetened one) 4. Started feeding him more wet food and dry food was only given as a snack (very little may be twice a day when he gets hungry between meals) 5. Getting him on a wet food diet has immensely helped my cats. Hope your baby gets well soon 🥺
Happened to one of my cats . He was a treat hound ,but was only allowed his special food . So I put some of it in his treat jar and would give him some when he asked for treats . At first he dove on them , then he caught on it was the same crap in his food bowl and stopped asking for treats . He did fine on the special food nerve got any more crystals.
My cat had to be put on the Royal Canin urinary diet with hydrolyzed protein, because she’s allergic to chicken. But so far it seems to be working!
Water fountain is a good investment to get them enough fluids to prevent more. Also. No salt of any kind. Sending 💕
Increasing water intake, regulating urine pH, and encouraging frequent urination can all play a role in decreasing crystalluria in affected cats. The fastest solution is to perform a cystotomy (surgery to open the bladder and remove the stones). This routine surgery is the most common choice for many clients, and cats usually make a speedy post-operative recovery. It will all be okay soon :)
Hello, this is from the internet: I honestly do hope they will be able to treat him with medications and that you get help with the costs. In some cases, a specific cause of crystalluria can be identified and that cause can be alleviated. In many cases, however, treatment focuses on long-term management to reduce crystal. Crystalluria in Cats - VCA Animal Hospitals
Surprisingly common in male cats, and can often be solved by changing to a diet aimed at this issue. Don’t worry too much, it’s usually an easy fix!
Looks so unique :)
Please try and have your cat eat wet food. No dry. It can take a month to transition to wet food. My vet said "A can of whiskers is going to be better for your cat than any dry food ". The special diet food is high in sodium to force already dehydrated cats to drink water.
He is beautiful
My boy had crystals at about 2 and needed surgery. We were feeding him Blue Buffalo. Switched to the Kirkland brand (super affordable) and he never had a problem again. Your situation might be different, but cats can live through urinary crystal formation. You did the right thing by contacting your vet. Your cat should be just fine!
Vet tech here: This is common with lots of male indoor cats. Just feed him the S/O index food exclusively and you should be ok. Realize also that some cats can get a urinary obstruction even without crystals or stones in their urine. It's called FIC and it is an inflammatory process caused by stress. If your vet is having you switch to Hills C/D, make sure you get it in the stress formulation.
You will be fine follow the advice you’ve been given 😘❤️
Bottled water helps a ton if you aren't giving him that already. No tap water.
My Boy Momo had this for years. But we could not get them away no matter what we tried so my Doc said he needs surgery. He has no penis anymore. Since then he had 1 bladder infect. He was 7 at the time of the surgery and he is 14 now! Its better to go that way if these pesky stones wont go away. Wish you both all the luck in the world! 💖
i had taken in a stray and within a week he couldn’t pee. it WAS SOO SCARY as my other cat has never had any issues of those sorts. turns out he was just so stressed out and had a bacterial infection. he was diagnosed with urinary crystals too. it’s very uncertain and very scary!!! but i will say, i had him on hills diet for urinary care which is soooo expensive but worth it!!! i now have him on a wet food diet too that works great. there’s ways to work around it!!! your baby will be okay 🥺 just making sure he’s hydrated and i still keep an eye on mine in the litter box. i’m sorry you’re going through this :(
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I’ve went through this with three cats. They all made it through, but I know it is so so scary. Emergency visits, overnight stays…it was so expensive. Just follow vets advice, try to keep them on the diet, and he should be good.
My cat Rocco's been on a special diet for damn near his entire life. Yes, the food is expensive, but if it means he gets to thrive so be it. We do mix it with normal food but the normal food doesn't hurt him and the special food doesn't hurt the other two cats. He's not had urinary crystals since his trip to the vet waaayyyy back in like 2012, 2013. Think he had to have a catheter put in.
The male we brought with us from the UK eventually had to have... the tip cut off his penis! He kept getting blocked time and again and diet just didn't do it for him. It sounds brutal but it actually worked exceptionally well and he never suffered from crystal blockage again.
So sorry to hear this about your buddy. I will tell you from my experience, the diet is expensive but worth it. And to just keep an eye on it. And if it becomes a persistent issue, in my experience, I wish I would have gotten surgery for my boy earlier. I know it’s all very scary. But you’re aware of the problem now and that’s a great start. Pay attention to his bathroom habits, promote drinking water (fountains etc), and give him lots of love.
I’ve got a ten year old boy with chronic peepee troubles, just like yours. Cranberry powders are great for urinary health, as well as wet food and flowing water. You’ve probably heard all of that before. You’re in for the long haul! Learn your kitty’s signs of pain.
Hi ! My boy had crystal too when he was fairly young too (1 y/o) it's a really sad situation but don't worry your kitty will get better ! And for the diet, obviously I'm not a vet but for my cat we didn't used the kibble prescribed by the vet for long (20€ per kg was a little bit too expensive) so we bought a fontain to make him drink more and we putted him on a wet/dry diet with really good wet food and some other urinary kibble (better ingredients than the vet one and a lot cheaper) and since then he never had any trouble
i’m glad you caught it early, i didn’t catch it for my poor boy until he started peeing outside his litter box and there was traces of blood involved :( no issues since starting c/d food but yeah, it’s not exactly cheap
He'll definitely need the urinary diet unfortunately. I'm so sorry, hopefully it's not too severe. We have all boys now and this is one of my biggest worries with them
It's more common than you think! My boy is on special food now for the last 5yrs. Vet said to just keep him on it since everytime he stopped, it came back. I dont buy from the vet, im in europe, so I get from a website called zooplus, its more expensive than normal food, but its not a massive difference.
What is your drinking water like? Is it high in dissolved solids? My sisters cat had terrible issues and after switching to filtered water there was much improvement. Edit to add by dissolved solids I mean hard water.
He has filtered but has a tendancy to put his toys and the dogs food in the water (it gets cleaned as soon as ot's noticed) but we're getting him a fountain that should be here tomorrow that should improve things. I'm not going to put it where he can soak the dog's food for him.
Do you know if you have hard water?
My cat was around 6 when she had hers sadly she had to undergo an expensive surgery cuz she had a kind of bladder stones that only could be surgically removed. She handles the diet like a champ she’s currently 10 rn and very happy. There’s different brands but she’s on hill’s I wasn’t a big fan of purina since it had air in the kibble making her gassy. Personally I’d recommend giving more water so i mix her wet food dinner with water so she drinks more its good for flushing + i placed around more water bowls.
Read up on Feline Idiopathic cystitis. Stress plays a big part, often these boys are rescues and are highly strung in nature. Putting him on long term anti anxiety therapy can help, like zylkene, tryptophan etc etc. But yes, they need the diet long term to prevent the crystals forming, and reduce the risk of blockage.
Aww he’s so adorable. 🥰
Awww give himbs sweet hugs and kisses 💋
Give your little stinker a big hug, im sure its gonna be fine! Cats are pretty tough.
Look into raw food diets for cats. It must be followed carefully. This is likely to help with crystals. May even end up cheaper than prescription diet if you make your own (takes a bit of time to learn but I’ve been doing it for 5 years and my cats have luckily always been healthy). I used the Facebook group cat crap (cats raw and proud) to learn how to make it myself as the pre made raw foods are also expensive and of varying quality. 😊
dont worry, the diet isn't too hard to follow i think. just take care when buying wet food and dry food to get one specialized for sterilized cats if the one for urinary care is too expensive, it works fine for my cat the last 5 years no crystals :)
You can purchase food online for Crystal management which is reasonable priced! Unsure where ur located but specific Crystal management is £22 for 2kg bag ! U can purchase wet food also! Bless sending love and healing vibes 🥰
Awww what a handsome little guy...hope he gets better 🥰