Need canned food advice!

Well it's been 4 months since Kyra was diagnosed with her U.T.I., and this was the first time since I had her that she had it. She was on medi-cal preventive (because of a struvite crystal incident a year prior), mostly dry. She's since recovered, and I had been feeding her felidae. In the beginning I fed her canned with water added in the morning and dry with water in the evening as I was so scared of the U.T.I recurring. I felt as if this was overboard however as the urine in the litter box doubled, which made for a messy and dirty box, even though I scooped it twice a day. Also I was afraid that by drinking this much she'd had alkaline urine and develop the other kind of crystals, etc...SO I basically gave her wet in the morning and dry at night. From then on, this is what I've been feeding her.

She's been getting de-mineralized bottled water as well, and I've been keeping her litterbox clean. Today however, she's been in the litter box many times already, straining and only urinating small amounts at a time. I recognize these signs and have already made a vet appointment. I'm hoping it's not crystals, though her urine is a little redish. My plan, after this providing it is another U.T.I, is to feed only canned food. She loves it anyway, but now I am wondering if Felidae is the way to go?

I want to make sure she gets enough protein, nutrients etc..from her canned since I will be feeding only that. I also have to keep in mind the magnesium and phosphorus levels, and of course would like it to have quality ingredients.

Anyway, long story short...If anyone's been through this and or is feeding canned food exclusively, what brand do you feed and what are the ingredients? I am a little picky with ingredients as I won't feed her a low quality food. Also price is a bit of an issue, as I'm a poor full time student, but it's only an issue up to a certain point, ie $5 a can would be a bit too much, but $2-3 would be ok. Thanks

I don't feed canned exclusively, however, I do feed it as a meal once a day to my 2 cats. I use Merrick brand canned food. My cats seem to really LOVE it (good quality), they have great variety, and it's affordable.

good luck w/ your cat, I hope it's not serious and easily cleared up. Your cat is VERY lucky to have such a knowledgable and caring owner such as yourself.

Perhaps a canned diet along w/ some RAW food would be a way to go instead of using any dry kibble? I don't feed RAW, but there are quite a few members here who do who could give you some great places to start.

post an update if you can after your vet apt - good luck!

have you thought about researching a home made diet?? if you are looking for a canned food, and if not up for making your pets food, i understand but perhaps its worth looking into. it is far cheaper than $2 or $5 a can of prepared food. :)

with a home made diet you can adjust the water content of the food from a paste to a broth depending on how much water intake your cat needs.

if you are interested, there are many members here who are willing to share recipes!

a good rule of thumb is simply 70% meat, 10% organ, 20% between veggies/dairy/grain... or even totally cut out grain, cats dont need it anyway. taurine is cooked out so supplement with raw oysters and make sure you add calcium back into their diet if there are no bones (raw only) in their diet.

-ashley

The Wellness (http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/cat_wellness_can_index.html) canned grain-free varieties are great, and really not that expensive (under $2 for a 5.5oz can - it's even more economical if you buy the big 12oz cans). Nature's Variety also makes a grain-free canned, but it's more expensive at about $2.30 a can where I shop. Some other good quality brands, although not necessarily grain-free, are Precise, Eagle Pack, Newman's Own, Felidae, and Merrick.

As for making your own food, I'd really do some research first before diving into it. If you wanted to try some raw here and there you can buy pre-packaged raw from some quality pet food stores.