Cat Query
 

Good afternoon.....Our cat has just had crystals in his urinary tract...we had medication and he is doing well however the food the vet has given us has caused him to gain almost 2 pounds in 3 months....I need some help here.. I home cook food for my 3 dogs and am considering doing this as well for my cat...does anyone here home cook for their male cat, if so what do you feed and have you had any urinary issues.
Thanks Sheryl

[QUOTE=s-robertson;1038618]Good afternoon.....Our cat has just had crystals in his urinary tract...[/quote]

Do you know what type of crystals they were? Struvite? Calcium oxalate? Any other results from the urinalysis, such as urine ph and specific gravity is also useful.


[QUOTE=s-robertson;1038618]we had medication and he is doing well [/quote]

What was the medication? Is he still taking it?

[QUOTE=s-robertson;1038618]however the food the vet has given us has caused him to gain almost 2 pounds in 3 months....[/quote]

No doubt! Which of the prescription diets is he eating? Wet or dry? Unfortunately the ingredients in these foods are really quite horrid and are for the most part a completely inappropriate way to treat urinary tract issues (which are largely the result of feeding inappropriate ingredients in the first place). In the majority of FLUTD situations, simply switching from a grain-heavy dry food to a higher quality meat-based wet food is all that's needed. There is the rare cat that also requires the addition of an acidifying amino acid (such as L-methionine) to keep urine ph levels within normal range.

[QUOTE=s-robertson;1038618]does anyone here home cook for their male cat, if so what do you feed and have you had any urinary issues.
[/QUOTE]

No point in cooking food for cats - raw would be a way better option (and easier!!). Some info for you on that at these links:
[url]http://feline-nutrition.org/nutrition/the-benefits-of-a-raw-diet-for-your-cat[/url]
[url]http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/homemade-vs-commercial-food-for-cats-and-dogs/[/url]
[url]http://www.holisticat.com/rawrecipe.html[/url]
[url]http://www.catinfo.org/[/url]

And some mandatory reading regarding urinary tract health in cats and how it relates to diet: [url]http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth[/url]

Cat Query
 

Thanks for all the suggestions.....now how about a suggestion for high quality wet food...we are in ontario canada so need a good quality available here in Ontario

[QUOTE=s-robertson;1038618] I home cook food for my 3 dogs and am considering doing this as well for my cat...does anyone here home cook for their male cat, if so what do you feed and have you had any urinary issues.
Thanks Sheryl[/QUOTE]

Cooking will kill essential nutrients that cats require, such as taurine, so as SCM stated, raw is a better option. Cats have very specific dietary needs, unlike dogs, so following a prey model diet is extremely important.

This is the recipe that I use:

[url]http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood#The_Recipe[/url]

Some quality canned food that is readily available here in Ontario are:

Wellness, grain free (probably the easiest to find)
Nature's Variety Instinct (not Prairie)
Organics by Nature
Go
Weruva