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Old August 22nd, 2011, 11:11 PM
Rumor Rumor is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2011
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bladder stones + CRF

I posted a bit ago and got some advice on my kitty's newly diagnosed CRF. Sorry this is so long.... my worry is making me ramble!

Gollum is 16 1/2 years old, a fat black domestic shorthair. I have had her since she was born. We currently reside on an Air Force base in Japan, along with her two younger step-sisters. While I always tried to feed my babies well, I was ignorant for a long time on proper cat nutrition, and so they have grown up on dry food, various brands that I (wrongly) believed to be "good" along the way. About 2 years ago, I decided to switch them to a healthier diet, so they all began eating the Evo Wild Cravings Chicken and Turkey dry. All 3 loved it.

Several months ago, Gollum was suspected to have the beginnings of CRF. With extremely limited choices in a foreign country on a base, I immediately switched her to Science Diet Mature Adult Active Longevity cat food (as they are the only offering that was low phosphorous). She started getting canned food mixed with water regularly, and some kibbles on the side. The vet says her blood test numbers are good (not too high) and her urine concentration is okay as well, so she just has early signs, not major failure yet. I also ordered several cases of the Organix brand canned catfood (Turkey & Salmon, Turkey & Spinach, Turkey & Seafood, and Turkey, Brown Rice, & Chicken.) While not my first choice (I wanted to stay grain-free...) it was one of the few that was low phosphorous, organic, and could be mail ordered and shipped to me!! All 3 cats now eat that, although they don't care for it. *sigh Next round will have to be something else... The two cats without CRF still get some EVO dry as well, and Gollum has been getting the Science Diet Active Longevity mixed with Now! Grain-free Adult Cat food. But this switch is only in the past couple of weeks. She was mostly on the Science Diet (canned and dry) when the NEW problem occured.

About 4 weeks ago, Gollum started going back and forth to the litter box, peeing in tiny drips and drops. Squatting on the floor. Crying. And then I noticed blood in with her urine. We went to the vet and she was diagnosed with a UTI and placed on Clavamox for 2 weeks. She seemed to be better, all cleared up. Less than a week after her last dose, the symptoms came back. Another urine sample to the vet, bacteria detected, back on the Clavamox. Today, I took Gollum in for an ultrasound (which turned out to simply be some x-rays.) The x-rays detected several stones in her bladder (2 bigger ones at 5mm and approx 4 smaller ones). Unfortunately, she is not finding crystals in the urine samples, which means they are probably not struvite. However, she does not know what kind of stones they are.

I have been told to keep Gollum on the Clavamox for another month (as the infection will return as soon as I stop) and was told to keep her on a STRICT diet of only Hills Prescription Diet c/d multicare bladder health. The vet is out of the canned (and won't get more for over a month), so she can have ONLY dry (which seems counterproductive to the CRF; I also don't know what the phosphorous of the c/d formula is.) The vet is hoping this will dissolve the stones in a month, but has scheduled surgery in early October if it does not. Our concern (both the vet and I) is Gollum's age (nearly 17) plus the CRF may complicate the surgery.

My mommy-worry is that by changing her catfood to the Science Diet in hopes of getting the CRF under control, I caused her newest problem of stones! But now we must deal with that...

My question: What are some GOOD foods that I can give my poor Gollum? Something for stones/bladder health that is also low phosphorous for her CRF. I would prefer something organic and grain-free, but I'm sure I'm asking for the impossible at this point. I also give her a little Omega-3 supplement every day, some canned pumpkin for fiber (the Clavamox was making her constipated) and Dasuquin 2x/day for arthritis. Is there a good "bladder health" supplement that I could give her to help with the stones as well?

I'm not ready to lose my baby girl, and the stress of all these health issues is driving us both crazy!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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