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Old February 12th, 2009, 10:40 PM
kitkat852 kitkat852 is offline
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18 yr old cat with kidney stones

My (N) male cat has two stones in his left kidney. He had bladder infections in 2006 and July 2008. This January, he had problems again, but the culture and sensitivity test indicated that there was no infection. His pH has never been over 7 in his last three urine tests. As far as I know, the kidney stones are a recent development as they were not seen in the July ultrasound.

He has eaten wet food his entire life, but refuses to eat prescription food (2 kinds Science Diet, Waltham, and Purina UR). I also bought Wellness CORE, Evo, Before Grain and Homestyle, which he also refused to eat.

The vet recommended acidifying his regular food (Fancy Feast and ground chicken breast). I have L-Methionine but I have not added it to his food yet because I am concerned that the stones may not be struvite. I'm also concerned about partially dissolving a stone and the stone getting stuck. The vet said I could acidify the diet *or* wait a few months and re-ultrasound to see if the stones get larger. The vet did not suggest surgery due to the age and condition of my cat.

I'd like to do something for my cat but I don't want to make him worse. I would greatly appreciate some input, please.
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Old February 13th, 2009, 12:25 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitkat852 View Post
The vet recommended acidifying his regular food (Fancy Feast and ground chicken breast). I have L-Methionine but I have not added it to his food yet because I am concerned that the stones may not be struvite.
I agree with you about being cautious with the acidifier, especially not knowing what type of stone it is. If it's made up of calcium oxalate (which tends to be more common in older cats), you could make the problem worse. Can you get some ph test strips and test his urine yourself at home? Because urine ph fluctuates throughout the day, it might be a good idea to get several readings at different times to see what the trend is. Also adding extra water to his canned food could help.

How is his kidney function otherwise? Another reason not to use an acidifier would be if he has CRF, as it can compound the excessive acidification that sometimes goes along with it.

Were there crystals present in the urinalysis?
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Old February 13th, 2009, 12:43 PM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Here is some background on stones. If your vet doesn't reccommend surgery than I would be diligently checking my kitty's ph level as sugarcatmom suggested. Also a quality canned diet with added water will also help. The best is a natural raw diet, but depending on your kitty that may be very difficult to do.


I hope your kitty is not in pain.


http://www.peteducation.com/article....+1402&aid=2729

Another link, this emphasizes the importance of knowing which stone is present:

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Page...struct_Web.pdf
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Old February 13th, 2009, 04:35 PM
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I just had a thought, are you feeding your cat a lot of fish Fancy Feast flavours? If so, it might be a good idea to try eliminating fish from his diet. Maybe a food with better quality ingredients like Wellness or Innova Evo 95% or Nature's Variety Instinct (or raw, as Love4himies suggested). Fish consumption can be a contributing factor for kidney/bladder/urinary tract problems in some cats.
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Old February 15th, 2009, 11:43 PM
kitkat852 kitkat852 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarcatmom View Post
Can you get some ph test strips and test his urine yourself at home? Because urine ph fluctuates throughout the day, it might be a good idea to get several readings at different times to see what the trend is.
I have a few test strips (haven't used them yet) but I'm not sure how reliable the results would be -- if I could get an accurate reading.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarcatmom View Post
How is his kidney function otherwise? Another reason not to use an acidifier would be if he has CRF, as it can compound the excessive acidification that sometimes goes along with it.
I would assume because of his age he has some degree of CRF. The vet did prescribe DL-methionine, though.

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Originally Posted by sugarcatmom View Post
Were there crystals present in the urinalysis?
No, it's a guess that they are struvite.
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Old February 15th, 2009, 11:47 PM
kitkat852 kitkat852 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
a quality canned diet with added water will also help. The best is a natural raw diet, but depending on your kitty that may be very difficult to do.

I hope your kitty is not in pain.
Thank you for the links.

I've given him Wellness CORE, Evo, Before Grain and Homestyle. He either flatly refused or ate a few bites and refused to eat any more.

He eats ground chicken breast but I don't like feeding him that because it isn't nutritionally balanced. I give him chicken when he refuses everything else. :sad:
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