raw fed cat with crystals

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jules.  I am a raw feeder for cats and dogs.  Toby my 7 year old male neuter, no vaccs. cat has had bouts of urinary tract infections for the past two years on and off every six months or so.  He has eaten homemade raw his whole life.  I prepare my food prey model style.  I grind whole parts of a chicken and add fish oil, hearts, liver and eggs. For the past 4 years he has been able to go outside, come and go as he pleases.  Possibly eating at the neighbors?  Not sure.  On 11/12 his urine tested in the normal ph range, but loaded with blood and no crystals.  The vet flushed out his bladder, rectum (constipated) and his nose........don't ask.... yesterdays urine showed 8.0 ph with crystals.  What is going on??? Is there any connection with phosphorus and crystals?  That is my    main question.
       Did flushing of the bladder contribute to moving crystals down the path?  Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Margaret,

Sorry to hear about Toby's problems, honey. I have some questions:

Are you feeding a balanced raw diet with regards to the calcium to phosphorus ratio i.e. you're feeding the WHOLE chicken? I think you are since you are using the whole prey model, but had to ask to clarify.

Are you feeding a variety of meats? Feeding a variety is important because different meats contain varying amounts of methionine - which helps keep kitties' urine acidic. My kitty, Abby, has a tendency to run a higher pH naturally, so I add extra breast meat to my raw recipe to help with that (breast meat is higher in methionine). To me variety and methionine content would be more pertinent than phosphorus.

You're not adding grains to his raw diet, right?

Did the vet do a Culture and Sensitivity test to determine what type of bacteria were there, since you said "infection"? Did he prescribe an antibiotic?

Stress can play a huge part in recurrent episodes of FLUTD/FUS/IC, so would it be possible to keep him indoors? Stress will bring on an attack for my Abby every time.

Here's a link to some great info on urinary problems that gives information on how to use natural supplements to help: http://www.holisticat.com/flutd.html

Sorry for all the questions...hugs to you and your sweet boy,

Jules



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Jules for getting back so quickly  No I am not feeding a variety of meats just ckn. No grains, he has never had grains unless outside... yes I can and am keeping him in I have a cat room now with an outdoor cat kennel attached. He was on clavamox and I don't know what type of bacteria he had actually I think she is stumped because there wasnt any bacteria but I will ask her when she call.  Question:  what part of the chicken does the phos.come from??? I am confused about that I was thinking bone.  What is your suggestion to help with constipation???
Thank you so much
Margaret

Answer
Hi Margaret,

Arg. I had a long message all typed up and the server timed out on me here. So, I'll try to remember what I said. :)

It is good you are keeping him inside so you can monitor him. Poor bubby. One thing you need to do is feed a variety of meats. Different meats contain different amounts of nutrients. By feeding only chicken, they are going to be lacking and feeding only chicken can lead to a potassium deficiency. ***Variety is key.***

With my boy, Abby, who has occasional urinary problems, I add extra breast meat to my raw recipe because it is higher in methionine and a natural acidifier. Abby tends to run a higher pH naturally. I also add the appropriate amount of Eggshell Powder (for calcium) to that part of the raw mix to balance the calcium to phos ratio.

I so hate when vets prescribe an antibiotic when there is no need. That's a pet peeve of mine! I wouldn't give it unless there were confirmed bacteria by Culture and Sensitivity test.

Okay...Meat contains calcium and phos. Bones contain calcium and phos. BUT - with any meat (not just chicken) there is *more phos* than calcium. In the bones of the prey animal is *more calcium* than phos. So, by feeding a whole prey animal you are balancing the high phos in the meat with the high calcium in the bones. Kitties need a ratio of 1.1:1 - 1.4:1 calcium to phos in their diet. Whole chicken has a ratio of around 1.4:1 - so it is at the upper range of calcium to phos.

Do you add a small amount of veggies to their food? This might be part of the reason for constipation - and because whole chicken has a higher calcium amount and calcium can be constipating. What you can do is add around 5% pureed veggies to their food. Or you can add to each meal - around 1-2 tablespoons per pound of meat. My kids are picky about veggies, so you might have to experiment until you find one they like. Rice bran is also something to consider as a fiber source. I add approximately 1 heaping tablespoon to a pound of food for my kids. One thing, with rice bran there are studies that show that it can deplete taurine, so additional taurine should be added to their food. This is just as a precaution, because in the studies, the amount of rice bran was quite high - and we don't give that much.

For the constipation issues with your boy kid right now, you could get psyllium husk powder and mix 1/8 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons of water and mix it in his meals. Pumpkin can also work well for this - and can be used as a veggie in their food if they like it. It has to be 100% pure canned pumpkin, not anything else added. You would add around 1/8-1/4 tsp per meal.

Please check out the link I gave you previously for supplements to help your kitty feel better with his FLUTD issues. I use Cornsilk tea (yup, tea bags and water - I also use a decaf kind), Slippery Elm Bark gruel, Glucosamine Sulfate and Chrondroitin Sulfate for my boy Abby that has a problem once in a while. So, the link I gave you will help with this sort of thing. I have got to say that the last bout that Abby had I noticed right away that he was acting off a bit and immediately used the above and he was fine by that night.

Gosh, I could write a book here! I would urge you to visit Holisticat.com and check out info there.

Hope my rambling made sense. LOL

Hugs,

Jules