Hello!
I have a cat that is 12 years old. He got urinary stones when he was 3 years old.
We were advised to give him Royal Canin urinary cat food.
We’ve given it to him ever since.
Has become more and more interested in giving our cats a more natural diet without vegetable additives such as corn and other treats that are abundant in certain foods.
I have read somewhere that it is magnesium that has been removed from the feed to reduce the risk of urinary stones. Is there any food with 100% animal ingredients that is adapted for cats that can get urinary stones?
Then I also read that Royal Canin’s urinary cat food should only be given for 1-2 months after the cat has received urinary stones, and then go back to regular food?
Did our vet forget to tell us?
So maybe a special food for our cat is not needed after all?
Sorry for the long text! Would be thankful for any answer you might have.
Hey!
Some cats need to stay on the Urinary for the rest of their lives because otherwise they will have recurring problems.
If your cat has not had any urinary tract problems in recent years, it may work to switch to another food.
There is a feed called Urinary High Dilution that should not be used for life – is this the feed you read about perhaps?
In Urinary, the magnesium content is reduced because it is a building block for a certain type of urinary stone (struvite). Urinary prevents both struvite stones and calcium oxalate stones.
As far as I know, there is no food but vegetable ingredients that are adapted for cats with urinary stone problems.
But Urinary is available as wet food and wet food usually contains significantly less carbohydrates and vegetable constituents than most dry food.
If you have the opportunity, I recommend discussing a possible feed change with your veterinarian.