Any Suggestions for a dry cat food for male neutered cats or helpful forum?

[gvstn]

My cat has dramatically cut his intake of his regular dry cat food Purina One Urinary Tract Health formula. I wouldn't usually care except that it has gone on since August and with the lack of oversight of pet foods, I don't want to force the issue.

I know Purina is not a particularly great cat food but my vet said it was okay in the urinary tract version and my cat loves/(loved) it compared to the Iams we had fed him his first year. He was concerned that a male neutered cat needed a lower pH to avoid urinary tract infections over time. The cat is about 15 and healthy, overweight but healthy.

I haven't been able to find any other supermarket varieties that say urinary tract version or get nutritional information regarding magnesium content (which appears to be the thing that controls pH) off of other packages. Does anyone have a food they could recommend or a forum that might be able to point me in the direction of another dry food I can try? The cat has a healthy appetite for his wet food but has turned against the dry.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. we have a male Maine Coon that had a urinary tract issue (crystal formation, blockage) -

was on the special, buy at the Vet only food - but we now have 3 indoor male neutered cats and it is impossible to feed them separately. So we've gone to Science Diet dry food, indoor male age 1-6. They all love it and are thriving on it, and Kip hasn't experienced a recurrence of the blockage that nearly did him in.

[gvstn]

3. Thanks!

I'm interested if any one else has comments on Science Diet.

I fed my previous cat that for his whole life and had no problems. When this switch to Purina happened (They were out of Iams at the grocery store and I picked up a box of Cat Chow to get through a few days and the cat danced around and purred like it was Christmas. I tried to put him back on Iams and he balked.) the vet said he hated Purina foods. So I said give me a brand--which he couldn't do. I asked him about Science Diet and he said it was too fatty and then I asked him about the other brand they sold in his lobby and he didn't like that one either. So we settled on Cat Chow with urinary tract formula which is now Purina One.

I'm inclined to Science Diet anyhow and now that you say you had a cat that already had problems and they did not reoccur with that product it bolsters my confidence. I'm just wondering if anyone else has a vet that specifically mentions pH levels because I can't seem to find that information on labels.

[haele]

15. If you look up a specific cat food online, check it at the Petco site.

They'll have the Quality Assurance percentages listed in the description area (look for the tabbed table usually below the picture of the product) that will give you the percentage of protien, magnesium, and ash content, which is usually the most important considerations if you've got a cat with issues.

You may want to ask your vet what sort of protien level to look at, and whether or not fish is recommended for your cat. With three, I've got to worry about finding a cat food that all can eat, and I supplement additional protien for the one that needs it with additional canned food as a "treat" at times I can control their individual intake.

It's important to ask about the fish recommendation; a lot of dry cat food adds farm-raised salmon, which some cat breeds cannot handle very well.

Haele

[applegrove]

2. My female used to get sick on grocery store bought dry food. I changed her to

Chicken Soup for the Catlover's Soul, senior cat harball formula dry food. She never gets sick. She likes it. It has real meat and vegetables.

[gvstn]

5. Yes

I've seen several threads here on Du about healthy pet foods. My stumbling point is the pH which my vet made a big deal about. Something about the neutering process increasing the likelihood of kidney stones or crystals as NraleighLiberal relates. My last cat was male but this is a different vet and that seemed to be his thing about the pH. The thing is he could never give me a specific recommendation for a food--he just shot down every one I suggested as too fatty.

I have a PetSmart but the staff doesn't seem to knowledgeable about foods from what I recollect. I'll keep the Chicken Soup for Catlover's Soul in mind.

[NV Whino]

8. I feed all three (2 males, 1 female) Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul adult light

They love it and it's good for them. No corn. No meat by products.

[ailsagirl]

4. It's so difficult for me to find a food my cats like

Canned food is .60 per can and I can't tell you how many times I've opened up a new can and they all walked off. I can't seem to impress upon them that money doesn't grown on trees. (They wouldn't care, anyway!)

Gotta love 'em, though

[gvstn]

6. My cat has boring tastes.

I bought about twenty varieties of wet food and he turned away from almost all of them. So he gets his same boring favorite flavor for 15 years and still eats with gusto. Once in a while I pick up the wrong flavor and save them in case of a snowstorm. But he has to be desperate to try a new flavor--usually just licks up the oil and walks away from the rest.

[ailsagirl]

7. You're lucky!!

When I buy the canned food ("in sauce&quot , mine lick off the sauce and depart, leaving me their cat dishes with rapidly-drying "savory bits," which I have to wash down the disposal. Money down the drain, literally. They love tuna (bad for them) and, of course, real meat, but those things would not a good cat diet make. (now would my budget allow it)

"sigh"

[haele]

9. I used to give my boys Maxx Cat and Nutro; they have no-grain formulas

that were considered UTI safe; Moggy used to get stuvite cyctits and Nutro lite was recommended if I couldn't get Walthams urinary tract formula (which was one of the best about a decade ago). Nutro brands list the magnesium and ash content on the bags, and they're within the same price range as the Purina One.

Nutro Max Cat senior brand (roast chicken) has .09% Magnesium and 6% ash (which are some of the best numbers of those particular ingredients that cause UTI), but it does have corn gluten, which can cause some tummy issues for some, and can increase acid levels in certain breeds.

Compare to Purina One UTI - .08% Magnesium, 6.2% ash.

The Purina One Beyond might also be a brand to look at (if you can find it), and it doesn't have corn in it.

Currently, my girl cats are eating Castor and Pollux Organix cat food (which, for some reason, is cheaper at the commissary than the Nutro brands are), and my elder who has tummy issues (she has a lot of issues, including a fish and corn intolerance) can handle that brand, when she couldn't handle any of the Purina One brands other than the One Beyond.
Our hairball situation has all but disappeared, everyone's weight is stabilizing, and they're all a lot more energetic. They all love it - and they're also eating much less in a setting; a 2.5 lb bag in a free-feed container lasts three cats a week - as long as a 3.5 lb bag.

Castor and Pollux Organix Dry food has .1% Magnesium (max), 6.5% ash and has the best proteins (100% certified organic chicken - no byproducts) and the binder grains are barley and brown rice. It's not as good for UTI as Nutro or a prescription UTI formula, but it's probably the best closest brand overall.

My vet is more concerned about the PH balance in the urine; she says that recent studies have shown that Magnesium and ash levels in the food interact with the local water (ours is highly alkaline); that's a major factor in UTIs and triggers crystal development. The best thing to do is filter the cat's drinking water and keep it fresh to keep crystal formations and UTIs down, and use a good quality cat food that doesn't have a lot of grain filters or uses byproducts. Oh, and keep tuna water to a minimum.

Hope this helps.

Haele

[gvstn]

10. Very informative!

I had just opened about ten tabs of a google search so I have to digest your post.

My cat never had an issue with UTI but then again he has always been on the Purina One, so I want to stick with something with low magnesium just to be safe. I would ignore the issue except for the fact that he has so turned against the same food he has been eating for years that I worry there may be something wrong with it. I've bought three different bags and it is the same with all three.

I appreciate the details and will check these out. It will probably take a few brands to find one he will eat so the more possibilities the better.

[gvstn]

17. Thanks again for this post.

I bought a bag of Nutro Natural Choice Chicken Senior which the cat seems happy with so far. It was good to hear him crunching away at his food again. http://www.nutro.com/natural-cat-food/natural-choice-cat-food/dry/indoor-senior-chicken-brown-rice.aspx

There was no Magnesium level on the bag or website but because the Nutro Max variety had a relatively low Mg level, I figured I would try the "healthier" Natural Choice variety since it had rice rather than corn as the carbohydrate. I emailed them to ask about Magnesium and got a prompt reply, but it is 0.13% which is higher than I would have expected. It seems odd that the Natural Choice line is considered a premium food above the Max line but has a higher Mg level. I realize that Mg levels aren't everything and it is the actual urine pH that counts but I wonder why corn based foods give pH but most rice/natural ones don't? Obviously, they only list Mg level on the bag when it is very low.

Since I am concerned about both weight and a healthy urine pH level I think I will watch how he does with this small 3lb. bag--regarding appetite, water drinking and overall consumption. If I think he might be content and lose a few pounds then I will stick with this formula. If he seems to eat with complete abandon then I may consider switching to the Max variety to see if the flavor still appeals but it will have the lower Mg level.

Thanks again for your input. I may have made the wrong choice but I have better information thanks to you!

[tandot]

11. I've tried several dry cat foods with my cat

because she was constantly throwing up. The one brand she can digest is "The Goodlife Recipe" indoors. Also the couple of times he had an urinary tract infection, I gave him cranberry pills. I have those on hand because I come down with those frequently.

They have those cranberry pills specifically for cats. Google "cats urinary tract infection cranberry" and you'll find some products. They have treats with cranberry or just supplements. It stopped my cat's pain and urge to urinate everywhere almost instantly.

Good luck!

[graywarrior]

12. I have a part Maine Coon and we recently switched to a dry food available only at Trader Joes

He seems much healthier aside from the fact that he's a nasty mo fo.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. My vet recommended Wysong Uretic.

The cat likes it and it's not full of all that corn and chicken beaks kind of crap.

http://www.wysong.net/products/uretic-healthy-natural-cat-food.php

[LeftyMom]

14. He'll eat wet food but not dry?

At his age I'd get his teeth checked, it might just be that he's uncomfortable eating hard food and has a dental issue that needs addressed.

If that's the underlying issue you can try wetting the dry food so that it's softer, that's supposed to be a good idea for cats with urinary issues to make sure they get enough water anyhow.

[brooklynite]

16. My Vet recommended Royal Canin

Primary issue was sensitive stomach, but they have a range of options