BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Cats urinary problems from specific catfoods?

We have 3 indoor-only cats at home. The ones at home started urinating in strange places, like on carpet and counter tops about 6 months ago. After changing litter, cleaning boxes thoroughly, buying more litter boxes, giving them more attention, less attention, more water, changing locations of litter boxes, still to no avail. I took them to the vet, who said they had bladder infections. He said that certain pet foods have too much magnesium in them and cause crystals to form in the urine, which irritate and cause an infection. They then can't make it to the litter box in time. Also, if they associate the litter box with pain, they will go elsewhere. The food that I had a problem with is Purina Indoor cat food. Has anyone else had this problem?

I had this problem when we lived in England. The vets over there recommended feeding your cats wet food only for a reason. Anyway, we fed them dry food and encountered problems; one of our cats came down with a urinary tract infection and couldn't urinate. Back here in the states, we didn't encounter any problems like that. Still, though, I have switched from feeding my felines dry food to feeding them raw meat (mackerel and chicken livers). Haven't had any problems at all (except for the occasional hairball) with them eating a raw, natural diet.

Just meat? Don't they need some veggies or rice or something else? I've never fed anything except dry food. They are so picky, I wonder if they'd eat it.

Cats are naturally carnivores. I also offer them milk, usually raw milk, or cream, as well as water. I make dog bread for my dogs and one of my cats does like to nibble on it sometimes. Other than that, all they eat is meat. Two of them do go outside. I'm sure they nibble on grass when and if they get an upset tummy.

Check out the article I wrote on how to naturally care for your cats.
Natural Care for Cats

When I began feeding my cats raw meat, it did take a while for them to get used to it. If you decide to switch to raw meat, take it slow and be patient. Slowly cut back on the amount of dry food you give them. They will adjust over time.

I feed my cats tuna, mackerel, herring and sardines from a can about twice a week and they get bites of raw meat from whatever I am making for my husband and myself, but I do give them a jar of baby food meat between the four of them every morning. I read the label and make sure it is no salt, preservatives, or onion powder--just pure pureed meat. One jar gives four cats a heaping spoonful which is all the will eat in one sitting anyway. The rest of the time I have to admit they get dry food--but I do try to buy the more natural and better nutritious ones. I have heard that the higher ash content is what gives especially older males urinary troubles, and that it is more likely in the "fish" or "seafood" flavored ones--so I avoid those. They also get as a treat every once in a while those new Meow Mix brand Deli cups--but again all four cats share one. My cats also get yogurt and milk and one of my babies loves to smack around a cod liver oil capsule until it breaks and she licks it up---but I do not do that often because it makes a mess and I am not sure how much vitamin A they should have. They also take a bite of egg or a lick of butter when I am not looking. If I could I would get rabbit or squirrel or rodent and kill it myself and grind it whole for them. but too risky just catching it in the wild--you never what is out there as far as disease goes.

RavynG

Well, I've switched to a MUCH pricier, low magnesium food and it hasn't worked for all the cats. It worked for one, though. Now I've taken to setting mouse traps on top of the counters to get them to stay down! So far, two of them have experienced the noise, without getting hurt at all. One more to go and maybe that will deter them from getting up there in the first place.

Well, it was only partially helpful. I think they may be a little deterred from jumping up now, but one of them sneaks around and over the traps and pees! The vet told me they don't do this on purpose, that they just are up there and can't hold it, but I don't believe it for a second. They are deliberatly doing it! I don't know what to do now, except to have them euthanized.