Robin completes his antibiotics and the scare by Ginger

Robin completed his antibiotics for the FIC yesterday. That’s a course of Baytril for 10 days. But he had already recovered 24 hours after starting treatment, actually. Still, the course of antibiotics must be completed.

He is still on Cystophan, twice daily for two weeks since the start, and after that, once daily as maintenance.

I managed to contact the senior vet today, and asked many questions.

Robin has to go on Cystophan for another two months after which we can do an ultrasound on Robin’s bladder to check if there are still crystals in his urine.

The urinary food is best to be continued for six months, but this is pending the ultrasound in two months’ time. The thing with Robin is, he doesn’t quite like the urinary food. So I’m still mixing it with his favourite food, which is raw cut chicken.

Who likes the urinary food? Well, the rest of them!

But I did ask the senior vet is the rest can eat the urinary food. Here’s her very important answer: Only small portions. 

And I asked if Ginger, being at CKD Stage 1, can also eat the urinary food. Another very important answer: Best not to. 

So the prescription diet urinary food is what it is, a prescription diet to address the urinary problem and not meant to be a diet for healthy cats who do not have any urinary problems. Also, definitely not for CKD cats.

On the other hand, I did check with Avant Pet and under Cindy’s Recipe, they have their Naturelle Holistic kibble called Chicken Salmon Urinary which isn’t a prescription diet, but more of a functional food meant to prevent or reduce the chances of getting urinary problems. This kibble has cranberries, which is known to prevent UTI in humans.

However, a quick check on the internet reveals this:

Cranberries can help support urinary tract health in cats, but they are not effective in treating urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Cranberries can also increase the risk of oxalate stones and crystals in cats that are already predisposed to them. 

Cranberries contain oxalates, which can increase the risk of oxalate stones and crystals in cats. 

Cranberries can change the pH of a cat’s urine, which can lead to complications like stones and crystals. 

So, where does that leave us? And this was exactly what my vet-friend said about urinary diets. She said she would not recommend healthy cats to eat it because it can lead to stones formation. That’s exactly what it says above.

The message is clear: Do not use prescription diets for healthy cats.

I also asked my senior vet if just in case any of our cats happen to show signs of urinary problems and the clinic is closed, if I could give them the urinary food, Prazosin and/or Cystophan while awaiting to take them to the vet. The senior vet says yes to this.

But all said, we must always take our pets to the vet for a proper diagnosis and prescription of medication and supplements.

I asked this because Ginger gave me a scare yesterday evening. Suddenly, he went to squat at the sandbox and I thought I didn’t see any urine. After that, he ran off, which is not normal. I checked the sand and was not sure if there was urine because Ginger did scratch and cover something up.

It was already late in the evening and I wasn’t going to take any chances. So I palpated his bladder and despite being obese, I was surprised I could feel his colon. I definitely did not feel any “turgid ball”. If there is blockage, the bladder will feel like a turgid ball. But I still gave him a capsule of Cystophan and gave him some urinary kibble (which I now know I should not because Ginger is a CKD Stage 1 cat). Then I observed him for an hour and there was no more squatting. What a relief. I must have been mistaken about there being no urine.

This morning, his appetite was fine/normal and I haven’t seen any squatting, so I’m glad it was a false alarm.

Here are some photos:

Minnie is Ginger’s biggest fan. I think she’s just very grateful to Ginger for looking after the Monsters since young.

Robin is now quite naughty in that he runs away to escape from the pilling of the Cystophan. Well, he still has to be on it for another two months, so please cooperate, Robin. Pilling him is relatively easy. But catching him for it can be challenging now.

Urine crystals and bladder stones in cats: https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/urinary/urine-crystals-and-bladder-stones-in-cats

An excerpt:

If your cat has not had an issue, feeding an all-canned quality diet is the best way to help prevent formation of urine crystals and bladder stones. Encourage your cat to drink a lot of water by using water fountains, running water, or flavor their water with a little bit of tuna juice.

The article says that feeding an all-dry food (kibble) diet can also lead to urinary problems. So a wet diet is recommended.

The Monsters have always been on a wet diet, actually. And now, for Robin, I’m giving him more of the urinary wet food than the kibble.

I will always prioritise giving our cats wet food, but Riley and the Blondies pose a challenge. This will be another story for another time.


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