Male Cats and The Importance Of Good Cat Food

Last Monday Cookie was acting strange, I mean male cats are sorta strange anyway. (I’m kidding, I do love them! hehehe…)

Making an awkward “Uuuweeehhh..” type noise, laying flat on his back and tensing his stomach. For a moment I thought maybe he’d eaten plastic (he chews on it far too much!) and he’d managed a blockage just like Shadow had. When he threw up and walked away into my bedroom I figured, well.. alright… he’ll be okay. Right? As usually he chews plastic and throws up and is fine.

 

So I figured no big deal, but if he kept being strange even after I was going to call the vet in the morning.

Come bed time I notice he’s doing the same thing, and is just weak and lacking energy. Thinking about it, he hadn’t gone and eaten dinner at all. Dinner is Cookie’s favorite time of the day, because dinner is when we put out wet food.

I figured that it was important to call the emergency vet, even though it was late and I was tired. Something was terribly wrong and I was scared for him.

In the end it turns out that he had struvite crystals in is bladder that had caused an obstruction so he couldn’t pee. Thankfully I hadn’t waited until the morning, as cats with crystals or stones can actually die from this condition. I also found out that in neutered male cats, more so those who are indoors only, they happen more often. Once a male cat has them once, he’s likely to have them again without a dietary change.

With a total of five male cats, of course changing everyone’s diet was really the best idea!

There are many diets that can help your male cats avoid painful stones and the issues that come with it. Blockage, bloody urine, week long vet stays (all of which Cookie just suffered!) plus save you from $1000+ vet bills!

Hill’s c/d, w/d, or r/d,  Royal Canin Control, Royal Canin Urinary SO, Purina CNM UR Formula are all recommended foods for cats to avoid this! We’ve put the cats on Purina ONE Urinary support cat food after I did a lot of research and review reading of all the ones out there. Purina One offers a lower price tag, but high reviews and recommendations.

None of the boys have thrown up since our diet change, (though we kept them on their wet food, as having enough fluid/moisture helps with avoiding stones or crystals by causing your cat to pee more often I guess!) and I am hopeful none of them ever have to suffer with any sort of Crystals or stones again.

It’s also a good idea to get your cats a water fountain, as cats prefer water that is flowing. Unless you want to leave your bathroom sink or tub faucet always running cold a bit, so fresh water is always available.

Do you have any male cats? Did you know about struvite crystals and stones? I’ve learned my lesson and hope we’re done with any kitty suffering!