As you have already read in my previous posts that my kitty osi passed away due to formation of crystals in his bladder earlier this mo. What i would like to know is how to prevent this in the future. Apparently this is a problem to male cats that are neutered. I would like to in the future adopt another male cat. But now Iam afraid to get it neutered now that is what possibly killed my other male.

Is there a special diet that i can feed to my future kitty so that this does not occur again? I am a strong advocate for spaying and neutering felines. I just dont want to loose another cat to this awful condition. Any suggestions?

Your vet clinic can let you know what they suggest. I know there's a few from Hills RX, like s/d & c/d, but nothing is guaranteed, some cats will get crystals no matter what. Best thing to do is try and see what their urine looks like, I know when Homer had crystals, his pee was a little bloody, even though he didn't have any other symptoms.

I know that there are some foods that are supposed to help with this. Feeding wet food instead of dry can help also, because they get more moisture. I think water intake does make a big difference with this, so you might look into a pet fountain because it encourages them to drink more. I think foods containing fish also contribute to this, but don't quote me on that just yet. I'll try to find the info I read about this and let you know. I had studied it some because I am planning to get a male cat also and was worried about this.

thank you. I always kept fresh water available for my cats. Since i got my fountain repaired I have noticed that they prefere this to thier water bowl. Also iam afraid to feed my girl kitties wet food anymore since this whole pet food recall thing came up. I have been greatful that they have not been sick.

I know what you mean about being scared to feed wet food. Most I know have been feeding wet food but making sure it does not contain wheat gluten and also isn't made by menu foods. Its a short list, but there are definitely some quality foods out there that are "safe".

I have kept thinking well maybe, if I had fed Osi a better quality food that maybe he would still be alive. I feel guilty that maybe my not knowing contributed to his death.

Nyzki,

All cat foods for the last decade or so are supposed to be formulated to prevent bladder xstals, some cats are genetically predisposed, other develop them as a result of a virus. Either way not your fault.

Be comforted,
Dayna

Nyzki,
Hi I'm so sorry to hear about your cat osi. I have had several cats in my life time with this condition. My last cat Tom, lived to be eighteen with proper diet dry c/d. Female cats also get this codition but it is not life threatening because it's the male that gets the blockage. It doesn't really help to feed just dry food because weather it's wet or dry, in a cat who has the condition, it is the ingrediants that cause the crystals to form. I belive it has to do with ash and phosfurous, but as other have suggested ask your vet or technician. Again I am sorry for your loss. Also if your cats urinary habits change and you notice frequency or urgency, in either a male or female cat have them checked asap, in females it is also painfull.

Hi Nyzki,
Like mbrammer and you, my Spaz got crystals in his bladder. He was trying to pee on the floor in front of me, imagine my guilt when I found out he was VERY ill and not just being, well, a Spaz. It's horrible to hear that Osi didn't survive, I understand it's all too common for cats. Spaz spent three days in the ICU and had to have surgery to fix him up. I give him Hills C/D, but every day I wonder how a person would know when the crystals or sand would start to build up again? My emergency vet told me that there is no SURE way to prevent this yet, and even the prescription foods aren't a guarentee. The strange thing is that I have never heard a connection between sand in the bladder and neutering before. Below is part of an article I got from http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_urinary_blockage.html.

"Urinary blockage is almost exclusively a problem reserved for males. This is because the female urethra is shorter and broader, in short, far more difficult to obstruct. When urinary blockage becomes recurrent in a male cat, it becomes time to consider surgical reconstruction of the genitalia to create a more female-like opening. This surgery is called the Perineal Urethrostomy or “PU” for short. Basically, the penis is removed and a new urinary opening is made."

I hope this helps with your decisions about a new cat, and whether to neuter or not. NOT neutering can have other problems down the road including some cancers due to too much testosterone.

Again, I'm very sorry about Osi...I know how hard this is.

D

Please don't feel guilty about anything YOU did. Osi would not want that ! Even if there was information that might have helped, no one knows for sure, and we don't always have the information when we're going through the situation. We'd have to be super-human to always know the right thing to do. What matters is the love we have for our babies. Osi had no shortage of that.


You'll be together again!! And he's experiencing only bliss and no emotional or physical discomfort. He just wants his sweet Mom to be okay.


Keep us posted on the upcoming adoption!

Love,
Kathy

p.s. I have often found that when I learn something new that I feel "could have" made a difference if I'd known it in the past, I dwell less on what I maybe could have tried in the past when I use my new knowledge in the future---as you're doing as you plan the adoption of another lucky male kitty. Osi is proud.

I just lost my 16 year old male neutered cat to cancer. He had crystals twice in his lifetime and flushing him out by the vet took care of it. He was neutered as a kitten and it is true, as others have pointed out, that a lot of males have a very small bladder, which he did. I found my fool-proof way was to put him on 100% wet food. It was the dry food that gave him a problem and while it was only twice in his lifetime, he could have died either time. I just noticed he was trying to pee and could not. This is a male emergency. My small female had it one time. So I just fed my 2 males and 1 female only wet food. She lived to 15, my male who had that problem lived to be 16, and my other male, who was a twin to the male, was taken by cancer at age 10 and that one never had a crystal problem. On x-ray I was told my male did have a small bladder. I really think no one should hesitate to get a sweet male neutered cat; just stick with soft food. No one passed away due to crystals. hope this information helps.