Paralyzed Cat Food

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SissysMomma2016
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:31 am

Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by SissysMomma2016 »

:?
hello! new here. my cat was found 4 days after being gone. she was injured some how and became paralyzed from hip down. was told to put her down but i didnt because the vet said she cant feel anything- to me i didnt see the point if she cant feel pain to put her down. go figure.- so as usual the vet just tossed us aside and told me nothing on how to care for a paralyzed cat. i forcefully had her answer all the questions i had at the time in the middle of the hallway before leaving and she prescribed my cat Hills Prescription Urinary cat food "c/d". Bc one thing she said was if I had to express her bladder everyday, she is prone to stones which can cost more pain and money. so i got it and ive read the reviews and some people say it good. BUT its the ingredients thats upsetting to me. it has corn meal and chicken by product... and i think its wrong to charge so much money for crappy food. But it does have 2 main ingredients that help urinary tract/ stone issues.
So here my question: Is there better cat food (prescription or non) that helps stop and prevent stones and urinary tract issues? or am i stuck feeding her fake food to prevent future surgery and pain?
please give me some insight bc I found her only 2 and half weeks ago. so im very new at being a "handimommy"
RosieVigo
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Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 12:00 pm

Re: Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by RosieVigo »

Aw I'm so sorry about your kitty. If you were able to, I would really suggest getting a second opinion because it does not sound like this is a vet interested in working with you and your goals.

There are different types of crystals with different courses of treatment which is why it's important to get more information from a vet you trust. We found out a week after adopting him that our cat had Struvite crystals that only required a low-magnesium diet. Luckily this was enough to prevent crystal formation in his case ... I know that other types of crystals require a prescribed dissolution food specifically designed to break down existing crystals. We did have to put him on the dissolution diet temporarily to restore the proper pH and eliminate the crystals that were causing him tremendous pain. Once he got a clean bill of health and his symptoms went away, our vet was able to provide us with a list of potential options. For struvite crystals in particular it is important to provide a low magnesium option. Second to that is making sure your cat has enough water, which is where wet food is extremely helpful. Wysong is one brand in particular that our vet recommended. But Our cat leaned towards the Purina One bladder health wet and dry, which even though it has a fair amount of grain content still helped prevent recurrent bladder problems.

Best of luck to you and your cat
SissysMomma2016
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:31 am

Re: Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by SissysMomma2016 »

ty for your personal view. I see that theres more to it. i wish i could go to another vet. i was put on bed rest because of my pregnancy, which i ended up loosing my job. so all i had was $300 to see what was wrong with her. i wish i spent money else where. so i put all my money towards trying to find out if she was going to be ok or not. now i cant take her any where else. im due this month then i have to have surgery in august. after recovery i can go back to working. but i dont want to her start building crystals/stones while im unable to take her to the vet.
Im now wondering which ingredients that are in cat food, to watch out for that causes stones or crystals?
and also, does anyone know how many times a day i should express her bladder? i dont want to do it too much, or too little?
SissysMomma2016
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:31 am

Re: Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by SissysMomma2016 »

ive seen your videos!!! i learned a lot from them. sorry your kitty fell out the window, i still have no idea what happened to my kitty. but shes doing better. i was thinking about just making her home made food because if the vet is right about stones/crystal and urinary infection- i dont want to chance it with " by products " and foods that aren't meant to be eaten by cats.
what the vet said was that when the bladder has to be expressed, it never truly empties. so the excess pee thats left in the bladder, can create stones and crystals. so thats why i decided to go on this special diet. but when i look at the ingredients i was in shock. im paying more for fake. but it has 2 ingredient that help prevent stones/crystals.
i just hope i find i good way to feed her that will help her. and for it to not be so expensive. but i can say she will be worth the money in the long run. ty for replying. any more suggestions for caring for her would be great.
and another thing i noticed is she poops when shes scared. like if a cat sneaks up behind her to play. it scares the poo out of her. is that bad?normal?
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CarolC
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Re: Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by CarolC »

Oh, Pookie's not my kitty but I really :wub: that video. :D Paralyzed pets with incontinence tend to eliminate kind of whenever and wherever so if she had some stool ready to come out and suddenly was startled it's not surprising. There are a number of videos on helping your cat defecate. It would cut down on the surprises if not eliminate them. (This is not my cat either but the owner is a member here.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVdJI-qsOus (Expressing large male Persian (Sasha) in standing position - Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIFTKuR9-uc (Expressing large male Persian (Sasha) in standing position - Part 2)
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MissWhiskers
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Re: Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by MissWhiskers »

Hi Sissy,
I just wanted to let you know that I have a cat whose back legs don't work right and for the most part he drags his back legs along. Doctors think it is probably a congenital neurological problem - as opposed to an injury. I adopted him from a rescue when he was about a year and a half old. He's 7 yrs now. He poops fine but has to be stimulated to pee. I had him for about a year when he began to have blood in his urine.
The vet said it could be a UTI, or urinary crystals or maybe something called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis.
The results of his urinalysis showed a lot of blood in his urine, no bacteria and not a significant amount of crystals. Among other things we started him on C/D Science Diet. I was told that the C/D dissolves crystals as soon as 7 days. There have been a couple of other times in the years since then that he has started to have blood in his urine.
The main thing I wanted to tell you is that my experience with C/D and my cat Cooper was that when that is all he eats the blood disappears very quickly - even faster than 7 days, I'd say! also those times that I began to see blood were times when we, Cooper and I, had gotten away from eating the C/D! So, no problem when on C/D, but if he starts eating other food the blood in the urine comes back. Go back to making sure he is only eating C/D and blood in urine goes away. It has been very clear that Cooper does well on it.
The causes Carol just went over are also things we have to watch out for - especially being careful to make sure I consistently make sure his bladder is emptied each time I make him pee.
The last time there was an occurrence of blood in his urine, he had bloodwork done and his Kydneys and Liver seemed fine.
Also, I was told to mostly give him WET food and to avoid MAGNESIUM.
And I was told that I could give him B-12 (half of the human dosage) because studies showed that it may help with neurological damage.
Just wanted to share that.
Best wishes to your kitty and you!
Karen
SissysMomma2016
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:31 am

Re: Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by SissysMomma2016 »

:angel:
ty for responding!! thats what i was thinking that the food is good for the stones/crystal. i just wish they made it with better quality. its ashamed that we pay ssooo much for low quality. but with the "meds" they put in it helps your cat. which means i should stay on it. i cant wait till i have this baby and am able to go back to work. i really want more tests and xrays done so i know everything. and my only hope right now is that im expressing her properly and that she is empty or very close to being empty when im done. i still want to do more research on home made food. ty for your personal view. im thankful for every ones comments.
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critters
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Re: Paralyzed Cat Food

Post by critters »

As far as I know, c/d isn't medicated but it's formulated to control the pH or whatever and is suitable for long-term use. S/d is the food that's supposed to dissolve crystals, the last I heard. I'm not a vet and haven't been associated with them for awhile.

The vet is actually right about some of this, which is very remarkable to me. My Buddy was spinal cord injured a number of years ago. I gave him extra water until our vet convinced me not to, saying that pee needed to be concentrated to fight infection. Well, Buddy soon developed crystals that Thanksgiving, which somehow caused the nerves to cause a spasm in the neck of his bladder. He couldn't pee on his own properly after that, despite even surgery to divert his pee to come out of his belly wall.

Personally, I think it'd be OK to feed your baby something else but also supplement water--some like to drink water better with ice cubes, some drink more from a fountain, you can flavor the water with broth or something, you can do subcutaneous fluids (under the skin), etc. If it were me, I would also push water even WITH c/d--once burned, twice shy!

Bottom line, I'm amazed that your vet knows about this, and I find that promising, indeed! Many vets don't want to deal with handicappers, so this is a vet that may be a keeper! Still, there are other option besides c/d if you don't want to do that, and I'd talk to the vet about them. c/d is probably the easiest, which is probably why the vet suggested it first.
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