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Struvite Crystals In Cats Raw Diet

June 09, 2021

If your dog is suffering from this urinary tract stones condtion, this article explains in detail the basics of diet for dogs. Due to the lack of moisture in the diet, the urine becomes too concentrated and highly alkaline.

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Herbivores have alkaline urine, a natural product of eating plants.

Struvite crystals in cats raw diet. These crystals form in the urine of cats that have high phs, aka alkaline urine. Most diets designed to dissolve struvite can also be used for stone prevention. One of cats having a bout with struvite crystals was precisely why i switched to a raw diet.

This will help to maintain the acid in your pet's urine that is necessary to avoid the buildup of struvite crystals. Raw meat diets are, in general, higher in protein than dry cat diets, which results in a lower urine ph.” finally, dr. Generally speaking, struvite stones / crystals will form when the animal’s urine ph becomes neutral or alkaline (ph 7 or greater) and urine is concentrated.

The crystals themselves can be perfectly normal but become problematic when they combine to form grit or stones of varying shapes and sizes. The more concentrated the urine the more likely minerals can become crystals and eventually stones. Aka struvite, to form into crystals or stones.

Around half of all urinary stones in cats are struvite crystals. Struvite crystals are microscopic crystals that are found in the urine of some cats. Dry cat food provides very little moisture in their diet & can make their urine too concentrated, making it difficult for them to pass the crystals.

The catchy phrase, the solution to pollution is dilution!. Recent research has suggested that higher protein in the diet may help to decrease the occurrence of struvite crystals and stones for two reasons. Struvite crystals are the most common form of mineral crystals that form in a cats urinary tract.

Cats that are routinely fed a diet of dry food are particularly at risk for struvite crystals. Find urinary crystals in the litter tray is a common problem with dehydrated cats. This is the main reason they are so susceptible to urinary crystals and stones.

A study of the urine of 198 feral cats eating a natural, raw diet found no evidence of urinary stones in any of the cats. These diets only contain 10% water. Struvite friendly homemade diet for dogs & cats.

I am currently feeding my cats prescription diet, d/d, dry, and i hate it, but it has helped out so so much with abby's ibd and dillan's skin that i am getting addicted to it myself. A diet of raw meat does usually result in urine acidic enough to prevent the formation of struvite crystals. Judkins notes “there is considerable research linking chronic inflammation and a tendency towards urolith formation.

A choice of wet and dry foods designed to help dissolve and prevent the recurrence of struvite stones in cats. This has been the major reason that special dry diets have such variable results with preventing urinary crystals and stones in cats. Struvite crystals are one type of urinary blockage that pet cats can develop.

Markwell, urinary relative supersaturations of calcium oxalate and struvite in cats are influenced by diet, the journal. “an abnormally high urine ph predisposes cats to form struvite crystals and uroliths. Struvite specifically is a material that is composed of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate.

This imbalance may be caused by diet or may occur naturally. I have heard of cases though of cats on a 100% raw diet (no grains or veggies added) that still developed the crystals. Increase your cat's or dog’s water intake.

Makes the urine more alkaline, discouraging crystals from forming. Often, cats that develop struvite have more alkaline urine than normal. The cause of struvite crystals in cats is most often the result of eating dry cat food.

These crystals are unlikely to suggest any increased risk of stone development and can usually be ignored. It mainly occurs due to inadequate moisture in cat food, or more commonly a lack of drinking water. A large part of therapy for struvite crystals in dogs is the diet.

I refuse to put her on one of those diets. When i was in vet school we saw a lot of struvite crystals. Carnivores (dogs and cats) that eat a fresh red meat based diet naturally produce acidic urine which prevents this crystal formation.

The vet really was pushing either royal canin or science diet urinary diets because of the struvite crystals seen in the urine. Recently, i have been doing some research on an all raw food diet, and i would love to switch her over to that, but i'm just worried she may get more uti's and struvite crystals. Just ordered solid gold berry blend for her and i have been adding more water to her food (sometimes i use freeze dried primal and that dinner becomes almost soup for her).

Female cats develop struvite stones more often, but male cats are more likely to have serious problems with struvite stones, since their urinary tract has a more narrow opening. With increased protein, less magnesium is excreted in the urine, and. Because of previous pet food scares, many homemade pet food diets have resurfaced.

A balanced raw meat diet should help to resolve the problem and help eliminate the occurence of struvite crystals in the urine. You may be alerted to this problem when you see your cat straining to urinate, urinating outside the litter box, urinating frequently, has an increased thirst and/or has cloudy or bloody urine. In cats, struvite can form without an infection and a special diet is recommended to reduce the risk of future episodes.

The three standard crystals in cats are struvite, oxalate, and urate. The raw food took care of this as well, but no matter how hard i try they still refuse to eat raw food for me. The less concentrated the urine, the less likely struvite crystals will form.

Struvite crystals from a cats urine sample