If an cat has had a urethral obstruction in order to prevent him from reobstructing he needs to be on a therapuetic diet C/D,U/R or S/O.
These diets keep cats comfortable,in the litter box and potentially saves the lives of thousands of cats.
Owners typically can not afford P/U surgery or the hospitalization required to correct the cardiac and renal complications.
So why are there so many people who give thumbs down when a therapuetic diet is recommended?
These diets may not be made of organic,grain free sources but they are proven time and time again to benefit cats while meeting all of their nutritional needs...
These diets keep cats comfortable,in the litter box and potentially saves the lives of thousands of cats.
Owners typically can not afford P/U surgery or the hospitalization required to correct the cardiac and renal complications.
So why are there so many people who give thumbs down when a therapuetic diet is recommended?
These diets may not be made of organic,grain free sources but they are proven time and time again to benefit cats while meeting all of their nutritional needs...
I agree that if your cat NEEDS to be on an RX diet, you SHOULD be feeding it the RX diet. People who thumbs down RX diets when they are the obvious solution have problems.
However.
Feeding the correct diet to begin with lessens the need for RX diets in the first place. Offer your cat a high-quality diet and carefully monitor his feeding, and he won't end up with most of the issues those diets are made for. Recent studies prove that diets high in protein in the beginning PREVENT kidney problems later in life. Careful feeding and monitoring prevent diabetes and other horrific problems cats get when they get older. That doesn't mean that the correct diet being offered WHILE the cat is suffering from illness is a magic cure-all.
You can't blame people for not wanting to offer their cats Hills, Purina or Iams RX diets. They're made of the worst parts of the animals and chock-full of allergens and questionable protein sources. Should my cats ever have problems, I'm glad I know about Wysong RX diets- http://www.wysong.net/prescription-cat-d...
I wish more pet food companies would formulate RX diets. Our pets would be so much healthier all around.
However.
Feeding the correct diet to begin with lessens the need for RX diets in the first place. Offer your cat a high-quality diet and carefully monitor his feeding, and he won't end up with most of the issues those diets are made for. Recent studies prove that diets high in protein in the beginning PREVENT kidney problems later in life. Careful feeding and monitoring prevent diabetes and other horrific problems cats get when they get older. That doesn't mean that the correct diet being offered WHILE the cat is suffering from illness is a magic cure-all.
You can't blame people for not wanting to offer their cats Hills, Purina or Iams RX diets. They're made of the worst parts of the animals and chock-full of allergens and questionable protein sources. Should my cats ever have problems, I'm glad I know about Wysong RX diets- http://www.wysong.net/prescription-cat-d...
I wish more pet food companies would formulate RX diets. Our pets would be so much healthier all around.
My guy is on C/D. Here is my issue with it. Cats are carnivores and therefore need meat. C/D's first ingredient is corn. Meat is something like the fourth ingredient. I wouldn't have such an issue with it if it had more meat. Corn is known to cause a few problems like weight gain and allergies. I do prefer the holistics, but he remains on C/D since I am not willing to gamble with his life. I choose to keep him on it and comfortable. Again, I just wish it had more meat.
The answer is quite simple really. As many as there are pets who do well on prescription diet, there are even more that do better without! Visit the Yahoo Groups on IBD, Diabetes, FLUTD, etc and see responses from pet owners who did not go down the *theraupeutic* road but instead choose to feed wholesome food that contains optimum ingredients.
And if I may say so, those who do fed prescription do so because they have no *choice* due to the fact that they do not have the knowledge of what else is available out there. Many fed prescriptions because they believe their vet and some are so desperate that if the vet tell them that having their cat eating an ear of corn everyday will help heal Fluffy from IBD, they would!!
Most of those who oppose are not bias, they are just more enlightened, more pro active is searching for what is best and have the guts to question authority.
Edit : Well, to be fair, I have never tell a cat owner whose cat is being placed on a Rx diet to turn it down. I give them the choice to learn more about their cat's condition and what other alternatives are out there. I have never once, in my reply, tell someone whose cat is medically ill that Rx food will not help with their condition. The only time I ever speak out against Rx is when someone ask why is Rx diet so expensive.
Since you do agree that many are not enlightened and pro active, I steer them towards that direction in the hopes that they will widen their horizon and learn.
And if I may say so, those who do fed prescription do so because they have no *choice* due to the fact that they do not have the knowledge of what else is available out there. Many fed prescriptions because they believe their vet and some are so desperate that if the vet tell them that having their cat eating an ear of corn everyday will help heal Fluffy from IBD, they would!!
Most of those who oppose are not bias, they are just more enlightened, more pro active is searching for what is best and have the guts to question authority.
Edit : Well, to be fair, I have never tell a cat owner whose cat is being placed on a Rx diet to turn it down. I give them the choice to learn more about their cat's condition and what other alternatives are out there. I have never once, in my reply, tell someone whose cat is medically ill that Rx food will not help with their condition. The only time I ever speak out against Rx is when someone ask why is Rx diet so expensive.
Since you do agree that many are not enlightened and pro active, I steer them towards that direction in the hopes that they will widen their horizon and learn.
I am against these diets (and most commercial ones too) because they are loaded with so many species inappropriate ingredients that more than likely caused the issues in the first place.
Rather than treating conditions, why not teach people to feed an appropriate diet in the first place?? Cats have no need for grains and vegetables and should be eating foods with a high water content not dehydrated processed crap.
It is not the clients that need to be enlightened rather the people guiding them. How many times are people told to feed the product available on the surgery shelves when the best food for cats is available at the butcher shop or pet supply store. Until people stop trying to make a profit out of feeding what is basically processed waste products (ie when hell freezes over) our pets will continue to suffer.
The cats are not thriving on these foods but merely surviving. Once all commercial food is ditched and the cats is eating a natural diet of (ideally) whole prey or (next best) frankenprey it is so easy to see the difference.
There is a reason for the massive increase in conditions like periodontal disease, bladder and kidney issues and cancers in our cats and dogs - in my opinion this is directly related to the prevalence of commercial diets.
Rather than treating conditions, why not teach people to feed an appropriate diet in the first place?? Cats have no need for grains and vegetables and should be eating foods with a high water content not dehydrated processed crap.
It is not the clients that need to be enlightened rather the people guiding them. How many times are people told to feed the product available on the surgery shelves when the best food for cats is available at the butcher shop or pet supply store. Until people stop trying to make a profit out of feeding what is basically processed waste products (ie when hell freezes over) our pets will continue to suffer.
The cats are not thriving on these foods but merely surviving. Once all commercial food is ditched and the cats is eating a natural diet of (ideally) whole prey or (next best) frankenprey it is so easy to see the difference.
There is a reason for the massive increase in conditions like periodontal disease, bladder and kidney issues and cancers in our cats and dogs - in my opinion this is directly related to the prevalence of commercial diets.
Owner of three raw fed cats aged 16, 8 and 4.
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/cats.html
http://www.rawfedcats.org/
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/petowners/w...
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/cats.html
http://www.rawfedcats.org/
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/petowners/w...
Because in many cases these 'diets have more negatives then positives and just aren't the best answers out there. You don't treat 1 part of the cat by screwing another part. CD for example gets 35% of it's calories from carbohydrates. Not good for an obligate carnivore and a good recipe for diabetes. Look at the
first ingredients Brewers Rice, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal First ingredient rice???? Then, do you know what byproduct meal is?? It is expensive GARBAGE. It goes much further then not being organic grain free I don't want a cat going through surgery either. Why feed this when an organic grain free CANNED food will work AS WELL while doing no harm
Oh and please explain the logic to me of kd. (don't, I know) Lets see you have a cat that is dehydrated so you feed it a dehydrating food. You have a cat that needs protein and you deprive the body of that. makes no sense when so many better things can be done
You posted this question cause you obviously care. Please don't have blind faith in anything including your vet. Do some research on your own. Go to the board at feline diabetes.com and see what works for 100''s 1000's of cats. Go to the crf group at yahoo and see what works
Oh and I don't negative rate it but still wanted to answer the premise.
first ingredients Brewers Rice, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal First ingredient rice???? Then, do you know what byproduct meal is?? It is expensive GARBAGE. It goes much further then not being organic grain free I don't want a cat going through surgery either. Why feed this when an organic grain free CANNED food will work AS WELL while doing no harm
Oh and please explain the logic to me of kd. (don't, I know) Lets see you have a cat that is dehydrated so you feed it a dehydrating food. You have a cat that needs protein and you deprive the body of that. makes no sense when so many better things can be done
You posted this question cause you obviously care. Please don't have blind faith in anything including your vet. Do some research on your own. Go to the board at feline diabetes.com and see what works for 100''s 1000's of cats. Go to the crf group at yahoo and see what works
Oh and I don't negative rate it but still wanted to answer the premise.