Best diet for bladder stones?

[Suze]

Maxwell had a blocked urethra and had emergency treatment to unblock his urethra back in April. X-rays showed bladder stones which were surgically removed. The lab results showed them to be 100% struvite. Since then, he's been on Hills s/d canned cat food with as much added water as we can get away with. Luckily he's quite happy with it but it's not a food he should be on for the long term.

Last week, he had his annual check-up & flu/enteritis jabs at my usual vets. My vet was surprised the emergency vets had put him on s/d. He said c/d would be a better option & something he could stay on, plus there was a lower calorie version. I'm confused as to who is giving me the better information. My other worry was that his urine was quite concentrated. I thought adding water to his food would help it dilute a bit & cause more dilute urine which would be a less likely environment for stone to develop.

Max does also need to lose weight. He's only having one 150g tin of the s/d per day at the moment, split between 2 meals which is less than the recommended amount. I don't think he's lost a huge amount of weight though. We couldn't weigh him last week as the scales decided to stop working!

I'm not sure what to do for the best. Any thoughts gratefully received.

[Crewella]

My Daz went through a phase of numerous blockages and was found to have no actual crystals but a lot of fine struvite 'sand' in his bladder. He was on the s/d for a few months and then went on to the c/d range as more of a preventative. That worked well, and the moderate calorie version did indeed help him to lose weight, which I think was a major factor in his eventual recovery. We also did the added water in his wet food thing, which I still do, just in case. He also still gets a maintenance dose of Cystophan to help keep his bladder wall in good shape. It might be worth asking your vet if they think Cystophan (or Cystaid, which is much the same) would help, but I do believe that weight and water are the two most important things to get right.

In your place, I'd start him on the c/d moderate/reduced calorie now, especially as you know you can't keep him on the s/d indefinitely, and still keep trying to get as much water into him as you can. I also used to give Daz cat milk and I found a low calorie version of that too - Pets at Home do it.

Good luck, I hope your boy continues to recover.

[Lallum]

My lovely Midnight didn't have stones but he did have severe cystitis. He had surgery and is functionally female. He has been on cd since January (when he was so ill). I give him 2 packets (1 for breakfast and 1 at supper time). He also gets 8 grams of the dry cd at lunch and teatime. He has lost a little weight without being hungry. If he gets hungry he tries to steal food from the other cat so I have to watch him. I give him 2x2 syringes of water each day with the dry food and 1 syringe of water with each sachet of the wet. He has had one relapse since January which was brief but happened when I moved him onto all dry cd. He doesnt seem to wee very much and I cant find out where he poos. He doesnt go out for long each day.

I would recommend the cd diet. It appears to have helped him. It is expensive but cheaper than another stay in cat hospital! Give it a try! Anything which makes them more comfortable with this awful bladder problem is worth a shot.