Here’s a worrisome letter I got from Michelle in Goodrich, Michigan:
Dear Tracie,
You are convincing me on CAT CHAT to look at my cat’s dietary needs and I understand the importance of not feeding my cats dry food. I have a question concerning wet food and a cat that has had a perineal urethrostomy (I like to say that my cat has a “mangina”). Let me back up- I have two male cats that are 4 years old- a black cat named Friday and an orange tabby named Jake. Both were rescued from the Humane Society. In 2006, the month of March of traumatically spent saving Jake’s life. Long story short- he was brought back from the brink of death and had a perineal urethrostomy. He has been symptom free since. My vet also put both my cats on a urinary food by Purina that you can only get at the vet. I have always questioned this to myself, because it is again a dry food but I just did what my vet said. Maybe I missed it, but is there a dietary solution for my cat?
So I wrote her: Thanks for writing in – because you are about to saved your kitty’s life for the second time! I am assuming that poor Jake’s life-threatening obstruction was caused by dry food – please see the website and my book for more on this relationship between dry cat food and stones, crystals and urinary obstructions. Your instincts are GREAT – that food is precisely the wrong one for any cat, especially one who already has urinary tract issues since it is commonly the main cause of these problems. NO MORE KITTY CRACK! Wet food only! I can’t wait to hear what a great change it makes in both your sweet kitties.
Tracie
