How to Treat Cat Crystals with Diet

See your vet at the first sign of crystals in the cat's urine.

Cat crystals can be painful and even deadly for your pet. The crystals form due to an imbalance in the pH of a feline's urine, but changing a cat's diet can greatly improve the chances of getting rid of and preventing future cat crystals. Act quickly because surgery may be the only option if a diet change fails to alleviate the condition.

Things You'll Need

• Prescription cat food
• Moist canned cat food
• Clean water

Instructions

1. See your vet. There are different types of cat crystals. and you don't want to take any of them lightly -- especially in a male cat. Get the cat diagnosed for a specific syndrome and type of crystal. Follow the vet's treatment advice.

2. Get a prescription for a cat bladder health cat food that will balance the pH of the urine and help prevent or get rid of a cat's crystals. Make sure to find out which kind of crystals your cat is suffering form so you can choose the appropriate feline diet.

3. Feed the cat moist canned food. Dry food with the right minerals is helpful, but if you are treating a case of cat crystals, opt for moist food until the condition is in remission.

4. Limit feedings to once or twice daily. Eating more frequently than this can change the urine pH to levels that lead to more cat crystals.

5. Refrain from feeding dairy. Dairy is detrimental to the pH of a cat's urine and can encourage the growth of bladder crystals in a cat that's prone to the condition.

6. Provide the cat with plenty of fresh, clean water; proper hydration can help flush out cat crystals.

7. Keep the cat at a healthy body weight. Obese felines are more likely to suffer from health problems as well as cat crystals.

References

• Amy's Animals: Cat Health
• Doctors Foster & Smith; Urine Crystals and Bladder Stones in Cats: Formation, Diet and Other Treatment; Holly Nash