Kidney Crystals from Blue Buffalo

[dappled]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to share this story and see if anyone else has experienced the same thing and what worked for you. My 1 year old kitty has recently been diagnosed with kidney crystals. At the time, I had been feeding her Blue Buffalo, which I’d always heard to be a very reputable food. My vet said that sometimes it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the quality of the food, but more so the sensitivity of the cat. She said she’s seen kitties develop crystals on all different types of food, from the cheapest ones to the expensive ones.

So anyway, she’s on Science Diet now, as my vet claims that this is the only food not only proven to keep crystals at bay for cats who are prone to them. She seems to be eating it well. It did take her a couple days to start keeping it down (she has a sensitive tummy and eats too fast…), but is doing better now. I haven’t seen her excessively hanging out in the litter box anymore so I’m assuming she’s feeling better and it’s doing what it’s supposed to do.

Anyway, just wanted to share and see if you guys had any experiences with kidney crystals and/or what food your kitty was on when they developed them?

[Paks]

No problems with kidney crystals but Blue Buffalo is not reputable http://barkpost.com/blue-buffalo-ingredients/. I hope your kitty does well with Science Diet.

[Ghazzu]

I know several small animal practitioners who have said thy see a lot of stones and gravel with BB.

I avoid it because IMHO, the stuff isn’t a balanced diet.

For urolith issues, I like Royal Canin’s formulations.

[Sonesta]

I don’t like BB, but neither do I like Sience Diet. Both are just well marketed garbage, IMHO.

[dappled]

That’s helpful.

[ElisLove]

Vets sure do love to push science diet. I would never have my dog on such food as I prefer my dog on a high quality diet.

[Joanne]

I didn’t know that Science Diet is considered garbage. I’ve had my cat on the “light” Science Diet wet food for a couple of years.

What would be a better option for a light wet canned cat food?

[Hulk]

I think it is what works for the individual. Every animal has a different chemical composition in their bodies and what works for one may not work for another. If science diet works for her and she is crystal free and healthy, then that is what I would use. Also I use only distilled water for kitties.

[dappled]

I didn’t realize that everyone here was more knowledgeable than a licensed veterinarian. If you think it’s such garbage, what do you feed your pets?

[Paks]

Actually vets aren’t really taught that much about cat nutrition. My vet keeps talking about the carbs that cats need yet all the research says they need very little. Hills hasn’t had a good reputation in the pet food field in a while. With
BB you can see from the lawsuit they don’t do very good quality control relying on the honesty of their suppliers with out checking for themselves. So what they say in in the food may or may not be in the food. They also had another recall recently.

If I had a pet on a veterinary diet I would chose Royal Canin. They meet both US and European standards. But research your cats condition for the latest info and then read the labels.

As far as what I feed my pets. It’s Royal Canin Siamese in a slow feeder, RC intense beauty, weruva trulux and Lotus just juicy pork. I have show and breeding cats and they do quite well on this mix both in health and interest in eating.

[saje]

I’m not an SD fan either, but plenty of animals do very well on it. I just don’t think it’s worth the cost, personally, if you compare ingredients to “lower quality” food. It’s all in the branding…

The problem is that for cats with urinary issues, a top quality low or no grain dry food is horrible for them (it’s the high Magnesium & Phosphorus levels, mostly) so in order to get the balances right urinary diets end up containing an awful lot of corn or other grains. And also unfortunately, most nutrition labels don’t include the Mag/Phos levels so it’s really hard to compare adequately.

I have 10 cats, 5 of those are boys and three of those have urinary issues. I feed ProPlan Urinary diet - the grey bag from pet stores, not the blue bag from the grocery - mixed with Publix’s Premium no corn food in the black bag. They also get a dollop of canned food (Friskies) every morning, and I make it into soup for the pee-y boys.

The issue really is to get as much liquid into them as you can to keep flushing out the crystal forming substances. If I had fewer cats they’d get canned food only with dry as a snack, but management wise this works best for me right now.

[Bluey]

SD has been around decades and it was one of the first companies that made specialty foods for veterinarians to sell to those patients with dietary problems.

Since SD had a good marketing model, it took them a while to catch up to marketing for the new era, where you need all the buzzwords and products the latest fad demands.

Blue Buffalo for a while was marketed where everyone though it was oh so good also, but our vet always told us it was marketing hype, was no better than any other and he didn’t like the way some of his patients on it looked.

As others have said, what food fits your animal depends on each individual animal.
Plenty of pets have thrived with all kinds of rations, even the less faddish or best marketed ones, because in the end the best nutrition is what your pet does best with.

Millions of pets have thrived on SD, so have they with any other out there.
Find what works for your dog, evaluate critically, don’t just think it works and use that.

In our dog club, we have veterinarians that specialize in nutrition give lectures, but other than that, it was one rule you don’t speak about nutrition, unless you were ready to have WWIII on your hands.
Pet nutrition seems to be very controversial, everyone convinced their way of feeding best and all others horrible.

If a cat is doing well on that special SD diet your vet recommended and it needs now, then that just may be the right diet for that one cat, regardless what internet pet nutrition experts think.

[DrBeckett]

It is not true that vets are not taught nutrition. Not only did I take a very detailed course in nutrition, but when in rotations, I had many, many conferences and rounds on nutrition and analyzing the ingredients posted on the label. Maybe it is just at Penn, but vets do get a nutrition education. Plus many of us go to continuing education classes on it as well. And they aren’t always sponsored by the dog/cat food companies.

[Paks]

[QUOTE=DrBeckett;8691634]
It is not true that vets are not taught nutrition. Not only did I take a very detailed course in nutrition, but when in rotations, I had many, many conferences and rounds on nutrition and analyzing the ingredients posted on the label. Maybe it is just at Penn, but vets do get a nutrition education. Plus many of us go to continuing education classes on it as well. And they aren’t always sponsored by the dog/cat food companies.[/QUOTE]
This is the statement that was made.
“Actually vets aren’t really taught that much about cat nutrition” Didn’t say they weren’t taught nutrition said that they weren’t taught much about cat nutrition. Frankly cats are in kind of a back water of knowledge compared to dogs or livestock. Very little research and very little emphasis on them.

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=dappled;8691551]
I didn’t realize that everyone here was more knowledgeable than a licensed veterinarian. If you think it’s such garbage, what do you feed your pets?[/QUOTE]
Some of the posters on this forum are veterinarians. Just a FYI.

[jen-s]

[QUOTE=Paks;8691642]
This is the statement that was made.
“Actually vets aren’t really taught that much about cat nutrition” Didn’t say they weren’t taught nutrition said that they weren’t taught much about cat nutrition. Frankly cats are in kind of a back water of knowledge compared to dogs or livestock. Very little research and very little emphasis on them.[/QUOTE]

I would also say that more recent grads have almost certainly received more training in nutrition than older grads. Or at least that’s been my experience in my personal vet care.

[Mosey_2003]

Hill’s Science Diet feeds are controversial.

My bestie the vet tech won’t feed anything but Hills to her dogs. She thinks I’m a moron for feeding grain-free to my itchy Cocker. She hasn’t come straight out and said it, but it’s clear.

Others think Hill’s is the devil because it’s full of corn/grain.

Personally, I don’t feed it because it’s not worth the price to me. And my dog is doing pretty well on the Taste of the Wild salmon kibble.

You go with what works.

[dappled]

[QUOTE=Bluey;8691574]
SD has been around decades and it was one of the first companies that made specialty foods for veterinarians to sell to those patients with dietary problems.

Since SD had a good marketing model, it took them a while to catch up to marketing for the new era, where you need all the buzzwords and products the latest fad demands.

Blue Buffalo for a while was marketed where everyone though it was oh so good also, but our vet always told us it was marketing hype, was no better than any other and he didn’t like the way some of his patients on it looked.

As others have said, what food fits your animal depends on each individual animal.
Plenty of pets have thrived with all kinds of rations, even the less faddish or best marketed ones, because in the end the best nutrition is what your pet does best with.

Millions of pets have thrived on SD, so have they with any other out there.
Find what works for your dog, evaluate critically, don’t just think it works and use that.

In our dog club, we have veterinarians that specialize in nutrition give lectures, but other than that, it was one rule you don’t speak about nutrition, unless you were ready to have WWIII on your hands.
Pet nutrition seems to be very controversial, everyone convinced their way of feeding best and all others horrible.

If a cat is doing well on that special SD diet your vet recommended and it needs now, then that just may be the right diet for that one cat, regardless what internet pet nutrition experts think.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the support! The last thing I wanted was to subject myself to attacks by everyone who thinks they know better, but that always seems to happen on the COTH, so I suppose I should have known better. The fact is that this is what my vet wants her to be on right now because it’s proven to treat kidney crystals. I did not choose it. I did not come in here claiming it was the best food money could buy - but I don’t think it’s “garbage,” either.

I’m doing what I was told, and her crystals have cleared up. I asked for similar stories or other foods that were known to cause crystals. I do not recall asking for expert internet opinions on my cat’s nutrition or the advice of my vet.

[Joanne]

I’ve had just one cat in my adult life: my current one. Rescued as a yearling and will be 10 years old this year. The first half of his life, he was eating dry food with no problems. Then I began reading posts here saying dry food was bad, so I switched to wet food. Ever since I switched him, he has had problems with his anal glands filling up so the vet needs to express those periodically. Also gingivitis for the past few years, requiring dental cleaning.

I’d like to keep him as healthy as possible, of course. I will check out royal canin. I’ve heard some people mention the Tractor Supply brand. Is there anything particularly wrong with that?

[Beckham03]

Do what’s right for your pet.

I work in a large specialty practice with over 50 Drs. They do not push any one kind of food…I’ve seen them give recipes for special home cooked diets, RX diets, and diets sold at the store. No one is brain washed or trying to make money off of food. They really want to help you do what’s best for you and your pet. Sometimes that is an RX diet.

My cats are all on Hills CD…I’ve had too many urinary issues on high priced diets, too many vet bills, and lost a blocked cat. Honestly, my cats have never looked better. Shiny, soft…I needed to do what’s best for my cats. The vet who suggested it didn’t make a dime.

One of my pit bulls has horrible food allergies. One of the suggested diets was over the counter. That vet also didn’t make any money off food. Wanted to help my dog.

It just upsets me when people go to their vet for help then knock every suggestion they’re given because they somehow think they’re part of some crazy pet food cult. I used to buy into some of this until I worked in the industry and saw how it isn’t true. They really just want to help you. Why go for help if you just think they’re out to get you???