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Frequent Urination
By Andrea W.
Kotula
Depending on the cat and what it's
being fed, its size, the amount of fluids it's drinking, three
times a day can be very normal. I would focus more on how
much water is being consumed. Normally, cats don't need to
drink any additional water, but with a dry food diet, she
would have to add back fluids.
If she's drinking huge amounts, this
could indicate early kidney disease. I would suggest that
to be on the safe side you get a urine sample--preferably
from the first in the morning--and have it checked, including
its specific gravity. A blood test will also determine whether
there is renal failure or not by looking at the creatinine
and BUN levels.
As far as the dry food issue, I know
how difficult it can be to get a cat off of dry food and onto
"real" food, having been down that road a few times.
The kibble is so addictive! There are lots of ways to do it
and some work better for different cats, but if you have a
cat with a history of FUS that you suspect may have kidney
disease, or may be likely to get it, diet is really essential.
My guys were really the toughest of the tough!
Some people give the new food with
a little tuna water from the can of human canned tuna dribbled
on top. (Do not give the actual tuna because it can cause
problems in cats.) Some people mix in some of the new food
with the old food and VERY gradually change the proportions.
(You can try pulverizing the kibble in the blender so it blends
into the new food better, but if that won't work, you may
have to just mix in the kibble as well as possible so they
can taste it but not pick it out.) Some people do that but
wet the kibble.
And then there are those of us that
have to resort to last choice methods. The only thing that
worked for me was to feed the kibble and mix the new food
in the blender with pure water to make a slurry, then dribble
a TINY bit of that over the kibble. I did not worry at first
about supplements--just tried to get them used to the food.
VERY, VERY gradually, I added more slurry and less kibble.
Finally, I began to add the food and not the slurry, and later
on added supplements. The key here if you have true kibble
junkies is to go very slowly. I know how frustrating that
is, but that's what worked for me. Others have been luckier
and had their cats switch right over, but it sounds as if
you're not going to be able to do that.
BTW, after trying a few different diets,
I found that my cats were happier eating food that did not
contain grains and I am now feeding them Pat McKay's 75% meat
diet. They are eating a lot more and are less finicky with
this diet than others I've tried.
Also, one thing that works for me if
the food has been refrigerated is to rinse the food dishes
first in hot water and to add a very small amount of pure
heated water to the raw food to make it a chili-like consistency.
Do not add the hot water once you've added supplements because
the heat will destroy some of the vitamins and essential oils.
And do not add a lot of hot water even to the food itself.
If you find after you've added the supplements that the consistency
is too dry, add a little pure water that has not been heated.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
If you persevere you WILL succeed in this, I promise!
Good luck to you and your furry pal.
Andrea W. Kotula
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