Several of you have asked for a Newton update after his urinalysis, and I was stalling on one until I could sound a little less frustrated with the situation. So here we are.
For three weeks, Newton ate his raw diet, and the only treats he had were some freeze-dried Bravo turkey treats (100% meat), and some pinches of unseasoned, grilled chicken breast (also 100% meat).
With the crunchy treats gone from his diet, his pH numbers should look better, right?
His pH was still stubbornly 8.5. That’s crazy high for a raw fed cat.
The vet blamed the raw food and insisted on a prescription diet for life.
The local company I have been buying prepared raw food from blamed the freeze-dried treats.
I was ready to pull my hair out in frustration at the blame game.
I agreed to put Newton on a prescription diet for a while while I figured out what the best long-term dietary move would be. I put off writing an update here until I had a plan.
Newton hates the renal diet. I’m not impressed with the ingredients in it, but he’ll be all right on it for a few weeks.
After some research, I took another hard look at the food Newton has been eating. Because life has been stressful, it has been easier for me to buy raw food rather than make it, and the local company who makes the raw food makes primarily raw for dogs, just like all pet food manufacturers do.
I sat down with the ingredient list and for some reason, I saw something I had questioned months ago and then put out of my mind: The food is made with chicken necks.
The USDA says that chicken necks are 27% bone.
Turkey thighs are 14% bone. The recipe I use to make my own raw food, from Dr. Lisa Pierson, uses poultry thigh with half of the bones removed, so that lowers the bone level to 10% or less.
Rodents are roughly 5% bone and rabbits are a little less than 10% bone.
There isn’t much way around it, Newton’s diet has too much bone in it.
Adding calcium to your diet can raise your urinary pH. Humans actually do this on purpose with calcium supplements to make their urine more alkaline.
Newton’s high urine pH may be the fault of my getting complacent and not making raw food at home and instead buying food that is too high in calcium.
So I think that’s the next step: We’ll leave Newton on the prescription food for a couple more weeks to get a new baseline on his urinary pH on that food, then I’m going to have to make time to make raw for him myself.
Then we’ll see if that allows him to eat high quality, species-appropriate ingredients and have his urine look the way it is supposed to.
In the meantime, Newton is feeling fine. He is still playing and making mischief. And he really doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.
Research and Further Reading
USDA Agricultural Research Service, USDA Food Composition Database
CatInfo, Making Cat Food
CatCentric, A Prey Model Raw (PMR)/Whole Prey Feeding Guide
Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, The effects of potassium and magnesium supplementations on urinary risk factors of renal stone patients.
Wow, that was a puzzle to figure out, but I’m glad you were able to come to a reasonable hypothesis about his diet. Newton is so handsome and photogenic – he certainly doesn’t “appear” to mind all these diet changes.
Paws crossed that going back to homemade raw will help keep Newton healthy – and happier than with the renal food!
What a mess … we can understand why you got frustrated. It’s easy for me to say “don’t be too hard on yourself,” but I still question every action and decision I made with Kitty and she crossed the Rainbow Bridge 10 years ago. We love our fur babies but lack compassion for ourselves (even as I type that I’m thinking, “But I don’t deserve it because ….” ). Newton is a beautiful boy and it’s a pleasure to watch him being himself 🙂
Thank goodness you are going back to homemade for Newton and hope he will be back to his normal self very soon.
That does sound very frustrating. We sure hope the homemade raw food will help him. It will be interesting to see if that makes his numbers better. Hope so.
Good luck! My guy is on a prescription diet for life because of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disorder–it definitely was not my first choice of diets for him, but it’s helped with his problems significantly, so we’re sticking with it. Hope that making food for Newton at home solves his problems!
Your homework is going to pay off. Thanks for the resources.
Good job researching the food. We hope Newton is feeling better and gets a good report next time.
The Florida Furkids
Wow! Thank goodness you did some research on your own. It is absolutely frustrating when everyone plays the blame game. I hope changing back to the homemade raw will help Newton. Good luck!
extremely informative and thank you! Bottom line, glad Newton is feeling much better!
l-methoinine.. it is the main ingredient in rx foods that lowers ph (well not really, they use the cheaper dl version) and you can buy it at any major retailer of supplements and supplement it yourself..
I can totally respect using the Rx food in this way even if I totally hate it.. (I apparently can’t not say that) and getting all of your ducks in a row is important.
Just because necks have a high percentage of bone, does not mean the overall diet does.if they add additional meat in there it will bring the percentage down. Have you asked the raw food makers what their percentage is..
Stress can also increase urinary PH.
Thanks for all the information . You’ve sure done a lot of research. Right now I have 6 cats ranging in age from 1 to 16 years old. Unfortunately, 3 of them have had urinary issues ranging from cystitis to blockage. As you mentioned, stress can lead to urinary problems, so urinary issues are very frustrating to deal with . My vet recommended Hill’s C/d and it seems to be working well. We haven’t had a problem in about 3 years. Using the canned variety is preferred, but my cats wouldn’t eat it, so I use the dry formula. Please keep us posted on how Newton is doing. Good luck!
That is some brilliant deduction on your part!
What a struggle…but your detective work paid off. We’re glad to hear Newton is feeling good though…and you can get his urine to where it should be.
Great patience in researching what will be best for Newton in the long run. I’m not crazy about the renal food, either, but Tinker is eating it heartily for now. All the best for our buddy Newton..I love how they are always unfazed by our concerns which does the heart good. When they start to react negatively is when we are desperate to do the right thing. ((hugs))
I meant to say we’re always desperate to do the right thing. It’s just we humans really tank when it looks like nothing works..
oh my word that has surely been frustrating. So much stuff out that that claims to be THE BEST..
but cats like peeps don’t always do best on what others do.
Good luck hugs madi and mom
argh – that will make you crazy. hope you alerted the food company to what you found…
Dang, that is frustrating. As an FYI, years ago there was a cat here with a wonky pH and after many tests we determined it was coming from the litter residue she was licking off her paws. The litter was changed out and the pH returned to normal. Strange but true.
Newton no matter how you feel or what you numbers are, you look meowvolous! We are very interested to hear how this all plays out. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
I’m glad Newton’s feeling all right, and I hope the new diet works for him.
dood….sorree yur numberz iz all funkee N we hate ta say we toll
ya sew on de hole BURD izzue, ya knead ta stix ta pizza pie buddy….troo lee ~~~~~~~ ♥♥♥
seer ee iz lee tho, hope ya due well on yur new diet ~~~
Are you sure Newton hasn’t been noshing on Mr. Bones??? He’s so lucky to have you in his corner!
We would have never had an idea about any of this. We think you earned extra stars for your diligence!
And Newton? You’re looking pretty good there, pal!
That does sound frustrating. I am glad you figured out that it was the bone and can now deal with it.
Wow, good for you for figuring this out and checking the ingredients so carefully. Hoping for great levels for Newton.
Newton is lcky to have a human like yourself who cares about what he eats. I hope with you making his food, he’ll be back to normal.