This has been the major reason that special dry diets have such variable results with preventing urinary crystals and stones in cats.
Feline urinary crystals food.
The more concentrated the urine the more likely minerals can become crystals and eventually stones.
These diets only contain 10 water.
The detection of urinary crystals is not synonymous with kidney stones or the clinical signs associated with them nor is detection of urine crystals irrefutable evidence of a stone forming tendency but there is some association with an increased risk for kidney stones in animals that are.
Struvite crystals are microscopic crystals that are found in the urine of some cats.
While fresh drinking water is always necessary making wet food 50 of your cat s diet can greatly reduce the risk of cat cystitis and bladder crystals.
Urinary crystals are microscopic structures that can be found in the urine of many animals including cats.
The three standard crystals in cats are struvite oxalate and urate.
The extra water in wet foods helps make sure that everything comes out alright for your kitty so we love the fact that this is a wet food.
The crystals themselves can be perfectly normal but become problematic when they combine to form grit or stones of varying shapes and sizes.
Many believe that this is due to cats eating commercial foods that acidify the urine.
Struvite specifically is a material that is composed of magnesium ammonium and phosphate.
Foods specially formulated to promote a healthy urinary tract in cats often includes a few vital minerals that control the ph levels in urine and prevent crystals from forming.
Crystalluria is a medical condition where crystals are expelled into the urine.
Interestingly these crystals used to be extremely rare but now account for roughly half of feline urinary crystals.
Dealing with calcium oxalate crystals and stones can be a little more of a challenge.
It mainly occurs due to lack of or inadequate moisture in cat food or lack of drinking water.
Urinary crystals is a common problem in dehydrated cats.
Some normal animals can have crystals in their urine although sometimes they are indicative of an underlying issue especially if present in large numbers or accompanied by urinary symptoms.
Wet cat food does a much better job at preventing urinary crystals than dry foods.
Berberis vulgars or the common barberry is a shrub that produces acidic berries.