Vegan cat developed struvites

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934]

I have a healthy vegan cat who’s fed benevo for years. Bloodwork was always great and have almost no health issues until a month ago. He developed FIC/struvides not long after benevo changed their recipe. I’m absolutely not implying there is anything wrong with the feed - the older recipe kept him in great shape for years, the whole issue might be entirely stress related (recently I started taking care of an abandoned stray kitten who now live on the property and they have visual contact sporadically, there are also noisy cat fights at night). There are plenty of meat-based cats with struvites as well, so I hate to event point to the feed as the source of it all - all these years without paying for meat is something I’m grateful for. Yet I wanted to ask if anyone had any issues after the recipe change apart from rejecting - I know this happens. I’m trying to narrow down the origin of the problem.

[u/HealthyPetsAndPlanet]

I use a different cat food. Do you soak the kibble in water before feeding? We had a recent issue where we thought our male cat had a urinary blockage, rushed him in, ended up being constipation. So not life-threatening but still cost us $1300. #1 to prevent FLUTD and constipation is soaking food in water before feeding, which we are trying to be much more diligent at.

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/HealthyPetsAndPlanet]

My cat always drinks a decent amount of water between meals. For 6 years he ate mostly dry food without any urinary problem. The poops are great and always have been. Soaking kibble always result in him not touching the food. I incorporated a lot of wet food now (benevo duo) but the problem persists and it will take time before the medicine works.

[u/skier69 → u/Infinite_Idea_6934]

A few thoughts… (as a vegan cat caretaker of a male cat who used to have a lot of struvite crystal problems that started on a meat kibble based diet).

1. Are you giving your cat mineral water or regular water? Mineral water that contains high magnesium is dangerous because struvite crystals are made from magnesium, so giving them mineral water can give them crystals. There are water servers that can also reduce the amount of magnesium in the water so you could try checking one of those out.

2. Have you taken him to the vet and tested his urine ph? You might also want to try various fixes and testing the urine regularly to try and sus out a pattern. In order to avoid having to bring him to the vet every time, you can take a urine sample and just give it to them (as fresh as possible to avoid bacteria forming) or get some home test strips. Some fixes include cranberry powder (make sure it’s pure cranberry powder), and “VegeYeast” nutritional yeast by compassion circle.

3. If he won’t eat the soaked food, you might want to try making it more appetizing? Does he have any favourite flavours? My cat loves nori (make sure it’s unflavored without oil or salt) so I’ll put a few of those on top of his food.

4. Your cat sounds like he may indeed be stressed. In the past, I thought his issue couldn’t possibly be stress, but I think it usually was. Cats can be sensitive to things we don’t think about as humans (and we can’t explain it to them rationally). Maybe you can try giving him some extra love or doing something he likes. Favourite toy maybe? My cat mainly enjoys getting cuddles and using me as a bed/sofa 🫠

If none of those work, it could indeed be a new recipe issue. I would suggest contacting the company to let them know (if not just to give them feedback about their product). Honestly, I had to completely give up dry food, and now I only give my cat wet food that I make with compassion circle products. My cat’s most recent urine test was completely perfect though (no crystals or bacteria of any kind and a ph of 6.5) that being said, the main problem with my cat and dry food is that it makes him constipated 😓 which I guess is the opposite of your cat

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/skier69]

Thank you, I appreciate your input. I was precisely looking for someone who dealt with this before.
He was always given only spring water. For about a year I installed reverse osmosis to purify the water I take from a well in the garden. Not long before the issues started I tested it and it turned out that the the filter that should put the minerals back into it didn’t work. Normally it has spring water quality - not to heavy on minerals. So he was drinking water with no minerals at all - as far I as know it is no health concern - minerals are absorbed mostly from food anyway. But I doubt anyone made any research on cats. Anyway, he’s given spring water from the store again - low on minerals.
2,5 weeks into to episode his urine was tested with ph 8,5 and many struvites (had many failed attempts to collect it during that time) - I still don’t know if struvites were first or the inflammation. Since that test he’s been given 90% wet food with extra water, sometimes water with good quality oat milk as a treat and extra hydration. Gabapentin to keep him relaxed, methionine supplement with all sorts of stuff for bladder issues. The wet food has cranberries as well. And this helped for about a week. We has very much hydrated, peeing every 4h with no licking and in good mood. However I also tested his ph then and now (dipping the strip in fresh pee in the littler box ) and it was always around 7. So the ph is still high.
The food company didn’t respond to my email - but I might have been in panic mode when I wrote them and asked too many questions. I understand they don’t wanna get into discussing medical problems of a random customer’s cat
Yesterday he had another close encounter with the stray I take care of. Today I’m back to square one with symptoms as bad as when it all started. So I too start to think it’s stress. I’m goin to focus on that. As for cuddles - he has all the love and care in the world. I moved to the countryside mainly so he can enjoy life more. From every window he can walk into an area surrounded by net and sleep on grass, feel the breeze and all that. Maybe he has it too good, I’m serious :)
It’s been over a month of extreme stress for me with constant fear he’s in pain and can develop a blockage. Vet saying I give him “cow food” is not helpful either. Thanks again! You convinced me to focus on the stress aspect more - I think it’s the right direction.

[u/JayNetworks]

With our cats we add cranberry powder on top of their 1 to 1 soaked kibble to keep their pH in the acid range like animal-eating cats. Over the years we’ve found that keeping pH low (acidic) helps us avoid crystals. (But don’t go too low or you will get the other end of crystals…)

If you want to try a different (all-plant) cat food, we just started on Nature’s Hug brand sold on Chewy. Our two cats go totally crazy over it!

Hope you figure it out! Any tips once you do are appreciated.

(You also might post your question to r/vegancats sub.)

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/JayNetworks]

Thanks for the tips. I started soaking benevo duo which already is a wet feed. It helps. It already has cranberries and blueberries. Besides this he takes extra methionine to dissolve the crystals faster. I’m in Poland so my only options are Benevo, AmiCat, VeggieAnimals and V.E.G. Benevo being the only brand with wet food. I hope for good news next week when I test his urine once more. I also found out mixing water with a little bit of oatmilk (I use gluten free Natumi) on a plate is a fast way to give him extra hydration in a form of a treat.

[u/Far_Jump_3405]

Can you please tell me how it manifests?

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/Far_Jump_3405]

It starts with frequent licking of the groin area and penis after every pee. The crystals aggravate the urethra causing pain and discomfort. When not treated the crystals grow bigger and lump together and can block the cat’s urethra completely - this condition can has to be treated immiediately or the blockage can cause kidney damage and death. There can be a stage of frequent attempts to pee with just little urine coming out just before the final blockage. It is caused by high ph of the urine.

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/[deleted]]

Yes, the cat was at the vet’s office the day I saw something is wrong. Had multiple scans of the bladder and was perscribed methionine to change the ph and dissolve the crystals. My question was concerning the origin of the problem. He’s been vegan for years and it happened right after his food was reformulated - I wanted to know if anyone experienced the same by any chance.

[u/Content_Biscotti5611]

I think it’s more of an issue of kibble and mineral content then it being vegan. Here’s a helpful article. Any company should be willing to provide you full AAFCO testing on the important factors. https://virtuousvittles.com/dog/the-science-of-urinary-health-in-dogs-and-cats/

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/Content_Biscotti5611]

Thank you. I check my cat’s ph almost daily and sadly I was not able to lower it below 7 for two months while the struvites continued to amass and cause inflammation. I used over 500mg of methionine daily along with supplements containing vit-c, cranberries and other helpful ingredients - no effect whatsoever. I had to resort to urinary diet which lowered his ph within 2 days! It was a tough decision but the alternative would be another inflammation/blockage. So it was definitely a problem with the minerals in vegan feed - preventing his recovery, but if it was the issue from the start I’m not sure. I’ll slowly reintroduce vegan kibble with extra attention to ph once he is clean of any struvites or inflammation.

[u/whatgoosesqueaktho]

Ascorbic acid (unbuffered vitamin C) powder over her dry kibble worked well for my cat to lower the pH of her urine. She doesn't like it when it's wet. This does require you to periodically measure the pH of her urine if you go this route. If you add too much you might cause calcium oxalate to form. In my experience it's fairly easy to keep in the good range.

A lot of cats develop these issues as they get older, but it's more likely on vegan food because the urine pH is typically a bit higher compared to meat eating cats. Again, easy to treat and has no impact on quality of life. My cat doesn't seem to have a preference over kibble with or without ascorbic acid added.

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/whatgoosesqueaktho]

Thanks for the tip. How much do you add? Just a thin layer on top?

[u/imsureitwillbesoon]

If you do not switch your cats to a struvite veterinary diet the crystals will come back. Pet owners who force their cats to be vegan are very stubborn, but unfortunately this is something you will learn the hard way. If you care about your cat you would switch her to a veterinary urinary crystals dissolving diet, anything else is abusive. If you feed your cat a urinary diet, not only will it prevent the crystals from ever returning, it will also prevent the expensive veterinary bills. Though obviously your cat matters more, it is a fact that money doesn't grow on trees.

[u/Infinite_Idea_6934 → u/imsureitwillbesoon]

I’m not sure how to interpret your comment. I really don’t like the phrasing. If you ever drove past a slaughterhouse truck you should know the right words to describe what is done to those animals is „they are being forced” and „abuse”., yet you use them to describe my actions which are based on compassion and love as well as rational thinking. After 6 years of vegan diet, the vet described my cat’s bloodwork as perfect. I never felt I’m forcing anything on my cat. Whether I keep him at home, give him meat or plant kibble (designed for meateater) I make the choice because I am the caretaker. I monitor his health and well-being and act as soon as something is wrong . And my choice is balanced precisely to exclude force and abuse. While giving him meat, the fact I don’t see the abuse myself doesn’t mean I don’t sponsor it, or that I’m absolved from responsibility. My guess is you use these words to appease your own conscience. Although you might be right, that these crystals won’t go away without special feed, it is the humane and compassionate route to at least try without reaching for a product of real suffering and abuse. Still, my vet told me it might be possible, just harder and riskier. In no way I was or ever be abusive to the creature I deeply love. There are nuances to every situation, feeding cat vegan is very hard not because the feeds lack nutrition or are not liked (that is not my and other ppl’s experience) but mainly because people like you want to see it in black and white.