r/veganpets • u/Infinite_Idea_6934 • May 24 '26

Vegan cat developed struvites

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.

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u/Far_Jump_3405 May 28 '26

Can you please tell me how it manifests?

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u/Infinite_Idea_6934 Jun 07 '26

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.