Conference misery::feline

912.0. "Prescription C/D Cat Food vs. "The Competition"" by SCHOOL::KOPACKO () Sun Jul 09 1995 19:12

Hi.  I'm posting this for a friend.  I will forward him any replies or mail
messages that this generates.  To all you armchair veterinarians out there,
any and all help/information is greatly appreciated.

He has a male cat, approximately 5 years old, that had a urinary tract
blockage last fall (October).  At the time, the vet recommended that the
cat be put on "Presscription C/D" cat food, which was supposed to be the
best bet to keep this from reoccurring.  He feeds the canned version.
On subsequent visits, he asked the vet about the new Purina cat food (He blvs
it's called "Special Care") that's "designed to maintain your cat's urinary
tract health".  The vet indicated that this was for cats who had NOT yet had
a urinary tract blockage, and not for cats who had already had a blockage
(anyone else hear different from their vets?).

He's also talked to many cat owners who have reported that their cat had this
problem. They didn't want to, or couldn't afford to, put their cats on this
food, and they had never redeveloped the problem (has anyone had a cat that
had more than one incident of urinary tract blockage?).

He has a friend who has a friend who is a veterinarian.  This vet told the
friend that there is a version of this food available at most larger pet
stores, and it's made by the same people who make Hill's Science Diet, but
it's marketed under a different name; Felo-Lite.

Well, he looked, and he found the food at a couple of stores.  It actually
turned out to be "Felo-Diet" and is marketed by Hi-Tor.  He checked the list
of ingredients, and was immediately dismayed to see that it had Ash to the
extent of a maximum of 1.2% -- and since ash is part of the problem, he
didn't get any.  Turns out, after checking the C/D list of ingredients, that
it also had ash -- to the tune of a maximum of 1.5%!!

Here's a breakdown between the two foods:

                   HI-TOR           C/D
                ============    ============
Crude Protein   min. 11.000%    min. 11.500%
Crude Fat       min.  8.000%    min.  7.000%
Crude Fiber     max.  1.000%    max.  1.500%
Moisture        max. 78.000%    max. 72.500%
Ash             max.  1.200%    max.  1.500%
Calcium         min.  0.220%    min.  0.100%
Phosphorous     min.  0.200%    min.  0.100%
Magnesium       max.  0.020%    max.  0.025%
Taurine         min.  0.044%    min.  0.050%

They seem comparable, very comparable.  Can anyone shed any insight on which
of these ingredients is good, which is bad, why it's better to have a lot or
a little of certain ingredient, etc.?

Okay, you wonder why he's going through all of this trouble.  Here's why.
The HI-TOR version can be had for $.80 cents a can, while the vet costs
almost twice that ($20.18 for a case of HI-TOR including tax, and the C/D
is $36. and some change).  I think you can see why if the HI-TOR is indeed
the "generic" version of the C/D why he'd look to switch.

(And since he has two cats, obviously he's feeding two at this price).

BUT. first and foremost to him is his cat's health.  So if there's a reason
not to switch, he'd like to know, and will to continue to absorb the cost of
the C/D food if need be.

I know I've probably touched on a number of subjects here, and they may have
been covered in smaller pieces in different parts of the notesfile, and if
so, I apologize.  I'm not a regular reader of this notesfile, but will be
monitoring it for responses.  Even if the response is to point me to other
notes.

Any and all help is appreciated.  Thanks!

Ray

    I can't offer any opinion on either of the products you have had
    experience with.  BUT my experience is with the dry "Special Care" cat
    food.  
    
    I had a grey tortise who was in a state of almost total kidney failure
    several times.  ( I am using *was* because we did have to put her down
    a year and a half ago when we had done as much as we could and we knew
    she was suffering and had only days left anyway due to the kidneys)
    
    I bought bag after bag of the Purina special care, and as is
    uncharacterisic of me, I really didn't read or compare the ingredients. 
    It just simply seemed to work.  Her symptoms seemed to diminish, of
    course we were forcing anything into her she would eat, and doing
    subcutaneous fluids by IV twice a day when she was at her worst, and
    antibiotics.  I really believe, and this is only an unscientific
    opinion, that changing to the special care did extend her life.  I had
    been using Happy Cat, semi soft food.  All of my cats also seem to be
    sensitive to food with red dye and will frequently any food with the
    dye in it.
    
    Not scientific, but I certainly couln't afford the vet's price of the
    other stuff.  Plus you need to weigh the wet (canned) food issue versus
    the dry food issue.  Every vet I've talked to says dry is bet dental
    health wise.  FWIW, I've been told the Friskies brand is the highest,
    don't know for sure.  I buy food because they will eat it, and don't
    vomit it back up all over my rugs!  Canned food is reserved for treats,
    sick cats, and emergencies when the dry food runs out late at night!
    
    Lyn

    I can only say that my first cat had repeated bouts with FUS until I
    switched him from Nine Lives to CD, after that no problem.  All my
    cats are now on CD or WD (low fiber CD) or RD (low cal) and only one
    who has atypical FUS problems (crystals form but no infection) has
    had any recurrence, and that was quite awhile ago.  CD, WD, and RD all
    come in dry as well as canned forms;  my cats prefer the dry and their
    teeth have fewer problems on the dry.  There are enough cat health
    problems to freak out about without dealing with one that can be
    avoided, IMHO, if you can afford the CD. You might call the 800
    number on the CD and ask about their foods sold in pet stores; those
    might be okay and cheaper;  I'd still ask the vet though.
    
    

    Ray,  out of my 10 cats I've got three that had histories of FUS
    problems.  We tried all those expensive vet-recommended foods and the
    problem still kept happening.  When SPECIAL CARE came out years ago, we
    tried that.  Not only did everybody agree that it tasted good, but the
    FUS problems have never recurred!  All 10 cats eat it, which is great 
    because I leave a bowl of hard food out, so its nice that everybody
    can safely eat it, they don't throw it up, and I don't have to throw 
    it out cause they didn't eat it.  Couple that with knowing I can safely
    go on vacation without having someone get FUS eating the other junk,
    and not having to spend all that extra money.....
       At Demoulas I usually pay $3.59 to 3.99 for a bag.  There is always
    a lot of coupons too, so that saves more.