Reddit reviews Solid Gold Dog & Cat Supplements for Urinary Tract Health and Testing; Berry Balance Chews and Powder with Antioxidant-rich cranberries plus pH Strips
We found 2 Reddit comments about Solid Gold Dog & Cat Supplements for Urinary Tract Health and Testing; Berry Balance Chews and Powder with Antioxidant-rich cranberries plus pH Strips. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Can be used to monitor cats and dogs urine pH.Useful with animals that have chronic urinary tract infectionsDisposable strips
You're right that a human going vegan has a bigger impact than a cat, but why not both?
What about Taurine (and other essential nutrients)?
Many people are concerned vegan diets lack essential nutrients for cats and dogs that can only be found in meat, like Taurine. Without Taurine, cats will suffer from retinal degeneration, cardiomyopathy, birth defects, and eventually death. This fear is heightened by anecdotal reports of owners who naively and cruelly feed an incomplete plant-based diet to their pets. However, many nutritionally complete dog and cat foods exist.
Evolution is one such vegan dog & cat food brand, you can see their ingredients here. Both dog and cat food contain (ethical & sustainable) synthetic Taurine, Lysine, Carnitine, and more. This is not unique to Evolution. Any AAFCO compliant vegan pet food brand will have all essential nutrients and healthy carb/protein/fat macro-nutrient ratios as laid out by the guidelines.
Some people worry that synthetic nutrients are less healthy than "natural" meat, or cost prohibitive. A common saying in the pet food industry is that "pets need nutrients, not ingredients". Almost all meat-based pet foods are just supplemented as vegan foods. The low-quality rendered meat is heavily processed in order to become edible flavoring, which denatures most amino acids and destroys other nutrients. You can see synthetic Taurine, amino acids, vitamins, and other nutrients in the labels of almost any pet food.
Can cats be vegan?
Yes. Cats require many nutrients that typically come from meat. In regular kibble, many of these nutrients are stripped away during processing and added back in from synthetic sources. These same sources are used to fulfill missing nutrients in vegan diets. Studies and anecdotal evidence support vegan diets as a healthy diet for cats.
Vegan dog and cat food has the same amount of carbs, protein, and fat.
There is one point of concern though. Vegan diets are typically more alkaline/basic (high pH) than meat based diets. Basic diets can cause FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease), especially in male cats. To combat this their food must be acidified.
Most vegan and non-vegan cat kibble is acidified to prevent this condition. It's still a good idea to monitor your cat as it transitions foods to ensure its best health. On his website, Dr Andrew Knight says
> Based on his experiences with thousands of vegan cats Gillen (2003) states that 85-90% of vegetarian cats do not require attention to dietary content; however, for the remaining 10-15%, urinary pH and dietary magnesium concentrations (see following) require monitoring
The most relevant research has this to say on the matter
> The normal pH of a cat’s urine is 5.5–7, and the normal range for a dog’s urine is pH 5–7 [85]. A pH > 7 indicates alkalinity. A variety of dietary products (e.g., “Vegeyeast” from Harbingers of a New Age—see [26]) and additives can correct alkalinization, should it occur. Asparagus, peas, brown rice, oats, lentils, corn, brussel sprouts and yeast may be included in feline and canine diets, and are all urinary acidifiers [27]. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is also a urinary acidifier. The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Small Animal Formulary [86] recommends a dosage of 50–80 mg/kg every 24 h for cats and dogs. And for more serious cases, the amino acids methionine and cysteine may be used [13]. The BSAVA Small Animal Formulary [86] recommends a dosage of 200 mg/cat every 8 h. More detailed advice about urinary alkalinisation and corrective strategies is available via www.vegepets.info, or within veterinary medical texts.
> Increased urinary acidity, decreased urinary magnesium and increased water consumption all help to keep the urinary pH within a healthy acidic range, and help to prevent the formation of struvite crystals. However, acidifying nutrients, agents, or products should be used carefully, as excessive levels can lead to metabolic acidosis. Increased urinary acidity may also promote higher urinary excretion of calcium and lower excretion of magnesium, and magnesium is a natural inhibitor to the formation of urinary stones associated with calcium [87].
> "Urinary pH is the most important factor in determining the SAP [struvite activity product, which can lead to FLUTD]. Acidification of urine causes deprotonation of phosphates and increases the total proportion of urine phosphate existing as trivalent anions, reducing the SAP.6 Urinary pH and SAP have been reduced with both dietary modification and administration of urinary acidifiers.7 The solubility of struvite is maximized when the urinary pH is <6.4 ... acidification of the urine to <6.29 may increase the risk of calcium oxalate urolith formation...[Urinary acidifiers] should be considered only when the urine pH is >6.5 with ad libitum feeding conditions...A general recommendation for prevention of urolithiasis is to increase water consumption...Diets with reduced magnesium that maintain a urine pH between 6 and 6.3 are recommended despite lack of evidence of efficacy...Monitoring urine pH is recommended to assess dietary compliance and efficacy. Values between 6.0 and 6.5 may reduce the incidence of calcium oxalate and struvite crystal formation. "
So what should you do?
Whatever you do, keep him on a wet food. There are ph strips you can buy to test at home. But if you've had urinary problems with your kitty before, you probably know the signs to watch out for, and know the cost involved with a blockage. So keep all that in mind. High moisture is important for all cats, not just ones who have had blockages in the past.