Pets
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Why would my vet prescribe food w/gluten & byproducts?
in Pets
One of our cats has been placed on a UTI prescription food by RC. I was surprised to see that two of the main ingredients were meat by products and corn gluten. Why would a vet prescribe food with that kind of stuff in it? Is it just because there are not a lot of prescription foods available?
Re: Why would my vet prescribe food w/gluten & byproducts?
Most vets are woefully lacking in nutrition knowledge. The one (maybe two) nutrition classes they're actually required to take during vet school are typically sponsored by Hills or Purina, and they leave school thinking they know their cat and dog patients will thrive on diets that include corn and overprocessed meat products. Most vet offices also get kickbacks from the companies from carrying and selling their prescription diets.
That being said, something about those foods has been shown to help the specific health issue they target. Don't ask me how pumping your cat full of grains and low-quality meat products helps his/her overall health, but something in that ingredient list does end up doing what's needed to resolve the issue.
As I mentioned in a post lower down, most decent and knowledgeable vets understand that their patients don't want to have to use a prescription food forever. One of the other girls on here is giving her cat a urinary prescription food for a couple of months, but then the vet said she can switch back to her choice of higher quality food if his tests come back clean. Another of the girls on here has found luck managing urinary issues with a diet of grain-free food and lots of high-quality wet food.
So, I guess I'd say to use the prescription diet for a couple of months, then find what else out there will work to manage your cat's specific issues (if indeed they're even still a problem).
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Basically ditto Lucky. When my cat had a UTI we gave him 2 bags of the Rx stuff and switched him back to his higher quality food once he was cleared. My vet said this would be fine because we discovered that most likely his problem was related to the tap water at our new house (now he drinks only filtered water).
However, if the Rx food was the only thing that would keep him from getting repeat UTIs I would continue to feed it (and hate it lol). So if it comes to that, don't feel bad. You need to do what you need to do to keep him healthy. But know that he may not need it forever. (Wellness wet has many of the same ingredients as the Rx food, fyi)
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Mine did the same thing. My cat wouldn't eat it and I try to keep a gluten-free house (little kids with celiac disease). Instead he is eating Wellness canned (non-fish flavors) with a little extra water added and is doing just fine. You can compare labels, I did and found that the canned Rx food from the vet and the canned Wellness have similar levels but the Wellness has much higher quality ingredients.
Hope kitty feels better soon!
My vet prescribed one with pasta product. I complained. She call the Hill's rep with my concerns who berated her and me for questioning their formula saying I needed to look at "nutrients, not ingredients."
Charm does have special dietary needs which are very hard to find in regular commercial foods. I just switched her to the lowest protein wet food I could find. She wouldn't eat the food made with pasta product. Out right refused...smart cat.