Is it Possible to Force a Cat to Eat a Specific Food?
A comment that was posted recently to the article entitled Is Tuna Safe for Cats? caught my eye.
Andy A posted a comment on July 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
My cat has been diagnosed with struvite crystals and my vet wants me to feed her Hills c/d diet. She absolutely hates it no matter how long I try to wait her out or how I try to hide it in her regular food. She loves Figaro Albacore Tuna Cat Food by Bumble Bee. According to the label It has vitamins and minerals along with 1.0g Omega-3 fatty acids and Taurine added. If I continue to feed her the Cat Food Tuna, will it worsen her condition? I think her not eating anything while I try and wait her out may dehydrate her possibly leading to concentrated urine which does not help her flush out her bladder. Am I wrong in this line of thinking?
Struvite crystals are common in cats. They, along with abnormal urine pH, are associated with a disease called feline urologic syndrome, or FUS (pedantic types prefer the name feline lower urinary tract disease, or FLUTD). In females, FUS/FLUTD leads to chronic bladder pain and discomfort. FUS/FLUTD is more serious in male cats, because it may lead to a life-threatening situation in which they are unable to urinate.
FUS/FLUTD appears to be hereditary in nature. It is generally treated by modifying the cat’s diet to promote a change in urine chemistry. Hill’s c/d is the most frequently prescribed diet for FUS/FLUTD. Most cats are willing to eat it. However, as Andy points out, there are exceptions.
I do not recommend fighting battles of will with cats when it comes to food. (Actually, I find that battles of will with cats are losing propositions in general.) Trying to coerce your cat to eat one type of food can have dangerous consequences if she refuses to consume it. I have heard of cats who refused to eat for weeks on end when they took offense to the food on offer.
Starvation is the last thing that your cat needs. And yes, refusal to eat can lead to dehydration and increased urinary problems. If she won’t eat the prescription diet, your best bet is to offer something that she finds more palatable.
Several companies make foods that are comparable to c/d. Your cat may be willing to eat one of these. Talk to your vet about these alternatives.
If your cat refuses to eat all of the available prescription diets, you still have options. As I mentioned in the tuna post, cats cannot survive on tuna alone. Tuna flavored cat food, however, is generally nutritionally replete. It might make her urinary issues worse. Or it might not. There is only one way to find out: test her urine while she is on the food. If no crystals are present and the urine’s pH is in the proper range, then you won’t have much to worry about.
If crystals and pH problems occur when your cat is on her preferred food, you may be able to resolve the situation with dietary supplements. D,L-methionine is a natural amino acid that can be administered each day. It lowers urine pH, and reduces the risk of struvite crystals.
No matter what food you offer, your cat should have her urine tested regularly to make sure that the crystals and pH are under control. This is the key to dealing with FUS/FLUTD
You have questions. 
The best supplements I ever gave my cat were Tinkle Tonic and Wysong Biotic PH-.
The Wysong Biotic PH- helps acidify the food to break up the crystals and also has other helpful things like digestive enzymes. Tinkle Tonic is an herbal formula that is supposed to “tonify” the urinary tract. I’m not sure what that means, but it definitely helps.
Also, we got the hell AWAY from Science Diet. That food is junk.
I lost my [almost] 2-year old male cat, Yoshi, to complications due to FLUTD last month :( I was late in realizing that he couldn’t urinate. (At first, I thought he was excited to be the first to use a clean litter box on an “empty tank” … but now I realize he couldn’t urniate.) It wasn’t until I saw him squatting over plain floors (away from the litter box) that I knew he was crying for help. He had had his routine check-up just months before, and he wasn’t showing any exterior signs of distress. He was hospitalized for a week, but it was not enough. I am very watchful of my remaining cat’s behavior.
My 5 yr. old precious Tortie, Goldie, was diagnosed with crystals in her urine. She ate S.D. s/d for a 3.5 lb. bag and she surprisingly ate it. She is a very finicky eater. When subsequent urinalysis showed improvement, her vet switched her to S.D. w/d – “we’ll have her eat 2 bags and then we’ll retest”. She absolutely refused the w/d. I asked if she could eat regular S.D. in conjunction with the w/d, and her vet got a terrified look on his face; he said Goldie’s condition was very serious and that she had to eat the w/d. Somehow, I had a brainstorm & started feeding the w/d to Goldie 2 pieces at a time. She has always loved “treats”, so now she even wakes me in the middle of the night for some of her “treats”. It’s a slow process, but she is eating it. Whatever it takes, for my baby. (She’s not spoiled or anything, no…) A friend from Houston said her vet prescribed a food made by Iams for their Himilayan male who had developed a severe problem with crystals in his urine. I did not realize what was happening at first. Goldie was peeing in inappropriate places, and not in the litter box. I thought it was behavioral, that she was maybe marking with urine, because we had a nervous cat in the household who tended to become aggressive (she now resides in a room with two other special needs cats, who she trusts and therefore her behavior is greatly improved). One day I was making dinner and Goldie came in the kitchen and peed blood on the floor, at my feet. I rushed her to the vet, who diagnosed the seriousness of her condition. Another cat with her condition, brought into the clinic just before Goldie, did not survive. I had heard once that male cats neutered too early could develop a blockage, and that diet could play a factor, but I had no idea female cats could ever develop this problem. I will take my cats to the vet if they are having trouble in/out of the litter box from now on and not try to diagnosis their problem as physical or behavioral!
I had several Cats, at one time, that had urinary problems (Crystals?) and I switched them to Friskies “Special Diet” (Blue box) dry food, and this seemed to clear up the problem, and they liked the food. Then I again switched to Friskies “Feline Favorites” and they also liked this. (The urinary problems did not return)
Several of those Cats have passed away, since then, and my 5 remaining Cats range from age 15 (2), 10 (1), 8 (1), and 4.
They have all “agreed” that the Friskies “Signature Blend” is now their “Favorite” dry food. I supplement this with the canned Friskies “shredded” varieties, which they all seem to love, and do not have any problems, digesting.
I also give them as a “Treat” the Purina Fancy Feast “Gourmet Gold” Turkey/Chicken flavor dry food. I only give them this in very small amounts, as a “reward” because the “regular” treats (”Whiska’s Temptations, etc) are just too expensive.
Since switching to the “shredded” varieties, they seem to not vomit as much, either. Sometimes all they eat is the gravy, but none of them are skinny, and I split a 5-1/2 oz can, 5~ways, twice a day. They go and finish what the others may have left, so none of them go hungry. They are also strictly “indoor” Cats.
***Note*** almost all popular brands of Cat Foods are basically produced by the Purina Brands, if you check the labels. The Friskies Brands are just one of many. I am so happy the ones I use are not on the products recall list!***
Some of my cats had problems with diarrhea, gas, and possible allergic symptoms. I took them to their veterinarian who tested for different possible conditions, but the tests came back clean.
All of their digestive problems disappeared when I switched the cats from Purina ONE to Goodlife Recipe.
It would be ironic to feed an animal Iams as it is a Proctor & Gamble product, well-known for their wide-spread use of animal testing and cruelty.