Is 8.2% ash cat food okay for a cat with past urinary stones?

Ash is not a nutrient per se, but there is a minimum content required by regulation. Ash residue is composed of various types of minerals, often from animal sources such as bone and meat. It typically also contains the remains of any mineral additives the manufacturer uses to enhance the food. So it is just the total mineral content of a forage or diet (after burning). So it signifies whether there is a large or small amount of those components in the feed. 7% appears to be an average amount and therefore should be ok.

Purina Friskies is a low/mid grade quality food and I would not be surprised if his crystalluria returns. He really needs a prescription diet such as c/d from Hills or a similar formula from Royal Canin. Your veterinarian should have this food available, or be able to send you to a store to purchase with a prescription. I have also had good luck using Crystal Stone Formula ( a Chinese herbal), but this is a prescription herbal. I would be happy to consult with you about this. I would recommend a prescription diet for at least 6 months prior to trying to wean off of it. If you absolutely CANNOT get a prescription diet, I would focus on a high quality, high protein diet, but NONE will dissolve and prevent crystals as well.

Regular food is much less effective in preventing recurrent urinary tract issues in cats which are very prone to repeat episodes - it is impossible to say how sensitive he is and without trying you will not know but there is a chance he could relapse on ordinary canned food. Urinary diets tend to be adjusted to maintain urine pH to prevent crystals and are restricted in minerals and use only high quality protein sources to minimise the risk of urinary tract issues as well as providing an important source of fluids compared to dry food. The very best option in affected cats is urinary canned food but in many cases a high quality, commercial canned food is sufficient - if he relapses on this you will have to source the urinary prescription food as a treatment and prevention

Bladder stones are collections of mineral crystals that combine together in the urinary tract. Excess minerals can encourage the formation of crystals in the urine, leading to the creation of bladder stones. Urinary diets have the correct balance of minerals to maintain bladder health. In addition, they have low protein and calcium, which results in decreased urinary concentrations of stone-forming constituents. To get the biggest benefit, I recommend choosing a urinary specific food for Liir, as regular diets will not be formulated to help with bladder health. I recommend Hill's Science Diet u/d. I hope this helps!

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If I am reading your question correctly, you indicate that Sapphire's urinary diet may have contributed to her developing cancer. I have never heard of this. Now, any chronic inflammation/irritation does have the potential to possibly incite a tissue to mutate to a malignant form, but again, this would be very unusual. For example, a bone cancer can developed at the site of a previous fracture in very rare instances. If your veterinarians have submitted urine to a laboratory, the sample should have come back with evidence of cancer cells. An ultrasound should also provide evidence of cancer, as well as a biopsy of the urinary bladder. If there is no evidence of cancer ( & I would be very suspicious of this in such a young cat ), then I would have no issues keeping Sapphire on a urinary diet to keep her crystalluria under control.

Well done in researching this so well! Any dryfood would be recommended to be urinary focused as wet food in itself contributes to urine dilution and is more forgiving in this regard. I would recommend royal canin urinary moderate calorie (which comes in wet and dry) and can be very effective in weight reduction whilst promoting urinary health

Hello, sorry to hear about Diamond. Im assuming that he may be having urinary crystals or becoming blocked. If so, it appears that that the urinary Fit 32 is adequate for lower urinary tract problems. If his urinary problems are associated with his kidneys, then this diet may not be adequate. With any lower urinary tract disease, any wet food is better over any dry food. So if you are feeding him the wet version of the Fit32 that is better. Hope this helps and best of luck.