A little something for the Catmonsters

I have a pair of catmonsters.  Yes, that's what they are.  They're sweet, smart, loving little brats.  They're spoiled and evil.  They get into stuff they shouldn't and they do it because they know they're not supposed to.  We still love them.

When we adopted them, they were on a high protein diet, something I had never concerned myself with before these guys.  Of course, they were required to keep their claws, too, which I'd never considered before, either.  We slowly switched them over to a high protein food that we preferred, and, after suffering horrendous gas, we were happy at how healthy and active and happy they were.

Until the boy, Gandalf, had urinary tract problems.  We had him at the vet weekly, and sometimes more often, as crystals would plug him up again and again.  He was prescribed a urinary health formula, which was expensive and required an updated prescription every 6 months.  It didn't seem to help, anyway.  In the end, poor Gandalf had surgery to reroute his urinary tract and remove any extraneous bits that might plug up with crystals.

In the aftermath, we decided that we wanted to keep him on a high protein diet, but still be careful of his urinary health.  We discovered that we could do dry food if we added water to it, since both catmonsters are food hounds and don't mind drinking water to get to their food.  We also supplement with a cranberry powder to keep the pH in his urine down.

As a BzzAgent, I often get to check out new products, sometimes for free, in exchange for talking about the products.  When the Hills Science Diet Ideal Balance campaign came out, I admit I had to think about it hard before taking it on.



My experience with Science Diet included the failed attempt at controlling Gandalf's urinary issues with their prescription urinary health diet.  It was expensive and, while recommended by the vet, was not recommended by people who have used it in the past.

That being said, I looked at this product closely before accepting the campaign.  It includes no corn (check), includes cranberry extract (check), and is high protein (check).  It compares itself nutritionally to several common brands, including Wellness (which comes highly recommended by cat lovers) http://www.hillspet.com/ideal-balance/ideal-balance-home.html  Of course, you have to take that with a grain of salt.  After all, their job is to sell pet food.  But still...

Anyway, I will not likely switch my catmonsters over since I've had excellent results with Wynsong (http://www.wysong.net/products/uretic-healthy-natural-cat-food.php), which is reasonably priced.  But I'll see if the catmonsters like it.

If you wish to try the Ideal Balance, there is a rebate available on the comparison page.  Try it and let me know how things go.