Commercial diets and the feline urological syndrome

Authors: Chandler EA
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 37, Issue 1, pp 41, Mar 1989
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cat, Companion animal
Subject Terms: Clinical pathology, Diagnostic procedures, Diet/rations/food, Syndrome, Urinary system/urology, Disease/defect, Nutrition/metabolism
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: The report by Tarttelin, N.Z. vet. J. 36: 12.5-7, draws attention to the importance of urinary pH in the prevention of struvite formation and the Feline Urological Syndrome (FUS). Friskies research centres have in fact worked extensively in this area and presented a “State of the Art” lecture to the October World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress, to show how, under controlled conditions, urine pH can be changed by the use of natural food ingredients. It would seem foolish to deny the suggestion that struvite formation may be implicated in FUS, but struvite crystals are accepted as normal in cat urine and indeed Rich and Kirk were unable to produce FUS by the artificial creation of heavy struvite loads. Gaskell has also pointed out that struvite may be an innocent bystander in the syndrome and indeed the pathogenesis may not begin in the bladder at all…

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