That made me laugh. Minner has big pees too. I used to weigh her pee clumps and track it, but stopped doing that when she got back to 1-2 pees a day. I NEVER see her drink from her water bowls. Seriously, not in months, maybe a few times in January. Kind of crazy. But she eats all pates and some tiki stix every day, so do they just not have a thirst drive when they are regulated and getting all the water in the food??
The only time I've seen Jude drink from the fountain is when he was first diagnosed with FD. (I've never seen Hazel drink water!) I'm never sure if the food (and we're feeding same as you--all pates) gets enough water into them. I had a former cat develop CKD, and from that experience and research, I know that cats are notoriously poor water drinkers, which is not good for their kidneys, so I water down their food quite a bit with each 3.5 oz tin receiving half a tin of warm water.
Thanks for the suggestion for the water fountain--that is a good price. We've had one for a good while now that I like well enough for its ease to keep clean, but, as I said earlier, neither Hazel nor Jude drink from it. For awhile I put it in the triples room, but they think it's a game (EVERYTHING is a game to them), and they end up bonking it and knocking it over and splashing and spilling the water everywhere.
Wish there was a way to check for uti w/o a vet visit. I understand the desire to rule it out yet having the trade off be a lot of anxiety / fear for the fur baby, not to mention the challenge of getting into carrier, taking time to do this and then the cost. Sigh. I’ve wondered about Pretty Litter. I think a change in ph level would be detected and that would change color of clump. So altho not affirmative for uti, a change from normal ph to higher ph coupled w/ what u see with slight elevations in blood sugar could be a vet visit trigger. Multiple cats a little trickier. I’ve wanted to try it but hesitated since it would introduce a change and Idk how Minner would react to a difference in litter.
I wish there were an easier way to screen for UTI, too. I attempted to get a free-catch sample of Jude's urine last night, which, in the past, the vet has accepted and tested, but I somehow contaminated it by getting some litter in it
I think the free-catch is not always the best, though, because of the risk of contamination from the urogenital tract. I'm not sure. Jude is such a good little patient when they perform the cystocentesis, but they typically do it when I'm in the room, and man, it looks seriously uncomfortable for my little dude.
Just last week I put Pretty Litter in one of Jude and Hazel's boxes, but no one has used that box yet, so I'm not sure how well it will work. I put a little bit of litter attractant in with the litter, but you know how cats are with new things.
It's good to hear from you Laura! We've had a few new people on the boards who are shooting higher doses, and I've directed them to look at Minner's sheet for courage in shooting higher doses in the greens. I'm glad to see Minner's numbers are looking so good, and I hope things are going well for you too!
I hope he can see some more steady greens soon.
