Hello, Another Raw Newbie here!

[NYCmonsters]

Hi all,
I've been reading your information packed forum for the past few days, and I have learned soooo much, Thank you. I have 3 chinese cresteds and 1 Himalayan cat and in the process of switching them all to raw. So far the cat(13yrs) and one dog(almost 7yrs) have been completely raw for a full week. The both have been on Abady canned food for the past 5 months because the cat just got diagnosed with Reduced Kidney Function (a nice way of saying kidney failure) and the dog with Struvite crystals. The Abady canned food they were eating consisted of beef muscle/heart/kidney/tripe etc. I noticed my dogs teeth just got disgusting after a month being on it, his skin wasn't looking great and his eyes would get bloodshot every once in a while, but I did not want to put him back on kibble. So I decided to switch them both to pre-made raw and they both are loving it. The cat is eating primal frozen nuggets and the dog is eating vital-essentials frozen raw nibblets. I think we will keep the cat on the premade for now until she tires of it, because she is actually eating. I've read that cats with kidney failure end up starving themselves to death because they refuse to eat the prescription food from the vet(I wouldn't put that garbage into my pets anyway). In just one week the dogs skin is already looking better, his poops shrunk and his eyes cleared up, but he needs raw bones for his teeth. Since we have limited freezer space (tiny nyc apartment) we can't buy raw meat in bulk, so I was thinking of combining the vital essentials with raw meaty bones. Is that a good idea? And want to convert my other two dogs to all raw as well(one is under weight and the other has been chewing her paws and itching, allergies?) Today they each got their first raw chicken wing, and it was the best day of their little lives. Tomorrow we are going to try and make friends with the butcher down the block, and hopefully get a chicken back.

My question is: what kind of meats would you suggest to keep away the struvite crystals? And what meats should we stay away from?

Thanks for your time.

[NewYorkDogue]

Hello - I'm also a New Yorker (Hell's Kitchen neighborhood). Your dogs are beautiful-- and that photo is too much... adorable! Sorry I cannot add anything on the health issue topic, but I am sure you will find useful info here (I am fairly new myself, and have learned a lot).

By the way, my pup is thriving on raw...

[cprcheetah]

My little chi Zoey has had a lifetime of Struvites in her urine. I have done nothing special with the Prey Model Raw diet other than just feeding it :-) She no longer has crystals in her urine, and her allergies are competly gone (itching/chewing/licking), she eats a wide variety of meats, chicken, beef, pork, venison, whole prey mice, turkey, lamb so the big thing in eliminating crystals is moisture in the diet. I have a cat who normally has crystals too, and hers are pretty much gone as well. Yes with cats with kidney failure the BIG thing is that they eat. My dad (who is a vet) has a cat who is 21 years now and has had kidney failure for 3 years, he is eating fancy feast & friskies, I know not ideal, but hey he's eating as he REFUSED 2 types of the prescription diets....so he just gives him a diet of about 98% canned food and 2% dry, I would say the canned food/moisture in the diet is the important part.

[NYCmonsters]

Thank you NYD. We are in the West Village. Your puppy is beautiful too. I'm really looking forward to getting everyone here fully converted to PMR.

[xellil]

Welcome and good for you for going raw - I don't know a thing about struvite crystals except I recently had a dog for a short time with bladder stones and I was threatened with my life if I didn't feed her Science Diet. So i did. It was like dried up elmers glue, and she was only supposed to be on it for something like 12 weeks because it had no nutrition on it, and she would die if she ate it very long.

Yum yum. I felt so sorry for her.

[NYCmonsters]

Thank you Heather. That really helps ease my anxiety of putting the crystal boy on raw.

[NYCmonsters]

Xellil, Thank you, we are happy to be here. I got into a fight with my now former vet because I refused to feed that stuff. When I told him I was taking the holistic approach he had a fit.

[xellil]

Glad he is a former vet! I am here too because of a vet, an ER vet who kept pushing Science Diet.

I didn't know what was good, but I knew Science Diet was bad. And after I saw what was in the can for my temp dog - bleck. Dog food should not be white, i don't care what it's for.

[NYCmonsters]

When my first crested was a puppy I was feeding him SD. And we couldn't understand why a young pup was covered in big pussy zits, had rotten breath and gas. My ex-vet just wanted to push a medicated bath that was incredibly drying and stung my hands, couldn't imagine what it felt like to my puppy. So we took him to a dermatologist and the derm said the SD was causing all those symptoms. And she was right, we changed his food and everything cleared up. That advice cost me $500.

[luvMyBRT]

Welcome!

The main thing with keeping struvite crystals from forming into stones is to keep the urine acidic and dilute. Feeding meat is the best way to keep things acidic. Acidic meats are chicken, beef, fish and pork. Once through the transition to raw you can add whole raw eggs, which are acidic, to the diet.

Another *huge* thing in the prevention of crystals developing into stones is water. Keep the urine dilute and the bladder flushed. Make sure your dog gets plenty of water. I float my dogs food in warm water to insure he gets plenty (he gets urate bladder stones).

Again welcome! :0)