Why Dry Food is Not the Best Food for Your Cat
Here’s another great article by Holistic Veterinarian, Dr. Karen Becker:
By Dr. Becker
More evidence has emerged linking dry food diets and feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD).
A study was conducted at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Koret School of Veterinary Medicine to evaluate urethral obstruction (UO), which is an extremely common, life-threatening condition in cats.
The urethra is a small tube through which urine flows from your cat’s bladder to the outside of the body.
Urethral obstructions are usually mineral crystals or stones, or plugs of inflammatory material that form in the kidneys (a process known as urolithiasis), pass down into the bladder, and get stuck in the urethra, blocking the passage of urine from the body.
The urethra in male cats is longer and narrower than in females, so obstructions are more often seen in males.
Once a blockage develops in the urethra, the kidneys continue to produce urine and the urine starts building up in the bladder.
This is not only painful for the cat, it can also quickly interfere with kidney function.
The job of the kidneys is to flush waste from the body, and when they aren’t working properly, toxins accumulate in the bloodstream.
Feline urethral obstructions, if not treated promptly, can result in death in a matter of days.