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| English: Heavily stylized depiction of a Manx cat and an Turkish Angora (mis-called an "Angola cat" in this old source), from a hand-coloured antique engraving. Original is 5.25 x 4 inches. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Manx can suffer from a serious urinary disorder known as FLUTD. Diet is most frequently cited as a cause for this problem. Foods that are too low in protein and two high in magnesium and carbohydrates are usually the cause. A lot of owners who have had Manx cats diagnosis with FLUTD try the very expensive prescription cat foods. I have a multiple cat house so even with Manx cat that have had these problems I cannot afford the expense of prescription Manx cat food.
There are things you should look for when trying to find a food that discourages feline UTD in commercial canned and dry Manx cat food. You are trying to have your Manx cat maintain a ph of 6.6. Given there is no easy way to monitor your Manx cat's urine ph (and would you really want to) the best you can do is looking for the right diet.
The first ingredient, you are looking for is the protein. The main ingredient in both dry and canned Manx cat food should be fish or meat. Ingredients that we would normally not expect to find in Manx cat food are good for Manx cats urinary tract are cranberries and blueberries. I have seen cranberry as an ingredient in some Fancy Feast formulas but never blueberry. I am sure these are beneficial things but my Manx cats have never been inclined to eat a fruit.
The next things you want to look for on the label are by products. By products such as gluten and other starches are ideally down near the end of the list of ingredients. These are the sources of the excess crabs and magnesium that you want less of in your Manx cat's diet.
Meat and fish by products are the gross things that we as humans would not eat but are ok for your Manx cat because they are sources of protein. Fish by products may be of some concern because of mercury content so I would only feed wet food with fish by products occasionally. The problems is that many times the fish by products are from the fatty part of the fish and these are the part of the fish that may contain the excess mercury.
Other ingredients to pay attention to are the magnesium. Most Manx cat foods will list the amount in percentages and the less the better as magnesium encourages unwanted urinary crystals. Also make sure that the Manx cat food has a significant amount of DL-Methionine which is a sulfur derivative that maintains urinary ph.
The wet verses dry food argument is ongoing. I feed occasionally wet food but feeding it for moisture content to me seems silly if your Manx cats have, access to clean water. I have noticed Manx cats that have been feed exclusively wet diets have more issues with their teeth and weight than Manx cats that have eaten mostly a dry diet. I feed wet food as a treat or, when a Manx cat is old and keeping on the weight is a bigger issue.
My Manx cats eat Alley Manx cat and it solved a lot of the hair ball issues and vomiting issues I had before the more expensive Manx cat food. I mix it with the nine lives urinary tract formula in hopes it makes up for feeding a Manx cat food that has so many by products. So far no one has had a UTD while on this diet.
I have a Manx cat who isand he because of the status of age helps himself to whatever we are eating for dinner. He really likes pasta and French fries. I know it is not good for him, but he is mostly toothless and despite the crabs he is healthy and pretty happy. I would not suggest you feed your Manx cat spaghetti but it seems to be keeping my older Manx cat alive and relatively healthy. I have not tried feeding him cranberries or blue berries I would imagine if I cooked them he would eat them. Off to make the silly round headed old Manx a blueberry pie.
Sable The Milk Inspector
FUCK YOU DOUCHEBAG! O4Q IN D A HOLE! Raping cats and molesting pussies How dare you beast, what a DOG! GO HOME PERVERT!
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