Maggie (3F) has urinary stones and is picky about wet food. Could I break down the stones another way?
Hello! I own a black cat named Maggie, she is 3 years old and a female. I took her in after a potentially abusive/neglective household and she has not eaten wet food since. She hates wet food and will not touch it.
Fast forward to today, she is overweight (around 15 lbs) because I had been free feeding her unfortunately. I stopped free feeding, but she has around 4 small urinary stones in her bladder. She frequently pees outside the litter box, and she has been to my vet multiple times to get checked. She is not blocked, and had never been blocked, it is just the stones and outside peeing. She has been on pain meds, and I have switched her over to Royal Canin urinary dry food. However, no matter how many times I give wet food to her, she will never eat it. I have tried everything to get her to eat it. I’ve mixed it into her dry food, warmed it up, gotten new cans of food in different flavors, tried to only leave the wet food out, etc etc and she has never touched any of it. The best I’ve done is start her on dry food with water in it (like a soup).
My vets are talking about surgery now as her stones haven’t broken down through dietary changes. Since she hasn’t touched her wet food, I don’t know if it’s not breaking down because it’s a stone that can’t be broken down, or if she NEEDS that wet food to break down that stone. I can’t afford the surgery right now.
Is there any possible other option I can do for my cat to break up her stones? I would be willing to try anything that would be good for her. I love her so dearly and so much, it hurts me to know she is in pain. Would surgery be my best bet for her?
Thank you so much.