Struvite Crystals In Cats Food

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Struvite crystals in cats food.

By eating a diet that is high in plant based food kibble commercial cat food. Struvite crystals in cats are formed when the urine ph is too high ie too alkaline. Cats that are routinely fed a diet of dry food are particularly at risk for struvite crystals. Struvite stones are one of the most common bladder stones in dogs and cats.

The three standard crystals in cats are struvite oxalate and urate. However according to veterinarians at the marva vista animal clinic in los angeles struvite crystals require an alkaline ph in order to form. Due to the lack of moisture in the diet the urine becomes too concentrated and highly alkaline. Healthy cats have low ph urine ie acidic.

Dry cat food provides very little moisture in their diet can make their urine too concentrated making it difficult for them to pass the crystals. The cause of struvite crystals in cats is most often the result of eating dry cat food. They typically form because of urinary changes that happen when bladder infections occur. The crystals themselves can be perfectly normal but become problematic when they combine to form grit or stones of varying shapes and sizes.

So how do cats get urine that is too alkaline. Struvite specifically is a material that is composed of magnesium ammonium and phosphate. They cannot form in acidic urine. It mainly occurs due to lack of or inadequate moisture in cat food or lack of drinking water.

Cat crystals do not tend to appear in a more acidic environment a low ph and where the urine is more.