Flint River Ranch -long an industry leader in pet food products - again is extremely proud to announce significant Ash and Magnesium percentage reductions in our cat and kitten food.

This is great news for your pet.

The cat's urinary system has the vital task of filtering blood to remove the waste products and regulate the balance of water and minerals within the body. Feline Urological Syndrome (FUS) is a condition created by an accumulation of fine crystals, called struvite (a crystalline compound of magnesium), found within the bladder and urethra.

The inflammation of a cat's bladder lining and urethra - caused by formation of urinary mineral deposits - is not unusual. Some feel that the ash in the cat's food is responsible for urinary tract trouble. Others feel that crystals may occur because some cat foods contain excessively high levels of magnesium and tend to encourage the production of an alkaline urine.

Professionals don't know why some cats develop the problem and others do not, but it is most common in inactive, overweight, neutered cats. Many feel that diet does play a major role in causing it. Others feel that daily lifestyle stress and unsanitary cat box litter can also cause the development of certain infections.

Crystals are formed over a long period of time. Changing a cat's diet to any natural food does not immediately fix a crystal problem. It takes months, even years for these crystals to form. A natural diet starts the cleaning process of moving the waste products out of the cat's system. Vitamins, chelated minerals and nutrients are first digested in the stomach - then absorbed into the blood through the intestinal walls. We encourage any diet change to a natural food be made over a period of one to two weeks to allow the cleaning process to happen slowly.

Cat's love a quality food; the pet owner tends to feed the nutritional food in quantities that are too large - causing the cleaning process - the elimination of waste - to sometimes happen too quickly.

Adult cat food should not be left out in the dish - your cat should be looking for food when the next meal is due. Teach them to eat at meal times. They can be fed twice a day - the amount eaten in 15-20 minutes is about the amount they should be fed at each meal. Adjust the food as you notice an increase or decrease in the animal's weight.

Cats, as carnivores, are meant to eat infrequently and to fast in between. It is not unusual for cats to refuse their regular food for several days - looking for a change in taste and texture. If your cat has been eating a certain food for a period of time and all of a sudden stops eating - this does not mean the food is wrong. Take it away for a few days and you will find that they will switch back.

Veterinarians know that crystals, along with other health concerns, are often caused by diet. Changing food, along with antibiotics treatment is usually recommended. As improvement is noted, it is presumed the problem must have been the food. This is not always so. Perhaps in truth, the pet owner should continue with a natural diet as the pet's system is now adjusted to a natural food - their system is now mostly cleansed. We feel that using a food with chemical additives and low quality by-product ingredients will only create a new environment for the waste material and crystal problem to develop again over the years.

Each pet owner should rely on the advice of their Veterinarian - the professional who best knows your pet's health. Be a concerned pet owner.