[Nutritional aspects in relation to the feline urological syndrome (FUS)]

The 'ideal' diet for minimising FUS risk may not involve a single food but would aim, by various measures, to achieve the conditions listed below: Low urine pH. This may entail the use of urinary acidifiers which must be consumed with or in the food. Some researchers say that the alkaline tide effect must be abolished for the treatment to be completely effective. Low magnesium intake. One figure quoted is a magnesium concentration of 20 mg per 100 kcal DE (about 0.08% dry matter) or less. Nevertheless is appears that FUS risk is appreciably increased only when magnesium concentration reaches about 0.25% dry matter. High urine volume. This entails an adequate water intake with the amount of faecal water maintained as low as possible. This in turn means highly digestible, 'low bulk' foods. Having said this, these aspects are probably important only for the susceptible cats in the population and if all the conditions are achieved the type of diet fed is unlikely to be a crucial factor.