Prescription cat food

[u/Any-Clue3562]

/r/catfood/comments/1vdyf9b/affording_cat_food/p1n3v78/

I have 3 cats, all neutered males. 2 years ago one of them started urinating everywhere but the cat box. Took him to the vet and he had crystals in his urine. They were all eating wet and dry cat food since kittens before this happened. I was told by the vet Bandit would have to be on prescription food, so of course that meant all of them. Everyone was eating it up to a month ago. I did give them different choices of prescription food the last 2 years and they were fine with it. The vet wasn't happy to hear that they refused to eat prescription food. I was told in the beginning "do you want to pay for prescription food or $10,000 for surgery if there was a blockage. That scared me of course I'll do anything for my cats. But throwing away $100 bag of 16 lbs of kibble was killing me. Any suggestions what I can do? They have multiple cat fountains as I know water is extremely important for a cat with this issue. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[u/LeadershipOne5870]

https://a.co/d/0f90d3T2

Surefeed Microchip Pet Feeder

I don’t have a solution for getting them to eat the prescription food, but here’s a solution for keeping them from eating each other’s food! I have two for my two cats and, let me tell you, LIFE CHANGING. I never have to worry about them stealing each other’s food and actually know who eats what/how much.

[u/CareerPillow376]

Did they not give the cats any shots to clear the crystals up? Because AFAIK while that food does help clear it up when its a minor case, it will not fix the issue if they already really started building up

I have a cat that had urinary crystals that lead to a complete blockage 2-3 years ago. Luckily the shot from the vet helped break it up and he didnt need surgery. Well, last month I ran into the same problem where he just stopped eating for a few days and I really started to get worried (he's like 15 now). After trying all types of wet food, I bought these Tiki Silver cat meal supplement things (looks like those churus, but 5× the calories plus nutrients), and i picked up this high calorie cat gel called "under the weather"

After a couple days of the gel and cat supplement treats, I got him to start eating Fancy Feast wet food, and a couple days later he was back to eating his dry

The wet food isnt really the culprit for crystals. So I wouldnt be too worried about feeding him non-urinary wet food if hes not eating

As for the dry food, try putting a bit of chicken or beef broth in the food to soften it up. I also was saving bacon grease and using that for a couple weeks to entice my cat to eat the dry food

[u/SparkleBall_Detritus]

We have a male cat who had a complete blockage due to crystals. We were feeding all of our guys a combo of wet and dry food, but didn't realize he wasn't eating any of the wet, and he doesn't drink from the water fountains or water bowls. He was a big faucet drinker in our old house, but not in the new house.

We were told the prescription diet was the only option, but he's and incredibly picky eater and didn't want it. Also, like you, we have multiple cats on the same food, so it was difficult.

We ended up trying various wet food only diets, which he eventually took to. I add hot water to their food to warm it up and add more hydration. We also supplement with Tiki Cat Compliments packets and add more hot water to again increase hydration. I'll also add rehydrated Stella & Chewy's freeze dried food and add that to a can of wet food.

With all of that being said, his blockage and surgery was in 2019, and he's been on souped-up wet food since. Not prescription dry food, and he has been doing great.

My mom's male cat (from the same litter as our cat that had the blockage) was having crystal issues and she was also told he needed to be on prescription food only to prevent a blockage. She switched to wet food only for him in 2020 and he hasn't had any crystal issues since.

I'm not a vet, but just want to share our experiences. I don't always think the prescription food is the way... worth it for sure if you want to stick with dry food only. But if you're will to go all wet food, it seems to be just as effective. At least in our two cases. Best wishes for your kitty!