cat food advice needed

Samwise has crystals in his urine and the vet has put him on Hills c/d food.
There is no problem getting him to eat it, but the food from the vet's
office is expensive .

Does anyone know of any other brands of food I could look into for him.

Chakolate...

Pi's vet recommended Purina One Urinary Tract Health Formula after Pi had
a uti. He hasn't had any more.

Victor Martinez...

First and foremost, feed him wet food. Dry food as a rule of thumb is
not good, particularly for cats with urine crystals issues. Think of dry
food as junk food. They can survive on it, but they will do much better
on more nutritious food.
Look for foods with cranberries in their formulas, those help acidify
the urine and prevent crystal formation.

Jane...

Look for NutraMax brand in the pet store. That's what I did for Fin
when he had the same problem. Unfortunately, Fin didn't drink much
water and never touched wet food, but he never again had a UT problem
with the NutraMax dry food. Read the labels on pet food and look for
the lowest magnesium you can find.

Jane
- owned and operated by Princess Rita

kilikini...

Is it magnesium that contributes to urinary tract crystals, then?

Jane...

That's what the vet told me, back when Fin had the problem.

Jane

kilikini...

Winnie...

Magnesium contributes to the struvite crystals only. The other kind,
calcium oxalate is differently. The urine pH also plays a role. Rusty
had at least 2 blockages. After the 2nd blockage, the vet said canned
food only. I add water to his canned food to make sure he gets enough
water. The amount of water I add depends on the litter box output.

Wow, that's interesting. Thanks, Jane. I'll look at labels much more
carefully from now on.