Revisiting grain free dry

My cats are doing fine on what there on now(not grain free drys) but i am always curious about whether a grain free could be added. I have also noticed quite a few more added to the market as of late.

I tried Acana yeah that was a no perhaps i need to try a different flavour? i could only get the grassland in a trial package.

Um, so what else? i do have mostly male cats here all neutered but urinary care is of top concern, the males range from 2 to turning 6yrs(3 of them) my female is 6.

The only issues are the ragdolls matt up horribly on some dry foods and my youngest cat(2yrs also a ragdoll) suffers from hairballs, other than that there are no health concerns.

So suggestions? i noticed natural balance has a new grain free but i have no idea whether it's worthwhile, i admit i do favour champion foods since there from my country and readily available but there are certainly others i can get ahold of.

Not sure if a coincidence or not, but my male cat was in a 100% grain free diet and had an UTI quite quickly... Once he was put back on grains he has been well ever since.
I do not abuse grains - one grain is fine, but I will never go grain free again, especially on my male.
If doing grain free, I would do on the wet - the dry I would keep it one grain - rice or oats preferably.
My opinion only.

^ A fair conservative opinion.

Is there a reason you wish to change your cats food? So many promote (and even push/pressure others a bit) the greatness of grain-free on here, and in theory it make sense, but it's not for every cat and it's not the only way to feed your cat.

If the current dry works and their coats are doing great: don't fix what isn't broken.

Your money may be better spent on extra wet foods.
Right now, a long hair will need extra brushing to deal with spring shedding.

It really boils down to four simple things:
1) phosphorous and magnesium
2) urine PH balance
3) hydration
4) frequency of elimination

Quality cat foods will have a target urine PH. Now, grains will naturally be low in phosphorous and magnesium and raise urine PH as vegetables are more alkaline which pretty much eliminates calcium oxalate crystal risk. Never the less, too high a urine PH can harbor bacteria and increase struvite crystal risk, and the "grain free" really do the same thing as grains by throwing in potato or peas and the like instead... it doesn't take much. But even with proper target urine PH, its best to avoid too much fish in their diet. Cliffs Notes: looks for a quality food that doesn't have too much fish and lists a target urine PH.

Hydration is also in part dietary, as the moisture content of the food plays a role. There's a large thread on this, but my conclusion is that there's nothing wrong with a quality dry food, but it shouldn't be all of their diet as wet food helps meet daily hydration needs, especially for those that aren't big drinkers. I believe its also a worthwhile investment to purchase a few water fountains. I have three and put them in different high traffic areas in different wings of the house, and the cats drink from them all. Most cats will drink more from a fountain or waterfall type than stagnant water. Cliffs Notes: Some wet food in the diet and water fountains help meet daily hydration needs.

Lastly, the longer your cat retains urine in his system, the more concentrated the urine becomes. Its simple fact. So your cat may be on an all wet diet with a perfectly balanced urine PH, but if for whatever reason he or she is holding it in until they just can't hold it any longer, big time risk factor for UTI. So people often forget about making sure there are enough clean litterboxes that are attractive to their kitties when diagnosing UTI risk factors. Cliffs Notes: Keep at least # of cats + 1 clean litterboxes in at least two locations in the home.

Oh and to answer what the benefit of a quality grain free diet is? Generally speaking, they use more quality meats and less cheap plant filler and potential allergens, which provides more complete proteins and low carb recipes that makes the formulas similar to good commercial wet food on a dry matter basis.

Many do see leaner healthier cats with steady hunger and activity levels (high carb is more quickly converted to fat if not burned and creates blood sugar level spikes) and visible changes in the coat and shedding after a month or so.

A grain free dry option has been something i have tried to add to the rotation on & off for a few years now however there are more options so i wanted to revisit the idea.

I forgot to mention all cats here eat wet food.. and i used to have a fountain but my motor died.. probably the lab pup sucking it alive It's on my list of items in need of replacement.

None of mine are big fish eaters.. there more into poultry with the odd touch of beef.