Canned food for bladder stones?

Hiya! My lil' buddy Jimmy-Choo is currently on Royal Canin SO, and has been for the past few days. The kitty clinic we've taken him to found stones in his bladder, 2 of them, and have suggested we use a prescription diet from here on out. After reading a lot of the threads on here, I'm seeing that high water content and low grains are important, but are there any specific foods that can help prevent any more stones from forming that won't run so costly? I'm a recent art school graduate, so obviously money isn't something I have in abundance, but I can't bear to see my kitty so upset at the vet again.

A lot of people also recommend mixing high-cost brands with decent, cheaper brands to save on cost and adding about a TBS of water. What would you guys suggest?

I'm assuming the stones were struvite crystals since he was put on SO? If so, what's important is keeping his urine pH in the normal range to dissolve the crystals and getting enough water into him to flush out the sludge from his system. Giving him all canned will help prevent dehydration which causes his urine to be concentrated which is a more favorable environment for crystal to form.

How prescription urinary formulas work is by adding dl-methionine to the food which is a urine acidifier. You can achieve a similar effect by feeding a meaty diet of your choice and adding dl-methionine as needed to bring his urine pH into ideal range. In order to do this, you need to test his urine regularly at home. You need to ensure it's in the target range and doesn't go too high or too low, which can cause different problems. Avoiding all grains and fish would be good as well because they are often inflammation triggers for FLUTD kitties.

If you are interested in learning more about feline nutrition and its role in common health problems like bladder stones, please go to www.catinfo.org. Written by a vet, it's really a must read for all cat guardians.

I'm sorry about your Jimmy-Choo.  My Mo Mo boy had a complete urinary blockage and was put on Hills S/D food to dissolve the crystals in his bladder then a switch to Hills C/D for preventative.  I am keeping him on this food until he is better and for a few months.  Because it is a prescription diet, it has a medical benefit at least for the short term. 

Water to keep them hydrated is so important, but cats just don't drink enough.  Feeding a low carbohydrate high meat canned diet helps keep the urine dilute and a balanced pH.

I was told by the vet that stress also affects this problem.

I plan to gradually switch to an all canned low carb diet.  I am hoping to then transition to a raw diet which will even better address all the urinary issues.

Here is a food chart by Dr Lisa Pierson that has the carbs listed.  It includes a huge variety of brands in all price ranges.  http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

My personal plan is to let the prescription diet do it's job then transition slowly to a canned only diet that my cat will eat and I can afford. 

Hope Jimmy-Choo keeps getting better!

Darlene