Royal Canin Urinary SO - a couple of questions

I have a very large (fat!) cat who recently started showing blood in his urine. I live in a very rural area so when a friend was at a vets, she obtained a bag of Urinary SO for me. So.... I was not at the vets to ask the following basic questions...

1) The diagram on the packet and on their website appears to show that smaller cats get more than bigger cats in a standard feed? My fella will eat a "Full size" tin of wet food per day - the guide appears to indicate he should only be getting a tiny scoop of this dry food in a 24 hour period?

2) As mentioned, my cat eats a lot! He's fat, but otherwise healthy and happy. Is it OK to feed his his normal food at the same time as giving him his once or twice daily serving of Urinary SO dry food?

I always leave bowls of fresh bottled water around the house for my cats anyway, so water intake will not be an issue... He drinks regularly and only has bottled drinking water as tap water here is... not drinkable, even by animals. 

I guess in its most basic sense my question is simply "Please can someone tell me how to use Urinary SO without starving or hurting my cat"?! 

I can't call the vet as I live in another country and don't speak the local language yet

Shabba666

PS - only just found this website today - what a fantastic source of info! Great work and well done to all involved ))

Welcome to The Cat Site, sorry it's under these conditions.
Dry food usually has many more calories and some of those calories are 'empty calories', so your cat may indeed be hungry. That said, you should follow the directions on the package, especially since it is a specially formulated product. Any way your friend can get a wet version of the S/O food? What wet food were you feeding him?

And also honestly, your cat really needs to see a vet. Blood in urine could signify a urinary tract infection which is serious, especially in male cats and will need perhaps an antibiotic. On the other hand, he could have a bladder infection, and again, he may need antibiotic. Could your friend go with you to the vets?
Finally, if your cat stops peeing or goes in/out of the litter box peeing only a little, THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY and needs to go the vet immediately.
Good luck and keep is updated.

Hi there,

I would not recommend that you feed this food, for two reasons. One, you should always consult with a vet before starting a new food in response to a medical condition. Given that there is blood in the urine, a urinalysis should be done to determine the cause of this, which could be crystals but also something far more serious, like cancer. And two, RC (dry foods in particular) are just not a good choice of food.

The SO dry food contains Corn and Corn Gluten Meal which, when they are found at the top of ingredients lists, are cheap sources of protein. These ingredients can cause weight gain, gas and bloating. I would agree that the wet form of S/O would be far better to feed than dry food, given your cat's current condition. Ultimately, your cat really needs to be seen by a vet to determine the cause for the blood in the urine. Sometimes a change of diet can help, but you want to know for sure what you are dealing with.

Best of luck.