Adding more appealing canned food to Rx Royal Canin Urinary SO?

Hello all, 

My vet recently suggested that i start feeding my cat Charlie Royal Canin Urinary SO wet food (for the rest of his life apparently) after a run in with struvite crystals, but Charlie has decided that he doesn't like it anymore (Have tried both the pate and chunks in gravy kinds, and he is not a fan...). 

Is it ok for me to mix in a different high quality food that he's crazy about (Hound & Gatos & Weruva - Cats In The Kitchen) so that it's more tolerable for him? He will eat the Urinary SO if I do this, I just wanted to hear other peoples opinions on mixing canned cat foods....

I think mixing it is better than not having it at all. Artie hated RC SO. I had to mix it with Fancy Feast. 

The Vet said that was defeating the purpose of the SO.. I felt differently. Eventually, he gave up on the RC SO completely. As long as you add extra water to his food, it is ok....

My cat was put on Hills C/D I'm not sure what the Royal Canin SO is for but I'm assuming its for urinary health. My boy is a large cat and was eating about 3 to 4 of the little cans a day and for me, it was far too costly. What I did was transfer him over to Friskies Turkey and Giblet pate cat food and mix about 2 to 3 tsps of extra water per meal and he's done very well on it. It is wet and it is low in carbs and he likes to eat it. The main thing is low carbs and lots of moisture. This July will thankfully be a year since his blockage. I am hoping it will work for Charlie. Do stay away from any dry food, even RX. And try the flavors that aren't fishy as fish has bones and contains excess phosperous. I am linking Dr. Pierson's blog. http://www.catinfo.org/

charrrlottte said:

Hello all, 

My vet recently suggested that i start feeding my cat Charlie Royal Canin Urinary SO wet food (for the rest of his life apparently) after a run in with struvite crystals, but Charlie has decided that he doesn't like it anymore (Have tried both the pate and chunks in gravy kinds, and he is not a fan...). 

Is it ok for me to mix in a different high quality food that he's crazy about (Hound & Gatos & Weruva - Cats In The Kitchen) so that it's more tolerable for him? He will eat the Urinary SO if I do this, I just wanted to hear other peoples opinions on mixing canned cat foods....

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What was he eating when he got blocked? The reason I ask is I hope it was not the foods you want to switch to.

Bonepicker, he was eating only dry Acana kibble, the fish flavoured one. No more dry or fish based foods for him at all anymore, sticking to canned chicken/beef/rabbit/turkey/ect to supplement the RC SO (canned).

I think the ones you mentioned would be good, add spring water to canned meals also.

I would talk to your veterinarian about switching Charlie to other prescription urinary foods before mixing in other diets.

Urinary SO functions in a number of different ways. While any canned food (or mixing water with the food) will help dilute the urine (which is good), the SO also contains lower levels of magnesium (a component of struvite crystals), and is formulated to help dissolve struvite crystals and lower the urine pH (which creates an environment less conducive to the development of struvite crystals). Mixing in another diet may well negate many of the benefits of the SO.

My cat recently suffered from crystals and had to be put on a catheter for about 3 days (so it was pretty serious). My vet also had me switch to the Royal Canin Urinary SO permanently. Because he is so fond of his dry food my vet suggested a combined diet of the wet and dry food. Royal Canin also makes dry Urinary SO food. If you are going to mix this would be the best food to mix with. He wouldn't eat the wet food alone but did eat it mixed with the dry food (only the morsels in gravy still refuses the pate kind). Eventually I was able to just give him the wet food all together with the dry food occasionally as a treat. He now acts like he always did meowing by his food bowl and eating it up the moment I set it down.  

The problem with over the counter cat food is that they are created for omnivores when cats are carnivores. These foods contain too many other ingredients when cats should be eating at least 80% meat. Cats begins to lack what they need in their bodies which affects the pH in their urine. This is how crystals are formed. 

Good Luck