Female feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease

Just got urinalysis from UGA on my five yr. old female (pound rescue - "Ms. Phat"). Suspected/confirmed Lower Urinary Tract Disease. Ms. Phat has eaten an all dry diet for years - her choice, not mine - as has her sister. I know an all dry diet can lead to this... I was throwing away wet food after having sat in their bowl all day - they just didn't want it. Now it is suggested to me to get Royal Canin SO (dry), but I am hesitant as it is LOADED with salt... I guess to make your cat drink more water / urinate more often? I am thinking about Hill's c/d dry instead - much lower salt content. I am wondering if I should try to reintroduce some wet food (prescription) at this point to try and increase the liquid levels in my cats. Keep in mind that whatever Ms. Phat eats, her sister, Chunky, must also eat. I am not in any position to separate these two at feeding time.
Any suggestions from anyone in a similar situation are greatly appreciated! Oh, and your thoughts on brands of UT disease foods, too. Thank you!

IMO you need to get them eating at least some wet food. I'm not a fan of any prescription foods. Yes, some cats are very tricky and hard to get one a wet diet, but it can be done. There are several threads about how to transition your cat from dry to wet, I suggest you read up and try to get them interested in some wet food. The most important thing is to buy a lot of different flavors/textures/varieties and see which one they like best. Some cats will turn their nose up to pate, some to certain flavors, some only like freeze dried raw, etc. Also invest in some good toppers to entice them. Mine go nuts for freeze dried salmon treats, and when I'm really desperate I use tuna or tuna juice. Here are some links for reading up about urinary issues and transitioning to wet. Good luck! 

http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

http://catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

I have an FLUTD boy, and he's done great on the Royal Canin. I've never used the Hills, so I can't comment on whether one is better than the other. I think it's simply that some vets work with Purina (who make Royal Canin) and others work with Hills. Go with the one she will eat is the best advice I can give you. It won't do any good if it stays in the bowl I know the ingredients in prescription foods aren't the greatest, but they are necessary right now.

Yes, ideally it would be good to get them onto a wet diet, but there ways round the hydration issue. My advice is get a can/pouch or two to try her on. Prescription food isn't cheap, and you don't want to land yourself with boxes of food they won't eat.

If you're stuck with all dry, make sure they each get around a cup measure of water a day. Homemade flavoured water, plain broth, ice cubes, water fountains - there are many ways to get water into your girls. You just have to get a little creative.

Once you're over this issue and Ms Phat is fully recovered, you might want to try again with wet food. It may take time, but patience (plus a few tricks and cheats) will often win out in the end.

Hope Ms Phat is better soon [article="29715"][/article][article="30756"][/article][article="31138"][/article][article="31129"][/article]