safe for UTI/crystals cat (1 time) to have other cats low phos/kidney wet food??

Im just wondering if in our house id be better off switching my other cat to the low phos as well (science diet commercial).?

he already gets into my kidney cats low phos food as it is.

as of right now, we have his urinary kibble (hes a kibble addict), his merrick wet (in one area of the house), but in another area weve also got kidney kibble (just to snack on, not at all a main meal), kidney wet (both vet and commercial low phos: science diet, beef, turkey, and chicken varieties)

and then just now i read a topic that says that purina is buying merrick. purina is what gave him crystals to start with (although granted back then it was very much a kibble only household.... we didnt know the importance of wet, we just thought it stunk and kibble didnt, and lasted sitting out longer, etc). 

Im just curious on the thoughts. I know some may suggest raw, but due to a chronic illness of my own, and lack of time due to that (energy really but same difference), i couldnt commit to a raw diet, especially not on a daily basis.

I asked my vet if it was safe for me to feed my other cats Purina UR which is for my blockage cat and she said it was fine. I would ask the vet to be sure on the science diet.

In my case im wondering if its safe for my urinary cat to have the lower phos wet foods as well as my kidney cat. 

i dont want to cause a blockage in him, in trying to keep her only eating what shes supposed to. 

How long ago did he have his crystals episode? I'd want to be ultra cautious about food choices in the first year after a blockage, as that's when they're statistically most likely to have a repeat episode.

I'm very wary of feeding any non prescription urinary dry food, personally, but I'm more relaxed about wet. My crystals boy refused point blank to eat ANY prescription wet food, and has done wonderfully on a combination of 'normal' wet food and a little prescription dry.

The biggest issue with FLUTD is hydration. If you can keep the cat well hydrated they're far more likely to be able to flush out little crystals before they grow big enough to start causing problems.[article="30756"][/article][article="29715"][/article]

Oh sorry that's definitely a question for your vet. Crystals in the urine are partly made up of minerals like phosphorus but who knows what low phosphorus will do as far as their development. I agree with pushing the water and increasing water bowls around the house.

Columbine said:

How long ago did he have his crystals episode? I'd want to be ultra cautious about food choices in the first year after a blockage, as that's when they're statistically most likely to have a repeat episode.

I'm very wary of feeding any non prescription urinary dry food, personally, but I'm more relaxed about wet. My crystals boy refused point blank to eat ANY prescription wet food, and has done wonderfully on a combination of 'normal' wet food and a little prescription dry.

The biggest issue with FLUTD is hydration. If you can keep the cat well hydrated they're far more likely to be able to flush out little crystals before they grow big enough to start causing problems.[article="30756"]Tips To Increase Your Cat S Water Intake  [/article][article="29715"]Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease Flutd  [/article]

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*touching wood* his blockage was about 9 years ago... ive had him on the urinary (prescription) kibble ever since... its moreso the wet food im looking to vary on. 

for a long time i used merrick for the wet food and urinary kibble for the dry food (for both cats), as a maintainence/preventative measure in both cases. Luckily ive heard females are less prone to crystals, since its her who has had to go off of the urinary diet in favour of the kidney diet.  but, the merrick is among the highest for phosphorous levels which is bad for kidney cats..... science diet is among the lowest, commercial diets at least. i did a dry matter comparison and science diet commercial diet compares with the vet diet (kidney wet diet) as far as phosphorous levels, and the protien isnt actually too different etiher, so i do feel safe letting her have that. 

im just wondering if its safe for him too. He does get into her kibble on occasion, but hes still eating mostly his kibble, (like probably 95% his, 5% hers, at the most). he gets into her wet sometimes too, which since its wet/hydration im not as worried... but i just want to know if hes safe to have some low phos wet food every night. (for him i do wet at night, both still avaiable since hes a kibble addict, but he does get some extra water in that way.). for her ive been doing alot more wet, since shes always liked it the most and moreso just snacks on kibble on occasion. 

i dont know if in his case im doing alright as long as its moisture/wet food, and minerals arent so important like in the kidney case? or if theres something urinary that is just as important as lower phosphorous for kidneys. 

ive always thought of it as the moisture intake being increased was his version of "low phosphorous" as far as importance and hadnt thought so much about *what* was in the food. but now that ive been reading up like crazy for her.... i want to make sure i can keep him doing well too. 

basically his main diet (urinary kibble) wouldnt change, just the wet i provide at night in his case would. but i normally mix in a good helping of extra water. like chicken noodle osup for people, where the noodles are the actual food and the broth is all the extra water i add. the wet food basically works to flavour the water for him lol. 

My experience is that, this far out from a crystals episode, the actual type of wet food isn't too crucial. My boy's crystals were 10 years ago and (touch wood) he's not had a problem since. I wouldn't be comfortable offering non urinary dry, but with wet food I treat him like any other cat. So far, it's working

I find it really helpful to keep an eye on urine clump size in the litterbox. So long as you're seeing big clumps, as opposed to lots of little ones, things are all working ok. It's the quickest and easiest visual to pick up any unwanted changes.

I definitely keep an eye on things in the litterbox. Luckily i can normally tell whos it is. they tend to have their "spots" most of the time where they prefer to go. luckily my urinary kitty tends to stick to one box (his favourite)... sometimes he will wait a while to go, but when he does its massive. 

ive actually noticed a turnaround in litterbox usage *touching wood, again*, since ive had to put different food where the litterboxes are. well not right where they are... but its a hallway that is past the litter to get to her "room" where the food is (small house). it seems like although he is getting into not-his food sometimes, that on his way back around he will have a go before going back to one of his regular chilling out locations. kind of a side effect of needing 2 separate diets, but not complaining. weve had a pee pad which was getting used regularly... he still uses it, but it seems less since the new food location. ill take it!! lol.