Royal Canin Rx Urinary So

My 10 year old Blue Point  Siamese has been on RC RX Urinary So for 2+ years.My cat had Urinary crystals and was not using his litter box and urinating blood and the SO  works great but lately he has had bouts of diarrhea and throwing up partially digested food. He is a house cat but then he wants outside to eat grass( and will not eat the wheat grass I buy for him) and he will even start eating toilet paper. Help what should I do? Do cats have to eat Urinary food all the time? My cat is not a big wet food fan!

First off, I'd take him back to the vet for a thorough check up. Suddenly reacting badly to a food he's been fine with in the past could well indicate that there's something wrong.

With the urinary food, if he's been symptom free for the past two years, it should be ok to start gradually weaning him off it and onto a non prescription wet food. Personally, I'd feel a little uneasy feeding a non prescription dry in these circumstances though.

The biggest thing you can do to prevent urinary tract issues is keep the cat well hydrated to keep the bladder flushed out. Problems are far more likely to occur when the urine gets too concentrated. Cats have a low thirst drive (having evolved as desert creatures, they're designed to get around 80% of their fluid intake from their food), and wet food is the single easiest way to keep cats well hydrated. You can even add a little water to the wet food, just to make certain that they're getting enough. If your boy really won't eat wet food, you need to make sure he's drinking around cup/250mls of water/fluid a day.[article="30756"][/article][article="31138"][/article][article="31129"][/article][article="0"][/article][article="29715"][/article]

Following blockages and surgery 4 years ago, my Bonaparte has also been on RC S/O Urinary and he eats a mix of both wet and dry versions. Two years ago I tried weaning him off it, as it was so expensive, onto a wet grain free food. I continued giving him very low calcium water as advised by the vet. After a gradual transition, I thought it was going to be OK but a month later he blocked again and we had an emergency situation on our hands. He was two days on a catheter in the ER,

Since then I have not deviated from the RC food, and he is fine. He is an indoor/outdoor cat and does eat grass sometimes, as well as hunting the occasional mouse or vole that he eats. Butr as long as he has his two proper meals a day of RC he is fine,

Obviously every cat is different, and you will have to work with your vet to find out what is best, but don't assume that the problem has gone away forever just because your cat is fine now. If there is a basic system imbalance then he will need support in the form of a urinary food for the rest of his life. Very careful monitoring is essential through any changes of diet, as you know there is nothing more distressing or dangerous than urinary blockage.

By the way, I have een able to save some of the cost by buying his RC food online in bulk, the dry in 10k sacks, the wet in large cans, much cheaper than the sachets available from most vets.

Thank you for all of your help! I think I will try giving him some wet food again!

Do make that vet appointment too. I can stress enough how important it is to make certain his digestion etc is all working as it should be.

The SO food may not be necessary. Here are somet threads that discuss alternatives:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/254489/alternatives-to-expensive-urinary-so-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/299952/adding-more-appealing-canned-food-to-rx-royal-canin-urinary-so

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/246798/royal-canin-vet-diet-urinary-so

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/307381/...recent-problems-being-reported-september-2015

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/302879/struvite-crystals-help

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

Check with the vet before changing the diet, though. But be aware that many vets just don't know a whole lot about nutrution so your vet may continue to recommend / suggest / push the SO food.

If your cat hasn't had any urinary issue since starting the SO food over 2 years ago you might not need it at all anymore. Your cat may do just fine with regular comerical canned cat food that is more paltable and appealing than the SO canned.