UT Blockage Diet

My 2yo male cat (Jace) is currently at the vets office recovering from a UT blockage and I'm trying to figure out the best diet for him and my other female 2yo kitten (Godiva) to go on moving forward. When we first got them they were on Blue Buffalo kitten dry food and purina pro plan kitten wet food but it was too rich and over a year ago caused a UTI in Godiva but Jace didn't have any ill effects. We then switched to Wellness Complete health dry food while still feeding purina pro plan kitten wet food or Wellness wet food depending on what we had. They both get half a serving of dry food and half a serving of wet food every day and they're at healthy weights so portions isn't a concern. After Godiva's UTI we also had them both on crananidin tablets but haven't had them on that for almost a year since it ran out and the UT issues we initially had went away. They've been on the Wellness dry/wet food and Purina Pro Plan kitten wet food for a little over a year and didn't have any issues until recently which I noticed happened right around when we had them on only dry food for a little while because of various reasons. 

Right after Godiva's UTI we tried Royal Canin dry food briefly but the cost was an issue and neither cats seemed to like it. Generally when we refill their dry food they come running over but with the royal canin they would still come running but sniff and walk away a few times before realizing that's the only choice they had. Cost now isn't as much of an issue but I'm not a huge fan of Royal Canin especially at it's price point considering reviews I've read and my own experience. The vet he's with now is recommending it but they also sell it at the office so I'm skeptical about it being the *best* option. I trust the Wellness brand and would like to stay on it but I have seen reviews saying it's not the best for UT problems. Both cats would stay on the same split dry/wet diet, we're just changing what brands we purchase for those. We're both college students but I've always been a big believer in providing the best food I can afford for my cats because the benefits far outweigh the upfront cost however I don't want to shell a ton of money just for a brand name. 

Welcome to TCS! 

Generally speaking, wet food is better for cats with anything related to the urinary system. The idea is to get more water into the cat so the urine is more dilute and crystals are less likely to form. It also "moves" everything along more often, which means bacteria have less of a chance to build up around microscopic scars in the urethra. I think that should be your main consideration at this point. It's not necessarily true for every cat but it is for cats who experienced FLUTD of any form. 

As for the types of crystals/stones I mentioned before, that's another consideration. Most crystals are called "struvite crystals". That means they're made of specific minerals that crystalize when the urine is too alkaline. Cats can also have crystals that are oxalate-based and these form when the urine is too acidic. Struvite crystals are more common but it's something you should ask your vet about. Either way, with a cat that had crystals/blockage, the issue of urine acidity is important. Several companies now offer special diets, including Royal Canin with their Urinary SO formula. This isn't the same as their regular dry food. 

Because there's more than one type of crystals that can cause blockage and vets recommend specific foods based on the type of crystal. Whatever you choose, I would run it by the vet one more time to make sure.

You can also have a consultation with a pet nutritionist. This is what I would personally do in such a case. You can get a lot of well-meaning online advice but nothing replaces the opinion of a professional specialist. Some specialists offer online/phone consultations. They would have to see your cat's full records of the event and then they can work with you on finding the ideal balance for your kitties. It may very well be that you'll have to start feeding them separate diets (I know, it's a pain...)

Here's the list of qualified pet nutritionists. If you click on the details, you'll see which ones are available for phone consultations -

http://www.acvn.org/directory/?gf_search=cases

I totally agree with everything Anne has said.  Wet is the way to go with crystals, either kind.  But as she  mentioned, it's important to know which kind Jace has so you know how to treat them.  Did your Vet not put him on special prescription food for crystals at least short term?  Many cats with crystals eat prescription foods their entire lives, although many others finally venture out into the world of different foods, but their caretakers monitor their urine closely with PH strips to make sure everything stays where it should be.  As you can probably tell from all this, crystals are nothing to fool around with.

We have many, many thread here with people asking for help with diets for crystals, but it really is important to know the type of crystal.  Of course, a nutritionist is always your best bet.