Do cats with crystals have to stay on prescription cat food for life?

[Azazel]

I am on a prescription diet for my cat. He's almost finished it actually. He had an inflamed bladder. I now put him on a wet food only diet. I even add water to his wet food all the time. My concern is after the prescription diet is done I bought some Purina Pro Plan Focus urinary tract formula which was better for my wallet. I'm wondering if this is just as good as prescription diets? I'm quite worried about it. Cuz I don't want my kitty to get sick again. Sadly I can't afford the expensive stuff so make do with what I have financially wise

If your cat still needs to be on a prescription diet I would check with your vet whether the Purina one is just as good. If they are fully recovered and no longer need the prescription diet at this point then I would just feed a variety of different canned foods and keep your cat on all wet.

Edit: I would be careful with urinary tract formulated foods because they are not all the same. Some are meant to lower ph, some raise it. So the Purina food may in fact be doing the opposite of what it should.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

Personally, I plan on keeping mine on it for life. He blocked numerous times (even on wet) and finally had to have PU surgery. I do not want to relive those ER visits. He has been on Royal Canin S/O for over a year now with no issues. The kibble, because he didn't want the wet.