Expert: Jessica - 1/25/2011

Question
My 4 1/2 year old male neutered cat "Sammy" is on Royal Canin Urinary SO Dry food since sadly his sister suffered a severe kidney disease (stones present) in November 2010 and was put to sleep after Sub Q treatment failed to rally her . "Sammy" had blood work & x-rays in late Dec. which were good, but since Kidney disease often doesn't rear its ugly head until the damage is severe, and can be genetic, the Vet & I opted to keep "Sammy" on the Royal Canin Urinary SO diet. My question is: can one substitute another WET FOOD (Prescription) since "Sammy" doesn't like wet food...I need to find a wet food he will eat?

Answer
Hi Liz,

There are a couple other brands you can try if Sammy just doesn't like the Royal Canin version.  One is Hill's c/d, and another is Purina Veterinary Diets UR St/Ox.  They are both available in canned and dry formulas.  Both of these will prevent calcium oxalate stones, the most common type of kidney stone and the kind of stone that cats tend to have a genetic predisposition to.  I am assuming this is the kind of stone Sammy's sister had been diagnosed with.  However, the diets are also approved to treat and prevent struvite crystals in case this is a concern with Sammy.  Your vet is likely to carry both foods, but if not, you can purchase them online as long as the vet provides a prescription.

Good luck!

Jessica