Can I mix regular food with my picky cat's urinary diet prescription?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! if Lucky is on a prescription urinary diet for bladder stones, to prevent a urinary obstruction or to prevent urinary crystals it is not recommended to mix the food with anything else as it virtually makes it in effective. I would discuss other brands that may be more affordable with your Vet. Purina, Hills and Royal canin all make urinary foods. If you absolutely can not afford it then I would have him on an all canned food over the counter urinary diet and add extra water to the canned food. This will cause his urine to be more dilute. I wish you the best!

I would not recommend doing this. My concern is that if you substitute food then the urinary food isn't doing anything since he is also getting something else and he may become blocked again. I would monitor his weight and how much food you are feeding him instead. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, my name is Dr. Shines and I am happy to help. Your friend isn't wrong. No studies have been done to the best of my knowledge, but I don't think it's a problem given the amounts that you feed. The diets do have different mechanisms of action. However, as long as the Hills diet makes up 90% of Milo's total calorie intake or more, it should work just fine. It sounds like Milo only gets the canned food every other day so I suspect it is just fine. When in doubt, decrease the amount of canned food. You could count up how many calories he gets in the dry and how many he gets in the canned. Then do the math and get an exact ratio as well. Then you will have no doubts! I hope this answers your question! Please feel free to reach out any time.

Hello. As long as the majority of your diabetic cat's diet is the proper one, sneaking a few pieces of the other diet is fine. Every diabetic is allowed a treat now & then. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Regular food is much less effective in preventing recurrent urinary tract issues in cats which are very prone to repeat episodes - it is impossible to say how sensitive he is and without trying you will not know but there is a chance he could relapse on ordinary canned food. Urinary diets tend to be adjusted to maintain urine pH to prevent crystals and are restricted in minerals and use only high quality protein sources to minimise the risk of urinary tract issues as well as providing an important source of fluids compared to dry food. The very best option in affected cats is urinary canned food but in many cases a high quality, commercial canned food is sufficient - if he relapses on this you will have to source the urinary prescription food as a treatment and prevention

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would just feed him a canned food diet for the weekend as the increased moisture will help dilute his urine. Any canned food will be ok for the next few days. That will save you from having to buy a bag of dry food you won't then use. You can also ask your Vet to write you a prescription for the food so you can get the food at a Pet store that carries is. Some pet stores that have Vet clinics attached will sell prescription food, but you need a written prescription. That way if this happens again you have a solution. These pet stores will also keep your prescription on file for the future and give you a card. I wish you the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! That would be fine as long as that does not upset her stomach. If she develops any vomiting or diarrhea then stop at that point as that could be the reason. Otherwise it should be fine. Good luck and have a good night!