Affordable urinary tract cat food alternatives to vet brands
Specialized urinary health cat foods prescribed by veterinarians are often very expensive. Finding a cheaper alternative that still prevents bladder stones and crystals lets cat owners manage their pet's health without constantly breaking the bank.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Buying vet-prescribed food directly from the clinic
- 2Mixing wet and dry food throughout the day
- 3Considering a homemade raw food diet
- 4Looking at ingredient lists on expensive food to find inexpensive substitutes
- 5Staying with current commercial wet food brands like Friskies
- 6Relying on vet-prescribed foods or preventative dry food formulations
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Our vet said it is probably the food and got us to buy the food they had on hand and it is… expensive lol. I don’t mind paying for it but I’m wondering if there’s any good cat foods other people use that don’t cost an arm and a leg?”source ↗
“my cat recently was diagnosed with having a “significant amount of urinary crystals”and my vet is having me switch him to an all wet food diet. i can’t decide which brand is better for urinary support.”source ↗
“i wanna lean towards hills but i thought id ask people who may have experience with this prior to purchasing.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Cheap wet cat food for cats that won't drink water
- 3How do I pick an adult cat food with clear ingredients?
- 2How to get a cat with food allergies to eat
- 2Cat won't eat new prescription food
- 6Can I afford a pet if I'm barely covering rent and food?
- 2Where to buy Irish Spring or similar body wash in Australia?