This is a specific conversation about Cat urinary problems — diet and products that help — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Urinary issues in cats need to be taken seriously — particularly in male cats, where a blocked urethra can become life-threatening within hours. Diet is one of the most powerful tools for prevention and management, but it has to be the right diet for the right cat. A vet check is essential if there's an active problem. To point you in the right direction, it would help to know: is your cat male or female, what symptoms are you seeing, has he been seen by a vet, and what are you feeding him currently?
He's a 3-year-old male Sphynx. He's had two urinary blockages in the past year, both required vet treatment. The vet has said he needs a urinary diet long-term. The problem is my other cat is on Royal Canin Renal food for kidney disease, and I can't figure out how to feed them separately — they're both free-roaming indoors.
inparticular.ai
That's a genuinely tricky situation, and you're right to take it seriously — both diets matter, and they serve different purposes. Renal food is low in phosphorus and protein, which is exactly what a kidney cat needs but not ideal long-term for a cat without kidney disease. Your Sphynx needs a urinary diet that acidifies urine, reduces struvite and oxalate crystal formation, and encourages water intake. The two diets are genuinely incompatible for cross-feeding. Before I suggest the urinary food, can I ask: have you tried any form of feeding separation at all, or is that completely off the table? And is your Sphynx currently on wet food, dry, or both?
We've tried feeding them in separate rooms but the Sphynx just screams until we let him out and then goes straight for the other cat's bowl. He's very food-motivated. Currently on dry food mainly. The vet mentioned Royal Canin Urinary S/O but I wasn't sure if there was anything better.
inparticular.ai
Your vet's instinct is sound — Royal Canin Urinary S/O is genuinely one of the best-evidenced urinary diets available, and for a repeat-blocker Sphynx it's a strong choice. The S/O index means it's formulated to create urine conditions that dissolve struvite and prevent both struvite and oxalate crystals, which covers the two most common crystal types in male cats. It also has a low magnesium content and promotes urine dilution. On the separation problem: the most practical solution many multi-cat owners land on is microchip-activated feeders. Each cat's feeder is programmed to open only for their microchip — the lid stays shut for the wrong cat entirely. Your Sphynx physically cannot get into the kidney cat's bowl, and vice versa. It takes a week or two for cats to accept them, but they do. I'd go with Royal Canin Urinary S/O wet pouches rather than dry as your primary — wet food significantly increases water intake, which is one of the most important factors in preventing reblocking in male cats.
That microchip feeder idea is actually really helpful, I hadn't thought of that. So you'd go Royal Canin Urinary S/O wet as the main recommendation?
inparticular.ai
Yes, Royal Canin Urinary S/O wet food in pouches is my clear recommendation for your Sphynx. It's available on Amazon UK in multipacks of 12 or 48 pouches, so you can manage cost per pouch reasonably well. Pair it with a microchip feeder — the SureFlap SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder is the most reliable one on the market and works well for cats — and you have a practical long-term system that keeps both cats on their correct diets without constant supervision. For a cat with two blockages already, getting the wet urinary diet right is the single most impactful thing you can do beyond what the vet has already done.
Perfect, thank you. I'll order both. Really glad I asked about the feeder option.
inparticular.ai
Good luck with it — the feeder takes a little patience to introduce but it genuinely solves the problem for good rather than just managing it day to day. Given your Sphynx's history, it's worth going back to your vet after a few months on the new diet for a urinary check, just to confirm crystals are being kept in check. Hope he stays blockage-free.
