Cat urinary problems: diet and products that help

Six months on a probiotic with no change in urinary signs is a real red flag — probiotics target gut health, not the urinary tract, so it's not surprising they haven't moved the needle here. Urinary issues in cats, particularly male cats, need to be taken seriously because blockages can become life-threatening very quickly. Diet is genuinely one of the most powerful levers you have, and a vet check is essential if there's an active problem. To point you in the right direction: is your cat male or female, what symptoms are you seeing, has he been assessed by a vet, and what are you currently feeding him?

That diagnosis makes a lot of sense given his breed and age — Persian mixes are genuinely predisposed to urinary issues, and idiopathic cystitis in male cats is often heavily influenced by two things: low water intake and urine that's too concentrated or too alkaline. Dry food, especially a budget kibble, is really working against him on both counts. It contributes almost nothing to his hydration, and the mineral profile in supermarket foods is rarely optimised for urinary health. Before I give you a specific recommendation — is he getting any wet food at all, and does he tend to drink much from his bowl?

That picture is very consistent — low moisture intake plus concentrated urine is the core driver for cats like him. The single most effective change you can make is switching him to a dedicated urinary therapeutic wet food. My clear recommendation is Royal Canin Veterinary Urinary S/O wet food, either the pouches or the cans. It's specifically formulated to create a urinary environment that's hostile to both struvite and oxalate crystal formation, it has controlled mineral levels, and — critically — it massively increases his water intake just by being wet. It's one of the most evidence-backed urinary diets available and is widely used post-diagnosis for exactly his presentation. You can get it on Amazon UK without a prescription in the wet food format. Aim to make it his main daily food rather than a supplement to dry kibble.

Ideally, yes — transition him off the dry food entirely, or at least get it down to a very small portion. The benefit of Royal Canin S/O wet is largely built on hydration and precise mineral control, and mixing in an uncontrolled dry kibble undermines both. If he resists the switch, you can do a gradual transition over a couple of weeks — start with about 25% new food mixed in, increase every few days — but the goal should be wet food as his entire diet. Most cats come around once they've adjusted to the texture. Give it four to six weeks and you should see a meaningful reduction in straining and discomfort.

Good decision — it's one of the clearest cases where the right food genuinely acts as medicine. Keep an eye on his litter box habits over the next few weeks; if you see any sign of a full blockage — straining with nothing passing, crying out, lethargy — that's an emergency vet visit, not a wait-and-see. But for ongoing idiopathic cystitis, this dietary switch is the most impactful thing you can do for him.