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My cat hates wet urinary food. Can I feed him the dry version instead?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 10 years and 6 months old | 19 lbs

My cats been prescribed royal canin wet so food for urinary issues. Thing is, he hates it. I can get it in him but he picks at it. I've added fortiflora, crushed treats, water, etc. he still doesn't love it. Thing is, he loves the dry version of the same food. He drinks a ton of water on this food. Would it be so terrible to give him the dry version? Oh I've also tried every single company's version of the prescription food too so it's not one brand. He hates them all ( wet).

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 26th, 2017

Yes! You can certainly feed him the dry version. We like them to eat the canned food because of the higher water content but it is not imperative. Drinking a lot of water is good and it sounds like he is doing that anyway. If the water intake is excessive though, you may want to have Duck examined by your vet and have some bloodwork done to check his kidney values and blood sugar levels to make sure there is no other underlying issues. I hope this helps. Best wishes!

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Dr. Davis

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 6th, 2017

    I recommend trying a small amount of dry to see if he likes it, and holds it down. Cats often vomit dry if they eat too much at one time and/or eat dry food too fast. The renal food may be more digestible also. If he likes it I would continue to just feed small amounts twice a day in addition to the wet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Duck.

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