'Prescription' Pet Food for Urinary Crystals - Over-priced Junk?

I'm going to be presenting these findings to my vet... I noticed that my cat Watson was struggling to urinate, so I brought him to the vet and he was diagnosed with crystals in his urine (he was spending 5+ minutes peeing, no visible distress). The vet recommended Science Diet c/d or Purina UR. I went with canned Purina UR. Unfortunately, Watson doesn't like it. I don't blame him. It's mostly ground-up meat-by-products, and it doesn't have much of a scent. I'm a little ticked off at having to spend so much money on crappy ingredients. So I did some research....

How Purina UR and Science Diet C/D claim to get rid of urinary crystals:
High protein, low phosphorus and magnesium, lower urine PH, raise water consumption. When urine PH gets too high (alkaline), struvite crystals made up of phosphorus and magnesium form. Meat lowers urine PH, starch raises PH. The 'prescription' foods contain slightly more sodium to increase water consumption, but this could  theoretically be added to any food. Canned food increases water consumption compared to dry food because it contains water, so feeding dry food to cats with urinary issues doesn't make much sense.

Nutrition/Price Comparisons:

Purina Pro Vet UR $1.86 per 5.5 oz can (my vet)
Crude Protein (Min)    10.5%
Crude Fat (Min)    5.0%
Crude Fiber (Max)    1.5%
Moisture (Max)    78.0%
Magnesium (Mg) (Max)    0.03%
(this is all of the information listed on the can)

Purina Friskies Country Style Dinner $.45 per 5.5 oz can (Walmart)
Crude Protein (Min)     10.0 %
Crude Fat (Min)     5.0 %
Crude Fiber (Max)     1.00 %
Moisture (Max)     78.0 %
Ash (Max)     3.0 %
Taurine (Min)     0.05 %

Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Beef $1.79-2.19 per 5.5 oz can (Chewy.com, Petco.com)
Crude Protein (Min)    11.0%
Crude Fat (Min)     5.5%
Crude Fiber (Mac)    3.0%
Moisture (Max)    78.0%
Magnesium (Max)    0.03 %

As you can see, the values in Purina UR and Nature's Variety are very close. The ingredients, on the other hand...


Ingredient Comparison:

Purina Pro Vet UR
Meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, liver, chicken, poultry by-products, rice, calcium gluconate, oat fiber, guar gum, sodium bisulfate, potassium chloride, caramel color, carrageenan, salt, taurine, Vitamin E supplement, calcium phosphate, zinc sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, copper sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, calcium pantothenate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin D-3 supplement, folic acid, potassium iodide, biotin.

Purina Friskies Country Style Dinner
Meat by-products, water sufficient for processing, chicken, poultry by-products, rice, artificial and natural flavors, calcium phosphate, guar gum, added color, potassium chloride, salt, carrageenan, magnesium sulfate, taurine, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide. B-6052

Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free Beef
Beef, Beef Liver, Beef Broth, Tricalcium Phosphate, Ground Flaxseed, Montmorillonite Clay, Eggs, Peas, Carrots, Lecithin, Dried Kelp, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid), Taurine, Salt, Choline Chloride, L-Abscorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Artichokes, Cranberries, Pumpkin, Tomato, Blueberries, Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale, Parsley

As you can see, the ingredients in Purina UR and Friskies are very similar, but Purina UR costs 4x as much. Lots of meat-by-products and some rice. The Nature's Variety contains 95% actual meat.

Just for fun, here's Science Diet c/d:

Hill's Prescription Diet c/d Feline with Chicken canned:
Pork By-Products, Water, Pork Liver, Chicken, Rice, Corn Starch, Oat Fiber, Chicken Fat, Fish Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Calcium Sulfate, Guar Gum, Fish Oil, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dextrose, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Cysteine, Dried Egg Yolk, minerals (Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate), Glycine, Iodized Salt, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Carbonate, Beta-Carotene.

Dry Matter Comparisons:

Hill's c/d with chicken canned dry matter analysis:
Protein     43.8%
Fat         20.9 %
Phosphorus     .7%
Magnesium    .052 %
Sodium     .32%

Purina UR canned dry matter analysis (calculated by dividing given percentage by dry matter percentage)
Protein     47.7%
Fat         22.72%
Phosphorus     ?
Magnesium     .136%
Sodium     ?

Nature's Variety grain-free beef dry matter analysis (calculated)
Protein     50%
Fat         25%
Phosphorus     .9%
Magnesium     .136%
Sodium    .68%


Why I think that 'prescription foods' are a rip-off:
They contain large amounts of meat-by-products and corn for 4x the price of the brands' other products with similar ingredients. The relationship between vets and pet food companies is what supposedly justifies the extra cost. Instead of doing nutritional research, vets can just sell Science Diet, Royal Canin, or Purina 'prescription' foods.

If I'm paying $2 a can I should at least get real meat and no fillers. Also, these foods do not actually require a "prescription" as they do not contain actual medicine.

A healthy urine PH is between about 6 and 6.5. I think what vets should be encouraging is for owners to adjust food to get urine to the proper PH, which would mean giving us test strips... I wasn't told what type of stones my cat had or what the PH was, and was just told that my cat needed to be on Science Diet c/d or Purina UR for life. They should also do some basic research to provide owners with nutritional options including ones that they don't sell in their office.

What I'm going to do:
I'm going to show my vet these nutritional comparison and see what he says. I'm going to request information on Watson's urinary PH, the crystals, and re-testing. Hopefully Watson likes Nature's Variety grain-free. I haven't tried it yet, but he has 4 flavors to choose from.
Starch raises urinary PH. Since Watson's favorite food was Solid Gold kibble, which contains potato, I think that may have been the culprit. As soon as I took the kibble out of his diet he seems to have stopped having issues urinating.

Sources:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2142&aid=2729
http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-the-importance-of-urine-ph
http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-feline-cd-multicare-feline-bladder-health-with-chicken-canned.html
http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-grain-free-canned-cat-food-beef
https://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/pet-food-nutrition/feline/products/ur-urinary-stox/
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/09/struvite-stones.aspx
Booklets that my vet gave me for Purina UR and Science Diet c/d foods.

Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer with Nourishing Monoi Oil

I received the Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer in my Blossom VoxBox from Influenster. They send out free boxes of products for review, and I love it.

This moisturizer is probably one of my favorite things that I've gotten from Influenster. Basically it's a lotion that you apply after showering and before towel drying. It literally only takes me about 80-90 seconds to apply to both my arms and legs. Then, I just towel dry and my skin doesn't feel sticky or greasy, just soft and moisturized. I'm usually too lazy to rub lotion on my arms and legs, because it takes a while to get it all rubbed in and let it sink in, but since this only takes a minute I can see myself moisturizing a lot more often now.

It's about $6.84 at Walmart for 10 ounces, which isn't bad. I received the kind with Monoi Oil, and it has a light floral scent.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/44906525?reviews_limit=7&

NYC 24 Hour Shadow Pencil

I received a NYC shadow pencil from Influenster, and I purchased one of the NYC base/primer pencils. The shadow pencil is in the shade Brooklyn Mocha. I really like the color - it's kind of a dark bronze-gold. The pencil is not as creamy as some others I have, but it goes on fairly opaque. This is the kind of shade that you can apply all over and be done. It wears well, but it isn't waterproof. It washes off easily.
These are some swatches - on the left is the base, next is Brooklyn Mocha with no base, next to that is Brooklyn mocha over the base, and on the far right is a purple applied over the base and over bare skin (it applied much better over the base). Below all of those, I swatched an ELF smudge pot in the shade Cruisin Chic that is very similar. I have to say that the ELF shadow is easier to apply and lasts longer, though.

I applied the base and then Brooklyn Mocha all over my lid, put on some Abvon Liqui-glide liner pencil, curled my lashes, put Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara on the top and Blinc Amplified mascara on the bottom lashes. I think the shadow provides a very natural, sophisticated look.

Overall, I think these are a good option if you are looking for a shadow pencil, and they are only $2.99 each. NYC often goes on sale 40-50% off though, which makes them an even better deal. The color range includes a lot of neutrals, two blues, a green, and a purple color. I have to say that I don't like these as much as my ELF smudge pots, but they are good for if you don't feel like sticking your finger in a pot.

Influenster Blosson VoxBox Review

I recently received my first VoxBox from Influenster.com for review. I joined Influenster recently and basically you make a free account and start reviewing products to earn points and badges, and if Influenster thinks you are a good match for a box they will send you a box of products completely free to try and review. This is what I got:


Clairol Hair Food Strawberry Ginger Clarifying Shampoo - When I saw that it was clarifying I was a little nervous, because I don't use a lot of products in my hair so I don't get a lot of buildup. I do have very oily hair though, and this made my hair feel really clean and soft. I followed it with my regular conditioner and it felt fine. However, I do think this product is a little gimmicky because it is mostly sulfates, and the strawberry and ginger don't have any real benefits other than giving a natural scent. I probably wouldn't buy this.

NYC Cityproof Eyeshadow shade: Brooklyn Mocha - This is a twist-up eye crayon, and I love the packaging. I feel like this is similar in formula and color to my ELF smudge pot in Cruisin' Chic. You can wear this an eye shadow on its own, or use it as a base for powder shadows. I've worn it both ways and it stays on very well and gives a nice natural look on its own. I will look into buying more shades of this pencil.

Sally Hansen Airbrush Perfect Legs - They sent me the medium shade, and it's way too dark for me because I'm about as fair as they come. So I can't really test this, but it does have a nice texture. It's kind of like foundation for your legs, which is a bit odd. I'll probably give it to my sister because she's much darker than me.

Australian Gold sunscreen SPF 30 - I haven't tried this yet, but I'll give this a shot next time I'm in the sun.

Beanitos Original Sea Salt and Chipotle BBQ -These chips make a great replacement for corn chips. They list all kinds of things on the bag like non-GMO, vegan, etc but my favorite thing about these is that they have 20% of your daily fiber and 4g of protein per serving. They have a softer crunch than corn chips, but that's okay because corn chips usually cut the roof of my mouth. They do have a bit of an oily aftertaste, but it's not bad. I bought another bag of the original chips and they're great with salsa.

Bear Naked Granola Sea Salt Caramel Apple and Coconut Almond Curry - I like the caramel apple flavor. It has crunchy chunks of caramel and dried apple bits and it's really good. The other flavor is a bit odd because of the curry. It just seems really weird to me to have curry in granola. It also has big flakes of coconut, almond, and cashews, but it just tastes like curry powder. It's just a little weird to my American palate.

Nasoya Pasta Zero Shirataki Spaghetti - I haven't tried these, mostly because the package says "Perishable - keep refrigerated" and they weren't refrigerated in the mail. These are said to contain only 15 calories and 4g of carbs per serving. It is a traditional Japanese noodle made with mostly konjac flour. Konjac is a root similar to yams. It also contains chickpea flower, which is supposed to give it a more traditional noodle texture than regular shirataki noodles. They come in a bag of water and look a little disturbing. I am interested in trying them, and will probably buy a bag and try their recipe for Spicy Thai Peanut Vegetable Curry Noodles. http://www.nasoya.com/recipes/spicy-thai-peanut-vegetable-curry-noodles