Hey Reddit. I currently own a ~14 year old Tortie named Ripley.

She's been on dry food since about a year old, was nutro naturals and we switched to nutro maxcat at some point ages ago.

Overall this has gone well she likes her food, and I have to keep her on pretty strict portion control because she will totally free feed into oblivion if I let her. She's always been a hair heavy but, nothing too bad.

Over the years she's had a couple of UTIs and just recently had one. Well really long story short she went off her food which scared the shit out of me. After another vet visit, bloodwork and urine tested again we figured out nothing is showing up in any of that and the Convenia shot she got didn't work on her UTI so she's on orbax now an appetite stimulant for a little bit.

We've been playing the "you can have whatever you want but please please eat" game for a bit. Canned tuna was about all i could get much in her of with some of her dry food. I know, I know tuna is not cat food. But it's a thing she loves and desperation was at play and I figure not super healthy food was better than starving to death via liver failure. We came to an arrangement years ago if she gets the dregs of a tuna can when I eat tuna, she wont knock over the trash can, pry open the pet proof lid, and dive in which generally ends in a bath. So i figured fuck it put that out.

Anyhow, she's eating now just not quite her normal self but getting better. Since she was more interested in tuna or pureed chicken I on the advice of some friends I got her Tiki brand wet food. Now this cat has turned down more brands of wet food than I can count to the point I figured she'd never eat it. Apparently this brand she likes. I'm not sure she's come up for air with her face out of the bowl since i put it down for her.

I know I've heard the whole, dry food better for teeth, wet food better for UTI/urinary/kidney stuff. Would it be a sane compromise to figure out based on her ideal weight giving her dry food in the morning and wet food at night, at least until I run out of dry food and then we might go to a full wet diet?

I'm hesitant to do a full wet diet as this cat is...difficult and brushing her teeth is not gonna happen. Like, the current vet is impressed I am able to pill her ever, she has to be sedated to go in, I cannot board her, and there's a select list of people who she will tolerate enough to allow them to touch her or check on her if I go out of town. We see the "this vet is good with difficult animals" guy in town because she was too much for the other vet I had before to handle. That kinda cat. Daily tooth brushing is a laughable idea.

Sorry to ramble, there's been a lot of anxious cat owner this week, but anyhow, does a half dry half wet diet with the dry food she likes and Tiki brand for the wet seem like a reasonable solution? All i really want is her happy, healthy, and less UTIs without causing new problems.