Food recommendations

I'm looking for some recommendations for good food for my two cats. Samba is
female and spayed, while Bebop is male and neutered. Both are 5 and a half
years old. They are indoor-only cats.

When they were a few months old, my vet recommended that I give them cd/s,
which is now called c/d. This is made by Hills and the packaging says
"Prescription Diet" which presumably explains why only the vet sells it and
it is not available in stores. The cats have always liked this food and,
much to my surprise, never tire of it, even though they get it twice a day
every single day of the year. I don't give them treats with or between meals
so c/d is the ONLY food they are getting. (When I initially gave them some
of the more popular non-prescription brands, like Iams, Eukanuba, etc., they
would seem to get pretty bored with the food by the time we were two-thirds
of the way through one of the big bags.)

Yesterday, I went to the vet to buy another bag of c/d - I always buy it in
the 10 lb. bag - and found that the price had gone up over 30%. It used to
cost $30 (Canadian), including all taxes, and went up to $39. I asked why
the increase was so high and the vet's assistant just shrugged and said that
they hadn't been told why the increase was so large. That smells to me like
a gouge and I hate being gouged so I am looking for other options that might
be a bit more affordable.

The biggest selling point of c/d seems to be that it prevents the formation
of urinary tract crystals, which I understand are very serious in cats.
Obviously, having a food that prevents that is a very good thing but is c/d
the only cat food that has this feature? If not, what are the other foods
that prevent crystals?

The vet assured me when they were kittens that a good dry food was all they
needed - except for water - and I really appreciate the convenience of just
spooning out a quarter cup of dry food and replacing their water at each
meal. I don't really want to switch to wet food unless someone can convince
me that their current diet is inadequate.

If anyone can suggest good quality dry foods, ideally that prevent urinary
tract infections the way c/d is supposed to do, I'd be very grateful. Of
course, I'm not against giving them even healthier food if there is any such
thing.


--
Rhino