Some dry food may cause problems; not sure. But there are special foods you can buy to feed a cat with urinary problems. I think they have lower magnesium or low ash.
If you decide to go ahead and get the medical help for your cat, you might look into a special diet to avoid another costly episode.
I guess it's still controversial regarding when to spay or neuter a cat. Spaying or neutering very young may (or may not) have an effect on the maturity of the genitourinary tract, which may have an effect on what (if any) problems the cat has as an adult.
I decided to get away from supermarket foods (and also away from most pet supermarket foods). I recently started my three cats on Innova Evo, which is a dry food that is supposedly compatible with a raw food diet, and is also low-carb and no-grain. It'll be a while before I see much in the way of results, I guess, but so far, the cats seem to really go for the stuff, and two of them seem to have softer fur. One of them had some dandruff, and it's already starting to ease off.
A few years ago I had to have a cat put to sleep who was only about 9-1/2 years old. I think he had cancer (losing weight, stinky breath, weakness), and I didn't have the money to take him to a vet for costly treatment. When that cat was young, I had times when all I could afford to feed him was cheap stuff supplemented by leftover meat from my table.
I'm hoping that by feeding my current cats better food, I will be able to extend their healthful lives and stave off the inevitable for a few more years.
If I were in your shoes; if the vet were willing to take payments on the medical procedures; and if the vet were pretty sure that the treatment would actually cure the problem and allow your cat to have a good number of healthy years left; I would then go ahead and get the medical work done on the cat. And I hope that getting your cat healthy doesn't mean you have to eat peanut butter sandwiches for six months.
I recently adopted a one-year-old, former feral cat. She turned out to have a case of diarrhea, which turned out to be an intestinal infection. To cure it, I spent a couple of hundred dollars on vet visits, tests, and antibiotics.
She wasn't happy about taking a course of a heavy-duty antibiotic/antifungal, and I wish she'd been healthier to begin with, but the upshot is that she's now in good health, has put on some weight, and has a good appetite now.
I wish you and your cat the best. I hope both of you come out of this ordeal in good spirits!
>Some dry food may cause problems; not sure. But there are special foods you can buy to feed a cat with urinary problems. I think they have lower magnesium or low ash.<
I lost a cat to urethral blockage in 1974, and since then have read all kinds of theories about the cause of the problem. The acronyms don't even stay the same, reflecting the way no one really understands the condition completely.
Regarding dry food...Innova EVO contains an astonishing 6 % calories from carbohydrates, which appears to be unique among dry foods. Look under 'Natura':
http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/dryfood.html
which would appear to make it comparable to many of the better canned choices:
http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html
Note that not all canned foods are good choices in terms of calories from carbhydrates--you must do your homework. Picking up any old can won't do these job, but at least there is an exception to the dry food problem [but what about water consumption?].