Better dry food comparable to Royal Canin Gatro Intestinal High Energy?

Now that Swanie's tummy issues are under control, I'd like to transition off this food and onto something with similar but better ingredients. Any ideas?

Ingredients:
Chicken meal, rice, chicken fat, corn gluten meal, powdered cellulose, natural flavors, soy protein isolate, dried egg product, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), potassium chloride, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), dried brewers yeast, sodium silico aluminate, soya oil, fructo-oligosaccharides, DL-methionine, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate, dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), choline chloride, taurine, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, biotin, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), D-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), rosemary

Analysis:
Crude Protein Min.30.00%
Crude Fat Min.20.00%
Crude Fiber Max.7.50%
Moisture Max.9.00%

I would talk to your vet first before messing with a RX diet. Its like a diabetic not taking insulin-may look ok a day or two then your in serious trouble.

Originally Posted by catsallaround

I would talk to your vet first before messing with a RX diet. Its like a diabetic not taking insulin-may look ok a day or two then your in serious trouble.

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I HAVE talked to my vet. Swanie had a minor problem with loose stools from me feeding him Natural Balance. Vet switched him to the Rx for a bit to get it back in control, but he has no health issues otherwise. I don't like some of the ingredients in this Rx food, so I would like to look for a limited ingredient, not grain free, food to feed him. I also feed him canned food, so this is just a supplement to that.

You say after feeding natural balance-unless there was something wrong with the food do you know what triggered him to need the rx in the first place? Have you ever fed other dry foods? I would look to see what it may have been thats in the NB but not the others/royal canin

Originally Posted by catsallaround

You say after feeding natural balance-unless there was something wrong with the food do you know what triggered him to need the rx in the first place? Have you ever fed other dry foods? I would look to see what it may have been thats in the NB but not the others/royal canin

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Originally I fed him California Natural. After it was sold, I thought I would try Natural Balance, since it seemed to be similar ingredients. However, he started getting loose stools. I researched and discoved that is not uncommon with that food. To be sure and safe, I took him to the vet, she checked him out, and recommended I try him on the Rx for awhile. That worked, he's all better now, but I don't like some of the ingredients in that food. I already have a grain free I mix with it and I've heard that its not good to feed your cat totally grain free (see threads on this site). So, I was hoping to see if I could get some recommendations for a dry food I could try him on. But I guess I will just keep looking. I just want my little doodle to have the best food I can give him and it doesn't seem like that Rx stuff is it.

There is FROMM Gold and Blue Buffalo Spa Select that has some grains. I've been using FROMM for a while now and I'm happy with it.

I really haven't tried much out there, but based on a recommendation from a friend and research online I tried out Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck and my kitties love it and seem healthy and lively to me. It seems to have quality ingredients, I like that it has duck listed first, since all they get really on their wet food is chicken and turkey, and even though it has fish meal the magnesium is quite reasonable. Its grainfree, but it does have peas, potatoes, and carrots thrown in there but based on the carb estimate it can't be all that much. The lifesource bits (cold formed so as not to lose their beneficial qualities) are always eaten, although they seem to prefer the regular kibble parts, and it does seem healthy.

Main ingredients:
Deboned Duck, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Potato Starch, Fish Meal(source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Peas, Whole Potatoes, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Chicken Flavor, Alfalfa Meal, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Dried Kelp, Taurine

Crude Protein\t 40.0% min
Crude Fat\t 18.0% min
Crude Fiber\t 3.5% max
Moisture\t 10.0% max
Magnesium\t 0.08% min
Taurine\t 0.15% min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids*\t 0.8% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids*\t 3.5% min

Thanks for the recommendation. I did try wilderness a while back, and neither cat liked it. I don't want to go totally grain free, either. I already mix the food with grain free orijen and give them grain free TOTW as treats.

Originally Posted by Misty8723

Originally I fed him California Natural. After it was sold, I thought I would try Natural Balance, since it seemed to be similar ingredients. However, he started getting loose stools. I researched and discoved that is not uncommon with that food. To be sure and safe, I took him to the vet, she checked him out, and recommended I try him on the Rx for awhile. That worked, he's all better now, but I don't like some of the ingredients in that food. I already have a grain free I mix with it and I've heard that its not good to feed your cat totally grain free (see threads on this site). So, I was hoping to see if I could get some recommendations for a dry food I could try him on. But I guess I will just keep looking. I just want my little doodle to have the best food I can give him and it doesn't seem like that Rx stuff is it.

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I would talk to Auntie Crazy about grains/grain-free. As far as I know, grains simply mask the problems your cat is having and that you have to wait out the loose stools you might get in order to have a healthy cat. I'm sure you are picking the brands you are because you know that cats are carnivores, but then that should also make it obvious that grains are not a natural part of a cat's diet.

Originally Posted by Minka

I would talk to Auntie Crazy about grains/grain-free. As far as I know, grains simply mask the problems your cat is having and that you have to wait out the loose stools you might get in order to have a healthy cat. I'm sure you are picking the brands you are because you know that cats are carnivores, but then that should also make it obvious that grains are not a natural part of a cat's diet.

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I am looking for a food that has some grains in part because of this thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224913

That is why I don't just put them completely on Orijen and be done with it.

It was also long enough and I transitioned correctly that he should have adjusted to the Natural Balance if he were going to. That is why I took him to the vet to make sure there weren't any other issues that was causing it.

I'm trying to do what is the best thing for my cats, and maybe I worry too much about this, but I read the ingredients in the Rx and cringe. I've tried a lot of the other premium foods. I was hoping to find a limited ingredient food that is not totally grain free but not a bunch of fillers and gluten and junk.

(By the way, they both love this Rx food).

Originally Posted by Misty8723

I am looking for a food that has some grains in part because of this thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224913

That is why I don't just put them completely on Orijen and be done with it.

It was also long enough and I transitioned correctly that he should have adjusted to the Natural Balance if he were going to. That is why I took him to the vet to make sure there weren't any other issues that was causing it.

I'm trying to do what is the best thing for my cats, and maybe I worry too much about this, but I read the ingredients in the Rx and cringe. I've tried a lot of the other premium foods. I was hoping to find a limited ingredient food that is not totally grain free but not a bunch of fillers and gluten and junk.

(By the way, they both love this Rx food).

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Since all grain-free sources like catinfo.org do not list any such problems with grain free in males, and no real studies exist that list such problems, I wouldn't take the opinions of a dozen people here as fact.
I'm not saying people here are untrustworthy, the problem is that their experiences can not be proved to be fact or merely coincidence.
Myself and half a dozen people could say that we are convinced that soy causes hives because we happened to eat soy that day, but that doesn't Prove it.

I would talk to either Auntie Crazy or if you can afford it, a cat nutritionist. Don't presume that cats can't eat food without grains when clearly there are many people that do feed grain-free and their cats do fine as those people would be represented by not only myself, but also the clients of Dr Pierson as well as other cat nutrition advocates.