royal canin sensitivity control is it good?

My 6 year old male Jess has being but on royal canin sensitive control by the vet as he is unable to keep any other food down and has lost a great deal of weight she also said that he is very gasey. 

I'm just wondering has anybody got any experience using this food and is it worth the cost?

Cheers 

anybody?

Are you talking about the dry food?

http://www.royalcanin.co.uk/products/products/vet-products/feline-veterinary-diets

rice, dehydrated duck meat, vegetable fibres, hydrolysed poultry proteins, animal fats, rice gluten, minerals, fish oil, soya oil, marigold extract (source of lutein). ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin A: 24900 IU, Vitamin D3:800 IU, E1 (Iron): 40 mg, E2 (Iodine): 2.8 mg, E4 (Copper): 9 mg, E5 (Manganese):54 mg, E6 (Zinc): 202 mg, E8 (Selenium): 0.1 mg - Preservatives - Antioxidants. ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 27% - Fat content: 11% - Crude ash: 9% - Crude fibres: 6% - Per kg: EPA/DHA: 3.5 g - Essential fatty acids: 34.4 g.

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I would not feed this to my cat. Aside from the fact that it is made with rice and "vegetable fibres (cellulose, that probably means) and soy, it is way too low in protein for a cat. Cats need meat protein, and a lot of it.

Now I'll have a look at the wet options.

While I'm looking them up, why don't you tell us what other foods you have tried? If they are dry foods, I can tell you already that is the main problem.

Here is the chicken in the tray

COMPOSITION: meat and animal derivatives (chicken 50%), cereals (rice 6%), minerals, oils and fats, derivatives of vegetable origin, various sugars. ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin D3: 300 IU, E1 (Iron): 7 mg, E2 (Iodine): 0.5 mg, E4 (Copper): 0.2 mg, E5 (Manganese): 2 mg, E6 (Zinc): 21 mg - Technological additives: Pentasodium triphosphate: 2 g. ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 8.5% - Fat content: 5.5% - Crude ash: 2% - Crude fibres: 0.5% - Moisture: 77% - Essential fatty acids: 2.1% - EPA/DHA: 0.25%.

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Various SUGARS? "derivatives of vegetable origin"? cats do not need these things!

They have the duck in wet form, but the ingredient list appears to be the same as for the dry food, so I think there is an error in the web site.

Anyway. There is my opinion on Royal Canin's new line of "Prescription diets" for sensitive systems.

are you a vet?

nicolescally said:

are you a vet?

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If you want a vet's opinion, you should ask a vet . But remember that most vets aren't nutritionists and receive very little nutritional training, so a regular vet's opinion may not be worth more than anybody else's. Around here, you'll get opinions from normal cat owners, some of whom are very educated about cat food ingredients. But are not vets .

nicolescally said:

are you a vet?

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No I am not a vet. But I know much more about feline nutrition, and the ingredients that are put in cat food, than my vet does. As she has told me several times. This is because I have done a lot of reading and research on what cats, as obligate carnivores are supposed to eat. My vet is a wonderful diagnostician. And terrific in her level of medical care. But she does not know very much about pet food.

Here are some websites written by veterinarians, with a wealth of information:

www.catinfo.org

http://www.all-about-cats.com/index.htm

Here's another good website. I don't think the founder is a vet, but the info is sound

http://feline-nutrition.org/

my vet told me to use it for him as he can not keep anything else down as he is very sick. i don't want to know ingredients of the food i just want to know anybody else who has used it? He has vomited up his food for 10 days solid now and has lost 1kg of weight so all i' concerned about is him being able to keep his food down so that the poor cat doesn't starve. 

With a kitty throwing up and having lost a lot of weight, I think I'd want some more information, because that can be SO many things. In some kitties, it is inflammatory bowel disease. In some kitties, they've developed allergies. In other kitties - like my Lazlo - it turned out to be cancer. He had a massive mass in his stomach. That is not something a vet can feel in a physical exam because the stomach is up under the rib cage.

Was blood work done? It's all normal? No signs of inflammation? Where any x-rays or ultrasounds done - any imaging?

What food were you feeding before, and how do the ingredients in the two foods compare?

How old is your kitty?

I find it really odd that the food has "hydrolized poultry proteins" (which means it will not - or shouldn't - trigger an immune response if kitty is allergic to the source protein) yet it has rice, rice gluten, both of which can be major allergy triggers for cats. :dk:

Soy is one ingredient I would avoid at all cost.

Cats are obligate carnivores. They derive little nutrition from plant-based sources of food. Corn, rice, etc. will keep them alive - and all those vitamins added as supplements will help - but basically a kitty needs meat, bones and organs. They do best on food with protein and fat from animal sources, and they have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrates, and grains, over time, take a toll on their organs, because they're not designed to digest them. After all - people don't put up fences around their gardens to keep out the kitties.

What little most vets know about nutrition they learned from the companies whose products they sell. Sometimes all that's really needed is a little common sense. Cats don't need corn, rice, peas, carrots, soy, vegetable fibers or sugar.

:dk:

OK, you posted while I wrote the above post.

Like I asked - was any imaging done? My cat was also throwing up because he had ulcers. Was an endoscopy discussed? What diagnostics were done?

nicolescally said:

my vet told me to use it for him as he can not keep anything else down as he is very sick. i don't want to know ingredients of the food i just want to know anybody else who has used it? He has vomited up his food for 10 days solid now and has lost 1kg of weight so all i' concerned about is him being able to keep his food down so that the poor cat doesn't starve. 

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The ingredients in any food have everything to do with a cat's health and ability to digest his food.

What were you feeding him, when he first became sick?

What diagnostics has the vet done? Have you had blood work? x ray? is he pooping and peeing normally?

Yes, it is most important that he be able to eat and keep the food down. If all diagnostics have come back normal, perhaps you could try a canned grain free food that does not contain any of the ingredients of any food he has eaten before.

I understand the concept behind hydrolized proteins in these special diets. But I can't get past the inappropriate ingredients.

But, like you say, he has to eat. Maybe you can try him on this, to break the cycle, then gradually switch him over to a good grain free canned food. Look for foods that do not contain carrageenan either.

after being feeding him this the last few days now and he has being able to keep it all down and is starting to put back on weight   i'm not overall concerned about what ingredients that are in the food as long as he isn't starving