royal canin issues??

kittiekitten

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I am about out of cat food (have 5 cats all indoor been on the diet royal can in for years) and recently moved to a rural area so trying to find somewhere close to buy royal can in and have found information which makes me.NOT want to buy royal canin. I tried to switch them.to blue buffalo a few months back, but they didn't see to want to eat it after the first day so bought more royal can in. Now I'm seeing possible rat poisoning from royal can in plus they are going to start using chicken byproduct in their formulas... so I just don't want to buy it again, but know it can be hard on their stomachs just up and changing their feed.... any suggestions on what to do??? Anything more comparable to royal canin that may not hurt their stomachs as bad??? They are all 7-9 years old and overweight (been working on the weight for quite some time now with not much luck). Thank you
 

vball91

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I am not a fan of dry food for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores who need their nutrition from animal sources, not grains and starchy vegetables. Dry food is way too high in carbohydrates which cats have no nutritional need for. In addition, cats have a low thirst drive as they are geared to get their moisture from food. Dry food at 10% moisture versus 80% of moisture in canned foods do not provide that, and most cats do not drink enough water to compensate. You mention that your cats are overweight which is not uncommon in cats who are free fed dry food. I would recommend feeding a species-appropriate wet meaty diet. If you would like to learn more about feline nutrition and related health issues, please visit www.catinfo.org. Written by a vet, it has a lot of great info as well as a chart of canned foods that breaks down protein/fat/carbs.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I am not a fan of dry food for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores who need their nutrition from animal sources, not grains and starchy vegetables. Dry food is way too high in carbohydrates which cats have no nutritional need for. In addition, cats have a low thirst drive as they are geared to get their moisture from food. Dry food at 10% moisture versus 80% of moisture in canned foods do not provide that, and most cats do not drink enough water to compensate. You mention that your cats are overweight which is not uncommon in cats who are free fed dry food. I would recommend feeding a species-appropriate wet meaty diet. If you would like to learn more about feline nutrition and related health issues, please visit www.catinfo.org. Written by a vet, it has a lot of great info as well as a chart of canned foods that breaks down protein/fat/carbs.
  Plus, on that site Vball mentioned, they have a great article on transitioning your furry little beasties away from kibble and onto canned, which I found very useful when I transitioned my free fed little ones.  And, btw, that was the ONLY WAY I got my little piggy to start losing weight.  We had pretty much tried everything else, including prescription weight loss kibble, with absolutely no luck at all.  Switching to canned did the trick.  Now he's starting to look pretty svelte
, not to mention all the other benefits of being on a meaty diet. 
 
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kittiekitten

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Ty Soooo much!!! Great advice!
 
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kittiekitten

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I only have internet on my phone, no computer. Am having problems reading some of it. Is there certain brands if cat food suggested?? Or what you all use personally??
 
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kittiekitten

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Canned cat food suggested*
 
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kittiekitten

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Oh and one of my cats is addicted to water... like ocd about it... thought maybe he was diabetic, but he was fine :-) that is probably why he has always been that way... just thought he was a goofy cat!!!
 

vball91

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Some canned food suggestions for you: EVO, Nature's Variety Instinct, Hound & Gatos, By Nature Organics, Wellness, Tiki Cat (chicken varieties only). Some less expensive options include Fancy Feast classic pates and Friskies pates, but these contain by-products which you said you didn't like. You might want to look into the large (12 or 13 oz) cans of NVI and Hound & Gatos, etc. Since you have 5 cats. They are much more economical by the ounce.
 
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kittiekitten

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You are absolutely amazing thank you so much from me and my little fur babies!!!!!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I only have internet on my phone, no computer. Am having problems reading some of it. Is there certain brands if cat food suggested?? Or what you all use personally??
So might try going to your local library to read that link, because there is SO much helpful information there.  Plus you might want to print the "how to transition your cat" information to have it handy
.  As far as canned food goes, try to stick with high protein, low carb, as those will be much more filling for your cats, as well as much healthier.  That same website (another reason to visit the library) has a listing of canned foods with protein, carbs, and calories listed to help you determine the proper foods to feed. 

In your case, calories will matter too, since you've got overweight cats.  Tiki is a  high protein, low carb, low fat, low cal food (as long as you get the ones without rice).   Evo, Hounds and Gatos, and Wellness are much more caloric than Tiki, but still good in protein and low in carbs, 'Course, it all depends on which protein you are getting (chicken vs beef, etc. ), and on Wellness, which one...Core vs. one of the others, because one of theirs also contains rice. 

If price is a concern, Soulistic (Petco's brand) is what I used to transition my little ones, however, most of their flavors are fish, and SOME of their flavors are not low carb.  Again,you'll need to look at that chart  to see which ones are and which ones aren't
 
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