Switching to Royal Canin Dry Kitten Food

shadowbaby14 · Jan 3, 2015

Hello,

I've recently started switching my kitten's food brand to Royal Canin. My vet recommended it after he had fed her a couple bites of it when she was getting her shots. She gobbled it up! I saw that she liked it and now I'm switching her to this brand. I've been mixing some in with her old brand food and she singles out the new food! I pretty much use some of it as treats for the time being.. she sure thinks they are treats, because she scarfs them down like there's no tomorrow!

Does anyone else feed their cat(s) Royal Canin kitten or cat food? Any comments?

ruaryx · Jan 3, 2015

Hi, I personally have never fed Royal Canin so I don't have any personal experience. However, the ingredients list has brewers rice and by-product meal as some of the first ingredients. Personally, I would prefer to feed something that lists meat as the first ingredient. When I fed dry, I fed Wellness Core which lists deboned turkey and deboned chicken as the first ingredients and is grain-free.

http://www.royalcanin.us/products/products/cat-products/feline-health-nutrition/kitten

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/product-details.aspx?pet=cat&pid=23#ingredients

Cats are obligate carnivores which means that their bodies "rely on nutrients in animal tissue to meet their specific nutritional requirements.."

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/FeedYourCat.cfm

In my opinion, you should do your own research about cat nutrition and pick out a brand that will work for you. Good luck with everything! Let us know if you have anymore questions.

shadowbaby14 · Jan 4, 2015

Well thank you Ruaryx!

I will definitely do some research. It's funny that my vet had recommended this one though... How odd that a veterinarian would endorse this by-product food. I was feeding Blue Seal (well still am until the bag is done) and the bag says there are no by-products, no wheat and no soy products either. So technically Blue Seal is better for her? The problem with Blue Seal is that, she eats it, but I don't think she eats enough of it daily... no matter how much I but in her bowl. She seems to love this new brand, so until I finish the bag I won't be taking any food switching actions. But next time I buy a bag of kibble I will definitely consider other brands. The thing about living where I do is that I don't have much choice in the pet stores around here. If I wanted to have more choice it would be out of my price range for the moment (Vet food). As long as this food isn't going to give my kitten a disease or health problems for the moment, this is what I think. I should have read the bag though. Thanks for your help. I'm looking at the site for Wellness as we speak. But I don't think I can buy this in the stores around here. Have never seen this brand before.

lokhismom · Jan 4, 2015

Have you considered wet food? It's much healthier. Feeding all dry will likely lead to health problems.

I recommend reading the articles posted on this site for what's best.

chromium blues · Jan 4, 2015

"Pets need nutrients not ingredients!"

I have been trying to post a proper link, but I confess I don't know how. Check out gorhamanimal.ca under Articles, the Fall 2014 newsletter has a good article about nutrition and reading labels, to be continued in the next issue.

We start all of our kittens on Royal Canin, and as long as they eat it (the odd one won't), we get excellent results on it. Good growth, shiny coats, bright eyes, good stool, normal development. Its very well-made food, with strict quality control, and one I've always trusted.

shadowbaby14 · Jan 4, 2015

Lokhismom said:
Have you considered wet food? It's much healthier. Feeding all dry will likely lead to health problems.

I recommend reading the articles posted on this site for what's best.

I have considered it, but it can get costly to get good quality wet food. I might try half wet, half kibble feeding.

Any recommendations on what wet food I should try out? I heard gravy was good because it has more water content.

shadowbaby14 · Jan 4, 2015

Chromium Blues said:
"Pets need nutrients not ingredients!"

I have been trying to post a proper link, but I confess I don't know how. Check out gorhamanimal.ca under Articles, the Fall 2014 newsletter has a good article about nutrition and reading labels, to be continued in the next issue.

We start all of our kittens on Royal Canin, and as long as they eat it (the odd one won't), we get excellent results on it. Good growth, shiny coats, bright eyes, good stool, normal development. Its very well-made food, with strict quality control, and one I've always trusted.

Oh boy, thanks. I was hoping to get a positive answer.

This puts me at ease that someone else recommends it. I have read the newsletter, but I was already aware of most of the information on there. Although I did learn that there is a way that they list ingredients, higher content, to lower content. I learn things every day.

momto3cats · Jan 4, 2015

Wet foods in gravy/sauce may have slightly more water, but they tend to have more starch as well, which is not good for cats. Pate style foods are typically lowest in carbs (though not always). Some cats have a strong preference for one type over the other, so you'll need to find out what your cat likes.

I don't know what brands are available to you, but in general, look for specific, named meats as the main ingredients (not "meat" or "poultry" but "beef" or "chicken"), and little or no plant based filler (grain, vegetables) or silly ingredients that may appeal to humans but are not useful to cats (herbs, seasoning, fruit - some herbs may be good for certain health problems but are not necessarily a good idea in the daily diet).

Basically - cats need meat, plus certain vitamins and minerals to make up for the fact the food is processed. Anything else in there is either meant to cut costs for the manufacturer or to fool buyers into thinking they are getting some health benefit that only exists for humans, not cats - lately a lot of the brands that are getting on the "grain-free" bandwagon are adding a bunch of other things cats have no use for.

shadowbaby14 · Jan 4, 2015

@momto3cats -

That's some great information. When looking for brands I will open up your post on my phone.

chromium blues · Jan 4, 2015

Shadowbaby14 said:
Oh boy, thanks. I was hoping to get a positive answer.

This puts me at ease that someone else recommends it. I have read the newsletter, but I was already aware of most of the information on there. Although I did learn that there is a way that they list ingredients, higher content, to lower content. I learn things every day.

I think they're targeting beginners mainly, but there's a lot of good information there. I'm looking forward to the next newsletter - hopefully they get more in-depth.

ruaryx · Jan 4, 2015

Shadowbaby14 said:
Well thank you Ruaryx!

I will definitely do some research. It's funny that my vet had recommended this one though... How odd that a veterinarian would endorse this by-product food. I was feeding Blue Seal (well still am until the bag is done) and the bag says there are no by-products, no wheat and no soy products either. So technically Blue Seal is better for her? The problem with Blue Seal is that, she eats it, but I don't think she eats enough of it daily... no matter how much I but in her bowl. She seems to love this new brand, so until I finish the bag I won't be taking any food switching actions. But next time I buy a bag of kibble I will definitely consider other brands. The thing about living where I do is that I don't have much choice in the pet stores around here. If I wanted to have more choice it would be out of my price range for the moment (Vet food). As long as this food isn't going to give my kitten a disease or health problems for the moment, this is what I think. I should have read the bag though. Thanks for your help. I'm looking at the site for Wellness as we speak. But I don't think I can buy this in the stores around here. Have never seen this brand before.

No problem. I think it should be fine to feed the one bag. In regards to not having a lot of selection at the stores, have you considered buying online? You can usually get free shipping if you buy a certain amount although I'm not sure about shipping to Canada. (I believe there are some forum members who are from Canada, so you can possibly start a new thread and ask them how they buy their food.) Kudos for caring so much about your cat's wellbeing!

Switching to Royal Canin Dry Kitten Food

shadowbaby14

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ruaryx

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shadowbaby14

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lokhismom

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chromium blues

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shadowbaby14

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momto3cats

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chromium blues

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