Royal Canin vs Orijen

Hey guys, I've been feeding my ragdoll kitten royal canin kitten dry as her dry food. The breeder recommends it, and feeds all her cats RC (but she def. has some kind of promotional deal with them as she advertises it on her site). She said to us that cats need the grains in their dry food for the fiber (???). She's a wonderful breeder, her cats are beautiful and healthy, she's super nice, her place is incredibly clean, and her cats always wins top awards at every show. She also has a very rigorous process for anyone wanting to adopt her kittens, so I know she cares about her kittens. 

However, after reading TCS and about cat nutrition, RC's ingredients seem kind of awful... It's a lot of brewer's rice, corn gluten meal etc, and when I read the ingredients for foods like Orijen where the first 10 ingredients are whole animals, I want to switch. 

However, my fiance says that he's doing well on RC, the breeder uses RC, and we shouldn't fix what isn't broken. I've also read good reviews on RC despite their poor ingredients. The price is a bit higher for Orijen here (Canada), but if I buy the larger packages, the price almost evens out. However, he also argues that having a large bag of food open for 2-3 months is not good. 

Is it worth the effort to switch dry foods on him? Should I buy Orijen and feed it as a treat? Do I stick to RC because it's definitely easier to get as Orijen is only sold in small stores here? 

*Note: I know I should feed him all wet etc., he has a variety of wet foods, but we need dry as well since we go away on weekends and we leave it out for him to graze on as he's still growing. 

Anyone in Canada have any comments because a lot of the recommended or higher end brands are not as easily obtainable than the US (grr jealous).

My vet loves Royal Canin himself since a lot of grain free diets don't have the preservatives that can keep them good for months (or so he says). I personally decided against Royal Canin because of ingredients. We feed Nutrisca to our cats. I have been trying to find a way to fit Orijen into our budget but haven't gotten there yet. 

Just because cats seem fine on a diet doesn't mean it won't have long-term effects. I'd suggest asking your fiance to read through some of catinfo.org and then see what he thinks about grains. Also, cat waste is a lot less smelly and smaller when fed a higher protein diet, so that's something to point out!

Lots of vets, and in this case your breeder, not only have deals with companies like Royal Canin, but they also get most of their nutritional education from seminars and representatives from companies like RC! So most of them truly do believe they're recommending the best food, and that's part of what makes it so difficult to believe that these foods are actually not that great, because all of these professionals use it.

You can get a big plastic container with and airtight lid to store the big bag of food in-problem solved!

I think in terms of kibble Orijen is probably the best kibble available. In my opinion RC is not good kibble, or cat food in general. The breeder might just have cats with good genes, but she clearly doesn't know anything about cat health :\

I feed Orijen mixed with Ziwipeak, but only as a snack. Kibble should not be fed exclusively, you should feed as much wet or raw food as possible and use kibble only to supplement.

I also do not buy large bags of kibble (even though I have 10 cats), as I agree that it goes stale quickly and is more prone to bacteria growth the longer its opened. 

    If your cat is doing fine on this, i would not change it

Jano437 said:

 
    If your cat is doing fine on this, i would not change it

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Wow. That video gave me a laugh. Grains are less likely to cause allergies than meat? Give me a break. I've never had an animal that was allergic to chicken, beef, or fish (although I know it to be possible). I have owned multiple dogs and cats that were allergic to corn. 

No offense but this video seems like its just a straight up sales pitch for Royal Canin (as it should be as it is a video made by them).

missmimz said:

 
I think in terms of kibble Orijen is probably the best kibble available. In my opinion RC is not good kibble, or cat food in general. The breeder might just have cats with good genes, but she clearly doesn't know anything about cat health :\

I feed Orijen mixed with Ziwipeak, but only as a snack. Kibble should not be fed exclusively, you should feed as much wet or raw food as possible and use kibble only to supplement.

I also do not buy large bags of kibble (even though I have 10 cats), as I agree that it goes stale quickly and is more prone to bacteria growth the longer its opened. 

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I agree with this wholeheartedly. It is my opinion that Royal Canin is overpriced junk. Vets often recommend it because they are being paid or given incentives to do so. I feed about 99% canned but use some dry as a topper or occasional snack and the dry I feed is Orijen. I agree that it is the best dry out there. I buy a 5 pound bag- nothing bigger because I don't want it sitting around too long either. 

My cats have tried RC and rejected it so there's that too. 

Molly92 said:

 
Just because cats seem fine on a diet doesn't mean it won't have long-term effects. I'd suggest asking your fiance to read through some of catinfo.org and then see what he thinks about grains. Also, cat waste is a lot less smelly and smaller when fed a higher protein diet, so that's something to point out!

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I'm glad Molly92 wrote this about cats "seeming fine" on non-ideal diets! And yes, a cat-appropriate diet most definitely results in a happier litter box.

I'd vote for the protein, too!

Thanks everyone for the replies! I agree with almost everyone, I will look into Orijen when it's time to switch him to adult kibble - gives me time to convince my fiance I also liked Nature's Variety and that's available at petsmart so I might consider that too. His poops are not smelly and they're always consistent and healthy, which is why my fiance is hesitant to switch. I will also ask about switching foods at his next vet visit. I just can't shake that feeling that it's a 'good' food because it's pricey - that whole expensive = quality thing is so ingrained into our society!!

WafflesNomNom said:

 
Thanks everyone for the replies! I agree with almost everyone, I will look into Orijen when it's time to switch him to adult kibble - gives me time to convince my fiance I also liked Nature's Variety and that's available at petsmart so I might consider that too. His poops are not smelly and they're always consistent and healthy, which is why my fiance is hesitant to switch. I will also ask about switching foods at his next vet visit. I just can't shake that feeling that it's a 'good' food because it's pricey - that whole expensive = quality thing is so ingrained into our society!!

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Cats are obligate carnivores. They require a diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Most dry food does not fit this description so when looking for one, it's best to find one as close as possible. So when looking for a food, compare the ingredients. You were also looking at NVI? Let's put NVI and Orijen side by side and you can see which one fits your cat's and your needs best. 

This is the "standard" NVI chicken dry. There are other types available

http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-grain-free-kibble-cat-food-chicken

Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tapioca, Chicken, Menhaden Fish Meal, Tomato Pomace, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Montmorillonite Clay, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Carrots, Apples, Cranberries, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Taurine, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Sodium Selenite), Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Chicken (including Freeze Dried Ground Chicken Bone), Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Pumpkinseeds, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Kelp, Broccoli, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salmon Oil, Dried Chicory Root, Blueberries

Here is the Orijen

http://www.orijen.ca/products/cat-food/dry-cat-food/cat-kitten/

Boneless chicken,* chicken meal, chicken liver,* whole herring,* boneless turkey,* turkey meal, turkey liver,* whole eggs,* boneless walleye,* whole salmon,* chicken heart,* chicken cartilage,* herring meal, salmon meal, chicken liver oil, chicken fat, red lentils, green peas, green lentils, sun-cured alfalfa, kelp, pumpkin,* butternut squash,* spinach greens,* carrots,* apples,* pears,* cranberries,* mixed tocopherols (preservative), chicory root, dandelion root, chamomile, peppermint leaf, ginger root, caraway seeds, turmeric, rose hips, freeze-dried chicken liver, freeze-dried turkey liver, freeze-dried chicken, freeze-dried turkey, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product + vitamins and minerals

I'm not picking on NVI. They make good food too and I have their canned as a regular part of their rotation. I switched the dry from NVI LID turkey to Orijen because I felt that it was a better food. 

You can discuss switching foods with the vet at your next visit but please keep in mind that most "regular" vets are not experts on feline nutrition. Most vet schools use representatives from the big pet food manufacturers to teach this so the vet might not be much help with this. When I first brought my girls to the vet and mentioned food, all she said was "keep it high protein and low carb".  Yeah, I knew that already. 

At the end of the day, it's up to each of us to decide what to feed out pets based on what they will eat and what we can afford. I personally would rather spend more money on food now and less on vet bills later but many people feed lower priced foods for years and years and the cat lives to be quite old. You never know what life will throw at you. I feed Orijen because I think that you really do get what you pay for. it is a very high quality food. The canned I keep in the rotation varies from Friskies to Weruva and many in between. A lot of people think that if you are going to feed both wet and dry, it's better to go with a higher quality dry and a lower quality wet rather than vice versa if you have to make that choice.