Food sold at Vet office- not the good stuff?

As some of you may remember, my kitten Newton had to have a feeding tube, due to an awful URI, where he stopped eating, had mouth ulcers, constant fever, etc. He's luckily on the mend now. When he started eating again (dry food) the Vet gave him what they sell in the office, Royal Canin, which I thought was a good brand. Prior to that, I was feeding him and his sister a brand called, "Good Nutrition." I bought it at PetSmart and the first ingredient is chicken. I checked the ingredients on the Royal Canin bag and the first ingredient is chicken meal by product! I was surprised the vet wouldn't offer something more "healthy?" Thoughts?

LeftiesRock said:

As some of you may remember, my kitten Newton had to have a feeding tube, due to an awful URI, where he stopped eating, had mouth ulcers, constant fever, etc. He's luckily on the mend now. When he started eating again (dry food) the Vet gave him what they sell in the office, Royal Canin, which I thought was a good brand. Prior to that, I was feeding him and his sister a brand called, "Good Nutrition." I bought it at PetSmart and the first ingredient is chicken. I checked the ingredients on the Royal Canin bag and the first ingredient is chicken meal by product! I was surprised the vet wouldn't offer something more "healthy?" Thoughts?

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What you find in vet's offices is 9 times out of 10 either Royal Canin or Hills. Why are they there? Those companies pay the vets to put them there. These foods are not better than pretty much any other and are IN MY OPINION- overpriced garbage. Most traditional vets do not know much about feline nutrition as it is pretty much glossed over in veterinary schools.

I'm glad your Newton is feeling better. Cats are obligate carnivores and they require a diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. The vast majority of dry foods do not fit this description- even the high end ones.

Do you feed Newton any canned foods? If you were feeding them the Good Nutrition and they were eating it and it works for your budget, stick with it. :nod:

Yeah Royal Canin and Science Diet are both poor quality. Unfortunately though, my Baloo **must** be kept on Science Diet C/D canned food as his bladder and urinary system can not handle anything else.

While I'm not a fan of Hills, I will say that the Hills A/D was a life saver for my cat a long time ago who had developed Hepatic Lipidoses. The A/D was used in the feeding tube and was something she liked when the tube was first removed. I used it again when my cat Scooter had an adverse reaction to the hyperthyroid medication and stopped eating.  It got him to eat again.

I'm gonna go ahead and let them finish the Royal Canin bag of dry and mix it with my dry (the good stuff) but I won't EVER buy it again. And I do give them canned food as well. I leave dry out while I'm a work but they get a can every night and twice on weekends. I guess that is enough? I ususally split a can between them, they are about 16 weeks. Any advice/suggestions, I welcome! <3