Royal Canin Hydrolized Protein Hp Dry Food

[ginjaninja]

I have two cats who I have always fed grain-free, high protein, wet and dry food. Oliver has had lots of digestion issues (possibly IBD) and my vet recently prescribed Royal Canin Hydrolized Protein food. I also put my cat Penny on this food so there wouldn’t be any other food in the house Oliver could steal. They’ve been on this food for about 2 months and Oliver’s tummy troubles seem to have gone away.

My concern is, the main protein source in this food is soy. In fact, there isn’t any meat at all. It just seems so odd that my vet would prescribe something with literally no meat. I’m wondering what the long term affects of feeding this food will be. Does anyone have any experience with this food?

Here’s the full list of ingredients:
Brewers rice, hydrolyzed soy protein, chicken fat, natural flavors, powdered cellulose, dried plain beet pulp, monocalcium phosphate, fish oil, potassium chloride, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, vegetable oil, sodium silico aluminate, fructooligosaccharides, taurine, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], choline chloride, DL-methionine, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), trace minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], rosemary extract, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

 

[duckpond]

I don't know. I don't like the looks of the ingredients either, but i would not say go against the vet recommendations either I guess for some cats, and some conditions these types of foods may be needed. I did look at the reviews from others on chewy that use this food, and it has really good reviews for helping a lot of cats.

I guess keep talking to the vet, and watch your cats closely to make sure they continue to do good with the food. Has the vet said if he needs to be on it for life, or just for a while and then you can slowly try phasing in another food? Maybe some wet food?

 

[Furballsmom]

Oliver’s tummy troubles seem to have gone away.

!!YAY!!
Granting that some vets simply aren't up to the task of learning all there is to know about feline nutrition, I'm wondering in this case if your vet was trying to determine whether a literal change of protein (to the soy) would make a difference.

I'm with duckpond , I'd ask him/her about phasing in/or adding in a rotational menu style some canned food at some point, with the thought of really watching the ingredient list in case the troubles come back...

 

[KatKnapper]

Hi ginjaninja . Maybe your vet wants to rule out a sensitivity to animal-based protein. My firstborn child was prescribed a soy-based formula when he could not tolerate cow's milk formulas. In light of your question as to the longterm side effects, I wondered the same about my child (adult now). A few minutes of reading on soy proteins vs meat proteins for humans, left me scratching my head, asking myself if plant proteins are far better for us than meat proteins. I will be doing my own reading on this as well as looking closely at this kibble you mentioned for my own cat with tummy issues.

 

[ginjaninja]

I don't know. I don't like the looks of the ingredients either, but i would not say go against the vet recommendations either I guess for some cats, and some conditions these types of foods may be needed. I did look at the reviews from others on chewy that use this food, and it has really good reviews for helping a lot of cats.

I guess keep talking to the vet, and watch your cats closely to make sure they continue to do good with the food. Has the vet said if he needs to be on it for life, or just for a while and then you can slowly try phasing in another food? Maybe some wet food?

That was my thought too; on the one hand I trust my vet, but on the other hand I don’t like the looks of the ingredients.

When I brought Oliver to the vet, it was my understanding the prescription food was something she just wanted to try out to alleviate his symptoms. It’s only been 2 months and we haven’t re-evaluated yet, but I will bring this up the next time I go in.

 

[Timmer]

I say if it works, go for it. My cat Timmer died from IBD and if I had caught it earlier or known about such things I might have been able to have saved him. I mourn him every single day.
I have my other cat, who is always constipated, on a Royal Canin dry food. Main ingredient is chicken and second ingredient is corn. She loves it, she looks great, and she poops every single day now. I think it's better than giving her miralax or psyllium husk, or even worrying every day "is she gonna go potty?"
Maybe this will be to get your cat healed up, like someone else said, rule out food allergies.
I would just let it ride and bring it up with your vet next time you are in there.

 

[ginjaninja]

!!YAY!!
Granting that some vets simply aren't up to the task of learning all there is to know about feline nutrition, I'm wondering in this case if your vet was trying to determine whether a literal change of protein (to the soy) would make a difference.

Yes, I believe that’s what my vet was thinking. Thanks for your input!

 

[ginjaninja]

Hi ginjaninja . Maybe your vet wants to rule out a sensitivity to animal-based protein. My firstborn child was prescribed a soy-based formula when he could not tolerate cow's milk formulas. In light of your question as to the longterm side effects, I wondered the same about my child (adult now). A few minutes of reading on soy proteins vs meat proteins for humans, left me scratching my head, asking myself if plant proteins are far better for us than meat proteins. I will be doing my own reading on this as well as looking closely at this kibble you mentioned for my own cat with tummy issues.

I definitely need to read up on soy vs. meat proteins!

 

[ginjaninja]

I say if it works, go for it. My cat Timmer died from IBD and if I had caught it earlier or known about such things I might have been able to have saved him. I mourn him every single day.
I have my other cat, who is always constipated, on a Royal Canin dry food. Main ingredient is chicken and second ingredient is corn. She loves it, she looks great, and she poops every single day now. I think it's better than giving her miralax or psyllium husk, or even worrying every day "is she gonna go potty?"
Maybe this will be to get your cat healed up, like someone else said, rule out food allergies.
I would just let it ride and bring it up with your vet next time you are in there.

I’m sorry to hear about Timmer
Thanks for your input!

 

[EmmiTemmi]

I definitely need to read up on soy vs. meat proteins!

Always a good idea to put a lot of research into your decisions!

Soy protein, as far as plant proteins go, is actually one of the better ones that could be used, since it is a complete protein (which means they have all the essential amino acids that humans need, but can't produce. Examples of complete proteins also include meats and eggs). I don't remember off the top of my head if the human essential amino acids and the cat ones are the same/similar. But soy protein in general is probably better in pet food than some other incomplete proteins. And the fact that it's hydrolyzed makes it even easier for it to be digested, which I'm guessing is why it's being used in that food type. As for long term feeding an obligate carnivore on soy protein though, I can't hypothesize if it will provide the adequate amino acids that they would find in meat, and I don't have any scientific articles to help shed light on it either.

Glad Oliver's tummy troubles have stopped though!

 

[Selarah]

Did you revisit this with your vet? Have any updates for us?

I am transitioning my cat to this food temporarily to rule out protien allergies, if he eats it . I too, am a little concerned with the ingredients, but have tried many other L.I.D. proteins, but haven’t had much success. Hoping it works for him too!

 

[Burts]

I almost put Oliver my cat on this diet very recently, almost until I seen the absurd price..

Top 505 Reviews and Complaints about Royal Canin Pet Foods

He was on urinary so for 1 1/2 years and then started barfing couple weeks ago..Vet wanted to steroid him and claim ibd.. I recently put him on blue buffalo sensitive stomach..Big episode of throw up 5 times a day which happened twice stopped..

Oliver was getting brown grease on his nose bridge couple months back which seems to be clearing up a little now, small ugly dookies. Lots of bile throw ups before his big episodes of throw ups which happened twice couple weeks ago which scared the bejezus out of me. Also he has been very itchy for over a year with a lot of grooming. Allie my other persian girl was getting the smelliest most stinkest dookies in the world which recently stopped...

I never took him off this food of fear of getting urinary tract inflammation.. I have him on uromaxx with his new food, I cross my fingers.. His dookies has improved dramatically, hes still itchy and is now getting jackson galaxy skin soother spirit essence today rubbed into his fur.. I am hoping the new diet which has no corn possibly stop his itch and overgrooming...

I hope to never go back to royal canin

 

[Selarah]

I almost put Oliver my cat on this diet very recently, almost until I seen the absurd price..

Top 505 Reviews and Complaints about Royal Canin Pet Foods

He was on urinary so for 1 1/2 years and then started barfing couple weeks ago..Vet wanted to steroid him and claim ibd.. I recently put him on blue buffalo sensitive stomach..Big episode of throw up 5 times a day which happened twice stopped..

Oliver was getting brown grease on his nose bridge couple months back which seems to be clearing up a little now, small ugly dookies. Lots of bile throw ups before his big episodes of throw ups which happened twice couple weeks ago which scared the bejezus out of me. Also he has been very itchy for over a year with a lot of grooming. Allie my other persian girl was getting the smelliest most stinkest dookies in the world which recently stopped...

I never took him off this food of fear of getting urinary tract inflammation.. I have him on uromaxx with his new food, I cross my fingers.. His dookies has improved dramatically, hes still itchy and is now getting jackson galaxy skin soother spirit essence today rubbed into his fur.. I am hoping the new diet which has no corn possibly stop his itch and overgrooming...

I hope to never go back to royal canin

Good luck. I hope it works for your kitty! Would be awesome to hear updates to see how it’s going.
I have had my cat on various wet foods with minimal ingredients, LIDs, grain-free, corn free, spent 100’s of $$ on food, with him refusing it eat half of them sadly, and his scratching persists. It’s why I suspect a protein allergy for him. I only want to use this food to rule that theory out temporarily. Hopefully if his immune system has a break, if it works, and if he eats it (that’s another hurdle , +probiotics, maybe I’ll be able to reintroduce proteins again, and rule out which ones are causing the issues. After all that we have spent on him, I don’t even care how expensive it is at this point, if it helps relieve his symptoms and discomfort it’s kind of all I care about right now.

 

[Burts]

How bad is his scratching might I ask..My boy scratches but not to the point of hairloss and scabs...cross my fingers

I stop him if im within reach...So stressful your not alone

 

[Selarah]

How bad is his scratching might I ask..My boy scratches but not to the point of hairloss and scabs...cross my fingers

I stop him if im within reach...So stressful your not alone

It is stressful. I feel for anyone dealing with kitty allergies. It feels hopeless and I feel helpless at times. I feel bad for feeding things he is allergic to, but he is so stubborn and picky about his food. That’s why I have high hopes for this stuff.

His itching is the worst the moment he has just eaten. It seems to be worse the higher quality/higher protein content. Beef is the worst, chicken, fish, turkey. I’ve tried rabbit, and duck, not as long or dedicated only because he never liked eating those proteins and he still seemed to have the same reaction. With the rabbit he scratched his lips like mad, it was weird and never seen that from him before. The duck, he isn’t overly keen on, but maybe I need to try more than 2 brands.
The more novel the protein, the least inclined he wants to eat it and more he runs away from the food dish. Lol. Maybe I need to try toppers and stay a little more persistent.
He has been eating wet Fancy Feast but has decided he doesn’t like it anymore. I have moved onto Friskies for now. I’m just glad he is eating.
Near the end of the Fancy Feast, we noticed him loosing a lot of fur, and his fur seems to be thinner. He doesn’t have bald spots or scabs, nothing like that. His poops and pees are normal. He has started to sneeze too now. So it seems to have gotten worse over the last couple months. I am hoping eliminating the Fancy Feast will do the trick. We already think it is, because he isn’t loosing so much like he was when we pet him. Phew. *knock on wood*
So, he head shakes, scratches his ears & neck. Still sneezing. He also has some subtle skin twitches and he grooms itchy spots on his body. He sleeps quite a bit and is able to relax at least when we are snuggling, which is a lot of the time. So I’d say he doesn’t scratch overly too badly. No scabs or raw bloody patches of skin, no over grooming.

 

[Selarah]

I almost put Oliver my cat on this diet very recently, almost until I seen the absurd price..

Top 505 Reviews and Complaints about Royal Canin Pet Foods

He was on urinary so for 1 1/2 years and then started barfing couple weeks ago..Vet wanted to steroid him and claim ibd.. I recently put him on blue buffalo sensitive stomach..Big episode of throw up 5 times a day which happened twice stopped..

Oliver was getting brown grease on his nose bridge couple months back which seems to be clearing up a little now, small ugly dookies. Lots of bile throw ups before his big episodes of throw ups which happened twice couple weeks ago which scared the bejezus out of me. Also he has been very itchy for over a year with a lot of grooming. Allie my other persian girl was getting the smelliest most stinkest dookies in the world which recently stopped...

I never took him off this food of fear of getting urinary tract inflammation.. I have him on uromaxx with his new food, I cross my fingers.. His dookies has improved dramatically, hes still itchy and is now getting jackson galaxy skin soother spirit essence today rubbed into his fur.. I am hoping the new diet which has no corn possibly stop his itch and overgrooming...

I hope to never go back to royal canin

Yikes. Reading those reviews are scary.

 

[momof3b1g]

We tried the Hydrolyzed protein diet also. What were his symptoms? Shy was still throwing this up so I stopped. Maybe I didnt give it enough time?

 

[Selarah]

We tried the Hydrolyzed protein diet also. What were his symptoms? Shy was still throwing this up so I stopped. Maybe I didnt give it enough time?

I’m really horrible for panicking or worrying at every bad moment my cat has.
I am trying to introduce small amounts of this kibble to him, but he has already reacted by going off to sleep somewhere else not normal for him. He looks unusually groggy and sleepy to me when he eats this, or even the Hills ZD one. However, suddenly after a few hours he is back up and around, seemingly back to himself. He doesn’t seem as thrilled with eating it, like when first offered it, so I don’t know if I should continue with it or not either. In general, I don’t think he is as used to digesting kibble anymore, since he has been on wet only for while. So I question if his reactions warrant concern or not. I know to give a proper assessment, I can’t be so reactive to his every moment and give it enough time to really decide.
My cat doesn’t throw up, he just has skin rippling/itching/extra shedding/lack of energy at times/groggy after eating. I’ve taken him to the vet quite a few times, and they can’t find anything wrong.
How long did you give it?

 

[momof3b1g]

I’m really horrible for panicking or worrying at every bad moment my cat has.
I am trying to introduce small amounts of this kibble to him, but he has already reacted by going off to sleep somewhere else not normal for him. He looks unusually groggy and sleepy to me when he eats this, or even the Hills ZD one. However, suddenly after a few hours he is back up and around, seemingly back to himself. He doesn’t seem as thrilled with eating it, like when first offered it, so I don’t know if I should continue with it or not either. In general, I don’t think he is as used to digesting kibble anymore, since he has been on wet only for while. So I question if his reactions warrant concern or not. I know to give a proper assessment, I can’t be so reactive to his every moment and give it enough time to really decide.
My cat doesn’t throw up, he just has skin rippling/itching/extra shedding/lack of energy at times/groggy after eating. I’ve taken him to the vet quite a few times, and they can’t find anything wrong.
How long did you give it?

My cat loved it. Even one if the other cats wanted that instead of her food. I gave it for almost 3 weeks and he was still throwing it up

 

[Selarah]

My cat loved it. Even one if the other cats wanted that instead of her food. I gave it for almost 3 weeks and he was still throwing it up

That’s awesome they loved it!
Sorry to hear your kitty was still vomiting. Have you found something since?