Neutering food

[NabilBen]

Hello guys
Hope u r all safe and sound
I am thinking of getting my 5 months male kitten neutered in the upcoming days. As a result, I've started to look for a new suitable diet. Here in Morocco, Royal Canin is the high quality food. I've across 2 types of food but I am torn between them and I couldn't find a comparison online to help me decide.
Both pictures are attached.
Also, is it possible to keep feeding him wet food for non sterilised cats, because the wet sterilised food is not available here

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Where I am (United States), I've never even heard of food for sterilized cats. That's very weird to me. He is still a kitten, so he should be fed a kitten-specific diet until he is at least a year old. You should ask the vet who is doing the neuter what they recommend, but I really don't think that he needs a specific diet- again, that isn't even a thing where I am!

 

[EmersonandEvie]

As for the wet food question: yes. Incorporate as much wet food as you can into his diet, as male cats can be prone to urinary issues. Wet food keeps them hydrated.

 

[mani]

No, it's certainly not anything I've ever heard of either, but looking at those packets, it seems it's a 'thing'. A very odd 'thing' but a 'thing' . I'm going to look into it!
Honestly, I'd give the whole 'neutered food' a bit miss and get him on some good quality wet kitten food, with dry as well if that suits.
As EmersonandEvie says, he'll need special food up until at least his first year.

 

[NabilBen]

Yeah I also never heard nor seen this until I decided to do some research
Maybe, I'll keep him on the dry/wet special Kitten food until he's 1 year old then I'll go for neutering with special formulas

 

[datranch37]

We have the sterilized food in Lebanon as well
I think when he's about a year old, that's a good choice. For now, keep him on Kitten-specific food, but be mindful of the quantity and try to regularly play with him so that he burns some energy and doesn't gain too much weight.
Wet food is fine, but again, be very mindful of the quantity. Dry food is fine, just make sure he is drinking a lot of water regularly.
You don't have to move him to a sterilized diet so soon, he's still a baby

As always, consult your vet as well, he might have some insights.

 

[NabilBen]

Okay I see
Thank you so much

 

[IndyJones]

Royal canin is notorious for gimmicky foods which this sterilized is one of. It really isn't that great a food either (lots of filler).

Feed him a diet of canned food and he should be happy. Canned has little filler and helps to keep the cat hydrated. In male cats hydration is especially important because they are prone to getting crystals that can block their penis.

 

[She's a witch]

Royal Canin is not a high quality food, it has that reputation for unknown reasons (their marketing efforts probably) but if you read the ingredients, you’ll see how horrible they are for carnivores, full of corn and wheat and hardly any meat. See if you can find something better for your cat, especially wet food (most canned is better than any dry). Homemade raw or cooked may be a good idea as well if you have time for research and preparation.

 

[Millie005]

Hello guys
Hope u r all safe and sound
I am thinking of getting my 5 months male kitten neutered in the upcoming days. As a result, I've started to look for a new suitable diet. Here in Morocco, Royal Canin is the high quality food. I've across 2 types of food but I am torn between them and I couldn't find a comparison online to help me decide.
Both pictures are attached.
Also, is it possible to keep feeding him wet food for non sterilised cats, because the wet sterilised food is not available here

So I neutered my male kitten at around 6.5 months of age. I didn't switch to sterilized dry food until he turned a year meaning he was no long a kitten. I suggest you dont switch to sterilized as of now as he needs his calorie intake as he is still developing. You can switch to sterilised adult dry food when hes an adult as their metabolism slows a bit down and he might gain weight (being overweight or obese is super unhealthy for animals so I would definitely suggest to switch to sterilized food as it contains a much lower calorie content!)
My cat, Draco, is now a bit over a year old. I definitely noticed he gained weight during those 6 months however since i switched to lower calorie food (both wet andd dry) he has lost 400g and is now 6.6kg. but hes not just a 'fat cat', hes also quite big ( hes a moggie so I dont know about his genes obviously but hes surely large compared to my other kitty). Make sure that he doesnt gain too much weight (as neutering lowers metabolism rate) and encourage him to play and run around
Regarding the brand, I'm not an expert about them but I give both my cats Royal canin sterilized (and its been good so far) and I give them some sterilized wet food of Miglior gatto and sometimes i give them Little Big paw. But I wouldn't worry too much about the wet food as it generally has quite of a low calorie content itself so if you cannot find sterilised just find a nutritional diet!
Wet food is essential for cats and for their renal health. Dry food on the other hand is good for the bowel.
I really hope this helps! And sorry its a long reply haha. Keep us updated

 

[cheesycats]

Try to find other foods. What is available to you? Royal canin is some pretty low quality food.

 

[fionasmom]

Chewy sells a great deal of this line and it has high satisfaction ratings from the people who buy it...not the same, of course, as high quality control. It seems it is sold to control the weight of neutered animals which is really gimmicky as it is basically a weight control food with some supplements added for kittens.

 

[cataholic07]

Royal canin loves their gimmicks to be honest. People think that fixed cats gain weight easily which isn't true, its overfeeding, free feeding, and only feeding dry food that is the problem. If you feed your cats mainly wet food, it greatly helps as its far less fattening and less calories. For wet food its usually no more then 6% fat and 256 calories the most per can verses dry that can be as high as 30% fat, and as high as 600 calories per cup of food. That is a massive hike when you think calories and fat content.If you are free feeding over a cup of dry food a day or keep filling it up without caring, your pet will get fat. As long as you feed your fixed pet the recommended amount of food and limit fat content, and do daily play time your pet will not get overweight. It's as simple as that..

 

[IndyJones]

I never used sterilized food nor would I use it. It's pure marketing gimmicks like breed specific foods.

Any animal sterilized or intact will gain weight if they are fed too much and or don't exercise.

 

[NabilBen]

Big thanks to all of you.
In Morocco we have few brands and I think Royal Canin is the best among them. We have Whiskas, Friskies, Mera, Felix, Ownat and le chat. So I think RC is the best considering the available options. As for my kitten, I've decided to keep him intact and on wet/dry food until he's 1 year. Then I'll get him neutered and move to dry/wet sterilised.

 

[IndyJones]

What I'm trying to tell you is the sterilized food is a gimmick. You can feed regular canned food for adult cats when your cat is an adult unless there is a medical reason (diabetes, uti, renal failure etc) there is no reason to use a special diet.

We are just trying to make sure you are feeding your cat the best way you can while not burning out your life savings.

 

[IndyJones]

Side note, you should have him neutered before he reaches a year old (6 months is ideal) to avoid any ingrained male behaviour such as marking and howling.

 

[NabilBen]

Oh Okay I see
Thank you guys so much
Really appreciate it

 

[minish]

Cats can't make use of plant proteins and have no need of carbohydrates. Like humans, they can develop insuline resistance and diabetes if their diet relies heavily upon carbs. Yet, dry food has to contain some kind of carbs because of the production process (also cheaper). Home cooked food is no solution either since it loses some crucial ingredients while cooking (i.e. taurine) and the calcium-potassium balance is very difficult to attain. So the best is feeding wet, since it also helps water intake and prevention of urinary tract issues later, especially for male cats.

I live in Turkey, where it's not easy to find good quality wet food for affordable prices (there are also bad ones containing starch, salt, sugar..) For dry food, royal canin and proplan are sworn by vets as "the best", which I don't believe at all. If we feed dry food, the least we can do is prefer grain free products (instead of corn, this time they put other carbs not a great solution but..). What I do for my cat is use good quality dry, wet and home cooked (chicken breast, minced meat etc) together (has one of each kind at least once in 2-3 days if I can't manage daily). Although being fed the same commerical and balanced food all their lives might not affect some cats, there is a risk that they refuse to eat it when the product is altered by the company. Change of food for a cat that eats the same all the time is very difficult. They will have digestive issues. I also believe variety helps reduce the risk of food allergies.

The idea behind special food for sterilized cats is calories. Sterilized cats (not kittens) tend to gain weight due to lower metabolism. the foods called "sterilized" have a lower percentage of fat but not that much (about 10-15% if i recall correctly) since fat is a crucial ingredient in cat diet. you can feed more of sterilized food or less of standard food. i have used both kinds and overall doesnt make much difference, what's important is portion control if your cat tends to overeat (after 1 year old)

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

You don't have to wait until he's a year to neuter. Neko-chan got spayed at 5 months and stayed on kitten food until 11months. The only reason I moved her to adult food a month early is because I ran out of kitten food and didn't want to go to the store to get more when I had already bought the adult food on line.