Recommended dry food for 9-year-old cat?

[LtRinaldi]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for dry food recommendations for my 9-year-old cat. I am feeding her Royal Canin Indoor 7+ (recommended by the vet) but it's running low and I cannot find it ANYWHERE. I spoke with a pet store employee who seemed pretty knowledgeable and she recommended Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging, Orijen, and Natural Balance. I spoke with the vet and she only recommends Royal Canin or Hill's. I am so overwhelmed with all the available options lol. I also feed her Natural Balance Ultra Tuna wet food.

Please help!

 

[Babypaws]

From what I’ve heard and read the Royal Canin and Hills foods aren’t that great. I think a lot of veterinarian offices sell those brands and I’m thinking they get some kind of commission (if that’s the right word) for selling it…anyone please correct me if I’m wrong.
I’m also in search of a good dry food for my cats without all the unneeded fillers.

 

[LtRinaldi]

I've definitely heard the same, but I don't purchase the food from the vet. So I think removes the incentive?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I think any of the three recommended by the pet store employee are better than the RC or Hills.

It is definitely true that Vets tend to push RC or Hills because those sales reps give them perks to do so. They sell the prescription versions in their offices.

 

[StanAndAlf]

I have always had great success with Hills, and personally I really like it. My vet clinic sells it, and only recommends the prescription version to clients when it corresponds with a health issue their animal is having. We get no perks from a sales rep or anything, in fact the vets question the sales reps thoroughly about the effectiveness of new products and how they will help or harm a patient. Just my clinic though, I cannot speak for others.

I had my older cat on Hills Active Longevity 11+ and he was still catching young goannas (for those that don't know, very fast, very feisty lizards that grow quite large) at 17 years of age, and jumping on top of the refrigerator. I adopted him when he was 14 with OCD, and we made the transition to Hills instantly, and never had any issues, in fact I saw rapid improvement in his mobility from the beginning. Never had a urinary blockage or anything like that. I got some blood tests done before a dental when he was 16 and they came back perfect, he recovered from the anesthetic very well. The only medication he was on was a hormone regulator for his OCD.

Just a personal anecdote, not analytic or anything.

 

[maggie101]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for dry food recommendations for my 9-year-old cat. I am feeding her Royal Canin Indoor 7+ (recommended by the vet) but it's running low and I cannot find it ANYWHERE. I spoke with a pet store employee who seemed pretty knowledgeable and she recommended Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging, Orijen, and Natural Balance. I spoke with the vet and she only recommends Royal Canin or Hill's. I am so overwhelmed with all the available options lol. I also feed her Natural Balance Ultra Tuna wet food.

Please help!

Is he suggesting that because of age?

 

[MissClouseau]

A vet I like suggests rotating between foods with high meat content, like Acana or Orijen, and well-tested brands like Pro Plan, Hill's, Royal Canin. There are controversies with both options - her suggestion is over the idea rotating between different worlds might do the least amount of damage if the controversy is right.

This is of course not the case if a certain cat doesn't respond well to that food. My own cat with a few grain intolerances never did well with any Royal Canin foods (we tried one prescription, 2 regular RC including sensitive stomach.) She does fine with ProPlan prescription diet she's currently on though.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I have always had great success with Hills, and personally I really like it. My vet clinic sells it, and only recommends the prescription version to clients when it corresponds with a health issue their animal is having. We get no perks from a sales rep or anything, in fact the vets question the sales reps thoroughly about the effectiveness of new products and how they will help or harm a patient. Just my clinic though, I cannot speak for others.

I had my older cat on Hills Active Longevity 11+ and he was still catching young goannas (for those that don't know, very fast, very feisty lizards that grow quite large) at 17 years of age, and jumping on top of the refrigerator. I adopted him when he was 14 with OCD, and we made the transition to Hills instantly, and never had any issues, in fact I saw rapid improvement in his mobility from the beginning. Never had a urinary blockage or anything like that. I got some blood tests done before a dental when he was 16 and they came back perfect, he recovered from the anesthetic very well. The only medication he was on was a hormone regulator for his OCD.

Just a personal anecdote, not analytic or anything.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that their PRESCIPTION foods aren't good. They can definitely help when there is a health issue. I don't get the impression though that the original poster's cat has any health issues. None were mentioned anyway.

 

[Kflowers]

Personal experience only here, mine gained weight on the Science diet w/d, they maintained on the r/d.