Which Royal Canin vet food would be best for my kittens' irritable digestive systems?

Which Royal Canin vet food?

  • Sensitivity Control

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Gastrointestinal

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Neither! Something else I may very kindly explain :P

    Votes: 2 66.7%

  • Total voters
    3

aclmmb

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I have two kittens, eleven weeks old, who I posted about when they were first born as it was all very touch and go and there were a lot of complications with their mother etc. In any case, they survived - thrived, in fact! - and are very happy, sociable, bouncy little mischief-makers today. 

However, I did have problems weaning them at first: despite very gradually and carefully adjusting their diet onto a high-quality kitten food, they both (the smallest first) started getting diarrhea constantly, and quite a lot of fresh blood alongside. I tried to make their diet as simple as possible (eg chicken) and obviously wormed them etc, but it wasn't helping - though they were as active and energetic as ever. 

Anyway, the vet said they were completely fine, just greedy and sensitive so they were inflaming their guts. She gave me Royal Canin Sensitivity Control for them for a few weeks and that really seemed to work, poos became much more solid and normal etc. Then she said they could switch back to kitten food...but after a few weeks back on that it's happening again. So I'm going to buy some more Royal Canin in bulk, but I had a couple of questions:

- which Royal Canin should I get? I suspect the vet's surgery doesn't actually have many varieties in stock so she just gave me the most appropriate of what she had, and I didn't think to ask while there what I should buy in future as I didn't know the range yet. Sensitivity Control obviously works, but there is also a Gastrointestinal one, which obviously seems even more specifically aimed at their problems! Can anyone advise whether there's a huge difference or a reason, say, that the Sensitivity Control was actually a deliberate choice (eg more appropriate for kittens perhaps)?

- do you think they are going to potentially have sensitive digestive tracts their whole lives? I wonder whether something about their womb environment (they had two stillborn siblings) or start in life might have affected them. I've had cats younger than them before who have eaten anything and everything with no problem - these two want to as well, which is always difficult, as they're getting to the acrobatic age when they can reach everything if they really put their minds to it!

If they do have a tendency to digest poorly, what can I do to offset it or help them have an interesting diet that doesn't hurt them? ...Or is there a chance they'll grow out of it when they reach adulthood, especially if I can keep their intestines calmer now in kittenhood?

Thank you! Please let me know if you've any follow-up questions and sorry for my longwindedness... 
 
 
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Sorry you haven't gotten an answer yet.  I think I'd ask the Vet WHICH one to buy right now, since they are still having issues.  

How old are they now?  Have you discussed with your Vet perhaps giving them digestive enzymes and probiotics to aid them in their issues?  That might be of help...it's hard to say because I don't really know WHY they are having problems.  And because of that reason, it's hard to say whether or not this will be a life long issue. Again, perhaps your Vet can tell you.

Keep us posted on their progress
 

moorspede

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I started my first kitten on Royal Canin Kitten Instinctive Gravy and noticed she had problems digesting it so I changed her to Kitten Instinctive Jelly which seemed to be more gentle on her stomach. The real change happened, however, when I very gradually added a little raw meat, now I feed her half RC and half raw. She loves it and she seems healthier for it. 
 

manx

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I have to agree with missmimz on the raw. Raw seems to be very helpful with irritable bowels. There's frozen and freeze dried if you dont have the freezer space.

If raw doesn't do it for you, I suggest an all wet diet of LID foods. Merrick makes a good one. 

Rx foods are an expensive waste. Don't bother with them.
 

Kat0121

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I have to agree with missmimz on the raw. Raw seems to be very helpful with irritable bowels. There's frozen and freeze dried if you dont have the freezer space.

If raw doesn't do it for you, I suggest an all wet diet of LID foods. Merrick makes a good one. 

Rx foods are an expensive waste. Don't bother with them.
As do I. 

I also agree about RX foods being an expensive waste. I also think that Royal Canin foods in general are overpriced garbage. 
 

msserena

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I would go the natural route first, raw food & probiotics are a great start. Remember to keep them on the new diet for at least a week, kitty digestive systems are about 24 hours from mouth to poop. If they do have an issue that doesn't get cleared up, my cat had sensitive stomach issues her whole life. I tried food after food & this was before raw food was commercialized & I didn't think/know to try real meat. She was on Royal Canin Feline Hydrolyzed Protein Adult HP for practically 17 years. She did great on it, never took her to the vet until she became elderly. What I've learned is dry food is the absolute WORST thing to give your cat, as my cat ended up with kidney failure & a slew of other issues. If you have to feed a vet diet, try the canned first.
 

Ladewyn

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I would personally suggest a slow transition from the one you were using to raw, if you go that route. If when you start adding bits of raw in the first couple of days, they have major issues, you'll know that raw is causing problems, but it gives them time to adjust. Limited ingredient diets are also a good option. Otherwise, I suggest sticking to the vet's recommendation; if it works when nothing else does, sometimes that's all you can ask for
 
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oldgloryrags88

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I have not used either, but I vote for the sensitivty control. . .but those are prescription foods I think. Your vet is your best friend on this one.
 

Anne

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@aclmmb  this must be so  frustrating for you but at least you seem to have found something which may help, so you have some direction. Kittens do have more sensitive digestive systems so it's possible that this will sort itself out with age. Then again, they could have specific allergies which the RC food you tried happened to cover (as in not containing the allergen or allergens). 

What I think you should do is consult with a qualified pet veterinary nutritionist. They have the professional tools to evaluate your kittens' condition and if they suspect allergies, they can work with you on an elimination diet. You can find these professionals in the American College of Veterinary Nutrition website. I believe a few of them do phone/email consultations too.

A few members brought up raw here. Personally, I do not think feeding raw a good option in your case. I would not experiment with a potentially high-pathogenic load food on kittens this young that are prone to diarrhea. Raw/homemade is neither a simple nor a risk-free way to feed cats and it's not recommended by the AVMA or any other veterinary association. In fact, the AVMA specifically goes against feeding raw (though mostly due to public health concerns). IMHO it is a legitimate choice but one that should not be taken lightly and should come with the understanding that there is a learning curve. It works for some cats and owners but I dare say that not for most (according to our survey, only 1% of cat owners feed raw/homemade exclusively). 

And a friendly note to members who want to share their own positive experiences with feeding raw, please take a minute to read this post (stickied at the top of the nutrition forum): [thread="282314"]Recommending A Homemade Diet Hold Your Horses​[/thread]  Thank you! 
 

manx

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The Pottenger study is interesting and does clearly highlight that raw meat is essential to cats. However, it was to prove the importance of taurine in a cat's diet and not to prove raw is best. In the modern era, taurine is added to the cooked meat in cat food. While I agree that raw diets are superior in every way, this study is a good start but not ideal.

Anne, you say that raw foods are high in bacterial loads. But I'm quite certain most commerical raw diets are High Pressure Pasteurized. They are sterile. It is true that homemade raw could have a high bacterial load, but foods like Primal and Rad Cat do not (unless you leave it out on a hot summers day for hours!).

The founders of Rad Cat put their cat on raw because she had IBD, and after the switch, the cat no longer had issues.

I still vote for raw. At least give it a shot along with some proper probiotics :)

If you're still hesitant or scared of raw, then I highly suggest you do a 100% wet diet with an LID food such as Merrick.
 
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pegleg

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I was given Gastrointestinal and a probiotic for my fosters which took them from liquid to solid poo in less than a week, it then took a couple more weeks to transition them onto normal kitten food. Just my experience.
 

minka

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It doesn't even have to be raw, but I definitely wouldn't feed any more Royal Canin. If you look at the ingredients and are armed with the information that cats shouldn't have any carbs or vegetables in their diet, then you will know why.
Brands like Soulistic and Tiki Cat and a few other wet foods that are very low or no carb are a good choice.
 
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