Nov. 13, 2024

Royal Canin Cat Food Reviews

XX
Top 5 Ingredients*
  1. Chicken meal

  2. Brown rice

  3. Rice

  4. Corn

  5. Corn gluten meal

Artificial Ingredients No
Contains By-products Yes
Price Range $$
*Royal Canin INDOOR Adult 27® was selected as the recipe for this ingredient list
What's good about this pet food
  • Good proteins
What's not so good about this pet food
  • Corn
  • Corn gluten meal
  • Excessive Fillers

Our Analysis

Some cat owners need to know that they are feeding their felines the finest food on the market. Many cat lovers have gravitated to Royal Canin’s lineup of food products, believing that the brand offers better nutrition and superior ingredients to other brands. The fact of the matter is that while Royal Canin offers a number of terrific cat food options which are well-liked by cats and cat owners, the company sometimes includes too many filler ingredients to their products.

Although the main ingredients included in Royal Canin cat food are top notch, the company has a tendency to include corn, and corn gluten meal, as well as some other filler type ingredients which do not offer good nutrition. In fact, some cats are allergic to these types of ingredients. Regardless, Royal Canin cat food is legitimately superior to most other brands, and its ingredients are, for the most part, the finest used in the industry.

The Word on the Street...

Royal Canin Cat Food gets some very mixed reviews from consumers who have fd it to their cats. In general, the brand is beloved by some kitties who are quite fond of the flavor, but it is not recommended very highly by cat owners whose feline friends have allergies. Many of the reviews noted that the primary ingredients in Royal Canin Cat Food are grains and carbohydrates. Such high quantities of these types of ingredients can often lead to loose stools or exacerbated allergies.

On the other hand, Royal Canin’s Special 33 formula, which is designed for cats with sensitive stomachs, is reviewed very positively. Cat owners have said that this food is the only one which has had a calming effect on unsettled stomachs. In fact, this blend gets almost unanimously positive reviews. Customers who have purchased the brand’s canned lines of food are also happy with the products, with many cat owners noting that Royal Canin is their preferred choice.

  • Mind-boggled

    My cat, Sierra, has been eating Royal Canin ever since I adopted her from the Petco Adoption Center (Silicon Valley Humane Society) when she was a kitten. This was the food brand they were giving her at the time and I didn’t question it. Now, she’s three years old, going on four this year. Unless I was blind-sighted–Sierra never had a problem with Royal Canin.

    Last October, I decided to stop at Pet Express instead of Petco (where I usually go since it was closer to my work). I couldn’t find Royal Canin, so I asked the saleslady where it was. Her response was that they had pulled Royal Canin off the shelves and would no longer be selling it due to its drastic change in ingredients–the replacement of “chicken-by- products.” My frantic thoughts?–I was never told this, I never heard of this before, but if a store like Pet Express is pulling Royal Canin off the shelves, it must be for a good reason. Well, this one trip to the store completely made me go out and try another cat food brand.

    I tried Taste of the Wild–with all natural ingredients–which my cat liked for awhile until I noticed her dry food pieces were half eaten. Then, one morning I woke up and noticed she pulled out her old cat food bag (I forgot that I still had her previous bag of Royal Canin in her cat food bin). After that, I did more research and put her on Wellness Core for Indoor Cats–“grain-free.” She seemed like she liked it, but she was eating quite a lot and drinking more water to compensate for the strong amounts of protein she was eating. Recently, I took my cat to her vet and inquired about her food. The vet said I fell for “marketing scam.” Due to this whole grain-free, gluten-free, all organic movement, a lot of cat food brands are trying to take down the top two cat brands: Royal Canin and Science Diet. He continued to explain to me that grain is actually a natural ingredient for wild cats. Ex: cats eat mice, whom, their primary nutrients come from grain. Obviously the choice of her food was up to me, but this made me question the entire Royal Canin predicament all over again.

    After doing more research, I found that many veterinarians passionately support Royal Canin, and state that they are one of the few who do have proven test results and test their formulas 100% on a regular basis. Apparently, veterinarians are given very little shelf space to promote pet foods in local stores. Thus, when they do, they only promote the brands they are most passionate about. Although Royal Canin is using chicken-by-products, it is said they are still the highest quality and consist of all the essential nutrients a cat needs. This leaves me with one question. What should I believe? I recently put Sierra back on Royal Canin, but due to the mix reviews I honestly don’t know if I feel comfortable. My gut is leaning towards changing her food again, despite the fact that my cat, for most of her life, has had zero problems with Royal Canin.

  • jeh4274

    My wife and I moved from Europe to the USA and took our Persian feline with us. He had been eating RC Persian for years in Europe with no problems. As soon as he starting eating RC Persian produced in America, he starting vomiting profusely. I checked the ingredients on the bag of RC from Europe and compared them to the ingredients on the bag from the US and low and behold, the ingredients couldn’t be more different. The food produced in Europe was with Chicken and dehydrated chicken with no NO wheat gluten. The food produced in the US was with chicken by-product and loaded with soy and wheat grain proteins.

  • Poupon Marx

    I had fed our 2 cats that passed (both over 15 years old) Royal Canine dry food and Friskies Wet Food. Two new cats get the Arome Dry Food and about 1/2 can of Friskies canned food. And they do just fine. No vomiting, good weight control, etc.

    Many owners fret too much about the cat’s diet. It’s neurotic. I watched my cats in the past eat mice, guts and all, with fur, creating the head and leaving only the feet. Same with birds.

    Start them out on reasonable, middle price food and most will be fine.
    These boutique food companies (organic, venison, etc) are totally unnecessary in the great majority of cases. Wise up.

  • Nightchime

    My cat has been eating the Royal Canin Duck and Pea for many years due to allergies. She did well for several of those years and now has developed borderline hypothyroidism, IBD and has had very poor oral health. I called Royal Canin and asked them a few questions. Firstly, I discovered that the corn, wheat and soy they use in the pet food are GMO’s. They said that they did not believe this was harmful to any organism or the planet. WHAT! This pet food is owned by Mars and they are not only in the pet food business nor do they have our beloved furry angels best interest in mind. Also, the cans they use have a plastic liner in them that contains BPH and BHA. The representative at Royal Canin also told me these chemicals were not harmful. If this is harmful to humans it is harmful to our animals. Look this up folks! Please! This plastic causes hypothyroidism and the GMO’s cause tumors and so many other horrible diseases. So many of these issues our cats are developing are because of the foods they are eating and just because the Vet says so does not mean we should forgo our own homework. I found Hound & Gato to have a very good cat food with limited ingredients and a novel protein for those with allergies. I spoke with the president of the company as he was flying to another state. He took my call and answered all my questions personally. This is transparency and the product is canned and sourced with sustainable and quality ingredients. There is no plastic liner inside of the cans and the liver is the same protein as the meat. This is where some pet food companies put in chicken liver or another source of taurine that is different than the main meat source and this can potentially create more allergies. Good luck! Call your pet food company and ask them these questions and see if they are willing to share the truth.

  • HelenBackAgain

    Royal Canin, two different formulas, gave my cats severe diarrhea. Horrible, stinky, yellow, liquid diarrhea, with bloating. One of them also started vomiting, extremely uncharacteristic for him.

    Within a DAY after switching to the applicable Purina (for the one with urinary crystallization) and Blue Buffalo (for the one with allergies) formulas, all symptoms stopped completely and they were fine.

    I will never give them Royal Canin again.

  • bubby

    My 15 year old spayed female is diabetic, I give her a shot of insulin in a.m. and p.m. daily. Vet recommended a couple of foods for Diabetic Cats. I tried Royal Canin Diabetic kibble and cans. Cat is doing well, for her age and condition, but all the information about sick cats and dogs after they ate Royal Canin foods has me very worried. I figured her lethargy was from old age and being overweight. Vet said to continue on same regimen, as cat is doing well on it so far. Called Royal Canin and questioned person on phone extensively about recall, reports of pet problems from the food, etc. She said last recall was 2007. I’ve read complaints (personal stories) on web dated 2014, as recently as October (current month). I’ll check the FDA pet food recall website, but if this is the “early days” of a problem, it may be there is no information officially out there yet. I will check this website for more info, and add any relevant info I might find. I don’t do facebook or twitter, so I hope this can go to the discussion at this website.

  • Nona Graham

    My 15 year old boy ate Royal Canin Mature Active for years with no problems. He liked the food and believe me, he is a real fuss about his food. Then the company discontinued the formula. We couldn’t find anything that he would eat reliably. Just around Christmas of 2013 we were so happy to find that the company had a new formula called Aging. He ate the sample and proceeded to eat his way through the bigger bags but his enthusiasm with the food had waned. Some months ago now he started to have problems with diarrhea. I cut out all the can food thinking that this must be the problem. He only ever ate a few spoonfuls of can food but I was sure this was the solution. The diarrhea just got worse – he gets cramps, has gas, the stools are mush and SMELL to high heaven, worst of all is that he seldom makes it to the cat box and often soils himself in his sleep. I am ashamed to admit that I did not even connect his problems with the new food – I figured that as he had eaten Royal Canin for years, the new food would cause no problems. His vet isn’t terribly helpful and recommended prescription foods which he won’t eat. Right now I am reduced to feeding jars of baby food (meat only). Won’t be buying any more bags of Aging – wish they would stop tinkering around with the formulas – it is so disruptive to keep having to switch formulas just because the company decides to change all their food every couple of years.

  • Kate Oldershaw

    WE have 4 Maine coon Cats, 2 boys 2 girls. One boy as loads of allergies and has 5mg Prednisolone every 3rd day to prevent outbreaks. Our other boy has a very dense coat and is prone to furballs. We feed a 50- 50 ix of RC Maine Coon and Intense Hairball 33. We have oticed that the cats, although without furrballs most of time, have started to vomit for no aparent reason but most worryingly of all is their change in behaviour. Our elder boy, always the most docile of chaps has become v. aggressive to one of the girls, leading to her obsessive grooming and plucking her tummy bald. Now the other female has become aggressive towards her too. Both older male and victim female have been on 2.5mg of ADT (Ameltriptyine) for over 4 months. As soon as we start to reduce the dose the aggression returns as does the obsessive grooming. We are seriously beginning to wonder if Royal Canin has a role to play in this behaviour changes. Is this something you’ve come across before. We’ve recently discoverd Orijen foods but are a tad concerned at the very high costs involved with 6 pets.

    • Jenny

      I experienced a very similar situation as you described, where one of our four cats seems to be more aggressive when on royal canin and Two have been vomiting more frequently (one of whom is very un-characteristic of him, not even hair balls). Ive also noticed more wax build up in his ears and brown secretions in the corner of his eyes.

      Have you changed your cats food? If so which one? Has the aggression stopped?

  • islander

    As kittens my two abbys were fed Royal Canin by the breeder so we continued and they thrived on the Royal Canin kibbles for about four years.
    A couple of year ago they started throwing up frequently, sometimes kibbles and sometimes bile and kibbles.
    I tried feeding them from a cookie sheet so that they did not gulp down the food, which maybe helped a little, but not significantly.
    Now after a couple of years of this daily vomiting my hardwood floors are ruined, and three weeks ago after three throw ups in the morning, in desperation, I tried another brand of kibbles and they have not thrown up since.
    I was reluctant to do this as in every other way they thrive. Coats are beautiful and they are lively and full of fun. I wondered if maybe you had a change in formula

  • A.Dempsey

    I love my cat and feed her one can of wet food per night in addition to a half cup bowl of dry food. After searching for the most healthy dry food i chose Wellness Core. She eagerly awaits her daily can of wet food and only eats her dry food cause she has to. So before getting her a new bag of the same stuff i noticed Royal Canin has a 3 bag sample pack. I thought Cool, because i have purchased different brands before only to return it when she turned her nose. Thank god Pet smart is ok with returns and exchanges. The sample pack included a Savory, Protein and Aromatic. She absolutely Loves them All! I was Thrilled until i checked the reviews of all the horror stories regarding vomiting, diarrhea etc.. Please please please tell me RC is not as bad as they say.. I just want the healthiest food my cat will enjoy. Thank you for any advice/info A. Dempsey

    • Melissa

      Hi

      I feed my cat RC everyday, one pouch of wetfood and then the rest in dryfood.

      He is very healthy, got nothing wrong with his stool or stomach and has NEVER thrown up…

  • Bev

    Took my cat to a new vet for a bladder infection. Because she just “inhales” the small cat biscuits he recommended RC Dental. I loved the size of the biscuits and she took to them immediately. But she started having loose stools and although I stopped giving her the biscuits – the loose stools are still happening. The vet suggested I give them to her as treats – but she can’t tolerate them. I’m beginning to wonder if she is ever going back to normal – or I am going to have to take her back to the vet for the stool problem. Anyone had this problem – how long did it take for your cat to get back to normal stools. I am concerned for her.

    • Jen

      She will get better when you change her brand,I was worried about mine when she started diarrhea and changed.read the reviews you will find many like you.all the best

  • Erica

    Two of my cats who had eaten Wellness canned chicken food for the past five plus years developed diarrhea. We thought it was related to eating cooked chicken begging dinner treat (shared with the humans). Wellness canned consistency has been uneven for the past few months and my vet thought that their illness might be related to Wellness. Both were put on antibiotics and then prednisone and i was instructed to feed them Royal Canin gastro high fiber. For several days, their diarrhea persisted and now almost two weeks later their stools are formed sort of but still have mushy consistency and are huge and stink. My vet says to stick with the RC. My third cat who had recent dental surgery was just moved to the same diet and she had no problems previously and now her stools are also mostly formed huge and smelly. I am not sure this is an improvement. All three cats had been on grain free wellness and wonder if the stink and the mashed potato stools is due to grain. This is not a good long term solution in my mind though since i do not know what to do as the vet says stay the course. All three cats had dark brown well formed solid stools that had no odor on Wellness canned and this is not an improvement. NOt thrilled .

  • Jackson

    The Royal Canin Feline Gastrointestinal High Energy dry cat food is great for helping kitties with short term or long term/chronic diarrhea, loose stools, or vomiting. It helps get the kitties gastrointestinal systems back on track. This particular product can be purchased from a veterinarian.

  • Carol Godwin

    My current bag of Gastrointestinal HD Royal Canin was manufactured last May. It makes my cat vomit violently but Royal Canin says they have no reports of problems. Told me to get my money back from the vet. Any suggestions for a safe cat food?

  • John Hsieh

    I switched my kitty to Royal Canin wet and dry food for kittens and the next day she started vomiting. The day after that she stopped eating any food and continues to vomit bile. She stopped being playful and meows strangely.

    • j

      Hi there, My kitten has the exact same symptoms. How is your kitten now?Desperate owner,please help

      • YoungVolcanos

        see my post below in reply to susie wong

  • Susie Wong

    When I feed my cats the Royal Canin kitten canned
    food, or the baby cat canned food they get so
    sick they almost die! I fed my momma cat a can of
    this 2 weeks ago, she had diarea for 2 days and just laid on her shelf. I thought I would loose her
    and her litter. I kept giving her water from a syringe and she eventually came out of her lethargic state. She is fine now and her litter is fine. I will never feed any of my kitties the canned Royal Canin again. They do seem to be okay on the dry Royal Canin Persian food. And the kittens seem to do okay on the baby cat dry, but not the 2nd step kitten dry. The 2nd step kitten dry gives them sticky stool, not diarea, but stool that sticks to their fur.
    Does any one have this problem?
    I would love to hear from you if you have experienced the same problem. Thank You.

    • YoungVolcanos

      I am horrified beyond words that my now deceased young healthy cat of 5 years may have died because of royal canin. Hindsight is 20/20 and only now do I notice that feeding her RC made her worse, while cheapo cat food like fancy feast DIDNT make her vomit. Its too horrifying for words to think about.

  • Caveat Emptor

    Cats are carnivores. The HP hypoallergenic food has no — zero — meat in it. The protein is soy based. If your cat recovers from what ails him or her while on this food, that’s great, but I caution that there is no long-term testing for this food as an exclusive diet (which is similar to almost all foods out there). Cats and dogs are not cows. There is no reason for any manufacturer to make, or a vet to prescribe, what is essentially an exclusive diet of beans to a carnivore that needs the nutrients in meat.

    My 9 year old tabby just died Saturday from acute renal failure after being on this food exclusively for over a year under doctor’s orders for an unrelated issue. Then I discovered a few months ago — perhaps too late — the truth behind this diet: no meat in the ingredients. I was gradually taking her off it towards very good highly-rated meat-based products (wet and dry Blue Buffalo Wilderness and Wellness grain-free) when she developed the condition that killed her. I do not know if this food was part of the cause, but she was not metabolizing her food properly for quite some time as kidney stones had formed.

    Of course, this is anecdotal evidence. However, common sense tells me that the absence of meat is not good for any carnivore. Royal Canin is also replacing chicken with meat by-products in its other formulas, ingredients which should be avoided. Read the labels. Get educated.

    If it works, fine. But please monitor your animal while on it, and afterwards. Wet food is best to ensure your cat ingests enough water, which is often a deficit with a pure kibble diet that can damage kidneys. The ConsumerAffairs website has many horror stories about Royal Canin products. My little friend might still be with me if I read up on this food earlier.

    • Bill Valle

      I’m writing the company RC about the hell my dog and myself has gone through and also ruined 2 visits to see my daughters. After researching the symptoms and correlating with RC urinary SO moderate calorie I found the culprit. My dog Lucy is a 17 year old Pembroke Corgi that developed bladder stones and we decided to try the acidic diet that had worked before. Previously she had used both Hills and Royal Canin prescription diets and both worked well and were reasonable tolerated. This last batch of dry SO seems to have caused severe gastrointestinal stress requiring several visits with associated tests and x-rays. I’m convinced the dry SO is bad, but I’m not even going to try the moist again. I’m thinking of suing the company and at minimum contacting them.

  • Linda

    Think 2 about buying unless you want a dead pet. Check out all review. I have a cat I may loose and has been on this brand for 4 years…. something is bad and company will not recall.

    Also know about the other brands this company owns it could effect your family

    Look at the other products that this company owns and think do you really want your friend/family using product that caused problems to your pet….. this company does not care about you, your pets and most likely your family. Just try calling the customer service people.

    According to Wikipedia they also own the following companies Milky Way, M&M’s, Twix, Skittles, Snickers, and the Mars bar. They also produce non-confectionery snacks, such as Combos, and other foods, including Uncle Ben’s Rice and pasta sauce brand Dolmio, as well as pet foods, such as Whiskas and Pedigree brands.
    Orbit gum is among the most popular brands, managed by the Mars subsidiary brand Wrigley. During World War II, Wrigley was selling their eponymous gum only to soldiers, while Orbit was the gum made available to the public. Though abandoned shortly after the war, about 60 years later Orbit made a comeback in America during the gum craze
    Tell your friend/ family

  • Alison

    My cat has been on the venison and pea formula for sensitive stomachs. That’s all he would eat and ate a ton of it. Since their recent formula change, my cat won’t touch it. Anyone have any recommendations? This is really frustrating because I would rather just pay more money for something my cat would eat rather than them changing the formula to gain more money. Ridiculous.

  • Dena Slocum

    My cat used to love the old Royal Canin formula of wet foods but will not eat the new “thin sliced” formula. Quit buying it and am very disappointed at the brand.

  • Britta

    I have been feeding Urinary SO by Royal Canin to my male cat. However I was wondering if there is an alternative brand (without prescription needed, I hate being held hostage by my vet to get this prescription)that would be compatible? I think the Urinary SO is low in ashes and that is why it is recommended for bladder problems…If I would feed a organic brand like “Newman’s own” would that be automatically low in ashes since it is organic?
    Does anybody know?

    • Haley

      I am in the EXACT same boat. I’m so frustrated by this situation because I feel tied to the food (and the veterinarian for prescriptions). Please let me know if you find any help in regards to this, I hate feeding him bad quality food but I’m worried about the ash content of others! :(

    • Brenda

      To Britta, about the Urinary SO – I had the same thing with my girl cat – then all the cats decided they liked it (since it was the most expensive?!). I recently found “First Mate” which is low ash and specifically says it’s good for urinary issues. Very inexpensive in comparison, high quality, high protein, low fat – both flavours are good (fish/blueberry) (chicken/blueberry) and the cats all like it. We have switched to this brand and use the smaller packages of Origen to switch it up, and once in a while, the Royal Canin special 33.

  • Steve Tara

    I had fed my cats Hills then as that brand was high in fat, I tried RC, one problem is the cats get a little over weight, but we are reducing the amount, this new info made me think as my cats sneeze a lot, one of my cats, she is 15 for years has had abdominal problems that the Lort Smith Animal Hospital could not diagnose and much research is needed here. I want to try an organic food the new “Nutro” I want to give a go as it is all natural the hypoallergenic may be okay and the dental formula but I am paranoid about possible GMO contamination and hearing all this filler info has me concerned so I’ll probably change brands.

  • Carolyn H.

    I purchased the Royal Canin Siamese 38 for my Siamese cats two weeks ago. My cats both seemed to love it and the bag is almost empty. I didn’t read the ingredients when I purchased it, being that the small package costed $19.99, I assumed that it was of premium quality and ingredients. Quite the contrary, it is filled with corn and other unhealthy fillers. My male cat has suddenly come down with a urinary problem since starting this food. He can only urinate a little bit at a time for, at least, the past three days. It seems to get better at times but goes back to worst. I have stopped feeding this food to him and taking him to the vet first thing in the morning.

  • Doublecats

    There was a formula change in Royal Canin dry Formula 33 for sensitive stomachs when I bought a new bag in January. The company had taped a small attachment to the front of the bag that I should gradually introduce the new formula into my remaining supply of the old formula. Easier said than done when one is down to the last of the bag and that’s why one has gone to the pet store to buy a new bag! Give me a break…

    The new formula has had both of my cats vomiting daily for two and a half to three weeks. My younger cat (4) hardly ever vomited before this. My older cat (12) is the one with the sensitive stomach. They both did great on Formula 33 before the formula change. Not only did I have vomiting, but the older cat had yellow, smelly diarrhea that was so awful that he wouldn’t even cover it in the box, even after a complete litter change!

    After completely switching them to another dry food, in one day, the vomiting and diarrhea stopped.

    I have no beef with the Royal Canin canned foods. Both the cats and I like them, and the cats don’t vomit when they eat them.

    Since I put dry food into a plastic container when I come home from the store, I don’t have an old bag to compare for whatever the ingredient change was. I believe, though, that they have added corn. I think when I originally bought this that it had only wheat or wheat gluten in it.

  • Adrienne

    My cat has been on MediCal which changed to Royal Canin since she was a baby. She is now 14. With the name change on the packaging and the new recipe, my cat developed severe allergies within two weeks of me buying the new bag of food . We are trying to get her allergies to calm down and her skin lesions healed. We have switched her to a new food containing rabbit at our vet’s advice. We also have her on meds to fix her stomach and to heal her skin.

    When I was at the pet food store the other day, the lady told me I was the 3rd person that day whose cat is now allergic to Royal Canin dry food.

    If your cat is scratching, or throwing up or has diarrhea, it is probably a food allergy. Please change the food before the reaction becomes really serious.

  • pitah chips

    I Amz a Cat and my owners feed mez royal canin! I love what iz eats. I feels healthy and playful and full when iz be eating royal canin. I haz a instagram @pitahchips that I post pictures of me eating royal canin foods and other cute pictures!

    • Debbie

      Your cat would be so embarassed with the baby language.

  • Shelli

    Our cat has been on the SO urinary dry foodfor a year and a half
    , ever since he had crystals. Almost every morning when i go to feed him, he has thrown up globs of the previous nights food. He still acts pretty normal but constantly begs for our food.imn getting tired of cleaning up every morning, Is the food too rich or is it expanding in his stomach and he throws it up so he doesn’t choke?

    • susan

      Shelli, I would stop feeding your cat royal canin so. MY cat was prescribed the same food and vomited for several days. I have two other cats that ate this food too and vomited also. I thought I was buying the best cat food you could buy but I was wrong. When I would come home from work my house had an odor like a pesticide.
      one of my cats died almost two weeks later. I stopped feeding the food to my other cats and the vomiting stopped. The pesticide odor in my home is also gone. I’m giving my cat
      1/4 tea of organic cider vinegar mixed 1/4 of purified water 3 times a
      day and she is doing great.

  • Charlotte

    My male cat (7)was vomiting,stopped eating for a over a week. All tests at Vet showed nothing.Gave med’s & fed thru syringe.Results possible allergies. Put on the duck formula of Royal Canin Hypoallergenic wet & the dry food.Had been feeding Hills a/d thru syringe & now mixing with the duck. Then diarrhea…now constipation & maybe eating 1/2 cup of the dry duck. I have read about Blue Buffalo grain free & wonder if I should try that. I’m concerned now that his poop is more marble like. Any advice out there? if can relate. The problem has not ended even though my cat weighs 12 lbs & don’t think he is losing. There is a Venison formula of Royal Canin & wondered if should switch to that & see if he likes better. Thank you for any advise. Charlotte

  • Corinne

    My cat has been on the Urinary dry food for 6 years. Recently I noticed a change in the formula color. She is now vomiting everyday and has diarrhea and looks like blood in it. Has anyone else had a cat that has reacted to the formula change?

    • Karyn

      My Cat has been on canned urinary so for almost a year-i don’t know if it’s formula color seems lighter. but yesterday he vomited his dinner and this morning his breakfast as soon as he ate it. hoping it because he ate too much too fast. I do give him sm amounts of a no grain dry .he did not throw that up.

      Please see your vet bring in stool sample taste for parasites ,bacteria so they can rule that out

      and google blood in stools-IBT Lot’s of info

      I have a female cat got very ill blood .muscus for years she ate dry food .with grains only with no problems. As she is older she can not digest corn -I have her on a no grain and a high quality can.sometimes she will have a tinge a blood in stool -and i try to figure out what caused the flare-up

    • FraidyCat

      One of my cats has also been on the SO Moderate Calorie dry for over a year now. I don’t like the stuff, but it does work. However, the last bag I bought from my vet’s office was in early January. I opened it up and noticed a chemical-ly smell (best I can describe). Definitely NOT the usual smell. And it was lighter in color. My cat turned his nose up at it. So did the other three. Royal Canin insists no formula changes, and she must have taken me for stupid b/c she said that the sourced ingredients can be different at different times of the year. “I compare it to strawberries in the winter to strawberries in the summer.” Are you kidding me??? The vet took the bag back, and allowed me to open another bag. Different run/lot, same smell. I bought the regular SO, which didn’t smell like the other. But now I feel like I have to find something else b/c I won’t feed my cats crap. Period. I’m interested in hearing any other complaints. Did yours smell odd???

      • susan

        I bought a bag of royal canin urinary so from my vet. The cats ate the food for almost two weeks. One of my cats vomited and died. I noticed a strange odor in my house. It smelled like pesticide mixed with something rotten. As soon as I took the food away the smell was gone.

        • Diana

          I hope you raised hell!

    • Debbie

      Years ago I switched my cat from a cheap grocery store brand to one of the “good” expensive brands and he had blood in his stool right away. The vet said I didn’t switch him over gradually and that was the problem. Personally I thought anything that makes him has blood in his poop isn’t good. I put him back on the cheaper brand and he and my other cat lived long healthy lives. The same went for my dogs. When I tried to put them on the “good” food something always happened or they wouldn’t eat it. Fed them Pedigree and our German Shepherd lived to age 14 and my Australian Shepherd lived to age 14 as well of simply old age. I think this rich “good” foods are giving our animals cancer. Won’t go into detail, but I have seen it over and over with people who have fed them the best and their dogs are dying (having to be put down) around age 7 with different types of cancer. I am sticking with my cheap food.

    • Sylvie, Laval

      I have 2 Persian cats that were on Medi cal urinary SO for several years. I went to the vet 2 weeks ago to get some more only to find out that they had switched to Royal Canin SO. Within 2 days,, both cats started vomiting to the point that I came very close to had my beautiful cat euthanized as he was so sick and lost a lot of weight. I switched back to his old food and after 10 days, he finally began to eat a bit more and had to take him to the vet to get a shot to stop him vomiting. I find it very very sad that they sell us that food without telling us of the risks. It’s appalling to see that even at the vet, they don’t inform you that they’ve changed their brand without any warnings.

  • Rhonda

    I have a kitty with Eosiniphilic Granuloma Complex and food allergies. I was sent home with Medi-Cal HP – basically a vegan diet for a meat-eater. Not only has her symptoms INCREASED, which instead of costing me $110 every 4 months for treatment and injectible, but is now costing me $110 EVERY MONTH PLUS THE $70 food! In short, this food is causing major allergic reactions in her and if I don’t get her off of it, she’ll be dead before my next birthday.

    I am going to a meat only diet for her that consists of duck and rabbit because her symptoms are so bad that one of these days, the allergy is going to eat away at all the skin on her nose – yes, her nose because it’s constantly running and the skin is eroding away!

  • Olga

    I feed my cat RC for the last 8 years. She is healthy, her coat is shiny, she loves it. I am going to continue.

  • Morgan

    There is no reason on earth why any pet food should a) require a prescription and/or a special location to buy it; b) cost so much, particularly when cheap fillers such as corn and rice make up the bulk of its ingredients; and c) have the monopoly on the pet food market when it comes to certain health conditions, such as renal function and protein/phosphorous levels in its food. Seems mighty suspicious to me. Somewhere out there are a bunch of fat cats, and they’re not the ones eating this stuff.

  • Brynn

    Our kitten was already eating Royal Canin when we purchased him. He loves this food and has refused all other types. We tried Innova, Avoderm, and Blue catfood and he wouldn’t eat any of it. We’ve tried dry and moist foods. He does like croissants, though.

    • dena

      This was my cat too until they changed the formulation. Now he doesn’t eat anything but treats and dry food.

  • Priscilla

    My experience with Royal Canin is similar to one of your reviewers. My cat has been on the Urinary SO formula for about 3 years as well. I haven’t had any issues since using the product. However, I recently heard a news report about the rise in cancer and diabetes in our pet community. According to new studies, the blame seems to be leaning toward the foods we feed our pets, especially the foods containing by-products or that don’t say that their product has undergone Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures. I guess raw food is one way to go except which raw foods would I give my cat with a history of crystals?

  • mary awkward

    My litle angel is 10 years old. She was throwing up hair balls almost everyday and had awful dandruff. Using Royal Canin she will throw up about once every 10 days or so and her dandruff problem no longer exist. She doesn’t eat as much now and she only visits the litter box every other day. I think that’s because she eats very little. She appears to like the food. She’s been eating it about 3 weeks now. Wish I could find something for her arthritis.

    • Esther

      I use a supplement that has done amazing things for my cats arthritis. It’s called “orthoplex”, it’s pricey but a bottle lasts about 2 months

  • Sara Branch

    Royal Canin is one of the only companies that has done research on both kibble size and shape and hardness, so they are able to offer more of a dental benefit while still making kibble shapes that are more appealing and palatable to even fussy or special needs kitties. However, the review is spot on that they include too many fillers and corn gluten. I (and my kitties) really liked their Sensible Choice product which was reasonably priced (cheaper than the Royal Canin line) and had no corn fillers. I have yet to find another product that is as high quality for the same money that my cats all like consistently. The only high spot in the Royal Canin line for me was the Royal Canin Special. I had a kitty that had Chronic Renal Failure and wouldn’t eat anything, but she actually put her head into the bag to eat the Special.

  • Tracy

    trying out the breed specific dry brand for Maine Coon cats was the first time i ever saw my coon crunch. his teeth are much healthier, his eating habits have improved vastly and his coat is less oily and softer.

    conversely, one of the other cats, not a coon, who does have skin allergies tried some and her issues seem to be exacerbated (although that could be seasonal)

    of course now we’re stuck paying premium price for what amounts to dog sized kibbles. i’ll admitif purina naturals or another trusted source came out with a larger “bite”, we’d definitely try it.

  • Jenny

    I had bottle fed kittens that I couldn’t find any other kibbles they could chew well even when soaked. The kitten kibble is very small size and quite soft compared to other brands. I would recommend it over anything else for very young kittens that are just being weaned. I was feeding a mix of kibble, a little canned meat, and kitten milk formula at the time.

  • Tamsin

    Last year my cat became very sick and would not eat or drink, had liquid stool and there was cases of vomiting.
    The vets where no help and could not say what was wrong so I syringe fed her water and Royal Canin’s Medi-care Recovery Wet food, which due to the fine consistency was easy to syringe and good for extra water. This seemed to help her improve.
    Very soon she was no longer vomiting and after a while there was no more liquid stool. Not long after she could eat or drink herself again.
    I am wondering though if it is truly healthy for cats or not and if I should buy it again in case she becomes ill again or if I should look for a different esay to feed wet food. Does anyone have any suggestions?

  • Christine

    I have 3 cats, Devon Rex breed. One kitty has chronic gastris which is ends up going to the clinic every couple of months to get fluids and injection to stop the vomiting etc. Very costly.
    The male, Luke, has a sensitive stomach and can not each mich at a time because he gobbles it all up and throws it back up, the last kitty a female has a pancreas problem where she gets not enough nutrition out of her food and is hungry all the time.
    Last months the had to spend time in boarding in the vet clinic because our house was flooded and it needed to be rebuild. The vet all love them and the have the run of the back rooms so it was an ideal solution because she would look at their digestive problems at the same time. To make a long story short, they tried them on Royal Canin gastrointestinal high energy RX diet and they all 3 did well on it they said. Luke, the picky and sensitive male eater even ate this with gusto. All happy.
    Until we were able to move back into our home and the cats were ready to come home too I noticed the lost a lot of hair. Now if you know the Devon Rex breed you know they already have little fur, mostly curly single coat.
    Luke the male is all bald on his underside and his neck now and he is real skinny. He is itchy beyond believe and his fur is still falling out. The smallest female is the worst the one with the pancreas problem She had a full coat of white curly fur that she is now pulling out by clumps and is till hungry all day no matter how much you feed her. Than the last female with the chronic gastritis is the only one who’s fur is not falling out but she has started to vomit again.
    I’ve searched the net but can not find much info on this royal canin gastrointestinal high energy, I HATE the ingredients, I used to feed them food with max 5 ingredients and no grains and no kibble. This Royal Canin is canned food also, a kind of pate. They like to eat it, that’s not the problem, my problem is with their coat and itchiness. I’m switching them this weekend to the regular brand. If anyone has more information on this problem with their fur I would like to hear it and contact Royal Canin.

    • morganthekat

      Christine, my cat is having the same problems, it is causing such a loud rumbling in her stomach, I can hear every bite of food going through her stomach. I am assuming this is gastritis. Sometimes she gets this retching sound, as though she is trying to throw up but can’t. Sometimes I can hear her cry at the litter box and I don’t know why. When I look at her stools they look soft, but like there is no substance there just air filled fillers. What did you do for your cats GASTIRIS. I have to help her with that and change foods I think. Her vet says there is nothing wrong with her. Please help me help my kitty.

  • Nancy Cook

    I’ve been feeding my cat Royan Canin Hypoallergenic HP (Hydrolyzed Protein) dry cat food for about 3 years. She has skin allergies & this is what her Vet (who specializes in pets with allergies) recommended along with other treatments. She loves it & have no problems with her eating it with gusto!
    List of ingredients starts out with: Brewers Rice, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Chicken Fat… No signs of Gluten, Wheat or Corn! Maybe the other varieties use these products – have only tried the HP. I’m happy with the product & appreciate the occasional “free bag” after purchasing enough bags to qualify (don’t remember the # at the moment – my Vet’s office keeps track of them).

  • Dee

    I bought a new supply of Royal Canin low fat canned cat food last week. She ate just a little of the first can, whereas she had gobbled it in the past. For the rest of the day and night, she refused to eat anything and was obviously sick. I had her checked by the vet and then changed to a different low fat food, which she responded to. I plan to return the two month supply of Royal Canin to Pet Smart as there is, obviously, something wrong with it.

    • martha

      My cat has been eating Royal Canin SO.(morsels) He loved the cans dated 04/21/2013. The next case dated 09/28/2013 he won’t touch. It smells bad and is a little lighter in color. I think it’s a bad batch.

    • Erika Keddy

      My cat was eating medical and I had to switch them to Royal Canin. I tried 3 days in a row and they refused to eat it. It was a soft food for mature cats and they are not fussy eaters. I was told that Royal Canin and Medi cal were the same food. They are not.

  • Amy

    After a 5 days in the vet with a urinary blockage and $1,300 later, my cat started on the Urinary SO formula. He’s been eating it for almost 3 years without any food related or (especially important) blockage issues. After watching my cat almost die, I will continue to feed him this food as I no longer trust any other brand.

  • janitav

    Samantha,
    Vets do not get any extra money for recommending specific diets. They recommend these diets because they are the only ones which have studies proving what they are claiming (ie prevention of crystals in bladder) I do not know of any studies proving that grain free diets will prevent your pet from getting crystal/stones or any other health problems. Grains are NOT the only problem in pet foods.

    • diana

      Of course they don’t, most vets don’t know anything about nutrition as it is NOT part of most programs. The vets however, do make money on the food. It is easy to have some prescription diet on hand to recommend. When my cat developed crystals, I was told to put him on the crystal Royal Canin. When I read the ingredients and asked my vet to explain what each was for and he couldn’t I knew this was bogus. I did research and realized that feeding my cat a species specific diet made so much sense. And I did, with extra water in his raw diet he has had no trouble. My vet agrees he is one of the healthiest cats he has now, even though he doesn’t agree with raw. Breed specific food is ridiculous, and no scientific proof to back that up other than what the cat food companies will tell you. Dental hard food is a joke…asked every vet I know and told the same thing….does not work. Brush their teeth or use dental toys. Besides why would you feed your cat kibble, it is like feeding your kids cardboard with sugar on it.

  • Samantha

    My male kitty was sick last year with crystals in his bladder. I took him to the vet who told me to put him on the Urinary SO dry food. It costs $87 for a big bag. Six months later he’s throwing up the food everywhere. I talked to someone about this (not the vet since they are getting paid to show off the products) and was told that he might have a food sensitivty to it. So now he is going grain free. Royal Canin is CRAP!

  • Sarah Butler

    I received some free cans of Royal Canin “Intense Beauty” recently, and was excited at first, as I ignorantly believed the RC brand was of decent quality.
    Before feeding anything to my pets, I always read the ingredients first. And I’m so glad that I did. This crap is nothing more than various animal by products, gluten by products and water. It is literally garbage.
    The cans are going straight into the trash – where they belong.

    • Michelle

      If you can, bring the cans back to the store and get your money back.

  • Monchchichi

    I do not recommend Royal Canine Products. They are garbage. It’s all in the ingredients. All I’ve heard in reviews about this food is it gives cats loose watery stools and stomach upsets. I would blame that on the corn and the wheat gluten. ALOT of pet food companies stopped using wheat gluten after the pet food scare in 2006. Apparently it is what caused the whole ordeal. I wouldn’t even feed this food to a rat! And why do vets push Royal Canine or Medi-Cal? Because they generally get push backs for it which is bonus’ for them!! Just something to think about.

  • Marie

    was thinking of checking out this food. a girl at petsmart said it was really good for cats with allergies and after reading this I now know I won’t be buying it and she sounded young and not very intelligent so my gut was right. always follow your gut and any websites you can find with ratings on specific cat foods……………

  • Stella

    I fed my cat and kitten Royal Canin canned. They loved it but both had such loose stools I had to put them on probiotics. I won’t even feed it to the strays. I hope the store takes them back without a receipt. I never notice the corn and wheat gluten. I never fed my cats that garbage and don’t recommend it.

  • Alexa

    I feed my cat royal canin since born to the world.They are very like so much.I think most cat cann’t refused taste and odor this kibble.My old cat crazy dry kibble persian 30/exigent.If i open new bag she always run and say meow.Her coat gloss and shiny,full vitality,bright eyes and so chubby,i thought must reduce dry food for her.Royal canin i love you but your price in my town very not friendly my pocket.

More Information

Royal Canin Cat Food

Royal Canin cat food was one of the main brands that was affected in the 2007 pet food recalls. After the recall, many cat owners began asking questions about Royal Canin cat food. Is Royal Canin cat food a good choice for your cat? What are some other cat owners saying about Royal Canin cat food? Learn more about Royal Canin brand cat food here!

Who Makes Royal Canin Cat Food?

The company who makes Royal Canin cat food is called Royal Canin. Though Royal Canin was originally founded in France in 1967, in 2002 Royal Canin was purchased by Mars. The current headquarters of Royal Canin are still located in Aimargues, France. One of the main production facilities for Royal Canin pet food is located in the United States, in Rolla, Missouri. Royal Canin received some negative publicity in 2007, when they were involved in the widespread recall of pet foods which were contaminated with melamine.

Royal Canin Recall

In 2006 and 2007, Royal Canin recalled many different products, most notably many bags of their Veterinary Diet formulas. Royal Canin also had to recall many of their other formulas, including their KASCO cat food. In order to make sure that your cat’s food is safe, it’s always highly recommended that you check the FDA’s pet food recall website. This will help you to stay updated on the latest pet food recall information.

Royal Canin Ingredients

The ingredients of Royal Canin cat foods can vary greatly between formulas. Some of their formulas, most notably some of the formulas in their “Therapeutic Diet” product line, contain carbohydrates as their first 3-5 ingredients. These carbohydrates are often sources such as ground corn, wheat gluten, rice, brown rice, barley, corn gluten meal and oat groats. Fats come from chicken fat, fish oil, vegetable oil or other sources. Salt is added to some Royal Canin formulas. Powdered cellulose is also present in some formulas.

Royal Canin Allergies

Royal Canin cat food seems to be grain-based, which is not a good choice for cats that have allergies to certain grains. Corn, wheat and soy are all present in most Royal Canin cat food formulas. Since these are common allergens, Royal Canin may not be appropriate for cats with allergies. If your cat has a specific allergy, you should always read the ingredients of any cat food formula.

Royal Canin Recipes

Royal Canin Dry:

  • Growth DD 34
  • Mature WK 28
  • Young Adult YWS 34
  • Young Male WS 38
  • Calorie Control Formula CC 29 High Fiber
  • Calorie Control CC 38 High Protein
  • Dental DD 27
  • Diabetic DS 44
  • Gastrointestinal Fiber Response HF
  • Gastrointestinal High Energy HE
  • Green Peas and Duck Formula Limited Ingredient Diet
  • Green Peas and Lamb Formula Limited Ingredient Diet
  • Green Peas and Rabbit Limited Ingredient Diet
  • Green Peas and Venison Formula Limited Ingredient Diet
  • Hypoallergenic HP 23
  • Mobility Support JS
  • Renal LP Modified
  • Renal LP 21 Modified – C & Renal LP 24 Modified – P
  • Treats
  • Urinary SO 33
  • Recovery RS

Royal Canin Consumer Info

Royal Canin Cat Food Coupons

Sometimes, pet food manufacturing companies will offer us coupons to share on our site. Are you searching for Royal Canin cat food printable coupons? We will let you know when they are available!

Please check back soon for Royal Canin cat food coupons!

Royal Canin Ratings

Customer reviews of Royal Canin cat food are mixed. It seems that most cat owners have negative things to say about Royal Canin cat food, and its high percentage of grains. Since many people now choose to feed high-meat diets to their cats, Royal Canin has become associated with poor quality cat food. The inclusion of corn was a particularly negative factor cited by many consumers. However, some cat owners state that they were able to feed Royal Canin cat food to their cats without problems.

Have you fed your cat any of the Royal Canin cat food dry or canned formulas? Do you have feedback that could help other pet owners? Please share your review of Royal Canin cat food!

Ingredient List*

Royal Canin Cat Food Ingredient List

*for Royal Canin INDOOR Adult 27®

Royal Canin Coupons

Royal Canin Coupons

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74 Responses to Royal Canin Cat Food

  1. Mind-boggled June 25, 2015 at 7:48 pm #

    My cat, Sierra, has been eating Royal Canin ever since I adopted her from the Petco Adoption Center (Silicon Valley Humane Society) when she was a kitten. This was the food brand they were giving her at the time and I didn’t question it. Now, she’s three years old, going on four this year. Unless I was blind-sighted–Sierra never had a problem with Royal Canin.

    Last October, I decided to stop at Pet Express instead of Petco (where I usually go since it was closer to my work). I couldn’t find Royal Canin, so I asked the saleslady where it was. Her response was that they had pulled Royal Canin off the shelves and would no longer be selling it due to its drastic change in ingredients–the replacement of “chicken-by- products.” My frantic thoughts?–I was never told this, I never heard of this before, but if a store like Pet Express is pulling Royal Canin off the shelves, it must be for a good reason. Well, this one trip to the store completely made me go out and try another cat food brand.

    I tried Taste of the Wild–with all natural ingredients–which my cat liked for awhile until I noticed her dry food pieces were half eaten. Then, one morning I woke up and noticed she pulled out her old cat food bag (I forgot that I still had her previous bag of Royal Canin in her cat food bin). After that, I did more research and put her on Wellness Core for Indoor Cats–“grain-free.” She seemed like she liked it, but she was eating quite a lot and drinking more water to compensate for the strong amounts of protein she was eating. Recently, I took my cat to her vet and inquired about her food. The vet said I fell for “marketing scam.” Due to this whole grain-free, gluten-free, all organic movement, a lot of cat food brands are trying to take down the top two cat brands: Royal Canin and Science Diet. He continued to explain to me that grain is actually a natural ingredient for wild cats. Ex: cats eat mice, whom, their primary nutrients come from grain. Obviously the choice of her food was up to me, but this made me question the entire Royal Canin predicament all over again.

    After doing more research, I found that many veterinarians passionately support Royal Canin, and state that they are one of the few who do have proven test results and test their formulas 100% on a regular basis. Apparently, veterinarians are given very little shelf space to promote pet foods in local stores. Thus, when they do, they only promote the brands they are most passionate about. Although Royal Canin is using chicken-by-products, it is said they are still the highest quality and consist of all the essential nutrients a cat needs. This leaves me with one question. What should I believe? I recently put Sierra back on Royal Canin, but due to the mix reviews I honestly don’t know if I feel comfortable. My gut is leaning towards changing her food again, despite the fact that my cat, for most of her life, has had zero problems with Royal Canin.

  2. jeh4274 May 24, 2015 at 9:24 am #

    My wife and I moved from Europe to the USA and took our Persian feline with us. He had been eating RC Persian for years in Europe with no problems. As soon as he starting eating RC Persian produced in America, he starting vomiting profusely. I checked the ingredients on the bag of RC from Europe and compared them to the ingredients on the bag from the US and low and behold, the ingredients couldn’t be more different. The food produced in Europe was with Chicken and dehydrated chicken with no NO wheat gluten. The food produced in the US was with chicken by-product and loaded with soy and wheat grain proteins.

  3. Poupon Marx May 22, 2015 at 11:52 am #

    I had fed our 2 cats that passed (both over 15 years old) Royal Canine dry food and Friskies Wet Food. Two new cats get the Arome Dry Food and about 1/2 can of Friskies canned food. And they do just fine. No vomiting, good weight control, etc.

    Many owners fret too much about the cat’s diet. It’s neurotic. I watched my cats in the past eat mice, guts and all, with fur, creating the head and leaving only the feet. Same with birds.

    Start them out on reasonable, middle price food and most will be fine.
    These boutique food companies (organic, venison, etc) are totally unnecessary in the great majority of cases. Wise up.

  4. Nightchime May 13, 2015 at 12:41 pm #

    My cat has been eating the Royal Canin Duck and Pea for many years due to allergies. She did well for several of those years and now has developed borderline hypothyroidism, IBD and has had very poor oral health. I called Royal Canin and asked them a few questions. Firstly, I discovered that the corn, wheat and soy they use in the pet food are GMO’s. They said that they did not believe this was harmful to any organism or the planet. WHAT! This pet food is owned by Mars and they are not only in the pet food business nor do they have our beloved furry angels best interest in mind. Also, the cans they use have a plastic liner in them that contains BPH and BHA. The representative at Royal Canin also told me these chemicals were not harmful. If this is harmful to humans it is harmful to our animals. Look this up folks! Please! This plastic causes hypothyroidism and the GMO’s cause tumors and so many other horrible diseases. So many of these issues our cats are developing are because of the foods they are eating and just because the Vet says so does not mean we should forgo our own homework. I found Hound & Gato to have a very good cat food with limited ingredients and a novel protein for those with allergies. I spoke with the president of the company as he was flying to another state. He took my call and answered all my questions personally. This is transparency and the product is canned and sourced with sustainable and quality ingredients. There is no plastic liner inside of the cans and the liver is the same protein as the meat. This is where some pet food companies put in chicken liver or another source of taurine that is different than the main meat source and this can potentially create more allergies. Good luck! Call your pet food company and ask them these questions and see if they are willing to share the truth.

  5. HelenBackAgain December 21, 2014 at 10:28 pm #

    Royal Canin, two different formulas, gave my cats severe diarrhea. Horrible, stinky, yellow, liquid diarrhea, with bloating. One of them also started vomiting, extremely uncharacteristic for him.

    Within a DAY after switching to the applicable Purina (for the one with urinary crystallization) and Blue Buffalo (for the one with allergies) formulas, all symptoms stopped completely and they were fine.

    I will never give them Royal Canin again.

  6. bubby October 14, 2014 at 2:52 pm #

    My 15 year old spayed female is diabetic, I give her a shot of insulin in a.m. and p.m. daily. Vet recommended a couple of foods for Diabetic Cats. I tried Royal Canin Diabetic kibble and cans. Cat is doing well, for her age and condition, but all the information about sick cats and dogs after they ate Royal Canin foods has me very worried. I figured her lethargy was from old age and being overweight. Vet said to continue on same regimen, as cat is doing well on it so far. Called Royal Canin and questioned person on phone extensively about recall, reports of pet problems from the food, etc. She said last recall was 2007. I’ve read complaints (personal stories) on web dated 2014, as recently as October (current month). I’ll check the FDA pet food recall website, but if this is the “early days” of a problem, it may be there is no information officially out there yet. I will check this website for more info, and add any relevant info I might find. I don’t do facebook or twitter, so I hope this can go to the discussion at this website.

  7. Nona Graham August 19, 2014 at 5:48 am #

    My 15 year old boy ate Royal Canin Mature Active for years with no problems. He liked the food and believe me, he is a real fuss about his food. Then the company discontinued the formula. We couldn’t find anything that he would eat reliably. Just around Christmas of 2013 we were so happy to find that the company had a new formula called Aging. He ate the sample and proceeded to eat his way through the bigger bags but his enthusiasm with the food had waned. Some months ago now he started to have problems with diarrhea. I cut out all the can food thinking that this must be the problem. He only ever ate a few spoonfuls of can food but I was sure this was the solution. The diarrhea just got worse – he gets cramps, has gas, the stools are mush and SMELL to high heaven, worst of all is that he seldom makes it to the cat box and often soils himself in his sleep. I am ashamed to admit that I did not even connect his problems with the new food – I figured that as he had eaten Royal Canin for years, the new food would cause no problems. His vet isn’t terribly helpful and recommended prescription foods which he won’t eat. Right now I am reduced to feeding jars of baby food (meat only). Won’t be buying any more bags of Aging – wish they would stop tinkering around with the formulas – it is so disruptive to keep having to switch formulas just because the company decides to change all their food every couple of years.

  8. Kate Oldershaw June 9, 2014 at 8:10 am #

    WE have 4 Maine coon Cats, 2 boys 2 girls. One boy as loads of allergies and has 5mg Prednisolone every 3rd day to prevent outbreaks. Our other boy has a very dense coat and is prone to furballs. We feed a 50- 50 ix of RC Maine Coon and Intense Hairball 33. We have oticed that the cats, although without furrballs most of time, have started to vomit for no aparent reason but most worryingly of all is their change in behaviour. Our elder boy, always the most docile of chaps has become v. aggressive to one of the girls, leading to her obsessive grooming and plucking her tummy bald. Now the other female has become aggressive towards her too. Both older male and victim female have been on 2.5mg of ADT (Ameltriptyine) for over 4 months. As soon as we start to reduce the dose the aggression returns as does the obsessive grooming. We are seriously beginning to wonder if Royal Canin has a role to play in this behaviour changes. Is this something you’ve come across before. We’ve recently discoverd Orijen foods but are a tad concerned at the very high costs involved with 6 pets.

    • Jenny February 19, 2015 at 3:40 am #

      I experienced a very similar situation as you described, where one of our four cats seems to be more aggressive when on royal canin and Two have been vomiting more frequently (one of whom is very un-characteristic of him, not even hair balls). Ive also noticed more wax build up in his ears and brown secretions in the corner of his eyes.

      Have you changed your cats food? If so which one? Has the aggression stopped?

  9. islander March 10, 2014 at 6:04 pm #

    As kittens my two abbys were fed Royal Canin by the breeder so we continued and they thrived on the Royal Canin kibbles for about four years.
    A couple of year ago they started throwing up frequently, sometimes kibbles and sometimes bile and kibbles.
    I tried feeding them from a cookie sheet so that they did not gulp down the food, which maybe helped a little, but not significantly.
    Now after a couple of years of this daily vomiting my hardwood floors are ruined, and three weeks ago after three throw ups in the morning, in desperation, I tried another brand of kibbles and they have not thrown up since.
    I was reluctant to do this as in every other way they thrive. Coats are beautiful and they are lively and full of fun. I wondered if maybe you had a change in formula

  10. A.Dempsey February 28, 2014 at 2:34 pm #

    I love my cat and feed her one can of wet food per night in addition to a half cup bowl of dry food. After searching for the most healthy dry food i chose Wellness Core. She eagerly awaits her daily can of wet food and only eats her dry food cause she has to. So before getting her a new bag of the same stuff i noticed Royal Canin has a 3 bag sample pack. I thought Cool, because i have purchased different brands before only to return it when she turned her nose. Thank god Pet smart is ok with returns and exchanges. The sample pack included a Savory, Protein and Aromatic. She absolutely Loves them All! I was Thrilled until i checked the reviews of all the horror stories regarding vomiting, diarrhea etc.. Please please please tell me RC is not as bad as they say.. I just want the healthiest food my cat will enjoy. Thank you for any advice/info A. Dempsey

    • Melissa May 31, 2014 at 2:09 pm #

      Hi

      I feed my cat RC everyday, one pouch of wetfood and then the rest in dryfood.

      He is very healthy, got nothing wrong with his stool or stomach and has NEVER thrown up…

  11. Bev February 19, 2014 at 6:18 pm #

    Took my cat to a new vet for a bladder infection. Because she just “inhales” the small cat biscuits he recommended RC Dental. I loved the size of the biscuits and she took to them immediately. But she started having loose stools and although I stopped giving her the biscuits – the loose stools are still happening. The vet suggested I give them to her as treats – but she can’t tolerate them. I’m beginning to wonder if she is ever going back to normal – or I am going to have to take her back to the vet for the stool problem. Anyone had this problem – how long did it take for your cat to get back to normal stools. I am concerned for her.

    • Jen December 13, 2014 at 9:30 pm #

      She will get better when you change her brand,I was worried about mine when she started diarrhea and changed.read the reviews you will find many like you.all the best

  12. Erica January 28, 2014 at 10:59 pm #

    Two of my cats who had eaten Wellness canned chicken food for the past five plus years developed diarrhea. We thought it was related to eating cooked chicken begging dinner treat (shared with the humans). Wellness canned consistency has been uneven for the past few months and my vet thought that their illness might be related to Wellness. Both were put on antibiotics and then prednisone and i was instructed to feed them Royal Canin gastro high fiber. For several days, their diarrhea persisted and now almost two weeks later their stools are formed sort of but still have mushy consistency and are huge and stink. My vet says to stick with the RC. My third cat who had recent dental surgery was just moved to the same diet and she had no problems previously and now her stools are also mostly formed huge and smelly. I am not sure this is an improvement. All three cats had been on grain free wellness and wonder if the stink and the mashed potato stools is due to grain. This is not a good long term solution in my mind though since i do not know what to do as the vet says stay the course. All three cats had dark brown well formed solid stools that had no odor on Wellness canned and this is not an improvement. NOt thrilled .

  13. Jackson December 29, 2013 at 1:23 pm #

    The Royal Canin Feline Gastrointestinal High Energy dry cat food is great for helping kitties with short term or long term/chronic diarrhea, loose stools, or vomiting. It helps get the kitties gastrointestinal systems back on track. This particular product can be purchased from a veterinarian.

  14. Carol Godwin December 11, 2013 at 4:00 pm #

    My current bag of Gastrointestinal HD Royal Canin was manufactured last May. It makes my cat vomit violently but Royal Canin says they have no reports of problems. Told me to get my money back from the vet. Any suggestions for a safe cat food?

  15. John Hsieh November 6, 2013 at 8:07 am #

    I switched my kitty to Royal Canin wet and dry food for kittens and the next day she started vomiting. The day after that she stopped eating any food and continues to vomit bile. She stopped being playful and meows strangely.

    • j July 21, 2014 at 3:40 pm #

      Hi there, My kitten has the exact same symptoms. How is your kitten now?Desperate owner,please help

      • YoungVolcanos August 26, 2014 at 7:06 pm #

        see my post below in reply to susie wong

  16. Susie Wong September 3, 2013 at 12:31 pm #

    When I feed my cats the Royal Canin kitten canned
    food, or the baby cat canned food they get so
    sick they almost die! I fed my momma cat a can of
    this 2 weeks ago, she had diarea for 2 days and just laid on her shelf. I thought I would loose her
    and her litter. I kept giving her water from a syringe and she eventually came out of her lethargic state. She is fine now and her litter is fine. I will never feed any of my kitties the canned Royal Canin again. They do seem to be okay on the dry Royal Canin Persian food. And the kittens seem to do okay on the baby cat dry, but not the 2nd step kitten dry. The 2nd step kitten dry gives them sticky stool, not diarea, but stool that sticks to their fur.
    Does any one have this problem?
    I would love to hear from you if you have experienced the same problem. Thank You.

    • YoungVolcanos August 26, 2014 at 7:07 pm #

      I am horrified beyond words that my now deceased young healthy cat of 5 years may have died because of royal canin. Hindsight is 20/20 and only now do I notice that feeding her RC made her worse, while cheapo cat food like fancy feast DIDNT make her vomit. Its too horrifying for words to think about.

  17. Caveat Emptor September 3, 2013 at 1:15 am #

    Cats are carnivores. The HP hypoallergenic food has no — zero — meat in it. The protein is soy based. If your cat recovers from what ails him or her while on this food, that’s great, but I caution that there is no long-term testing for this food as an exclusive diet (which is similar to almost all foods out there). Cats and dogs are not cows. There is no reason for any manufacturer to make, or a vet to prescribe, what is essentially an exclusive diet of beans to a carnivore that needs the nutrients in meat.

    My 9 year old tabby just died Saturday from acute renal failure after being on this food exclusively for over a year under doctor’s orders for an unrelated issue. Then I discovered a few months ago — perhaps too late — the truth behind this diet: no meat in the ingredients. I was gradually taking her off it towards very good highly-rated meat-based products (wet and dry Blue Buffalo Wilderness and Wellness grain-free) when she developed the condition that killed her. I do not know if this food was part of the cause, but she was not metabolizing her food properly for quite some time as kidney stones had formed.

    Of course, this is anecdotal evidence. However, common sense tells me that the absence of meat is not good for any carnivore. Royal Canin is also replacing chicken with meat by-products in its other formulas, ingredients which should be avoided. Read the labels. Get educated.

    If it works, fine. But please monitor your animal while on it, and afterwards. Wet food is best to ensure your cat ingests enough water, which is often a deficit with a pure kibble diet that can damage kidneys. The ConsumerAffairs website has many horror stories about Royal Canin products. My little friend might still be with me if I read up on this food earlier.

    • Bill Valle December 28, 2013 at 5:57 pm #

      I’m writing the company RC about the hell my dog and myself has gone through and also ruined 2 visits to see my daughters. After researching the symptoms and correlating with RC urinary SO moderate calorie I found the culprit. My dog Lucy is a 17 year old Pembroke Corgi that developed bladder stones and we decided to try the acidic diet that had worked before. Previously she had used both Hills and Royal Canin prescription diets and both worked well and were reasonable tolerated. This last batch of dry SO seems to have caused severe gastrointestinal stress requiring several visits with associated tests and x-rays. I’m convinced the dry SO is bad, but I’m not even going to try the moist again. I’m thinking of suing the company and at minimum contacting them.

  18. Linda August 23, 2013 at 11:23 pm #

    Think 2 about buying unless you want a dead pet. Check out all review. I have a cat I may loose and has been on this brand for 4 years…. something is bad and company will not recall.

    Also know about the other brands this company owns it could effect your family

    Look at the other products that this company owns and think do you really want your friend/family using product that caused problems to your pet….. this company does not care about you, your pets and most likely your family. Just try calling the customer service people.

    According to Wikipedia they also own the following companies Milky Way, M&M’s, Twix, Skittles, Snickers, and the Mars bar. They also produce non-confectionery snacks, such as Combos, and other foods, including Uncle Ben’s Rice and pasta sauce brand Dolmio, as well as pet foods, such as Whiskas and Pedigree brands.
    Orbit gum is among the most popular brands, managed by the Mars subsidiary brand Wrigley. During World War II, Wrigley was selling their eponymous gum only to soldiers, while Orbit was the gum made available to the public. Though abandoned shortly after the war, about 60 years later Orbit made a comeback in America during the gum craze
    Tell your friend/ family

  19. Alison July 28, 2013 at 1:40 am #

    My cat has been on the venison and pea formula for sensitive stomachs. That’s all he would eat and ate a ton of it. Since their recent formula change, my cat won’t touch it. Anyone have any recommendations? This is really frustrating because I would rather just pay more money for something my cat would eat rather than them changing the formula to gain more money. Ridiculous.

  20. Dena Slocum May 24, 2013 at 12:06 pm #

    My cat used to love the old Royal Canin formula of wet foods but will not eat the new “thin sliced” formula. Quit buying it and am very disappointed at the brand.

  21. Britta April 10, 2013 at 11:47 am #

    I have been feeding Urinary SO by Royal Canin to my male cat. However I was wondering if there is an alternative brand (without prescription needed, I hate being held hostage by my vet to get this prescription)that would be compatible? I think the Urinary SO is low in ashes and that is why it is recommended for bladder problems…If I would feed a organic brand like “Newman’s own” would that be automatically low in ashes since it is organic?
    Does anybody know?

    • Haley April 14, 2013 at 6:34 pm #

      I am in the EXACT same boat. I’m so frustrated by this situation because I feel tied to the food (and the veterinarian for prescriptions). Please let me know if you find any help in regards to this, I hate feeding him bad quality food but I’m worried about the ash content of others! :(

    • Brenda December 11, 2013 at 7:44 pm #

      To Britta, about the Urinary SO – I had the same thing with my girl cat – then all the cats decided they liked it (since it was the most expensive?!). I recently found “First Mate” which is low ash and specifically says it’s good for urinary issues. Very inexpensive in comparison, high quality, high protein, low fat – both flavours are good (fish/blueberry) (chicken/blueberry) and the cats all like it. We have switched to this brand and use the smaller packages of Origen to switch it up, and once in a while, the Royal Canin special 33.

  22. Steve Tara March 16, 2013 at 2:16 pm #

    I had fed my cats Hills then as that brand was high in fat, I tried RC, one problem is the cats get a little over weight, but we are reducing the amount, this new info made me think as my cats sneeze a lot, one of my cats, she is 15 for years has had abdominal problems that the Lort Smith Animal Hospital could not diagnose and much research is needed here. I want to try an organic food the new “Nutro” I want to give a go as it is all natural the hypoallergenic may be okay and the dental formula but I am paranoid about possible GMO contamination and hearing all this filler info has me concerned so I’ll probably change brands.

  23. Carolyn H. March 1, 2013 at 7:33 am #

    I purchased the Royal Canin Siamese 38 for my Siamese cats two weeks ago. My cats both seemed to love it and the bag is almost empty. I didn’t read the ingredients when I purchased it, being that the small package costed $19.99, I assumed that it was of premium quality and ingredients. Quite the contrary, it is filled with corn and other unhealthy fillers. My male cat has suddenly come down with a urinary problem since starting this food. He can only urinate a little bit at a time for, at least, the past three days. It seems to get better at times but goes back to worst. I have stopped feeding this food to him and taking him to the vet first thing in the morning.

  24. Doublecats February 21, 2013 at 5:44 pm #

    There was a formula change in Royal Canin dry Formula 33 for sensitive stomachs when I bought a new bag in January. The company had taped a small attachment to the front of the bag that I should gradually introduce the new formula into my remaining supply of the old formula. Easier said than done when one is down to the last of the bag and that’s why one has gone to the pet store to buy a new bag! Give me a break…

    The new formula has had both of my cats vomiting daily for two and a half to three weeks. My younger cat (4) hardly ever vomited before this. My older cat (12) is the one with the sensitive stomach. They both did great on Formula 33 before the formula change. Not only did I have vomiting, but the older cat had yellow, smelly diarrhea that was so awful that he wouldn’t even cover it in the box, even after a complete litter change!

    After completely switching them to another dry food, in one day, the vomiting and diarrhea stopped.

    I have no beef with the Royal Canin canned foods. Both the cats and I like them, and the cats don’t vomit when they eat them.

    Since I put dry food into a plastic container when I come home from the store, I don’t have an old bag to compare for whatever the ingredient change was. I believe, though, that they have added corn. I think when I originally bought this that it had only wheat or wheat gluten in it.

  25. Adrienne February 11, 2013 at 5:01 pm #

    My cat has been on MediCal which changed to Royal Canin since she was a baby. She is now 14. With the name change on the packaging and the new recipe, my cat developed severe allergies within two weeks of me buying the new bag of food . We are trying to get her allergies to calm down and her skin lesions healed. We have switched her to a new food containing rabbit at our vet’s advice. We also have her on meds to fix her stomach and to heal her skin.

    When I was at the pet food store the other day, the lady told me I was the 3rd person that day whose cat is now allergic to Royal Canin dry food.

    If your cat is scratching, or throwing up or has diarrhea, it is probably a food allergy. Please change the food before the reaction becomes really serious.

  26. pitah chips February 6, 2013 at 1:05 am #

    I Amz a Cat and my owners feed mez royal canin! I love what iz eats. I feels healthy and playful and full when iz be eating royal canin. I haz a instagram @pitahchips that I post pictures of me eating royal canin foods and other cute pictures!

    • Debbie June 12, 2013 at 1:46 am #

      Your cat would be so embarassed with the baby language.

  27. Shelli January 26, 2013 at 9:40 pm #

    Our cat has been on the SO urinary dry foodfor a year and a half
    , ever since he had crystals. Almost every morning when i go to feed him, he has thrown up globs of the previous nights food. He still acts pretty normal but constantly begs for our food.imn getting tired of cleaning up every morning, Is the food too rich or is it expanding in his stomach and he throws it up so he doesn’t choke?

    • susan June 3, 2013 at 5:48 pm #

      Shelli, I would stop feeding your cat royal canin so. MY cat was prescribed the same food and vomited for several days. I have two other cats that ate this food too and vomited also. I thought I was buying the best cat food you could buy but I was wrong. When I would come home from work my house had an odor like a pesticide.
      one of my cats died almost two weeks later. I stopped feeding the food to my other cats and the vomiting stopped. The pesticide odor in my home is also gone. I’m giving my cat
      1/4 tea of organic cider vinegar mixed 1/4 of purified water 3 times a
      day and she is doing great.

  28. Charlotte January 18, 2013 at 1:36 pm #

    My male cat (7)was vomiting,stopped eating for a over a week. All tests at Vet showed nothing.Gave med’s & fed thru syringe.Results possible allergies. Put on the duck formula of Royal Canin Hypoallergenic wet & the dry food.Had been feeding Hills a/d thru syringe & now mixing with the duck. Then diarrhea…now constipation & maybe eating 1/2 cup of the dry duck. I have read about Blue Buffalo grain free & wonder if I should try that. I’m concerned now that his poop is more marble like. Any advice out there? if can relate. The problem has not ended even though my cat weighs 12 lbs & don’t think he is losing. There is a Venison formula of Royal Canin & wondered if should switch to that & see if he likes better. Thank you for any advise. Charlotte

  29. Corinne January 17, 2013 at 7:58 am #

    My cat has been on the Urinary dry food for 6 years. Recently I noticed a change in the formula color. She is now vomiting everyday and has diarrhea and looks like blood in it. Has anyone else had a cat that has reacted to the formula change?

    • Karyn January 21, 2013 at 11:52 pm #

      My Cat has been on canned urinary so for almost a year-i don’t know if it’s formula color seems lighter. but yesterday he vomited his dinner and this morning his breakfast as soon as he ate it. hoping it because he ate too much too fast. I do give him sm amounts of a no grain dry .he did not throw that up.

      Please see your vet bring in stool sample taste for parasites ,bacteria so they can rule that out

      and google blood in stools-IBT Lot’s of info

      I have a female cat got very ill blood .muscus for years she ate dry food .with grains only with no problems. As she is older she can not digest corn -I have her on a no grain and a high quality can.sometimes she will have a tinge a blood in stool -and i try to figure out what caused the flare-up

    • FraidyCat February 12, 2013 at 10:32 am #

      One of my cats has also been on the SO Moderate Calorie dry for over a year now. I don’t like the stuff, but it does work. However, the last bag I bought from my vet’s office was in early January. I opened it up and noticed a chemical-ly smell (best I can describe). Definitely NOT the usual smell. And it was lighter in color. My cat turned his nose up at it. So did the other three. Royal Canin insists no formula changes, and she must have taken me for stupid b/c she said that the sourced ingredients can be different at different times of the year. “I compare it to strawberries in the winter to strawberries in the summer.” Are you kidding me??? The vet took the bag back, and allowed me to open another bag. Different run/lot, same smell. I bought the regular SO, which didn’t smell like the other. But now I feel like I have to find something else b/c I won’t feed my cats crap. Period. I’m interested in hearing any other complaints. Did yours smell odd???

      • susan May 16, 2013 at 1:54 pm #

        I bought a bag of royal canin urinary so from my vet. The cats ate the food for almost two weeks. One of my cats vomited and died. I noticed a strange odor in my house. It smelled like pesticide mixed with something rotten. As soon as I took the food away the smell was gone.

        • Diana May 22, 2014 at 1:54 am #

          I hope you raised hell!

    • Debbie June 12, 2013 at 1:44 am #

      Years ago I switched my cat from a cheap grocery store brand to one of the “good” expensive brands and he had blood in his stool right away. The vet said I didn’t switch him over gradually and that was the problem. Personally I thought anything that makes him has blood in his poop isn’t good. I put him back on the cheaper brand and he and my other cat lived long healthy lives. The same went for my dogs. When I tried to put them on the “good” food something always happened or they wouldn’t eat it. Fed them Pedigree and our German Shepherd lived to age 14 and my Australian Shepherd lived to age 14 as well of simply old age. I think this rich “good” foods are giving our animals cancer. Won’t go into detail, but I have seen it over and over with people who have fed them the best and their dogs are dying (having to be put down) around age 7 with different types of cancer. I am sticking with my cheap food.

    • Sylvie, Laval April 28, 2015 at 1:39 pm #

      I have 2 Persian cats that were on Medi cal urinary SO for several years. I went to the vet 2 weeks ago to get some more only to find out that they had switched to Royal Canin SO. Within 2 days,, both cats started vomiting to the point that I came very close to had my beautiful cat euthanized as he was so sick and lost a lot of weight. I switched back to his old food and after 10 days, he finally began to eat a bit more and had to take him to the vet to get a shot to stop him vomiting. I find it very very sad that they sell us that food without telling us of the risks. It’s appalling to see that even at the vet, they don’t inform you that they’ve changed their brand without any warnings.

  30. Rhonda December 12, 2012 at 1:44 pm #

    I have a kitty with Eosiniphilic Granuloma Complex and food allergies. I was sent home with Medi-Cal HP – basically a vegan diet for a meat-eater. Not only has her symptoms INCREASED, which instead of costing me $110 every 4 months for treatment and injectible, but is now costing me $110 EVERY MONTH PLUS THE $70 food! In short, this food is causing major allergic reactions in her and if I don’t get her off of it, she’ll be dead before my next birthday.

    I am going to a meat only diet for her that consists of duck and rabbit because her symptoms are so bad that one of these days, the allergy is going to eat away at all the skin on her nose – yes, her nose because it’s constantly running and the skin is eroding away!

  31. Olga December 8, 2012 at 4:24 am #

    I feed my cat RC for the last 8 years. She is healthy, her coat is shiny, she loves it. I am going to continue.

  32. Morgan December 2, 2012 at 8:48 pm #

    There is no reason on earth why any pet food should a) require a prescription and/or a special location to buy it; b) cost so much, particularly when cheap fillers such as corn and rice make up the bulk of its ingredients; and c) have the monopoly on the pet food market when it comes to certain health conditions, such as renal function and protein/phosphorous levels in its food. Seems mighty suspicious to me. Somewhere out there are a bunch of fat cats, and they’re not the ones eating this stuff.

  33. Brynn November 26, 2012 at 5:36 pm #

    Our kitten was already eating Royal Canin when we purchased him. He loves this food and has refused all other types. We tried Innova, Avoderm, and Blue catfood and he wouldn’t eat any of it. We’ve tried dry and moist foods. He does like croissants, though.

    • dena May 24, 2013 at 12:10 pm #

      This was my cat too until they changed the formulation. Now he doesn’t eat anything but treats and dry food.

  34. Priscilla September 12, 2012 at 8:57 pm #

    My experience with Royal Canin is similar to one of your reviewers. My cat has been on the Urinary SO formula for about 3 years as well. I haven’t had any issues since using the product. However, I recently heard a news report about the rise in cancer and diabetes in our pet community. According to new studies, the blame seems to be leaning toward the foods we feed our pets, especially the foods containing by-products or that don’t say that their product has undergone Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures. I guess raw food is one way to go except which raw foods would I give my cat with a history of crystals?

  35. mary awkward August 27, 2012 at 7:26 pm #

    My litle angel is 10 years old. She was throwing up hair balls almost everyday and had awful dandruff. Using Royal Canin she will throw up about once every 10 days or so and her dandruff problem no longer exist. She doesn’t eat as much now and she only visits the litter box every other day. I think that’s because she eats very little. She appears to like the food. She’s been eating it about 3 weeks now. Wish I could find something for her arthritis.

    • Esther October 10, 2012 at 2:53 pm #

      I use a supplement that has done amazing things for my cats arthritis. It’s called “orthoplex”, it’s pricey but a bottle lasts about 2 months

  36. Sara Branch August 27, 2012 at 12:55 pm #

    Royal Canin is one of the only companies that has done research on both kibble size and shape and hardness, so they are able to offer more of a dental benefit while still making kibble shapes that are more appealing and palatable to even fussy or special needs kitties. However, the review is spot on that they include too many fillers and corn gluten. I (and my kitties) really liked their Sensible Choice product which was reasonably priced (cheaper than the Royal Canin line) and had no corn fillers. I have yet to find another product that is as high quality for the same money that my cats all like consistently. The only high spot in the Royal Canin line for me was the Royal Canin Special. I had a kitty that had Chronic Renal Failure and wouldn’t eat anything, but she actually put her head into the bag to eat the Special.

  37. Tracy August 17, 2012 at 5:38 pm #

    trying out the breed specific dry brand for Maine Coon cats was the first time i ever saw my coon crunch. his teeth are much healthier, his eating habits have improved vastly and his coat is less oily and softer.

    conversely, one of the other cats, not a coon, who does have skin allergies tried some and her issues seem to be exacerbated (although that could be seasonal)

    of course now we’re stuck paying premium price for what amounts to dog sized kibbles. i’ll admitif purina naturals or another trusted source came out with a larger “bite”, we’d definitely try it.

  38. Jenny July 16, 2012 at 10:18 pm #

    I had bottle fed kittens that I couldn’t find any other kibbles they could chew well even when soaked. The kitten kibble is very small size and quite soft compared to other brands. I would recommend it over anything else for very young kittens that are just being weaned. I was feeding a mix of kibble, a little canned meat, and kitten milk formula at the time.

  39. Tamsin May 10, 2012 at 7:56 pm #

    Last year my cat became very sick and would not eat or drink, had liquid stool and there was cases of vomiting.
    The vets where no help and could not say what was wrong so I syringe fed her water and Royal Canin’s Medi-care Recovery Wet food, which due to the fine consistency was easy to syringe and good for extra water. This seemed to help her improve.
    Very soon she was no longer vomiting and after a while there was no more liquid stool. Not long after she could eat or drink herself again.
    I am wondering though if it is truly healthy for cats or not and if I should buy it again in case she becomes ill again or if I should look for a different esay to feed wet food. Does anyone have any suggestions?

  40. Christine February 17, 2012 at 9:46 pm #

    I have 3 cats, Devon Rex breed. One kitty has chronic gastris which is ends up going to the clinic every couple of months to get fluids and injection to stop the vomiting etc. Very costly.
    The male, Luke, has a sensitive stomach and can not each mich at a time because he gobbles it all up and throws it back up, the last kitty a female has a pancreas problem where she gets not enough nutrition out of her food and is hungry all the time.
    Last months the had to spend time in boarding in the vet clinic because our house was flooded and it needed to be rebuild. The vet all love them and the have the run of the back rooms so it was an ideal solution because she would look at their digestive problems at the same time. To make a long story short, they tried them on Royal Canin gastrointestinal high energy RX diet and they all 3 did well on it they said. Luke, the picky and sensitive male eater even ate this with gusto. All happy.
    Until we were able to move back into our home and the cats were ready to come home too I noticed the lost a lot of hair. Now if you know the Devon Rex breed you know they already have little fur, mostly curly single coat.
    Luke the male is all bald on his underside and his neck now and he is real skinny. He is itchy beyond believe and his fur is still falling out. The smallest female is the worst the one with the pancreas problem She had a full coat of white curly fur that she is now pulling out by clumps and is till hungry all day no matter how much you feed her. Than the last female with the chronic gastritis is the only one who’s fur is not falling out but she has started to vomit again.
    I’ve searched the net but can not find much info on this royal canin gastrointestinal high energy, I HATE the ingredients, I used to feed them food with max 5 ingredients and no grains and no kibble. This Royal Canin is canned food also, a kind of pate. They like to eat it, that’s not the problem, my problem is with their coat and itchiness. I’m switching them this weekend to the regular brand. If anyone has more information on this problem with their fur I would like to hear it and contact Royal Canin.

    • morganthekat September 12, 2013 at 1:05 pm #

      Christine, my cat is having the same problems, it is causing such a loud rumbling in her stomach, I can hear every bite of food going through her stomach. I am assuming this is gastritis. Sometimes she gets this retching sound, as though she is trying to throw up but can’t. Sometimes I can hear her cry at the litter box and I don’t know why. When I look at her stools they look soft, but like there is no substance there just air filled fillers. What did you do for your cats GASTIRIS. I have to help her with that and change foods I think. Her vet says there is nothing wrong with her. Please help me help my kitty.

  41. Nancy Cook January 16, 2012 at 12:30 pm #

    I’ve been feeding my cat Royan Canin Hypoallergenic HP (Hydrolyzed Protein) dry cat food for about 3 years. She has skin allergies & this is what her Vet (who specializes in pets with allergies) recommended along with other treatments. She loves it & have no problems with her eating it with gusto!
    List of ingredients starts out with: Brewers Rice, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Chicken Fat… No signs of Gluten, Wheat or Corn! Maybe the other varieties use these products – have only tried the HP. I’m happy with the product & appreciate the occasional “free bag” after purchasing enough bags to qualify (don’t remember the # at the moment – my Vet’s office keeps track of them).

  42. Dee January 15, 2012 at 2:32 am #

    I bought a new supply of Royal Canin low fat canned cat food last week. She ate just a little of the first can, whereas she had gobbled it in the past. For the rest of the day and night, she refused to eat anything and was obviously sick. I had her checked by the vet and then changed to a different low fat food, which she responded to. I plan to return the two month supply of Royal Canin to Pet Smart as there is, obviously, something wrong with it.

    • martha January 25, 2012 at 9:44 pm #

      My cat has been eating Royal Canin SO.(morsels) He loved the cans dated 04/21/2013. The next case dated 09/28/2013 he won’t touch. It smells bad and is a little lighter in color. I think it’s a bad batch.

    • Erika Keddy November 18, 2012 at 8:37 am #

      My cat was eating medical and I had to switch them to Royal Canin. I tried 3 days in a row and they refused to eat it. It was a soft food for mature cats and they are not fussy eaters. I was told that Royal Canin and Medi cal were the same food. They are not.

  43. Amy January 2, 2012 at 9:14 am #

    After a 5 days in the vet with a urinary blockage and $1,300 later, my cat started on the Urinary SO formula. He’s been eating it for almost 3 years without any food related or (especially important) blockage issues. After watching my cat almost die, I will continue to feed him this food as I no longer trust any other brand.

  44. janitav December 7, 2011 at 12:45 pm #

    Samantha,
    Vets do not get any extra money for recommending specific diets. They recommend these diets because they are the only ones which have studies proving what they are claiming (ie prevention of crystals in bladder) I do not know of any studies proving that grain free diets will prevent your pet from getting crystal/stones or any other health problems. Grains are NOT the only problem in pet foods.

    • diana September 9, 2012 at 4:57 pm #

      Of course they don’t, most vets don’t know anything about nutrition as it is NOT part of most programs. The vets however, do make money on the food. It is easy to have some prescription diet on hand to recommend. When my cat developed crystals, I was told to put him on the crystal Royal Canin. When I read the ingredients and asked my vet to explain what each was for and he couldn’t I knew this was bogus. I did research and realized that feeding my cat a species specific diet made so much sense. And I did, with extra water in his raw diet he has had no trouble. My vet agrees he is one of the healthiest cats he has now, even though he doesn’t agree with raw. Breed specific food is ridiculous, and no scientific proof to back that up other than what the cat food companies will tell you. Dental hard food is a joke…asked every vet I know and told the same thing….does not work. Brush their teeth or use dental toys. Besides why would you feed your cat kibble, it is like feeding your kids cardboard with sugar on it.

  45. Samantha November 20, 2011 at 6:46 pm #

    My male kitty was sick last year with crystals in his bladder. I took him to the vet who told me to put him on the Urinary SO dry food. It costs $87 for a big bag. Six months later he’s throwing up the food everywhere. I talked to someone about this (not the vet since they are getting paid to show off the products) and was told that he might have a food sensitivty to it. So now he is going grain free. Royal Canin is CRAP!

  46. Sarah Butler October 31, 2011 at 12:26 pm #

    I received some free cans of Royal Canin “Intense Beauty” recently, and was excited at first, as I ignorantly believed the RC brand was of decent quality.
    Before feeding anything to my pets, I always read the ingredients first. And I’m so glad that I did. This crap is nothing more than various animal by products, gluten by products and water. It is literally garbage.
    The cans are going straight into the trash – where they belong.

    • Michelle August 9, 2013 at 1:07 pm #

      If you can, bring the cans back to the store and get your money back.

  47. Monchchichi September 8, 2011 at 4:43 pm #

    I do not recommend Royal Canine Products. They are garbage. It’s all in the ingredients. All I’ve heard in reviews about this food is it gives cats loose watery stools and stomach upsets. I would blame that on the corn and the wheat gluten. ALOT of pet food companies stopped using wheat gluten after the pet food scare in 2006. Apparently it is what caused the whole ordeal. I wouldn’t even feed this food to a rat! And why do vets push Royal Canine or Medi-Cal? Because they generally get push backs for it which is bonus’ for them!! Just something to think about.

  48. Marie August 28, 2011 at 11:11 pm #

    was thinking of checking out this food. a girl at petsmart said it was really good for cats with allergies and after reading this I now know I won’t be buying it and she sounded young and not very intelligent so my gut was right. always follow your gut and any websites you can find with ratings on specific cat foods……………

  49. Stella August 18, 2011 at 1:33 am #

    I fed my cat and kitten Royal Canin canned. They loved it but both had such loose stools I had to put them on probiotics. I won’t even feed it to the strays. I hope the store takes them back without a receipt. I never notice the corn and wheat gluten. I never fed my cats that garbage and don’t recommend it.

  50. Alexa July 24, 2011 at 10:43 am #

    I feed my cat royal canin since born to the world.They are very like so much.I think most cat cann’t refused taste and odor this kibble.My old cat crazy dry kibble persian 30/exigent.If i open new bag she always run and say meow.Her coat gloss and shiny,full vitality,bright eyes and so chubby,i thought must reduce dry food for her.Royal canin i love you but your price in my town very not friendly my pocket.