Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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emmab
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Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

Think I may need to change the diet of one of our cats. He was come from a cattery, has been quite stressed and a little unwell. The vet has said there is no need to change his food, however whilst he was at the vets this week they fed him RC diet Gastro food. He has a funny tummy sometimes and I am keen to keep his weight up and he came from the refuge a little underweight. Again the vet is not sure what he has had or may have as they have drawn a blank but he does need feeding up a little and was thinking of buying some of this RC. Has anyone used this food for delicate tummies? He has Iams atm and whiskas/felix wet food as I have been trying to give him something more palletable to gain some weight. Think the wet food may be a little heavy for his tummy but the dried royal canin may not be palletable, like the Iams dry.
Also, I would need to change the other cat onto this RC food too as it is difficult feeding two cats different diets.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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My cat Scout is on this food, She has been eating it for about 8 months now. My vet suggested it after Scout was loosing weight , she was eating cat litter, :( and this caused problems with the lining of her stomach, she was on James Wellbeloved dried but her system was not absorbing the food. She is a very fussy cat but she eats the Royal Canin and she has gained some weight, the food seems to agree with her sensitive stomach. I cannot advise about wet food as Scout will only eat dried.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

I think I can buy it without prescription? I think I will try it as he does need to fill out a little. Many thanks and hope Scout is doing well. Not named after Scout in to Kill a Mockingbird is she?
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Marla »

Teddy's been on this food for over 6 months and it's very good. It's made his stools normal again, he's gained back the weight he lost, and his coat is super shiny and luxurious. We can't seem to feed him anything else without him getting very loose stools, so we'll probably keep him on this forever.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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P.S. We can buy it without a prescription and it's much less expensive than at the vets.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

Thanks Marla.I am waiting for the shops to open and will nip out and get some. Ouch it's dear but he needs to put soem weight on and by steadying his tummy a little, this may help. Thanks again and cuddles to Teddy. Our experience tells us that most cats in time require a specialised food be it renal or otherwise and it if improves their health then so be it.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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Scout is doing well thanks. I buy the food from Zooplus I think it is around £25 for a 3.5kg bag. It lasts Scout quite a long time as she is the only one of my gang that eats it. I have 4 cats and they all have different things, Riley is on RC diet control she is a little chunky, Bailey is on gourment food no Felix it gives her an upset stomach and Storm like most things especially fresh chicken. I cannot remember why she is called Scout I think I just saw it at the time we were naming them, she is about 12 so a few years ago. Hope your cat gets better soon.
Last edited by Scout Storm on Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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Congratulations on keeping more than one cat on separate diets! That's a task in itself! I have had to bite the bullet and get some from the vet. They had to pick me off the floor when they said how much it was. I could only get a 2 kilo bag today but he loves it. I too will prder on Zooplus I think. Thats for the heads up.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Scout Storm »

You're welcome. It is quite a task with the feeding, sometimes I feel like I am feeding about 20 cats instead of 4. I know the food is expensive from the vet but at least he likes it which is the main thing. Anita
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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He is drinking more today which I am not sure is a good sign? He loves the food and eats well. The vet did say when they were testing him for FIP that he has irregular kidney sizes which whilst isn't a concern it is noted. High protein levels too may come into this?
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Marla »

We feed the wet version of the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal food:
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cann ... iet/516320

Despite being a huge cat, Teddy eats less than the recommended amount (his choice) and is no longer underweight.

About drinking water, was your kitty on dry food before? Be sure to introduce the new food gradually.

When we adopted Teddy, he ate only dry food and drank water. We transitioned him to wet food and he doesn't drink water anymore even though we have a water fountain.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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Ahh OK. He was on wet food and dry when we adopted him, primarily wet as we were trying to hydrate him a little with the fever however this turned out to be stress related in the car. He no longer has the fever so gave him a bit more dry. He had some of this new RC this AM when I got back but tonight will give him a little wet. I think a mixture of both is good. I can try and measure his water intake but is not easy with 2 cats and 2 bowls and also this can vary on weight. It is hard to know what is overdrinking if primarily on dry. He has the same food as Gemo and maybe see her drink every now and then but not daily. She must drink outside somewhere. It does knock your confidence a little adopting a new cat that is/was poorly as you do not know the norm. Every cat is different.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Marla »

I'm not sure what you mean by overdrinking. Leave a bowl of water out, change it daily and let him drink as much as he wants/needs. Cats will often choose to drink rainwater if it's available, but the bowl of water is there if they need it.

I'm so glad he's OK! You went through so much thinking he was ill!
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

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Yes but cats may be drinking too much right? I have to be alert to these things as he still may have an underlying health issue that the vets cannot explain.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Marla »

OK, I get what you were saying. You don't know what's normal for him. Try not to worry though.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by LittlePenBigHeart »

We have a similar situation with our kittens, also bought from a centre.

What I would say is that Royal Canin has an awful lot of fillers and a low meat content. It's not going to harm your cat, so long as their digestion appears to improve while they're on it, BUT I wouldn't recommend it for long-term use. In the short term, Royal Canin Sensitivity is excellent for this sort of issue. What might be a better idea is to source a food with a slightly (10% or less) higher meat content and once they're established on the Royal Canin, mix a little of that food in with it. Over several weeks, try to increase it and see how they get on. If you can get them onto that food, you can try to do the same with a food product that has a higher meat content again. BUT YOU MUST DO IT GRADUALLY. Some cats can tolerate eating anything. Our oldest cat, for example, can eat anything at all without issues. But the kittens, for whatever reason, are very limited because most of what they could eat gives them terrible runny tummies. Right now we've got them on Purina One and we're getting them settled so we can move them onto a food with slightly higher meat content, like More, then work up to Canagan.

Remember as well that you don't have to stick to cat food. We give the kittens cooked chicken breast and cooked, boneless white fish. They're both fine with those.

I hope that's of some use.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

Thank you. He has to go back in a month for a blood test just to check he is OK so will get them to check his weight and chat about his diet then. The only dilemma we have is whether to book a holiday on the 16th! It is always hard with a new adoption but when he has had investigations for an illness it has knocked our confidnce in a holiday. Think my problem is I worry too much about them which is not good.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by issiandarchie+68 »

My big grey cat Gandhi, has mega colon. We adopted him when he was about 5yrs old. At that time, he had to have a 'wash out' at the Vets who advised us he would eventually need part of his bowel removed, poor Gandhi was in awful pain and discomfort, and would probably not live for more than a couple of years afterward. Thankfully our lovely Vet was very much against operating unless totally necessary and together we researched other options, eventually settling on FAGAIL and Royal Canin Sensitive Fibre Response chicken and rice dried which we either buy from the Vet or online. When he has the occasional bad turn, we feed him Royal Canin Chicken and Rice wet pouches. He is now 12yrs old. His coat is gleaming, eyes bright, excellent appetite (he's a right greedy sod) clean white teeth and smells like a new washed cushion, well apart from when he poops like a Shetland pony! Apparently this is down to the mix of water and lactulose syringed down his throat on a daily basis. Oddly, he doesn't mind that, sits between my feet every morning and puts his head back, swallows quickly, without my asking! The cheapest place to buy Royal Canin, we have found, is online at Medic Animal so worth shopping around. Did you mention to the Vet that Scout was eating cat litter?
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Scout Storm »

Hi Issi
Yes my vet saw Scout about the cat litter issue, she had x-rays. I used to use catsan litter but with Scout eating it, it was building up in her stomach and causing inflamation of her stomach lining. I changed the litter straight away and after a course of tablets Scout is much better. I still catch her eating the litter sometimes but the type I use just breaks down in her stomach. My vet cannot see any reason for her liking the litter she said some cats just do. She is a strange little cat. :)
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

Nightmare. Since having Grany, Gemo has been trying to steal his food. Poor Grany just lets her get on with it. Gemo needs to lose some weight now there is more food around again. The RC gastro food is higher calorie too so is hard feeding two cats when they graze throughout the day.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by alanc »

If you want to leave food out for grazing, I think the only answer is to get a pair of microchip operated feeding bowls and feed them far apart. I haven't used microchip feeders, so do not know how effective they are.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Crewella »

Last year I had an elderly ex-stray with dreadful, stinky, sloppy poos and malabsorption issues, the RC Gastro Intestinal was a huge help with him and enabled him to, finally, gain some weight.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

Good news for your cat and is great to hear. Our problem is Gemo our other cat likes it and she has put on weight in the 4 weeks we have had Grany as she tends to eat his food. Is difficult feeding them separately and as RC gastro is high calorie it is not doing her any good. How long was it before you all noticed an increase in weight? I am hoping that will put my mind at rest over Grany a little when I see a little weight on him. He is currently around 3.5 kilos since the adoption. I do think some of it was stress. I wasn't sure whether to give him a little wet felix too?
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by Crewella »

It took a couple of weeks to really notice the weight gain, but the improvement in his poos was almost overnight. I have five here together, all over 10, and all with different nutritional needs, so have to run feeding time like a military operation. All cats get the same bowl, in the same place, in the same order every time and know that they are not allowed to eat out of any other cat's bowl, but I have to be 'lunch monitor' and supervise as as soon as my back is turned I know there will be mayhem! Any food not eaten is immediately picked up, often to be given back to them later. A couple are chronic 'pickers' and will always know when they have some food left and come and ask me for it later.
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

I am sure he is a little heavier after 3 days! Would be great if he is. His poop is good too atm. The vet knows he is on it at home as well now and when I go back in a month will get his weight checked and see long term what diet is bets for him. Thanks for the advice on this food
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Re: Royal Canin Diet Gastro intestinal food

Post by emmab »

Well, so much for the RC Gastro being pallatable. Grany is not eating it now so is hard to see any serious weight gain. I am feeding him wet in the evenings with some dry mixed in but I think the wet is more pallatable for him. We are off on holiday on Wednesday and our neighbour is leaving down RC dry and Iams for the other cat. She will give them wet when she comes in too but if I stop the wet will he eat the dry if he has no choice? I think I have been too fussy wi the food. In the mornings he has RC gastro but turns his nose up at it and waits for the evening when he has wet. Oh the joys!
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