Can Natural Balance LID replace Royal Canin for my cat's IBD?

I am sorry to hear about Kitty, that sounds so frustrating! So unfortunately the over the counter diets with limited ingredients are not as good as the prescription diets. The reason for this is that the over the counter foods are processed in the same facitilities and sometimes the same equipment as other foods, so some cross contamination does occur. In some pets the small contamination might not be a big deal, in others is can. Think of people with a severe peanut allergy that can't eat anything that says "processed in a plant that also processes peanuts". When they have done studies checking the foods, they can detect other ingredients in those foods. I would let your vet know that Kitty doesn't like the Royal Canin diet. There may be other prescription diet options available from your vet, or your vet may feel comfortable trying the Natural Balance diet in her situation.

Many times cats will respond to a prescription diet using hydrolyzed protein. Both Hill's and Royal Canin carry these types, which you can discuss with your vet. If you are looking for a cat food that isn't a prescription food, you will have to do a food trial to attempt to find a diet that Junior's colon will respond to: "Another approach is the use of the novel protein diets. The idea here is that the patient cannot have an immunological reaction to a protein source it has never experienced. (It takes long-term exposure to a protein before the immune system will respond against it, so a new protein should be safe.) This means using an unusual protein such as rabbit, venison, fish (for dogs) or duck, so long as the patient has not been fed these foods before. Again, it takes about a month to see a good response." There are many great brands of cat food that you can find with these types of ingredients at the pet store. A homecooked diet is also an option, but it needs to be formulated by a veterinary nutritionist to make sure it is completely balanced with everything that Junior needs. Also, don't forget to talk to your vet about supplementing B12, if needed in Junior's case. Here is info on IBD: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=598 And here is information on a food trial (it says dogs but the same concept applies for cats!): http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2499

This food is not necessarily considered to be a senior diet, however it is appropriate for adult cats and in this case I would not recommend switching to another diet. Senior diets tend to have fewer calories and sometimes have different nutrients and supplements than adult foods. If Trixie is overweight you can try cutting back on the amount of food offered during the day. Royal Canin select protein foods already have increased levels of fatty acids, and you could ask your vet if Trixie might benefit from a dietary supplement for joint health or a probiotic that would be okay with her IBD.

Theoretically Trixie could do any of the hydrolyzed diets. Royal Canin carries a hydrolyzed protein diet very similar to the Hill’s diet. Purina also carries a formula as well called HA. Most likely Trixie would do fine on any of these. Make sure any diet transition is slow over the course of 5 to 7 days. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions!

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! By IBS I am assuming you may mean inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as this is common in older cats. Some prescription diets like Royal Canin Gastrointestinal canned or dry or hydrolyzed diets. The Science diet limited ingredient diets (d/d) can also be helpful. If you are looking for an over the counter diet I have had some success with Natural balance limited ingredient canned food. Canned diets are always preferred in cats so if you can feed Simon an all canned diet that would be better.

Frankly, I do not care for Blue Buffalo products because they have a history of lying about their ingredients in their diets. Hills and Royal Canin are my preferred brands. There are other limited protein food brands out there, such as Natural Balance, which has formulas with a single protein source and a single carbohydrate source, making it less likely for your cat to develop an allergy.

I am sorry to hear about Charlie. I would recommend a prescription diet manufactured specifically for this issue. There are several novel protein diets and also hydrolyzed protein diets available by Royal Canin, Purina Veterinary Diets, and Hills. These diets have gone through feeding trials and are balanced and healthy for your pet. Your vet can choose a diet they feel will best fit your needs. I will mention that while there are allergy tests for food, they are not considered truly accurate and the only way to tell for certain if a food allergy is present is by a diet trial. You can read more about food allergies at https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951526 and diet trials at https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952600