Gastrointestinal cat food is suitable for cats that have gut upsets and sensitivities. If your cat is vomiting, having diarrhea, or seemingly upset abdomen, these are signs of a gut problem.
The cat food is specially made with softer and easily digestible food ingredients for the cat’s stomach. It may include rice, canned meat, and freshly boiled chicken. Commercial gastrointestinal food may also have prebiotics, which helps regulate the bacteria in the cat’s stomach.
If your cat has digestive sensitivities, it is advisable to feed the cat the same type of food for a long time and be sensitive when changing. Also, try avoiding cheap food options that have fillers.
It is also necessary to give the cat more wet food than dry food, especially during the cat has sensitivity. The wet food helps hydrate the gut, hence a quicker healing process.
Commercial gastrointestinal cat food is the best option, given that it may feature more nutritional components that are not readily available. It also comes with prebiotics, which heals the cat’s stomach upsets by balancing gut bacteria.
Other than the commercial cat food options, you can consider the following;
- Boiled rice and chicken, and ensure that the food is moist
- Fresh meat
- A meal with eggs
Ensure that the food is warm, which will improve the flavor of the food. It should, however, not be too hot as to burn the cat and discourage it from pursuing the food further.
Gastrointestinal cat food is the best for fast healing of stomach sensitivities. It also has an irresistible smell and flavor that the cat will not dare refuse.
Basically, the food contains food that is easy for the cat to digest. This includes; chicken fat, fish oil, egg products, rice, and beef. It also contains essential vitamins and minerals that prevent dehydration and calm the gut.
If your cat takes the gastrointestinal food continuously for a day or two, the stomach upset should be gone. If it doesn’t, then you should see a veterinary for further treatment.
Cats often vomit hairballs, especially if you rarely brush their fur. Usually, this is not a cause for panic. However, if the cat vomits undigested food, mucosal vomits, or struggles to vomit, this is more serious. It is a sign of gastrointestinal infection.
Other significant signs include the cat being inactive, loss of appetite, and diarrhea. Below are significant causes of stomach sensitivities in cats;
- Indigestion
- Gastrointestinal tract worms
- Stomach bacterial infection
- Stomach ulcers
- Toxic substances ingested
In all these cases, your cat must get treatment. The vet will still recommend the gastrointestinal cat food during the treatment period, which aids in the healing process.
Royal Canin Gastrointestinal cat food ingredients combination is the most recommended for a very sick cat. There are so many, and each has a specific role in healing the cat’s stomach.
These ingredients include;
- Cat nutritious ingredients such as egg products, beef pulp, chicken fat, gluten products, and corn.
- All essential vitamins such as Vitamin A, B1, B12, D3, and C.
- Minerals necessary for healing such as copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, magnesium oxide, choline chloride, and calcium iodate
- Essential oils such as vegetable oil, psyllium seed husk, and fish oil
- Natural flavors that draw the cat to the food
See also Why Do Cats Eat Cake?
Royal Canin makes food products for cats based on ages and health conditions. Even with the gastrointestinal food, there is food for the adult cats and the kittens. There are also options for different breeds of cats based on specific needs.
Then there is my personal favorite for all cats, Royal Canin gastrointestinal fiber response cat food;
Royal Canin gastrointestinal fiber response cat food is rich in soluble and non-soluble fibers. It further incorporates psyllium, all to ease stomach digestion and prevent constipation and indigestion.
More interestingly, the food fabricates a urinary environment, where calcium oxalate uroliths and struvite cannot survive. Therefore, if they are causing the upsets, they are regulated.
Then there are high energy levels in the cat food, ensuring that the cat regains strength during and after healing from the sensitivities.
Vets recommend Royal Canin gastrointestinal cat food due to its high healing capacity to cats. Honestly, the cat food does magic to the sick cat, and most reviews agree with this fact.
The only challenge comes in when you want to feed your cat the gastrointestinal food more. Even after the stomach upset, we tend to be shaken and want to give the cat a diet to avoid further problems.
On top of that, the diet is best for the cat’s kidney, keeping it healthy and protected. Cat food comes in handy more often for older cats that may have regular indigestion and protein problems.
But is this really good for your regular middle age cat or kitten’s health? Remember that the cat food is full of carbohydrates and fiber, in minimal content for typical cat food. It is actually a filler for the cat, which is carnivorous.
Therefore, you must feed the gastrointestinal cat food only occasionally and when required. This way, you will strike a balance between the stomach sensitivities and the cat’s nutrition.
Is Royal Canin gastrointestinal cat food expensive? I will say yes. Royal Canin gastrointestinal cat food is costly. And it is with reason; the cat food will deliver the stomach and kidney healing and soothing it promises. If you can get precisely what you want, it will always come at an extra cost.
If the Royal Canin cat food is unavailable, too expensive, or just not your take, here are some of the alternatives that you can consider;
- Hill’s Prescription Biome Dry Cat Food: Features ActivBiome + Ingredient, a technology that improves GI health by activating its microbes.
- Purina gastrointestinal cat food: If your cat has chronic GI sensitivities, this cat food is an excellent diet. It has low-fat content and increased electrolytes, which stops persistent diarrhea and vomiting.
- The concept for Life Veterinary Diet cat food: best for cat nutrition during stomach sensitivity period. It has more electrolytes and reduced fat content, encouraging digestion.
- Kattovit Gastro: Great for adult cats and takes care of intestinal and pancreatic cat problems. It is concentrated with electrolytes and minimal fat content, aiding indigestion.
- Integra Protect Intestinal cat food: This food is wet and only proteinous, making it a great option if you only want to feed your cat its primary diet. It soothes the gut with optimal hydration and less indigestible food particles.
See also Why Is My Cat So Vocal? What Your Cat Is Trying to Tell You
A cat that is suffering from diarrhea most likely suffers from a GI tract infection. The best way to deal with it is to feed the cat gastrointestinal cat food with minimal fats. It should replace fats with electrolytes and prebiotics, prevent diarrhea.
If the diarrhea is bacterial, giving the cat antibiotics with the vet’s guidance will help ease the problem.
You can also give the cat a mix of dry food and wet food, which will heal the system and facilitate normal stool formation. Dry food promotes a healthy stool in the cat, especially if the GI tract is healing.
Everyone has had a stomach upset occasionally, and we all know from experience how uncomfortable it can be. Worse still, you lose appetite and have a hard time believing that the food will not cause more problems. This is the same case with cats.
Therefore, if you want your cat to warm up to the food that will aid in its healing, here are some tips that you should use:
- Stay with the cat as it eats, and encourage it to eat. If you leave it, it may not touch the food at all.
- Consider buying or adding your cat’s favorite flavor, for instance, fish or chicken.
- Give the cat some warm water during the feeding.
- If the cat is taking dry food, you can give it wet food in the next meal for a full recovery.
- Let the cat have several small meals until it is ready for a larger meal.
It helps heal the GI sensitivities in a cat. Other than the average protein content, the food may contain prebiotics, minimal fats, and more electrolytes, all of which ease the gastrointestinal problems.
Mostly, the senior cats will have GI problems, hence constant use. With younger cats, the food requirement is occasional.
Gastrointestinal cat food is vital in ensuring that the cat heals from the stomach and intestinal challenges. Most GI problems will heal with just the food, and the cat is ready to resume typical food within a couple of days.
However, if the cat’s sensitivity persists, then, as usual, a veterinary check-up is necessary. Remember to deworm the cat regularly to prevent GI challenges that are preventable.
