Royal Canin food review: premium or super premium?

When getting a kitten, a person must solve a lot of problems: prepare a place for it, toys, a tray and many other things. However, one of the first on the list is the question: what to feed your pet so that it is happy, grows and develops normally, and does not get sick.

Cat foods are divided into categories that determine their quality and, accordingly, price. Premium is not the best, as there are much better products, but it is the most common category. This is due to the fact that such products are affordable, while their quality is quite high. In this article, we will not only look at premium category food for kittens, but also talk about what classes of food are available and which type is best for a kitten, and give advice on choosing. Therefore, we recommend reading the article to the end.

Let’s say right away that among the premium line it is difficult to find food that is truly good in composition. Among the best are Animonda (wet only), 1st Choice, Probalance. Most contain quite a lot of sources of carbohydrates, such as corn, wheat, which are of no biological value for cats and can cause allergies. Therefore, when purchasing such a diet, you need to carefully monitor your pet and check if everything is okay with him. If there is an allergic reaction, then you will have to switch to more expensive food, for example, from the holistic class, or natural food.

Rating of premium kitten food: tables of release forms

Next, we will look at food from the premium segment, talk about dry and wet options, their composition and price. Interestingly, Acana food is often classified as premium, although in fact it is holistic.

1st Choice

Healthy Start kitten food contains enough protein to help your baby grow and develop well.

In the first place in the composition are natural chicken and flour from this bird, occupying 17% each. The carbohydrate component is represented by rice, barley, and oats. The food also contains grass and natural preservatives – tocopherols.

Reviews from cat owners and veterinarians are positive. The food is hypoallergenic, it does not cause digestive problems, and improves the condition of the coat and skin. Calorie content: 376.2 kcal per 100 g.

For kittens, 1st Choice only has a dry option, no wet option, and it can only be given from 2 months.

There are different packaging options, from 350 grams to 10 kg. If you buy a medium one, 5 kg, the feed will cost 630-650 rubles. per kg.

Animonda (wet only)

Only wet rations are produced. Carny and Vom Feinstein have an excellent line-up, the Rafiné spiders have a worse lineup. It is not worth feeding only such foods all the time; the first two do not contain any sources of carbohydrates, which cats still need.

Pro Plan

Pro Plan food from Purina is one of the most popular in Russia. In addition to the main meat ingredients, Pro Plan contains corn and wheat gluten, which is bad. The food has a good content of microelements, and probiotics are added for better digestion.

From the editors of the portal Mister Cat . We would like to note that corn, wheat, etc. These are not the best feed components, as they are poorly digested by animals. But in almost all premium food they are present in one quantity or another. If you want to completely exclude grains from your cat’s diet (which will only benefit your pet), you will have to choose food from the more expensive category, i.e. super premium or holistic, or switch the animal to natural food, which we often recommend.

The manufacturer produces various lines of food intended for adult cats, small kittens, and animals suffering from any diseases or undergoing surgical interventions. There are wet and dry foods for kittens in a variety of flavors. Overview in the table:

Royal Canin

Royal Canin is on the list of the most popular brands in Russia. This name is familiar to almost everyone, even those who do not have pets, since the company advertises its products quite widely. In terms of composition, this food is far from the best in its category. It contains dehydrated poultry protein, hydrolyzed animal protein and plant protein isolate. Also contains animal fats and soy. Therefore, the owner should consider whether he wants to feed his pet this food. It contains potentially allergenic components, and there is no great benefit to speak of. Although, it should be noted that many people choose the products of this brand and are satisfied: both cats and owners.

Options for food from the manufacturer for kittens are presented in the table:

Hill's

The Hills brand also produces a line of kitten food. The product contains chicken and poultry meal, vegetable (pea) protein, tapioca starch, wheat flour, cellulose, dried whole egg, dried protein, corn starch. There are quite a few sources of carbohydrates and they are not the best. True, the fatty component in wet food is represented by fish oil, which is beneficial for cats. According to reviews from veterinarians and owners, the composition of the food is clear and balanced. Most cat babies fed Hill's products do well.

However, in some individuals, such nutrition can provoke digestive problems of varying severity, hair loss, and acne. Therefore, it is necessary to give food to a kitten for the first time with caution and then carefully monitor its condition.

Brit

A Czech brand of food for cats that is not very widely known in Russia. Kitten food is not the worst among premium ones, it contains 38% chicken meat, the fat component is chicken and salmon fat. The source of carbohydrates in the feed are corn and rice, potential allergens. The food also contains valerian, but the amount is so small that it can only attract the cat, but not provoke an excessive craving for food, cause overeating or inappropriate behavior - not.

Brit Care belongs to the super premium category, the composition is better than Brit Premium (instead of corn and wheat there is rice). Among the super premiums you can find better food, but the price of the Care line is affordable.

Bozita

This is a fairly expensive food, which is often classified as super premium. Contains 35% protein from chicken and salmon. The second item in the composition is corn flour - a product that is not only useless for kittens, but can also provoke allergic reactions and digestive disorders. However, reviews of this food are mostly positive.

Eukanuba

Dutch Eukanuba products for kittens were developed taking into account all the needs of a growing organism and the manufacturer itself classifies the food as super premium. However, not so long ago, food began to be produced in Russia and, according to reviews from many veterinarians, its quality has deteriorated greatly, which forced them to downgrade the food level to premium.

From the editors of the portal Mister Cat . The composition of wet food does not make it clear the exact origin of the ingredients; it contains a lot of grains, by-products of unclear quality, and fish oil (which is healthy) comes in last place. The composition of dry food is better, but not everything is clear about it either; in the first place are proteins of animal origin (43% - poultry, a natural source of taurine), i.e. What occupies the remaining 57% of these proteins is not clear. Also among the ingredients are barley, wheat, wheat flour, rice, dried whole egg, hydrolyzed animal protein, sugar beet pulp, fish oil, fructooligosaccharides, dried brewer's yeast, minerals. Barley is the best grain that is used in ready-made food, but wheat is also present among the ingredients, which can cause allergies in pets. In general, kittens do not need the amount of carbohydrates contained in this food.

Almo Nature

Almo Nature canned food is made from chicken meat using a unique technology. The manufacturer reports that all ingredients are placed in a jar and sealed, and only then undergo heat treatment, which helps preserve all the beneficial substances. The food contains meat, chicken broth, rice, and some fat. It contains a vitamin complex, minerals, and beneficial microelements. The manufacturer classifies its food as super premium and holistic, but not all veterinarians agree with this. Dry food contains grains, it is specified that rice is 14%, which takes up another 86% is not entirely clear.

Happy Cat

German food for kittens Happy Cat. The sources of carbohydrates are rice and corn. The product contains a complex of vitamins necessary for the growth and development of the kitten. The downside, in addition to the corn in the composition, is that all the manufacturer’s food for kittens is dry.

Advance

For kittens, we produce food with chicken and rice. Can be given for two months. Available in packages of 400 grams (250 rubles) and 1.5 kg (800 rubles).

Protein requirements of pets

Dogs and cats are carnivores, and animal protein is one of the key elements in their diet. The physiology of our pets has been well studied, and the biological needs of their body, including protein, are clearly defined. Adult dogs require 4.5-6.0 g per kilogram of weight, and with increased loads - up to 9.0 g. For cats, which are obligate predators, these figures are even higher: 5.3-6.3 g, maximum - up to 10 g (at high activity).

Let's take as an example one of our brand's food - Acana Grasslands Dog dry food, which contains 35% protein. According to the feeding chart on the package, an adult active dog weighing 20 kg of this diet requires 240 grams per day.

35/100*240 = 84 g - this is how much protein the animal will receive per day;

84:20 = 4.2 g - this is the amount of protein per 1 kg of weight.

As you can see, the food satisfies the adult dog’s body’s need for protein, and accordingly, its content can be considered optimal.

Choosing the right food for your kitten

Choosing the right foods should be done carefully, especially at an early age. There are several reasons to choose food wisely for your small pet. First of all, the diet must contain the nutritional elements the baby needs for the proper formation of organs and systems, good growth; along with food, the cat’s body must receive everything it needs. At an early age this is more important than ever as the animal grows and develops.

Also read the article about what and how to feed a kitten.

It is necessary to think about the choice of food immediately also because veterinarians categorically do not recommend switching the animal to another diet. This should only be done if absolutely necessary, and keep in mind that this is serious stress for the cat.

Every person, when getting a kitten, must immediately determine what he will feed the pet: ready-made food produced industrially, or natural food.

Many experts favor the latter option, since natural food is as close as possible to what a cat can eat in natural conditions. But today more and more people give preference to store-bought food, as it significantly saves time, and often turns out to be more profitable financially.

Ready-made food for cats is divided into categories:

• economy;
• premium;
• super premium;
• holistic.

The cheapest food is economy class. They are often chosen by cat owners. You need to understand that products in this category are made from cheap, often not very high-quality raw materials. They contain almost no meat, but a lot of grains, soy, flavorings, aromas and preservatives. This set can hardly be called useful for a cat’s body.

Premium kitten food is a good choice in terms of price-quality. Manufacturers select the composition more carefully, try to exclude harmful and useless substances, and do not save much on raw materials. Products in the super premium and holistic categories are, of course, of higher quality, but can scare the consumer with the price. Knowing this, retail chains and stores prefer to sell more affordable products. For this reason, food of the highest quality categories can be difficult to find.

When choosing food for your pet, you should also take into account its age, weight, breed, and individual characteristics. You should not feed your cat food intended for dogs. These are other animals. And even if a cat's weight is comparable to that of a small dog, nutrients and their balance vary greatly in products for different types of animals.

Industrial foods are formulated to meet your cat's needs for minerals, vitamins and nutrients. This applies to both dry and wet food of acceptable quality. Manufacturers of economy class products do not pay much attention to a balanced and rich composition. But companies that produce premium products develop pretty good food.

Experts recommend feeding your pet mostly dry food. It does not spoil and can be left in a bowl so that the cat can have a little refreshment at any time. Wet food is recommended to be given approximately once a day.

A caring owner should also take into account the preferences of the kitten itself. Everyone has individual tastes, and different cats like foods with different flavors.

We recommend reading the article-review of Holistic class food.

Why shouldn’t healthy animals have reduced protein in their feed?

Protein is one of the most important macronutrients in the diet of dogs and cats - without it, the existence of a living organism is impossible, since it is a building material for tissues and organs, elements of the enzymatic and circulatory systems. Proteins consist of amino acids, of which there are 22 in total. Moreover, some of them are essential, that is, they cannot be synthesized by the body from other substances and must be supplied with food.

Arginine, valine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan and phenylalanine are essential for dogs. For cats, this list is one point longer: their bodies are not able to produce taurine. In terms of its amino acid composition, animal protein is the most complete for carnivores, since only it contains a complete set of these “building blocks of life.”

In the absence of a regular influx of protein compounds, partial destruction of various cellular structures is observed, that is, the body begins to make up for the lack of protein at the expense of its own tissues. The consequences of prolonged protein starvation can be irreversible, which is especially important for puppies and kittens and young animals. A significant decrease in protein in the diet in comparison with the physiological norm causes them to stop growing, reduce body weight to critical levels, and change the chemical composition of bones.

By asking which food contains less protein, the owner wants to protect a healthy pet from the risks of disease, but in reality creates a risk of serious disruptions in the body’s functioning.

Advantages and disadvantages of premium kitten food

First of all, the advantages of premium category feeds include their fairly low cost with quite acceptable quality. They are not much more expensive than economy class, but are made from better raw materials and have a balanced composition.

When giving preference to the premium class, you should take into account that the saturation of vitamins and minerals may be insufficient, and you will have to give your pet supplements to maintain its health.

The disadvantages also include the fact that in the production of these products quite a lot of compounds that are not beneficial for the cat’s body are used: aroma enhancers, flavoring additives, preservatives, dyes, thickeners, stabilizers and similar compounds.

Who needs low protein dry food?

Situations where food with a low protein content may be required arise with some serious diseases, for example, chronic renal failure or liver disease, and these are not just regular diets, but special veterinary diets that are only an addition to the drug treatment prescribed by the doctor after diagnosis. accurate diagnosis.

Making a decision on your own that your pet needs to reduce the level of protein in its diet is downright dangerous. Having noticed any changes in your pet’s condition, you should not look for dry food with a low protein content, but contact a specialist, and it is quite possible that problems arise precisely because your dog or cat does not receive enough quality animal protein in accordance with its requirements. physiological needs.

Approximate feed composition

When choosing food for a kitten, you need to pay attention to its composition. It often turns out that cheap premium food is of better quality than expensive food of a higher category.

The food must contain a protein component. The packaging says something like: chicken, chicken protein, corn gluten. It is necessary to understand that not only chicken meat, but also other parts of the carcass, although well processed, are included in the feed. If the protein component is represented by corn gluten or soy, then it is better to avoid such a product. Vegetable protein is less easily absorbed by the body of a predatory animal, and in addition, such components are quite allergenic.

Carbohydrates in premium foods are usually represented by wheat, rice or corn, and sometimes other cereals.

The composition also includes vitamins necessary for cats (A, D3, E, C, B), micro- and macroelements (manganese, zinc, iron, copper, selenium, iodine), taurine and other useful compounds.

When choosing food, it is necessary to study the composition. Some manufacturers make products based on vegetable protein, which is not very beneficial for cats. You should also pay attention to what substances are used as preservatives and antioxidants. Sometimes the packaging only indicates that such ingredients are contained in the composition. Manufacturers who add natural substances for this purpose that are not harmful to the health of the animal, as a rule, indicate their names (for example, tocopherols).

Also read about the composition of cat food.