Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food Review: Pros, Cons, Recalls

Written by Sarah Psaradelis
Published: July 7, 2022
© Tiki551/Shutterstock.com

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“The Royal Canin veterinary diet feline renal support is a dry cat food that is one of the best veterinary-recommended cat foods that helps prevent the progression of kidney failure and further damage.

Royal Canin is a popular pet food brand that is primarily sold in veterinary clinics. Most of the brand’s pet foods are suitable for cats and dogs who are suffering from certain conditions.

Royal Canin has been around since the 1960s when a surgeon named Jean Cathary was working at a veterinary practice in Aimargues. Cathary was concerned with the skin conditions of the local pets and began to experiment with homemade foods as a solution. After attempting to create several successful recipes, Cathary trade marketed the food to ‘Royal Canin’ and went into the pet food industry. Today, this company is distributed and produced in various facilities around the world and is commonly recommended by veterinarians.

Their veterinary diet feline renal support recipe is a dry cat food that has been created to help cats who have kidney issues and need a special diet to help support their kidney function. This food comes in both a dry and wet recipe, however, they are both the same foods with similar ingredients, and it offers you the choice of choosing a wet or dry food for your cat.

Our Top Pick
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Renal Support
  • Recommended by veterinarians
  • Low in protein and phosphorus
  • Enticing flavor
  • Helps maintain kidney health
Check Chewy Check Amazon

Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food Benefits and Features

  • Includes a wet cat food recipe if you do not prefer to feed your cat dry foods.
  • Recommended by veterinarians across the world.
  • Supports cats who are suffering from kidney disease with carefully selected ingredients.
  • Is a low protein and phosphorus food for cats who have kidney problems.
  • Ideal for both adult and senior cats.
  • Has recipes with enticing flavors and aromas to entice fussy cats to eat.

Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food: Pros & Cons

PROS:

  • The recipe is recommended by veterinarians.
  • Highly palatable formula.
  • Helps maintain kidney health and function.
  • Aims to delay the progression of kidney disease in cats.

CONS:

  • Expensive to purchase on a regular basis.
  • You may need a veterinary prescription to purchase this food.

Where is Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food Made?

Royal Canin is a French pet food manufacturer that specializes in dog and cat foods. They are part of the Mar Incorporated company that researches the formulas according to the breed and symptoms for the pet foods. This brand’s main head office is located in Aimargues, Gard in France. Royal Canin bases the production of their dog and cat foods according to scientific research first in Missouri and another facility in Brazil.

There are now twelve main production facilities worldwide in these places:

The Royal Canin veterinary diet feline renal support cat foods are manufactured in these facilities, with the ingredients coming from other sources. The ingredients are thoroughly tested for safety and then combined to form the final product.

Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food Ingredients

The Royal Canin renal support dry cat food has a unique blend of ingredients aimed to support cats with kidney problems. Cats who have chronic kidney issues may also have symptoms such as nausea which can cause them to eat less which eventually leads to weight loss. Royal Canin has created renal support dry cat food that has an enticing aroma and texture to try and encourage your cat to eat. The kibble is round in shape and easy for cats to eat.

The food is energy-dense which helps to provide nutritional support to cats in smaller portions. Royal Canin has taken special consideration when it comes to incorporating certain ingredients into the food since cats who have decreased kidney function usually suffer from a poor appetite. This food is rich in antioxidants, fatty acids from fish oil, and low in phosphorus, with targeted protein levels to help support a cat’s kidney function.

This food is mainly fed to cats with kidney problems for up to 6 months and it includes a low level of vitamin D and calcium because of these ingredients’ urine alkalizing properties. It has a protein content of 23%, a fat content of 17%, and a fiber content of 10%. It has very few controversial ingredients and the protein sources have been selected for their high digestibility.

Which Types Of Cats Is Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food Best Suited For?

The Royal Canin feline renal support food is ideal for cats who have kidney issues such as kidney failure, chronic renal insufficiency, kidney stones, and other kidney conditions that require your cat to be fed food with restricted levels of phosphorus, high-quality proteins, and low levels of urine alkalizing ingredients such as calcium and vitamin D. This cat food should be fed with a prescription from a veterinarian with checkups on how your cat is functioning on this food every 6 months, however, the food can be fed to cats long-term because it contains balanced nutrition.

Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food Recalls

This food only has one recall history back in February 2016 when some batches of the Royal Canin veterinary diet feline renal support cat foods were called back for a health hazard evaluation.

Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food: Where to Buy

You can purchase Royal Canin veterinarian diet feline renal support food from many different pet shops around the world, veterinary clinics, and online stores such as chewy and Amazon. Some online sites that sell this food will say that you need a veterinarian’s prescription before purchasing this food.

Our Top Pick
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Renal Support
  • Recommended by veterinarians
  • Low in protein and phosphorus
  • Enticing flavor
  • Helps maintain kidney health
Check Chewy Check Amazon

Royal Canin Renal Support Cat Food Specs

Price

This food can be quite expensive to feed your cat for a long time, which is why most veterinarians will recommend this as a maintenance diet for up to six months until your cat’s kidneys have healed. This can be great food for cats with kidney problems, however, it is not the most affordable option. The overall price seems to be worth the beneficial ingredients this food has to offer cats with kidney problems and the quality of the food is quite good.

Nutrition

The Royal Canin veterinarian diet feline renal support diet seems to have a good nutritional value and guaranteed analysis to form a complete and balanced diet for your cat. The ingredients and nutrition that these food offers are better suited for cats with kidney problems because it has specialized proteins and low phosphorus levels. The low levels of calcium and vitamin D are also only suitable for cats that have kidney problems, so this food does not offer much in terms of nutrition to cats who do not have kidney problems.

Quality

The quality of this food seems to be quite good and there are few controversial ingredients and no potentially harmful ingredients. This food is considered to be a high-quality renal support cat food for cats with kidney problems which is why it is recommended by veterinarians. The quality of the food will be reduced if it was to be fed to a cat that does not need a specialized diet for renal support because of the low levels of certain ingredients that are crucial for your cat’s health.

Royal Canin Feline Renal Support vs. Hills Prescription Diet Feline Kidney Support

The Royal Canin veterinarian diet feline renal support food has special proteins and low calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D levels which helps support a cat’s kidney function if they have chronic kidney issues. The Hills prescription diet feline kidney support is a wet cat food that has a chicken and vegetable flavor. It is better suited for adult and senior cats with kidney problems and the ingredients help to protect kidney function while enhancing your cat’s appetite. It can also be fed as a long-term food for kidney care. Both of these kidney-support cat foods are quite pricey and both foods require a prescription from a veterinarian before purchase.

Bottom Line

The Royal Canin veterinarian diet feline renal support food is ideal for cats with chronic kidney problems and to help stop the progression of kidney failure. This food can also help cats who are suffering from a decreased appetite due to nausea from having kidney problems as the enticing aroma can help encourage your cat to eat.

This dry cat food should be prescribed by a veterinarian, and they should get regular check-ups while being fed this food to see if it is helping their kidney function.

Although it is slightly pricey, the overall quality of this food and the nutrition it can provide to cats who have kidney problems make this food worth the purchase.

Next Up…

Discover what other pet foods the Royal Canin brand is best known for by checking out these articles.

About the Author

Sarah is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering aquatic pets, rodents, arachnids, and reptiles. Sarah has over 3 years of experience in writing and researching various animal topics. She is currently working towards furthering her studies in the animal field. A resident of South Africa, Sarah enjoys writing alongside her pets and almost always has her rats perched on her shoulders.

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