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What soft cat food is best for IBD, besides prescription brands?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | 13 lbs

What's a good soft cat food, for cat with IBD? (that's not Hills ID or royal canin gastrointestinal)

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on October 31st, 2017

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

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    Answered By Anna M., DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 25th, 2020

    I prefer my IBD patients to be on a hypoallergenic hydrolyzed cat food. I like royal canin HP (hydrolyzed protein) but I believe that's only available in dry form. Otherwise Hills Z/D is my next choice, which does come in canned. Those are both prescription foods, available through your vet (but ask your vet about options for having it mailed to your house).

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