Not for real children (Royal Canin in General)

Member Name: miriamb

Product:	Royal Canin in General
Date:	23/09/02 (506 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: pls see op

Disadvantages: pls see op

As mentioned in a couple of previous ops, I have two little girls. They're my babies and they deserve, and get, only the best. As a single mum, I took it upon myself to research what would be best for them, what would be most suitable for their lifestyles and temperaments. You could never call me an irresponsible parent, I have always believed that their preferences should be in equal balance with their nutritional requirements.

So let me tell you a bit about them. My girls don't go out, ever. I worry for their safety, see, and besides they don't seem to be that interested. This means that they don't use as much energy as their roaming cousins, so they need food that has a lower energy content or else they could get fat. God forbid.

Also because they don't go out, they spend more time grooming and preening themselves. Although I do groom them several times a week myself, they are both notoriously vain and wouldn't be seen dead if they weren't pristine at all times. Unfortunately, this means that they could, potentially, consume a lot of hair. Eating hair = fur balls, ick. They don't like that and I don't want to see them having to dispense of what could easily be avoided.

The downside of the fact that they never leave the family home is that they toilet indoors. Everything is deposited in the appropriate place, which I then clean up and dispose of. As you may imagine, this is one of the least pleasant facts of living with my housebound girls, but it remains a fact of living.

The flip side is that they like nice food. If you've read my other cat food op, you'll know how fussy they can be, and how readily they turn their little noses up at anything that doesn't meet their high standards. They like food that smells, and presumably tastes, appetising and anything less just will not do.

After trying them on various types of dry food, I came across one that


reached all of our expectations. It's called Royal Canin Indoor 27. The girls love it, it comes in bite-sized, crunchy, triangular biscuits, smells good enough for them to come running when I put it down for them, and must taste nice enough for them to snack throughout the day. They get wet food twice a day too, but this is the stuff that keeps them going between meals.

I'm happy because it contains the right amount of energy to keep them at their optimum weight. So I know they can munch as much as they need to be full without gorging on unnecessary fat. Additionally, it contains a patented Hairball Transit System, which prevents the build-up of fur balls, and saves their precious little selves from any nasty coughed up gunk. And finally, and wonderfully, it contains a unique Odour Reduction formulation that stops their toilet being smelly. (Definitely a blessing for the mums or dads!)

Around a year on, I can vouch for the fact that it does exactly what it's supposed to. They've not had any coughing sessions, they've not got at all chubby, and their toilets are indeed odourless. Heavenly. The girls are still enjoying it, I'm still grateful for it, and they will continue to be fed Indoor 27 until such a time as they decide they want to venture outdoors. We'll need to address that issue as and when it arises, but for now, we're just fine.

Indoor 27 was launched last year as the latest addition to the Royal Canin range, which consists of specific formulations for baby cats, seniors, the more rotund feline, Persians, etc. Whatever the individual circumstances of your little babies, I am confident that Royal Canin will have something tailored to meet their (and your) needs. You can see how it works on their website at http://www.royal-canin.com/us/default.html

The range is not stocked by all pet shops, but you should be able to find them close by to where you live without mu
ch trouble. As far as I'm aware however it is limited to proper pet shops, ie not supermarkets or corner shops.

Coming in bags weighing 500g at approximately £3 (look out for the specially priced trial £1.99 packs), 2k at approximately £11.50, 4k (around £19), and 10k at approx £34. Prices vary slightly depending on where you get them from but as a rough guide, this should help you work out how much they cost. The 2k bag provides sufficient feed for 33 days. That's just over 60g a day, apparently, which works out at the 2k bag price at about 35p, falling to approximately 20p a day if you buy the supersized 10k pack.

Basically, this is what my girls get, and I can't recommend it highly enough. As the ad says, it does exactly what it says on the tin, and everyone is more than happy.

To diagnose the special requirements of your little treasures take a look at the table contained at http://www.royal-canin.com/us/default.html

(And to whoever it was that said cats are husband/child substitutes, I say pah!)

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