Best cat food - Royal Canin, Proplan or Monge?

Royal Canin, Proplan, Monge, Bosita and Farmina are the largest food manufacturers available in any pet store. All of them offer dry and wet diets, differing not only in taste, but also in purpose, and are distinguished by a decent assortment. But who has it wider and more diverse?

As can be seen in the comparison, Monge is the record holder for the variety of lines. The only manufacturer to offer a solution for literally every occasion, from thoughtful senior cat food and nutritious kitten diets to advanced grain-free and hypoallergenic formulas, pies for fussy pets, veterinary and preventive diets.

Head to head with him go Proplan, which lacks only a universal food for all ages, and Royal Canin. The latter does not have grain-free and all-age solutions, but the choice of therapeutic diets and diets for breeds is wider than that of analogues.

With a number of diseases and health characteristics, a pet needs special nutrition, designed specifically for its needs. And if most premium and super-premium feeds have diets for sterilized animals and, as a rule, are selected by the owner of the animal, then therapeutic diets are agreed with the veterinarian.

The widest range of such diets is presented among the lines of Royal Canin. The brand offers a solution for almost any problem, be it allergies, diabetes or kidney problems. But the basis of the food in all cases is approximately the same - corn, rice, soybeans and proteins, the source of which is usually chicken or bird feathers. Because of this, Royal Canin diets are not suitable for everyone, and the hypoallergenic version can cause allergies in some allergy sufferers.

Purina Proplan and Farmina can be called the best in terms of the quality of therapeutic diets. The former is among the most commonly prescribed by veterinarians, the latter, unlike other therapeutic foods, contains real meat, and not just isolated proteins, is well tolerated by almost all cats and, as a rule, does not adversely affect the liver and kidneys.

The importance of meat and its products in the diet of a cat cannot be overestimated.From these ingredients, the pet predator receives not only the taurine necessary for maintaining vision, but also a number of other essential amino acids, as well as the most easily absorbed proteins and vitamins, which reduce the risk of developing a number of problems from eczema and hair loss to KSD, kidney failure and rickets. All this makes the percentage of meat one of the most important criteria for choosing the best cat food.

Fortunately, many manufacturers are well aware of this. In particular, Monge Superpremium contains 36% chicken, as well as dehydrated salmon meat, animal fat, animal protein, fish oil. The exact proportion of the latter is not indicated, but their position in the composition suggests that we are talking about 25% or more additional meat ingredients. This is the best indicator among analogues, although the gap between Farmina and Bosita is not too large. Royal Canin is noticeably different from them, in which of the ingredients of animal origin only proteins isolated in the laboratory, fats of unknown origin and fish oil, but not meat.

Cats are carnivores and most of their vitamins and minerals come from meat. However, it alone is not enough for a balanced diet. Cats also need fat rich in essential omega-6 fatty acids, quality fiber sources such as pea or beet fiber to help naturally cleanse the gastrointestinal tract, eliminate hairballs and keep the digestive tract stable.The prebiotics known as MOS and FOS act in the same direction. Not superfluous in the composition of the feed will be fish oil, which contains the Omega-3s necessary to maintain immunity, healthy joints and brain functions, and eggs, which are a source of 100% digestible animal protein.

All these components can be found among the top three in comparison by this criterion - Monge, Farmina and Bosita feeds. The palm goes to the first, because it contains the least corn that is unhealthy for cats, is rich in prebiotics and high-quality fiber, and is supplemented with Yucca Schidigera, which improves digestion and reduces litter box odor.

Each cat is unique not only in character, but also in needs and health. Therefore, the tolerance of food by different animals is not the same. But some diets are better than others for cats with sensitive digestion and allergies.

In particular, we can talk about the excellent digestibility of Monge feed. The percentage of corn is noticeably lower here, the diet is rich in prebiotics, and at the same time, a significant proportion of animal components falls on hypoallergenic turkey meat and fish. The compositions of Farmina and Bosita seem to be slightly less easily digestible, where two of the five leading positions are occupied by grains. Nevertheless, a study of reviews about these feeds, as well as about Monge, did not reveal any cases of allergies and gastrointestinal problems.

The situation with Royal Canin and Purina Proplan is not so clear.Most cats eat these foods without visible complaints, but on Yandex.Market and other resources you can find tens and hundreds of comments about hair loss, rashes, weeping eczema and other manifestations of allergies in pets, as well as vomiting, indigestion and gastritis when fed with these stamps.

The optimal feed size varies depending on the size of the animal. Since rations for adult animals of medium size were chosen for comparison, we will focus on them when scoring.

As the experience of many cat owners shows, the best option for small and medium-sized purrs are flat granules of about 8 mm. It is in this format that Farmita is produced. Neat oval croquettes are easily chewed, but not so small that the cat swallows them whole. This allows you to clean and strengthen your teeth and reduce the risk of overeating. When chewing food slowly, the feeling of fullness comes faster.

Bosita is exactly 1 cm in diameter and the granules are slightly thicker, but in the normal state of the oral cavity, the cat should not have difficulty eating. Also in the top three finalists is Purina Proplan. With a diameter of 5.5-6 mm, the food is well suited for small cats and picky pets who refuse to chew large kibbles. But some people just swallow it.

The ability to find a package of optimal weight is an important aspect. On the one hand, buying a package that is enough to feed a pet for a month or two, but not so large that the food runs out and rancid, is simply convenient. On the other hand, it often affects the financial issue. A number of brands have an unspoken rule: the larger the package, the lower the price per kilogram.

This nuance brings Farmina to the best according to the criterion. The manufacturer offers both 0.4 kg samples and 1.5 kg packaging, which is enough for most for about a month, as well as packaging of 10 and 20 kg, a decent supply for a whole pride of 5 or more cats.

Royal Canin and Proplan also please with four options, but of a smaller volume. Bosita and Monge have a more modest choice - only three standard solutions. A sample, a month's food for one cat, or a large package for several.

Let's compare the cost of the most profitable packaging presented by all 5 brands - 10 kg. Such a supply of one average cat, as a rule, is enough for 4-5 months.

Royal Canin, despite its low meat content and high consumption, is one of the most expensive foods in comparison. Only the Swedish Bosita is more expensive.

Surprisingly, the most profitable was the best feed according to the share of meat and a number of other criteria. A balanced and quite nutritious Monge will cost only 4,100 rubles. It's not that expensive for one cat. Less than 1000 rubles per month.

Without a ziplock, the food quickly loses its taste and attractiveness for a cat, it can go rancid, deteriorate, and few people want to constantly smell the annoying smell of a cat's dinner coming from a recently opened bag and drive away a voracious pet from it. Of course, you can pour food into special containers, but this is not convenient for everyone and a waste of money.

Better than others, Bosita took care of this issue. The package closes completely with a ziplock. Royal Canin also offers this option, but only on some packages. Purina also offers a gender solution, but in its own way. The Proplan package is equipped with a ziplock in one corner only. However, when pouring food into a bowl directly from the bag, this is quite convenient. Farmina also has a ziplock, although not as reliable as the best in comparison by this criterion.

When choosing the best food, it is important to consider not only the composition, price and fame, but also reviews. After all, they show how well the diet is tolerated and eaten by animals in fact.Therefore, we took reviews from the sites Yandex.Market, Ozon, IRecommend, SberMegaMarket and Otzovik in order to evaluate the opinion of users about each of the comparison participants.

As you might expect, Royal Canin was the most talked about food after reviewing the top 5 sources. But he also turned out to be the owner of the lowest rating and the record holder for negative ratings. Fame isn't everything.

Proplan was a little more lucky, but he did not enter the top three of the best either. Bronze went to Farmina Mathis, who was not the most discussed, but received almost no negative comments. The silver medalist was Monge, who found a good balance between fame and high scores. Gold goes to Sweden's Bosita, a food with a record low percentage of negative comments, the highest ratings and the best tolerance by cats and even kittens.

Although Monge is the best in such important parameters as price and percentage of meat, due to not the most thoughtful packaging and large granules, it is inferior to Farmina in comparison. But the gap is small, and all 5 feeds are good in their own way.

When choosing a particular brand, we recommend focusing primarily on the health and characteristics of the pet. Is the cat not chewing on large food pellets, but swallows small ones too quickly or is a veterinary diet required? Pay attention to Farmina. Need the best balance of price and quality, suitable for sensitive pets? Take Monge. Do you want an elite and thoughtful option without pitfalls? Your choice is Bosita.