what dry food is best for cats

[molk]

i have a 6 year old male tabby. he is in good health, actve and goes outside. he refuses to eat wet food - picks it up in his paw and throws it!!!! we have been giving him iams complete dry food. however, someone recently told me the base for this is too rich. we have just got royal canin outdoor cat food, but i am finding it hard to find unbiased advice on which dry food is best. any advice welcome.

I don't think you'll find any unbiased advice on which is best - everyone has their own opinions

I'm an ex vet nurse and I use Royal Canin or James Wellbeloved or (occasionally) Hills. Royal Canin and James Wellebloved are made by the same people.

We fed our cats on Hills and they lived until 17 and 19 - they both got upset stomachs every now and then on "wet" food, so I changed them onto Hills when they were quite young. They continued on it, changing to the Senior variety at the right age, for the whole of their lives. They always seemed to enjoy eating it and it obviously helped them have good, long lives!

My new kitten is eating Purina ProPlan Kitten Delicate, which she was having at the breeder's, which she likes and is keeping her well, so I am continuing with it for now at least.

My 3 went off Hills and will now only eat Royal Canin fussy cat, lively cat and Siamese respectively.

None of them are Siamese...they just really like the food.

I pick up those free sample pouches of Royal Canin (always lots of Maine Coon 87 left round our way ) and use them as dog treats or mix them with my cats usual biscuits for a bit of variety.

one of my cats is sick if she eats any other food but Purina one it is expensive but they all seem to like it and are very healthy

The one your cat always eats and doesn't turn his nose up at meaning you have go out and buy more?

For us it's good old (cheap) GoCat. She gets the same thing day in day out but still gets very excited when her bowl is filled up and will not eat anything else. Perhaps there's some terrible addictive ingredient and she really can't stop eating it?!

As a vet I recommend premium brand dry foods such as Hills, Royal Canin, James wellbeloved and Purina. My lovely British Shorthair boy and moggie girl eat sensible cat royal canin and love it.
There appears to some evidence emerging that there is an increased incidence of bladder stones in male cats eating Go Cat this maybe because the cheaper dry foods do not dilute urine like the more expensive foods do.

thankyou for your advice. i will continue with royal canin for now as he seems to relly like it, but good to know that vet uses it too.