Why is Royal Canin so expensive

Why Is Royal Canin So Expensive? (11 Reasons Why)

You would do anything for your dog or cat. The food your pet consumes could significantly impact their overall health. Your pet is family, and you should want to provide your cat or dog with adequate nutrition.

If you have priced Royal Canin online, you will notice that the price for the food is expensive. I have researched Royal Canins pricing and found 11 reasons why it is pricey. I would like to disclose these reasons to you.

Why Is Royal Canin So Expensive?

1. Years Of Experience

Royal Canin was made by a man named Jean Cathary, who was a French veterinarian. He was trying to find good food for his animals. In 1960, he created a nutritional, dry cereal-based food. It helped animals with skin and coat issues.

He named his newfound brand of food Royal Canin. He stopped his veterinary medicine as he decided to concentrate solely on making food for domesticated animals. In 1972, he sold to Guyomarch Group. They were able to expand sales to:

• Italy
• Belgium
• Sweden
• Spain
• Germany
• Denmark

In 2001, the corporation was sold to Mars, Inc., and it is still owned by them today. Due to expansion and continued scientific investigation, the price of Royal Canin is high.

2. Researched By Veterinary Scientists

A portion of their sales income is invested in nutritional research, and they keep veterinary nutritionists on staff. Royal Canin food is highly revered and recommended by veterinarians. They own several research facilities around the world, which can be expensive.

Royal Canin has a good reputation. The company is well-known for taking great care with their food for animals. Royal Canin puts thought and consideration into every product that is made.

3. Formulated For Different Health Issues

Royal Canin has food that veterinary cardiologists recommend for cats or dogs with heart issues. The company also has food that is geared toward urinary health and other health issues.

An example of a great product made by Royal Canin is the Gastrointestinal Fiber Response Dry Cat Food, which has been known to help cats who suffer from constipation.

Also, the veterinary diet Adult Urinary SO Dry Cat Food has been said to work wonders for cats with bladder issues. The companys goal is to ensure that you spend money on food rather than vet bills. It is essential to protect your pets health.

4. Formulated For Specific Breeds

Royal Canin makes food for cats and dogs of specific breeds. For example, if you have Ragdoll cats or Siamese cats, they have food specific to the breeds nutritional needs.

It is the same for different breeds of dogs. Whatever breed of dog or cat you have, there is food specifically formulated for them, and there is a variety to choose from, like Ragdoll food for your cat or golden retriever for your dog.

5. Different Types Of Sensitivities

There are foods for different sensitivities your pet may have. For example, if your dog has a tender stomach, you can give them food formulated explicitly for gastrointestinal sensitivity.

Royal Canin has a food formulated for skin disease and other types of sensitivities. Some pet parents swear that the food is ideal for pets with food sensitivities.

6. Different Stages Of Life

There are specific foods for pets at different stages in their life. For example, puppies and kittens have distinct nutritional requirements from their elders. You would not give a puppy food that is meant for an adult dog.

The stages of your pets life go from a kitten to teenager, adult, and senior. There is a Royal Canin food for every pet at every age, which demonstrates the companys dedication to feeding your pets appropriately.

7. Royal Canin And The AKC

The American Kennel Club and Royal Canin have a multi-year agreement for Royal Canin as a presenting sponsor of the dog sports championship in the AKC. The AKC is a non-profit organization that retains the worlds largest registry of purebred dogs.

The AKC is a trustworthy and well-respected organization. AKC also promotes responsible dog ownership. The organization would not be linked to a brand that was not reputable. Royal Canin is a brand that is synonymous with quality and excellence.

8. Most Pets Love Royal Canin

Many pet parents have given testimonies that their dog or cat loves Royal Canin food. When your pet likes their food, they will likely run to the dish excitedly, knowing what they are getting. Your pet may sniff the food and then immediately start to eat it.

My cats love Royal Canin dry food Ragdoll mix. My pets love the stinky smell and taste of the food. Royal Canin does not specify from where they source their ingredients, but their food is a significant hit with both cats and dogs alike.

9. Vet-Prescribed Foods

Sometimes your pet will need food prescribed by a veterinarian. These foods are FDA-approved, as the food is more like medicine than pet food. Some of the foods that are vet prescribed are for:

• Digestive support
• Kidney and liver support
• Skin and coat
• Urinary health
• Weight control

These prescription foods are more expensive than regular commercial foods. Although, you can purchase commercial foods for these conditions. However, they are not as complete with the ingredients as the prescription foods.

These prescription foods are tailored to both dogs and cats. They handle the same issues, but they are not the same. Royal Canin prescription foods cost about twice as much as regular food.

10. Its All In The Packaging

Royal Canin knows that it is essential for pet owners to have their vet recommend foods for their dog or cat. Royal Canins veterinary diet has expensive packaging that would be presented in a hospital setting. This packaging drives up the price.

Along with packaging, Royal Canin spends about a hundred million dollars yearly on advertising. This marketing includes print, national television, and digital marketing. The company has at least 46 employees specific to media-based information.

Royal Canin also has:

• Breeding and nutrition books
• Publications for breeders
• Publications and literature for veterinary surgeons

Royal Canin partnered with YouTube to run an ad for their food and company and recently placed direct ads in veterinary practice news.

11. Preventative Ingredients

Royal Canin foods contain preventive ingredients that can help to prevent health issues from occurring in the first place. Some of these ingredients include a large amount of omega-three and omega-six fatty acids, prebiotics, and fiber.

Royal Canin also makes weight control foods for dogs and cats. This formula is a low-fat, high fiber formula, and it also contains L-carnitine for weight management. Royal Canin is also ISO certified and food safety approved.

To learn more, you can also read our posts on why puppies are so expensive, why dogs are gentle with eggs, and why big dogs are so gentle.

Conclusion

Royal Canins history began as an experiment in a veterinarians garage in France, and today their foods span the globe. The company has become the largest pet food company in the world.

Royal Canin pet food has the most significant impact on the health of our dogs and cats around the globe. The food may be expensive, but it is worth it to preserve the health of your beloved pet. With its plethora of options and benefits, Royal Canin has a stellar reputation that is well deserved.

• Ava Medina has 20 years of experience as a veterinarian assistant and is utterly obsessed with rabbits and cats. Ava also volunteers at animal shelters in her spare time.

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Royal Canin Cat Food Review

Weve taken a close look at Royal Canin and graded it according to the Cats.com standard, evaluating the brand on species-appropriateness, product variety, price, ingredient quality, customer experience, and recall history.

Overall, we give Royal Canin a C grade.

It receives high marks for product variety, and some of its veterinary diets have a reputation for treating specific health conditions, but for regular feeding, you could find much more carnivore-appropriate foods at a lower price.

The Cats.com StandardRating Royal Canin on What Matters

Weve rated the brand on six key criteria for quality.

Ratings

• Species-Appropriateness 6/10
• Ingredient Quality 5/10
• Product Variety 8/10
• Price 6/10
• Customer Experience 8/10
• Recall History 5/10

Overall Score: 6.3/10

In total, we give Royal Canin cat food a 6.3/10 rating or a C grade.

Royal Canin Cat Food Explained

About Royal Canin

The story of Royal Canin starts all the way back in the 1960s with a veterinary surgeon named Jean Cathary. At the time, Cathary was operating a veterinary practice in Aimargues, a village in the Gard region of southern France.

Troubled by the scourge of skin and coat conditions in local pets, Cathary started experimenting with homemade foods as a nutritional solution. After trying out several recipes and baking them in an oven in his garage, Cathary found that a cereal-based recipe consistently helped alleviate the skin and coat issues plaguing the villages animals.

It was such a success that Cathary trademarked the food Royal Canin and shuttered his veterinary practice. It was time to go into the pet food business.

The newly branded Royal Canin imported an extruder from the United States and quickly became one of Europes pioneering pet food companies. They were the first manufacturer of dry pet food in France and the first European company to use an extruder.

In 1972, the brand was sold to the Guyomarch Group and immediately blasted through Europe, with subsidiaries popping up in Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Germany, and Denmark. After almost three decades of expansion, a bank buyout, and time on the Paris stock exchange, the company was sold to Mars, Incorporated in July of 2001.

Today, Royal Canin is a global company with distribution and production facilities all over the world, though its worldwide headquarters are still in Aimargues, France. This brand is easily one of the most commonly recommended brands by veterinarians for both general use and veterinary issues.

Sourcing and Manufacturing

Royal Canin sources ingredients from around the world and doesnt release information about countries of origin or specific suppliers. Their products are manufactured in company-owned manufacturing facilities dotting the globe. Royal Canin factory locations include the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Russia, China, South Africa, Argentina, Poland, and the UK.

All of these manufacturing facilities are owned by Mars, Incorporated. Royal Canin also owns several research facilities located around the world where they employ full-time veterinary nutritionists to assist in the formulation of their foods.

Recall History

Royal Canin has been recalled three times over the past 15 years or so.

The most recent recall took place in 2007 when the company announced a voluntary recall of eight Sensible Choice dry dog foods and seven Kasco dry dog and cat food products.

The recall was issued when Royal Canin learned that their foods contained trace amounts of a melamine derivative from tainted rice protein concentrate. Earlier that year, they recalled several other products due to melamine contamination, including Veterinary Diet feline hypoallergenic.

In 2006, the company issued a recall of several cat and dog food products due to excess levels of vitamin D3. This recall affected products that were sold exclusively by veterinary practices and resulted from reports of numerous dogs and cats becoming ill after consuming the product.

What Kinds of Cat Food Does Royal Canin Offer?

Royal Canin currently sells over 100 different varieties of cat food. While they do offer traditional cat food recipes, many of their products are formulated for specific health issues like urinary tract health or digestive care. Royal Canin is also one of a few cat food brands that offers recipes marketed for specific cat breeds like Persians and Maine Coons.

Royal Canin offers a number of recipes that are formulated, or at least marketed, for specific life stages, body sizes, as well lifestyles as well. Their foods are available in both wet and dry types. In terms of their wet foods, there are a number of different textures and consistencies to choose from.

Across the Royal Canin lineup, there is a common theme: nutrients over ingredients. They dont provide a lot of information about where their ingredients are sourced, but Royal Canin does formulate and manufacture all of their own products.

Royal Canin Cat Food Top 3 Recipes Review

All nutritional information in this table and hereafter is taken from the manufacturers guaranteed analysis. Exact nutritional percentages are not available.

All calculated values are determined using these minimum and maximum published values and may differ from actual values. Royal Canin is the ultimate authority on their products, so please contact the company for more nutritional information.

What Do Customers Think of Royal Canin Cat Food?

Royal Canin is one of the worlds most popular and most well-respected pet food brands. Along with Hills Pet Nutrition, Royal Canin is the food most often recommended by veterinarians. Some say that Royal Canin veterinary diets save lives.

Generally, customers like Royal Canin, and their cats like it, too. Royal Canin doesnt get a lot of negative reviews.

That said, a number of customers have recently reported that their cats became sick after eating Royal Canins Urinary SO recipe.

With no formal investigation and Royal Canin remaining adamant that theres nothing wrong with the food, its hard to gauge the legitimacy of these complaints. That said, we do feel a responsibility to cover the issue. These reports appear on Consumer Affairs and have reached the comment section of this article, making them particularly hard to ignore.

So, what do the reports say?

Most complaints involve cats experiencing digestive distressvomiting, diarrhea, and sometimes lethargy and other symptomsafter eating the Royal Canin formula.

For example, Lia of Lachine, Quebec wrote on Consumer Affairs that two of their cats became sick after eating Royal Canins Urinary SO formula. A week after their first cat fell ill, Lisa says that our other cat begins to vomit and have diarrhea after eating his food. Both cats were lethargic, vomiting and overall, not doing very well. After spending over $4000 bringing our cats in to try and figure out what was going on, we realized it must be from their food.

Lias conclusion wasnt confirmed by a vet or laboratoryagain, all of this remains purely speculativebut their experience seems to align with that of other reviewers on Consumer Affairs.

Kat of Cornwall, Ontario said that her cat was vomiting the RC food every time I fed him after feeding him the food for about 2 months which worried me.

While some reports come from new Royal Canin customers, others are long-time Royal Canin buyers whove noticed a change.

Lori of Leominster, Massachusetts wrote on January 27th, 2020 that My 12 to (sic) cat has been on Royal Canin urinary SO since he was 4. The past year he has been sick after eating it and now he wont eat the wet food at all from most recent case purchased. I dont know what to do.

While some claim that these issues coincided with a formula change around January of 2020, similar complaints date back to early 2019. Although these reports are unsettling and worth paying attention to, we havent been able to find any confirmation that Royal Canins Urinary SO food is making cats sick. Again, thousands of people feed their cats Royal Canin without complaint and the majority of customer reviews are positive on Chewy and other retail sites.

Overall, these reports are inconclusive and dont provide any compelling evidence against the safety of Royal Canin cat food.

Royal Canin performs routine testing of their products and has not identified any quality or safety issues. Given the companys history of quality control, theres no reason to believe that theres any reason for concern.

While it doesnt appear that theres any significant health risk, we advise caution and will continue to monitor the situation.

To get an idea of what customers are saying about Royal Canin, here are a few reviews selected from several popular recipes listed on Amazon and Chewy.

Positive Reviews

My vet prescribed this food for my Lucas after he was diagnosed with stones in his urinary track and was very sick. He has been eating this food since and has his issue has been under control. Food is expensive but worth it. Fmc008, reviewing Royal Canin Urinary SO Moderate Calorie

The switch to this food was nothing short of amazing. Sure, my geriatric cat did not suddenly turn into a kitten, but shes no longer needing eye drops for the glaucoma, supplements for the arthritis, and her urine output is much reduced (better kidney function). We also have a 2 year old cat that also eats the same food. He LOVES it, too. A win all around. L.A.H, reviewing Royal Canin Feline Nutrition Indoor Cat Food

Negative Reviews

I am absolutely shocked that this food is supposedly manufactured by a veterinarian. I would never take my cats to the person that designed this dry food. I bought the food since my cat is having urinary tract problems only to see that the food only has 6% crude protein and that the rest is pure filler and not even grain free filler but filled with Corn, Corn Meal and rice. So basically, this food will take the urinary crystals out of the cats pee but will provide the cat nutrition to the equivalent of a bag of Doritos. Cats CAN NOT DIGEST CORN; a cat eating corn is like a human being eating cardboard so why would a veterinary health formula be made of such garbage. Going to get my money back. Alexandra Lebron, reviewing Royal Canin Urinary SO Moderate Calorie

Gave it two stars because my vet confirmed this was a great brand for cats and my guy loved it but it seemed to give him indigestion or gas. He threw up way more than I was comfortable with on this. I took him to the vet in a panic and had x-rays and bloodwork done only to find out he was perfectly healthy. As soon as I changed his food the problems went away. Amazon Customer, reviewing Royal Canin Indoor Adult Dry Cat Food

How Much Does Royal Canin Cat Food Cost?

Your expenses will vary depending which type of Royal Canin food you purchase. In general, however, Royal Canin foods are a bit pricier than others with similar ingredient lists.

For example, Royal Canins popular Urinary SO dry cat food costs about $0.30 per ounce, adding up to a daily feeding cost of around $0.60 per day for an average cat. That places it on the lower end of the premium price spectrum.

The wet version of the same recipeRoyal Canin Veterinary Diet Urinary SO Loaf in Saucecosts $0.40 per ounce and would cost about $3.60 per day if feeding a 10-lb cat.

Moving away from prescription diets, Royal Canins Adult Instinctive Thin Slices in Gravy recipe is, oddly, more expensive than some of the recipes in the Veterinary Diet Line. At over $0.50 per ounce, this food would cost about $4.50 each day if feeding a typical cat.

Why Is Royal Canin Cat Food So Expensive?

Many Royal Canin foods are considerably higher-priced than other products with similar ingredient lists. After decades as one of the two brands that are recommended most often by veterinarians, Royal Canin has a reputation that justifies its price.

Its one of the few brands that offer condition-specific products, which makes Royal Canin easy to recommend to frustrated patients and has earned it a place in veterinarian offices around the world. This lends the brand status and respect that goes beyond the veterinary line.

Overall, Is Royal Canin a Good Choice?

Some people think that humans dont fully understand how whole foods nourish the body. Its impossible to break down food into macronutrients and micronutrients and assume that a synthetic reproduction and reassembly of those components will have the same benefits as the natural composition of a freshly killed rabbit.

Another school of thought believes that foods are no more than the sum of the parts that humans understand. They are bundles of amino acids, fats, starches, minerals, trace metals. They can be broken down and recreated under controlled conditions. According to this thought system, an ingredient list isnt where you get the important information about food. The nutrient analysis is what matters.

Royal Canin appeals to those in the second category, saying that we need to focus on the nutrients our pets need for optimal health, not on the ingredients.

So, lets ignore the fact that Royal Canin foods contain bogeyman ingredients like corn gluten meal, wheat gluten, and cornmeal. Lets focus on the nutrients instead. Royal Canin foods still arent ideal nutrition for most cats, who are metabolically adapted for higher metabolism of proteins and lower utilization of starches.

When other foods dont provide the results you need, Royal Canin foods may be able to help your cat feel better. For general nutrition, however, Royal Canin cat food is overpriced and under-nourishing.

Royal Canin may be able to help sick cats, but it floods their bodies with carbohydrate-heavy plants, low-value proteins, and increases their chances of developing the chronic problems that necessitate Royal Canins big-ticket prescription diets. Too much plant protein may contribute to kidney disease. Dry diets may increase a cats chance of developing lower urinary tract disease.

In a Royal Canin world, developing these illnesses means that its time to switch to another specially formulated prescription diet. In reality, a simple meat-based, hydrating diet might have prevented the problems in the first place.

Where Is Royal Canin Cat Food Sold?

Royal Canin cat food is widely distributed in pet specialty retailers and veterinary hospitals around the world. Use Royal Canins store finder to find a retail location near you. You can also purchase it online through retailers like Chewy and Amazon.

Click here to shop for Royal Canin cat food on Chewy