My Cat's Not a Fan of This Premium Food - A Bummer!

I've seen this before, and here we go again. When we went on vacation, our cat was on the brink of giving up. Our neighbor would come to feed him, saying he was lethargic, and then find him almost motionless. We rushed him to the vet, where he was diagnosed with acute kidney failure. They even had to catheterize him because he couldn't urinate due to kidney stones.

Capillaries, medications, and a strict diet... We managed to nurse our cat back to health, and of course, diet played a huge role in that.So, speaking of diet, I was feeding my cat Royal Canin Urinary at first. A 350g pack of this food costs just over 20 BYN. When I ordered more food from IM, the recommendation system suggested Monge VetSolution Cat Urinary Struvite (which was also recommended by our vet). A 400g pack cost a bit less, and I've always thought Monge was a good super-premium cat food. So, I decided to spoil my cat and bought two packs, which I later regretted.

Monge VetSolution Cat Urinary Struvite is designed for cats with urinary tract issues. It comes in 400g and 1500g packs. I opted for the smallest pack to try it out. In the future, I was willing to switch to this brand. The pack is standard, and once opened, it seals with a 'ziplock' type closure. It's convenient and doesn't require any extra transfer. However, I find it easier to dose from a dedicated container (which fits nicely in my kitchen's cargo area). Serving size:

I was really curious to see what's inside this product, and the ingredient list didn't disappoint. It's got hydrolyzed salmon protein (19%), tapioca, potato, chicken fat*, dried chicken meat, pea fiber, chicken fat*, dried carrot, fish oil (salmon oil)*, minerals, xylitol oligosaccharides (XOS 0.4%), yucca schidigera, dried cranberries (0.05%), and a bunch of other stuff that I'll get to in a minute. *This chicken fat has been purified to 99.6% and preserved with natural antioxidants.

The nutritional breakdown is impressive too: raw protein: 33%, raw fiber: 3.9%, raw fat: 17%, raw ash: 7%, calcium: 1.3%, phosphorus: 0.8%, sodium: 0.8%, magnesium: 0.06%, potassium: 1.2%, chloride: 1.9%, sulfur: 0.16%, and a total of 0.4% taurine. The ingredients that can affect your urine pH are ammonium chloride: 0.2%, potassium chloride: 0.4%. And then there are the added vitamins and minerals: vitamin A (retinol acetate) 16,000 IU, vitamin D3 900 IU, selenium (sodium selenite) 0.11 mg, manganese (sulfate manganese monohydrate) 23 mg, copper (sulfate copper (II) pentahydrate) 9 mg, iron (sulfate iron (II) monohydrate) 77 mg, iodine (calcium iodate anhydrous) 4.45 mg, DL-methionine: 2000 mg, L-carnitine: 100 mg, and taurine 2500 mg. The technological additives include a plant-based extract of tocopherols.

The packaging even has the ingredient list and feeding guidelines. And the best part? It's a grain-free food.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was this weird smell of the food - I wouldn't even call it a smell, it was a stench. The food smells really bad. The color of the food is dark, and the kibble is pretty small. When I touched it, it felt greasy. You can see the comparison of the kibble from this food to Royal Canin in the photo. I added it to the leftover kibble and thought, 'Okay, now my cat will go crazy for this premium food,' but nope. He sniffed it and walked away. Then I saw him scoop out the Royal Canin kibble with his paw!My old cat would inhale the food, but this stuff he's not even interested in. And I'm not even talking about a picky cat - my cat is a regular street cat who's not spoiled at all. I don't know what to do with the two bags I already bought. I should've read the reviews beforehand. Now I'm worried that on this food, my cat will lose weight again because he's barely eating it. He's just walking around, meowing, looking at me with hungry eyes, but he won't eat.

Or maybe it's just a fake product, or maybe I'm just clueless. I guess therapeutic foods are just less appealing to cats than regular food. I had a cat with kidney disease who ate Hills c/d just fine at first, but eventually it got old for her. But this stuff, my cat just won't touch it. I'm really disappointed. I should've just stuck with Royal Canin.