Cat with IBD — Royal Canin Ultamino vs. Hydrolyzed Protein HP?
Hi everyone, looking for experiences from anyone who has a cat with IBD and has used Royal Canin Ultamino or Hydrolyzed Protein HP.
About a year ago my cat had a period where he suddenly started vomiting multiple times every day. We took him to the vet, he was diagnosed with IBD, and they prescribed Royal Canin Ultamino. After switching him to Ultamino, his vomiting completely stopped.
We normally have his Ultamino prescription automatically shipped through Chewy. One month the shipment didn't arrive, so I went to the same vet's office that originally prescribed his food and bought a bag from them.
They gave me Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein HP instead of Ultamino. I'm actually not sure whether they intentionally gave me HP as a substitute or accidentally gave me the wrong bag.
I didn't realize it wasn't Ultamino at the time. The kibble looked different, but I assumed Royal Canin had just changed the kibble shape. It wasn't until recently that I actually compared the bags and realized they're two separate prescription foods with completely different ingredients.
While he was eating the HP, his vomiting started coming back a little bit. It wasn't anything like the multiple times a day vomiting he had before his diagnosis, but it was noticeable after having basically no vomiting on Ultamino.
Here's the other issue: he MUCH prefers the HP.
If I put Ultamino out, he doesn't really want to eat it. If I put HP out, he absolutely devours it. I've even tried mixing Ultamino and HP together, and he will literally pick through the bowl and specifically eat the HP pieces while leaving the Ultamino behind.
I've also noticed that every bag of Ultamino I've received seems strangely damp/oily/greasy compared with normal HP dry kibble. It's not actually wet, but it definitely has a different texture/feel. Has anyone else noticed this with Ultamino? I'm wondering if that's just how the food normally is and possibly part of why he doesn't like it.
I've already reached out to my vet to ask about all of this, including whether they intentionally gave me HP instead of Ultamino, but they usually take a few days to respond. In the meantime, I'm curious to hear from people who have actually used these foods with their cats.