Cat food for sensitive stomachs

Good news that your vet has already ruled out infections — that actually puts you in a strong position, because it means you're almost certainly dealing with a food intolerance rather than an illness, and an elimination diet is exactly the right next step. Digestive sensitivity in cats is usually triggered by a specific protein or ingredient they've been exposed to repeatedly, so switching to a limited-ingredient or novel-protein diet gives the gut a chance to calm down and lets you identify the culprit. To point you toward the right food: what symptoms is your Maine Coon showing — vomiting, loose stools, or something else — how long has this been going on, and what are you currently feeding?

That pattern — chronic soft stools with mucus, over months, on a food he's eaten since kittenhood — is a classic presentation of dietary intolerance, most likely to chicken, which is one of the most common triggers in cats precisely because it features in so many foods from an early age. The mucus tells you the large intestine is irritated, and that tends to respond well once the offending protein is removed. The key now is switching to something he has genuinely never eaten before — a novel protein — and keeping things strict for at least eight weeks. Has he ever eaten duck, venison, or hydrolysed protein foods, or has it always been chicken-based?

Perfect — duck is a strong choice for exactly this situation. My recommendation is Royal Canin Sensitivity Control Cat Food with Duck and Tapioca. It uses duck as the single animal protein source and tapioca instead of common grains, so it avoids chicken, turkey, wheat, and corn in one go. Royal Canin formulate it specifically for cats with chronic digestive sensitivity, and the tapioca base is very gentle on an irritated gut. It comes as a wet food in pouches, which is ideal because hydration supports intestinal lining recovery. For an elimination trial to be meaningful, he needs to eat only this — no treats, no toppers, nothing else — for eight weeks. Most owners see a clear improvement in stool consistency within two to three weeks if chicken really is the trigger.

It's widely available on Amazon UK — just search Royal Canin Sensitivity Control Duck and you'll find the pouches in multipacks, which works out reasonably well for a Maine Coon's appetite. On the long-term question: if his stools normalise on it, you can absolutely keep him on it permanently — it's nutritionally complete and many cats stay on it for years. Alternatively, once you've confirmed chicken is the issue, you could trial a different novel-protein food later. But there's no pressure to change once you find something that works. One practical tip: Maine Coons are big cats, so check the feeding guide on the pack by weight — they often need slightly more than the standard cat portion.

Great — keep a simple note of his stool consistency each day, even just a word or two. It makes it much easier to report back to your vet at the follow-up, and you'll be able to see the improvement clearly rather than relying on memory. Good luck with him — Maine Coons are usually pretty food-motivated, so the transition tends to go smoothly once you commit to it.