Cat food for sensitive stomachs & arthritis

Digestive sensitivity in cats is often down to food intolerance rather than a true allergy, and limited-ingredient or novel-protein diets tend to work best — they remove the guesswork and give the gut less to react to. With an older cat who also has arthritis in the mix, food choice becomes a bit more layered, since you ideally want something that supports joints too. To point you in the right direction: what symptoms are you seeing — vomiting, loose stools, or something else? How long has it been going on, and what are you currently feeding?

That frequency of vomiting over three months, combined with a rotating mix of different brands and formulas, is a classic pattern for food intolerance. Every time the protein source changes, the gut has to start over. Switching him to a consistent, single-protein diet should make a real difference. Given the arthritis diagnosis, I'd also want the food to have some joint support built in — omega-3s especially, since they help with inflammation. What protein does he currently seem to eat most willingly? And is he fully on wet food, or does he get any dry?

Good — wet-only is actually ideal here, both for hydration and because it's easier to control exactly what he's eating. Since he doesn't have a protein preference, I'd steer toward something novel like duck or salmon, which he's less likely to have built up a sensitivity to given the mainstream supermarket diet he's been on. My recommendation is Royal Canin Sensitivity Control wet food in the duck and rice variety. It's a limited-ingredient formula specifically designed for digestive sensitivity, uses duck as a single novel protein, and rice as the only carbohydrate source — so the gut has very little to react to. It also contains EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, which will help with the joint inflammation from his arthritis. It's a veterinary range, widely available on Amazon UK, and the consistency matters as much as the formula — stick with it for at least six to eight weeks before judging the results.

Definitely transition gradually — especially given he already has a sensitive gut. Mix roughly 25% new food with 75% old for the first two or three days, then 50/50 for the next few days, then 75% new for another few days, and fully switched by around day ten. If you see increased vomiting during the transition, slow it down rather than stopping altogether. One more thing worth knowing: Scottish Folds are prone to a joint condition called osteochondrodysplasia that's connected to their genetics, so the vet monitoring the arthritis alongside the diet change is a good idea — the omega-3s in this food will support that, but it's worth keeping the vet updated on how both the digestion and mobility respond.

That's the right call. Give it a full six to eight weeks on the new food consistently before deciding whether it's working — most cats settle significantly within a month, but the gut can take time to fully calm down. If the vomiting drops to once a fortnight or less, you're on the right track. If it doesn't improve at all after six weeks, that's worth going back to the vet with, as there are other causes worth ruling out at his age.