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7 Best Cat Foods for Firm Stool in 2022 – Reviews & Top Picks

cat hungrily eats dry foodCat owners are quite familiar with cat poop, thanks to scooping out a litter box on a daily basis. If your cat has loose stool or diarrhea, you’re more likely to notice than if you had a dog venturing far out into the yard.

If you’re dealing with diarrhea constantly, it’s not only gross but adds up in time and money when you need to completely change out the litter box every time. Unfortunately, some cats just have more sensitive digestive systems and are more prone to diarrhea.

After ruling out a medical condition, you can try feeding your cat commercial foods that are designed to keep stool firm. Some foods are better than others, so check out these reviews for the 10 best cat foods for firm stool.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
Royal Canin Feline Digestive Care Dry Cat Food Royal Canin Feline Digestive Care Dry Cat Food
  • Easy to digest
  • Well-balanced nutrition
  • Best Value
    Second place
    Purina ONE Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dry Cat Food Purina ONE Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dry Cat Food
  • Made in the US
  • Well-balanced nutrition
  • Specially formulated for sensitive stomachs
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken Flavor Dry Food Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken Flavor Dry Food
  • Balanced nutrition
  • Helpful for digestion
  • Helpful for urinary stones
  • Best for Kittens or Puppies
    ORIJEN Free Run Chicken & Turkey & Wild Caught Salmon ORIJEN Free Run Chicken & Turkey & Wild Caught Salmon
  • Whole prey ingredients
  • Formulated for healthy digestion
  • Purina Beyond Grain-Free Turkey, Sweet Potato & Spinach Recipe Purina Beyond Grain-Free Turkey, Sweet Potato & Spinach Recipe
  • Balanced nutrition
  • Good for picky cats
  • High-quality ingredients
  • The 7 Best Cat Foods for Firm Stools – Reviews & Top Picks 2022

    1. Royal Canin Feline Digestive Care Dry Cat Food – Best Overall

    Royal Canin Feline Digestive Care Dry Cat Food

    Formula: Dry
    Lifestage: Adult
    Size: 3 pounds, 6 pounds

    Royal Canin Feline Digestive Care Dry Cat Food is the best overall cat food for firm stool, thanks to its special formula to support healthy digestion. Sensitive stomachs can lead to frequent vomiting, smelly and loose stools, and improper nutrient absorption. This food is specially designed for slow eating with ring-shaped kibble and proper digestive with fiber and prebiotics.

    Best of all, this dry food can be combined with the same formula in wet food form, so you can provide your cat with a combination of the two for firm stool and well-rounded nutrition. This food is appropriate for adult cats over one year of age.

    Pros
    • Easy to digest
    • Well-balanced nutrition
    Cons
    • Not suitable for picky cats

    2. Purina ONE Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dry Cat Food – Best Value

    Purina ONE Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dry Cat Food

    Formula: Dry
    Lifestage: Adult
    Size: 5 pounds, 7 pounds, 16 pounds, 22 pounds

    Purina ONE Sensitive Skin & Stomach Adult Dry Cat Food is the best cat food for firm stools for the money. This formula is intended for cats with sensitive skin and digestion, complete with a palatable and highly digestible blend of ingredients. Turkey is the first ingredient for a high-quality source of protein, followed by nutrient-packed ingredients for vitamins, minerals, and omega fatty acids.

    Purina One is veterinarian recommended and manufactured in a US facility, ensuring the highest quality and safety. For healthy food on a budget, you can’t go wrong with Purina ONE. Though many owners had good results, some saw no effect in their cats when switching to this formula.

    Pros
    • Well-balanced nutrition
    • Made in the US
    • Specially formulated for sensitive stomachs
    Cons
    • Some owners reported mixed results

    3. Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken Flavor Dry Cat Food – Premium Choice

    Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken Flavor Dry Cat Food

    Formula: Dry
    Lifestage: Adult
    Size: 5 pounds

    Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken Flavor Dry Cat Food is the premium choice for cats with dietary indiscretion, food allergies, or other conditions that impact healthy digestion. Cats need to digest food fully and completely to retain nutrients, and this Hill’s formula is clinically proven to support proper absorption. The formula also received the S+OXSHIELD seal of confidence, meaning it meets the nutrient standards shown to promote a urinary environment that reduces the risk of struvite and calcium oxalate crystals.

    This food has a lot to like, including mixed fiber sources for digestive health, antioxidants for cell oxidation, and easily digestible protein to make sure your care can build muscle and recover from exercise. This Hill’s food is a prescription diet, however, so you must have veterinary authorization for purchase.

    Pros
    • Helpful for digestion
    • Helpful for urinary stones
    • Balanced nutrition
    Cons
    • Requires prescription

    4. ORIJEN Free Run Chicken & Turkey & Wild Caught Salmon & Herring Grain-Free Dry Kitten Food – Best for Kittens or Puppies

    ORIJEN Free Run Chicken & Turkey & Wild Caught Salmon & Herring Grain-Free Dry Kitten Food

    Formula: Dry
    Lifestage: Kitten
    Size: 4 pounds

    ORIJEN Grain-Free Dry Kitten Food is a great choice for well-balanced nutrition for your growing cat and digestive support for healthy stool. This food offers 90 percent premium animal ingredients, such as chicken, turkey, and salmon, along with nourishing parts of prey meat like organs and bones. The food also has DHA and EPA from mackerel, salmon, and herring for brain and circulatory support.

    To help with digestion, ORIJEN includes prebiotics and fiber like chicory root, whole pumpkin, collard greens, apples, and pears. The small kibble pieces encourage your kitten to eat slowly as well, ensuring proper chewing for digestion. Once your kitten grows up, you can transition to the same formula for adult cats.

    Pros
    • Formulated for healthy digestion
    • Whole prey ingredients
    Cons
    • Kibble may be too large for small kittens

    5. Purina Beyond Grain-Free Turkey, Sweet Potato & Spinach Recipe in Gravy Canned Cat Food

    Purina Beyond Grain-Free Turkey, Sweet Potato & Spinach Recipe in Gravy Canned Cat Food

    Formula: Wet
    Lifestage: Adult
    Size: 3 ounces, case of 12

    Purina Beyond Cage-Free Turkey, Sweet Potato and Spinach Recipe in Gravy Adult Wet Canned Cat Food is a delicious gravy food for your cat, but with the peace of mind of knowing you’re getting real, familiar ingredients. The food is made with cage-free turkey free of steroids and hormones, real spinach and sweet potato, and natural prebiotic fiber for healthy digestion.

    For sensitive stomachs, this food contains no corn, soy, or poultry by-products and no artificial colors or preservatives. The prebiotic gravy and vegetables provide your cat with added nutrition, such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Some owners remarked on the lack of sufficient “gravy” in the can, however.

    Pros
    • Balanced nutrition
    • High-quality ingredients
    • Good for picky cats
    Cons
    • Some cats didn’t like it without gravy

    6. Castor & Pollux Organix Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Cat Food

    Castor & Pollux Organix Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Cat Food

    Formula: Dry
    Lifestage: Adult
    Size: 3 pounds, 10 pounds

    Castor & Pollux Organix Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Cat Food is created in a USDA-certified organic kitchen and features organic chicken as the first ingredient. Cats love the hearty flavor, but you can count on the mix of healthy ingredients like whole grains, cranberries, and coconut oil. This food is made without synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, preservatives, growth hormones, or antibiotics, so it’s less likely to upset a sensitive stomach.

    Organix offers similar formulas with grain-free ingredients, such as sweet potato, and canned, wet formulations, so you can mix your cat’s food to find the best combination. The wet food is available in pate, grain-free pate, and shredded for easier digestion.

    Pros
    • High-quality ingredients
    • USDA-certified organic
    • Multiple formulas
    Cons
    • Picky eaters don’t like it

    7. Instinct Canned Grain-Free Wet Cat Food Pate

    Instinct Canned Grain-Free Wet Cat Food Pate

    Formula: Wet
    Lifestage: Adult
    Size: 5 ounces, pack of 12

    Instinct Canned Grain-Free Wet Cat Food Pate is a great choice for picky eaters that prefer wet food. You can buy a variety pack to see how your cat likes different flavors, or choose from chicken, rabbit, duck, salmon, lamb, and venison formulas. The food is entirely grain-free and features meat as the first ingredient.

    This wet cat food also has essential fatty acids for a healthy coat and skin and all-natural ingredients to support healthy digestion and sensitive digestion. Reviewers noted that this food helped with loose stool, but not all cats will like it. If your cat is picky, start with a variety pack.

    Pros
    • High-quality, natural ingredients
    • Digestive support
    • Flavor varieties
    Cons
    • Picky cats don’t like it
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    Buyer’s Guide

    Loose cat stool isn’t fun for anyone. While we’ve covered many of the top choices for cat food that help with sensitive stomachs, diarrhea, and loose stool, you may want to search on your own. Here are some things to look for:

    Quality Ingredients

    Naturally, a cat with a sensitive stomach may be more sensitive to artificial ingredients and preservatives, or fillers that aren’t part of the wild diet. Look for foods with limited ingredients and free from corn, soy, peas, and other hard-to-digest vegetables.

    Prebiotics and Digestive Support

    Many of the foods on this list contain prebiotics, fiber, and other types of digestive support. These formulas are intended to help with the specific physiological processes that lead to diarrhea and loose stool. Prebiotics add natural, good bacteria that aid digestion, while fiber bulks up stool for a firmer consistency. When you’re shopping, look for foods that contain these types of ingredients for digestion.

    While these are general guidelines, each cat is different. Some cats may need more fiber and bacteria, while others just need fewer fillers and preservatives. Some cats may have worsening diarrhea from foods high in animal fats and protein.

    Be sure to speak with your vet about your cat’s digestive problems and loose stool to rule out underlying medical conditions. If it’s truly a sensitive stomach, try different foods to see what your cat likes and what helps with the stool. These things take time, however, so give your cat a few weeks on a new food before deciding if it works or not.

    cat food
    Image Credit: Crepessuzette, Pixabay

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    Conclusion

    There are plenty of cat foods on the market to firm up your cat’s stool, especially if it’s caused by a sensitive stomach or improper digestion. Royal Canin Feline Digestive Care Dry Cat Food is the best overall choice because it’s designed with digestive issues in mind. Purina ONE Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dry Cat Food is a great choice for those on a budget since it provides excellent nutrition with value. The premium choice is Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Digestive Care Chicken Flavor Dry Cat Food, which is excellent for digestive support but requires a vet’s prescription.


    Featured Image Credit: yykkaa, Shutterstock