Best Cat Foods for Sensitive Stomachs 2025

As pet parents, you want the best for your furry friend, starting with the dry cat food you feed them. You might find yourself wondering what is the best dry cat food for indoor cats? Which brands offer the best nutrition? Which foods offer the best cost-value balance? Finding the best dry cat food for your feline companion means reading reviews, studying nutrition labels, and diving into the ins and outs of feline nutritional needs. With the right dry cat food, you can rest assured your pet is getting the best nutrition money can buy.

We reviewed dozens of the best dry cat foods to identify the best of the best, based on Amazon and Chewy reviews, how well they performed in nutrition tests, cost, and other considerations. We narrowed our search down to 5 of the top-rated natural dry cat foods pet owners can purchase to ensure a healthy and happy kitty.

→ 7 Best Cat Foods for Sensitive Stomachs 2025

Carry on reading to see our reviews, as well as a buying guide and some of the most frequently asked questions about feeding cats and kittens with sensitive stomachs.

Ziwi Peak Lamb Recipe Canned Cat Food

This formula is ideal for an elimination diet if you think your cat has developed a sensitivity to a certain meat protein. It contains 92% fresh meat, organs, and bones from a single, highly digestible novel protein source (e.g. lamb or venison). The high meat content also means that it is not full of carbohydrate-based fillers that cats simply do not need in their diets. It also has added fiber, vitamin E, and folic acid to aid in digestion.

Of course, all that meat comes with a hefty price tag, and it is one of the more expensive foods on this list. It also means that it is relatively high in fat and calories, so it is not for cats that are struggling with their weight.

Hill’s Z/D Canned Cat Food for Sensitive Stomach

Food sensitivity and intolerance are potentially serious problems that can result in sensitive or irritated skin, coat and ear conditions or even gastrointestinal upset. Cats that have a food sensitive or intolerance, also called adverse reactions to food, typically experience an abnormal response to the protein in the food. If your cat suffers from adverse reaction to food, it is even more important to feed the right food. At Hill’s, nutritionists and veterinarians have developed clinical nutrition especially formulated to help manage your cat’s dietary sensitivity and help reduce the possibility of adverse reactions to food.

Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Selected Protein Adult PD Dry Cat Food

Royal Canin’s Veterinary Diet Selected Protein Adult PD Dry Cat Food is a prescription food that’s specially designed for feline friends with food sensitivities. It’s made with limited ingredients and features protein from real duck and peas, ingredients that are rarely associated with food allergies in cats. It also contains omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, from fish oil to help promote healthy skin and a shiny coat, plus essential nutrients to help reduce skin irritation and sensitivity.

This highly palatable and digestible recipe may help relieve constant itching, hair loss and digestive issues, so your cat can look and feel her absolute best.

Instinct by Nature’s Variety Original Grain-Free Venison Recipe Cat Food

This is another formula that is great if your cat has developed a sensitivity to a particular meat source, or if you intend to start your cat on an elimination diet. It is made from 95% quality meat from a single or limited source. This makes it high in protein and ensures that there is limited carbohydrate-based filler, which means most common allergens can be avoided. It is also enriched with menhaden fish oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which aid in digestion and promote a healthy coat.

Like many high-protein foods, it is also high in fat, which can make it a little problematic for cats with weight issues. The formula also contains vegetable oil, which adds no benefit to a cat’s diet and may be a source of stomach sensitivities in some cats.

Royal Canin Digest Sensitive Thin Slices in Gravy Canned Cat Food

One of the most trusted brands on the market when it comes to special diet cat foods, this is probably a good ‘go-to’ product if your cat develops mild symptoms. It provides easy digestion by combining a high water content with high protein content, mimicking the natural diet of cats in the wild. It uses thin slices of meat in a rich gravy, which makes the food attractive to cats but keeps the calorie level low. It is also higher in fiber than many cat foods, preventing constipation, and it is reported to reduce the odor of cat stool.

The main downside with this product is that it contains protein from multiple different sources, and from by-products, so it is not suitable if your cat has developed a sensitivity for a particular meat source, or for an elimination diet. It also contains corn starch, which can be a source of sensitivity for some cats.

Purina Pro Plan Focus Sensitive Skin and Stomach Adult Dry Cat Food

This dry food works on the single novel protein basis as we saw with some of the wet foods on this list, mixed with highly digestible oatmeal and rice. This means that it is very high in protein, at 40%, but also high in fat and calories, so not great for cats with weight issues.

A diet that is too high in protein can cause constipation issues, but this formula is enriched with prebiotics, and vitamins C and E to smooth along the digestive process. It is a little surprising that it also does not contain probiotics, another essential element for good digestion.

Blue Buffalo Sensitive Stomach Chicken Recipe Adult Dry Cat Food

The first of the dry cat foods on this list, this cat food is made primarily with high-quality meat while avoiding meat by-products, so is suitable for eliminating certain meat products from your cat’s diet. It is also high in protein for dry cat food, but also high in fat, which again can be problematic for cats with weight issues.

Added probiotics and prebiotics, and well as menhaden fish meal, all aid digestion. The formula also contains Blue Buffalo’s patented LifeSource bits, which contain a range of essential vitamins and minerals for overall cat health.

This food is not appropriate if you are avoiding grains for you cats, or think that they may have developed a sensitivity to grains, as it does contain some grains and gluten.

Wrapping It Up

When it comes to wet food I recommend Ziwi Peak as the best wet cat food for sensitive stomachs as it contains 93% meat from quality sources, and uses novel proteins (such as lamb and venison). This particular cat food is relatively expensive, so a good alternative is Instinct By Nature’s Variety wet cat food, which is 95% meat from a single source.

For dry cat food Purina Pro Plan Focus Sensitive Stomach has 40% protein from a single protein source and so should go down well with your cat. Blue Buffalo, I believe, carries the best dry cat food for sensitive stomach, as it is high in protein from a single source, and has a good range of added prebiotics and probiotics to support digestion.