The company was established by French veterinary surgeon Jean Cathary, after he successfully treated a number of skin and coat conditions in pets by feeding them a cereal-based diet he prepared in his garage.

Royal Canin was sold to the Guyomarc'h Group in 1972, and underwent a further period of expansion, especially in the area of research and development, before being purchased by the Paribas Bank in 1990.

[5] He had a veterinary practice in a village in the Gard region of France and was concerned many people's pets were being presented with a variety of health problems, especially skin and coat conditions.

[6][7] The diet successfully alleviated the problems pets were presented with, so in 1968, Cathary registered the food with the trademark "Royal Canin".

[12][14] The bank wished to sell Royal Canin but its chairman managed to persuade it to list it on the Paris stock exchange instead, which took place in 1997.

The additional revenue raised provided the funding to buy Crown Pet Foods in 1999 and the James Wellbeloved brand in 2000.

The European Commission only agreed to the takeover by Mars if Royal Canin disposed of some assets to Agrolimen, a Spanish company.

[39] In 2023, Royal Canin expanded its line of hypoallergenic food[40] and launches Dental Care products, kibbles with a specific texture that help clean teeth.

Secondly, all products had to address specific needs; this was further endorsed by the Research and Development section having mandatory instructions that "no veterinarian or university should be able to refute any of Royal Canin's nutritional arguments".

Royal Canin also published the scientific quarterly titled FOCUS which was circulated to over seventy thousand veterinarians worldwide in eleven different languages.

[53][54] In 2012, Royal Canin conducted a study which found that the life expectancy of dogs and cats had increased over the last ten years, in part due to the progress in veterinary medicine and animal food.

The company coined a new description for its teams of trained sales staff as "cynotechnicians", who were already well established and passionate about the canine world; some were show judges or had gained an international reputation for their breeding skills.

[56] In 2019, Royal Canin signed an agreement to partner with MAssey University Foundation by offering a scholarship in health nutrition for cats and dogs veterinary science.

[57] The company sponsors and participates in thousands of cat and dog shows each year around the world, like local and regional Canine Club.

[58][59] The company withdrew from sponsoring the UK Contest of Champions event in 2009 but was quoted as stating it was increasing its sponsorship of dog shows.

[62][63] In 2017, Royal Canin collaborated with an association which promotes the integration of people with disabilities through sport in the context of Para Skiing Championships in Spain.

[64] In 2013, Four Paws, an international animal welfare group, accused Royal Canin of sponsoring events that included illegal bear-baiting in Ukraine.

[67] Subsequently, the company made a commitment to support the rescue of bears used and began negotiations with the group to determine a detailed project plan.

In 2022, in the field of healthcare, Royal Canin partnered with PDSA, a UK-veterinary charity, to tackle obesity among pets.

[71] The same year, Royal Canin and RACE Foundation renewed their collaboration on the theme of the well-being and safety of animals during travel.

[72][73][74] In 2023, at an event dedicated to feilne medicine in Brazil,[75] Royal Canin sponsors the Cat Friendly Programme, a project run by the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP).

[78][79] There are sixteen production facilities worldwide,[80][2] in addition to Aimargues including at Cambrai in northern France; Johannesburg, South Africa; Descalvado, Brazil;[78] and González Catán, near Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Royal Canin committed twelve million euros in the construction of the factory and anticipated annual production of twenty–two thousand tons a year.

[119][120] The Royal Canin brand announced that it would carry out the following actions: transitioning to renewable electricity, procuring sustainable ingredients, reducing waste and boosting circularity and implementing climate-smart business transformation.

[121][122] For any residual emissions that Royal Canin cannot completely remove or reduce, the brand will invest in high-quality, removal-based certified carbon credits.

[131][132] A Royal Canin advertisement from the 1980s featured a running German Shepherd in slow motion, set to the instrumental theme "Chi Mai" composed by Ennio Morricone.

[133][104] Alain Chabat parodied this advertisement by including a slow-motion chase scene (with "Chi Mai" as the background music) between Idéfix and a legionary in the 2002 film Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.

and in the book "Ce Poison Nommé Croquette" by Jérémy Anso, criticizing the quality of products from Hill's Pet Nutrition and Royal Canin, among others.