garlic as an ingrediant

karmasmom

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So I have switched Karma over to Wellness wet. She seems to really like it. I tried their dry and she was not crazy about it so we will stick with Trader Joes dry since she loves that. I just want to get her on a wet that has better ingrediants and is not to costly. Wellness is only 30 cents more per can than her old wet so I can afford it.

What I want to know is if garlic is considered toxic then why is it in Wellness? Is it okay to feed it every day or should I alternate? Will the garlic build up in her system and cause a problem? Is it in such a small amount that it is almost not even there? Also what do I need to look for if it does start to effect her?
 

jean44

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According to Wellness garlic is added to "increase palatability and aroma". They state that the trace amount of garlic added will not be harmful to cats. Here's a link to the FAQ on the Wellness site.
http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/cat_faq_index.html#3


Hemolytic Anemia is the disease that is supposed to be linked to onions and garlic. There are many articles about it on the internet. Here's one that explains the disease without getting too technical. Some symptoms are depression, lethargy, loss of appetite and dark colored urine.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/ImmuneMe...yticAnemia.htm

I'm feeding my own cats Wellness canned foods along with Natural Balance. I don't know about garlic build up. That's something I've wondered about, myself. I'm going to continue feeding it because it is one of the few canned foods that has grain free and fish free flavors. I guess the bottom line is that I hope Wellness is correct in stating that a small amount of garlic won't be harmful.
 

misty8723

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I read somewhere that the effects are or can be cumulative and that all cats react to it differently. I prefer not to take chances and avoid foods with garlic. I would love to try the Wellness, but not as long as there is garlic in it. If it's being added for aroma and palatability - what the heck are they trying to disguise?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Misty8723

I read somewhere that the effects are or can be cumulative and that all cats react to it differently. I prefer not to take chances and avoid foods with garlic. I would love to try the Wellness, but not as long as there is garlic in it. If it's being added for aroma and palatability - what the heck are they trying to disguise?
Ditto... thou my vet diargeed that a small amount could hurt...since it is cooked
 

kitytize

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Originally Posted by Misty8723

I read somewhere that the effects are or can be cumulative and that all cats react to it differently. I prefer not to take chances and avoid foods with garlic. I would love to try the Wellness, but not as long as there is garlic in it. If it's being added for aroma and palatability - what the heck are they trying to disguise?
I agree and I also read that even in very tiny amounts it can harm a cat. I don't want to take chances either.
 

beandip

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It's a personal choice. Personally, I serve the canned Wellness here because...

it's wet - dry food doesn't make sense to me anymore.

it's grain free - they don't need grains.

my cats love it - finding that is not always an easy task.

There are other foods that meet my first 2 criteria, and my cats do get other foods too...but Wellness is their favorite.
 

misty8723

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Originally Posted by beandip

It's a personal choice. Personally, I serve the canned Wellness here because...

it's wet - dry food doesn't make sense to me anymore.

it's grain free - they don't need grains.

my cats love it - finding that is not always an easy task.

There are other foods that meet my first 2 criteria, and my cats do get other foods too...but Wellness is their favorite.
What other wet grain free foods do you use? It seems every food I look at has at least rice in it.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by Misty8723

What other wet grain free foods do you use? It seems every food I look at has at least rice in it.
EVO, Nature's Variety, and 2 Natural Balance flavors (Venison/Pea and Chicken/Liver Pate).

Of the Merrick's, I think the California Roll and Southern delight are the only ones that have grains (rice). The others don't IIRC. I remember you said that Merrick's got 2 paws down with your pair, though.


ETA: I forgot, the newest Wellness canned flavor has no garlic nor grains - Beef and Salmon.
 

misty8723

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Originally Posted by beandip

EVO, Nature's Variety, and 2 Natural Balance flavors (Venison/Pea and Chicken/Liver Pate).

Of the Merrick's, I think the California Roll and Southern delight are the only ones that have grains (rice). The others don't IIRC. I remember you said that Merrick's got 2 paws down with your pair, though.


ETA: I forgot, the newest Wellness canned flavor has no garlic nor grains - Beef and Salmon.
Thanks. I sent an email to Wellness last night to make sure they really have omitted the garlic from the food and not just the description on the web site (call me paranoid). I haven't heard back from them yet. If they really did leave out the garlic, I'm going to get a can to try.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by Misty8723

Thanks. I sent an email to Wellness last night to make sure they really have omitted the garlic from the food and not just the description on the web site (call me paranoid). I haven't heard back from them yet. If they really did leave out the garlic, I'm going to get a can to try.
Please let us know what they say. It's not listed on my cans of that flavor either. If it's really not there, maybe that will be a trend. That would be great.

Slightly OT, but Wellness says on their website somewhere that they added rice to the seafood-heavy flavors because they got a lot of complaints that those foods were to "mushy". Hmm. Well that seems to be one thing about the food that my cats like. The Wellness flavors with rice are too "firm" for their taste. They might be warming up to them, we'll see...but we like the mush here.


Back on topic, based on that rice issue they do seem to have a history of listening to their customers...so maybe they'll come around on the garlic issue someday.
 

squirtle

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Dori is eating Wellness wet and dry now. Garlic is not listed as an ingredient on any of the cans of food she is eating (we have several flavors, mainly the ones available that aren't high in fish ingredients). It is my understanding they quit using garlic in their products.
 

beandip

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Originally Posted by squirtle

Dori is eating Wellness wet and dry now. Garlic is not listed as an ingredient on any of the cans of food she is eating (we have several flavors, mainly the ones available that aren't high in fish ingredients). It is my understanding they quit using garlic in their products.
Hmm. It's listed right after "potassium chloride" on the cans I have...all the flavors except Beef/Salmon. These expire in 2009 so I think they're fairly fresh cans.
 

squirtle

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Originally Posted by beandip

Hmm. It's listed right after "potassium chloride" on the cans I have...all the flavors except Beef/Salmon. These expire in 2009 so I think they're fairly fresh cans.
Ignore that I said that, I was mixing them up with another brand! It is listed on the Wellness cans, but not the dry.
 

misty8723

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I don't know if we're supposed to post entire emails from companies, so here is the pertinent part the reply I got from Wellness ...

"However, because there has been so much controversy over this issue, we decided to remove it entirely."

I've emailed back just to clarify that they plan to remove it from all of their flavors. If thats what they mean, then


If it is okay to post contents of emails, I'll stick the rest of it in here later, but its all just dealing with why they've added it (palatability) and the usual a cat would have to eat an entire bulb for it to be harmful (which IMO is not taking into account the cumulative effect).
 

beandip

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No problem on the confusion, squirtle.


Wow, ok thanks for passing that along Misty. Let us know about the followup.

I think you pasted the right (most pertinent) part of that email...that's cool.


I was hoping they might say that...since the newest flavor was devoid of garlic, it seemed like a good sign of things to come.
I hope my cats don't throw a hissy fit about the changed formula. They like the beef/salmon...they weren't screaming for garlic after eating that.


Now while you've got their attention, tell them to get the
rice out of the seafood flavors!! LOL
 

sharky

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YIPPPY ...... Now Zoey can have a wet she likes ... without me worring about cumlative issues later
 

misty8723

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Originally Posted by beandip

Now while you've got their attention, tell them to get the
rice out of the seafood flavors!! LOL
Maybe if we all gang up on them, they'll listen
 

momto3cats

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It really does sound like they might be removing the garlic altogether.
That's the one thing I don't like about their canned food.

I remember a few years ago, they added rice to the cans without listing it on the label. There was a huge outcry, as it was just about the only grain free food available at the time. Also, a lot of cats didn't like the new formula. They abandoned that idea pretty quickly! So, maybe if enough of us complain, they would take the rice out again. My cats like their food mushy.
 

misty8723

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Very quick reply from them ...

"That is correct, garlic is being removed."


Now if only I can get Her Fussiness to eat it.
 
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