Opinions or experiences with feeding ZiwiPeak cat food?

violetxx · Feb 10, 2016

I am glad that they have changed their recipes as I always liked them (in terms of ingredients) better than most.

Back then all flavours were too high in fat actually, not just the lamb. Fatty cuts are a lot cheaper than lean meat and when the consumer sees "venison" in the ingredients they don't know how much of that is fat vs. muscle unless they look into it more, so it's an easy way to cut costs and boost your food. I am disappointed to see that H & G did that as well.

Unfortunately, back then our girl had intolerances to everything, but venison and lamb. That was quite a while ago though. We don't feed canned anymore - only raw, but I still like to keep on top of the highest quality canned to give other suggestions. I will have to check them both on DMB and see how they look now!

the armchair · Feb 11, 2016

missmimz said:
Oh no that's really awful. Was ZP the only food you were feeding when they got sick? I feed quite a bit of ZP mostly just the air dried but some of the canned too the venison and rabbit and lamb. My cats haven't ever had a bad reaction to it, but I do think the company leaves a lot to be desired (as was mentioned in my thread about them).

We were also feeding them Hill Science dry food. The dry food we were giving to all three of the cats from a large shared bag. The same bag of food we continued with the third cat and returned the two unwell ones back onto once they were off the boiled chicken and health back to normal.

The Ziwipeak was only being given to the two cats who had the reaction - so yes - It is safe to say it was the Ziwipeak (venison canned).

derdog · Mar 23, 2016

I purchased 4 cans of the wet food for my 13 in house cats along with my 24 outdoor feral colony. EVERY CAT BECAME VIOLENTLY ILL! After opening a few other cans I discovered MOLD spores hidden within.

I advise avoiding this food at all costs and stick to US inspected canned wet food at all times. I am seeking legal advice regarding this company.

ftmba · Mar 23, 2016

FWIW out kittens have been eaten the Rabbit/Lamb canned and Lamb dry.

We phased out the dry. No problems there, our kittens just stopped liking it and we didn't think it was a good value.

We're still feeding the canned but phasing it out (we only feed 1 can a week) or potentially discontinuing it. Issues:

- 3oz cans have the same diameter as 5.5/6 oz cans, but flatter. The food sticks to the sides and has to be spooned out. Kind of defeats the convenience factor of canned food.

- Every now and then we'll find a large and thin piece of something, which I assume is rabbit skin that wasn't processed?

- Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate on the ingredient list

- Price: for there price, there are alternatives with fewer issues.

We haven't had any major issues, but the stories here are concerning.

missmimz · Mar 23, 2016

ftmba said:
FWIW out kittens have been eaten the Rabbit/Lamb canned and Lamb dry.

We phased out the dry. No problems there, our kittens just stopped liking it and we didn't think it was a good value.

We're still feeding the canned but phasing it out (we only feed 1 can a week) or potentially discontinuing it. Issues:

- 3oz cans have the same diameter as 5.5/6 oz cans, but flatter. The food sticks to the sides and has to be spooned out. Kind of defeats the convenience factor of canned food.

- Every now and then we'll find a large and thin piece of something, which I assume is rabbit skin that wasn't processed?

- Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate on the ingredient list

- Price: for there price, there are alternatives with fewer issues.

We haven't had any major issues, but the stories here are concerning.

I still feed the air dried lamb venison, and beef, but the price seems to be going up so I don't know how much longer I'll use it. It's mostly a snack so I don't worry too much about it. I haven't had any issues with it nor have any of my 9 cats. I did phase out the canned just because it wasn't really a good value and I didn't really need it in my rotation anymore. But i fed it for awhile without any issue. Not really sure about the post above saying so many cats got sick, how do you feed that many cats with only 4 cans? Seems possible it could have been related to more than just the ZP.

ftmba · Mar 24, 2016

missmimz said:
I still feed the air dried lamb venison, and beef, but the price seems to be going up so I don't know how much longer I'll use it. It's mostly a snack so I don't worry too much about it. I haven't had any issues with it nor have any of my 9 cats. I did phase out the canned just because it wasn't really a good value and I didn't really need it in my rotation anymore. But i fed it for awhile without any issue. Not really sure about the post above saying so many cats got sick, how do you feed that many cats with only 4 cans? Seems possible it could have been related to more than just the ZP.

Agree, some of the complaints seem exaggerated or just don't make sense. I should have read them more closely.

I think the skin issue might be unique to the rabbit/lamb flavor. It's pretty repulsive to me but the kittens don't seem to care. The canned lamb doesn't seem to have the same issue.

the armchair · Mar 27, 2016

I can confirm that my posting was not exaggerated in any way.

It was significant enough that I posted it on this forum - simply to try and let others know what had occurred.

If Ziwipeak had shown any sign of concern or followup then I might'n have bothered but the fact they took no action until I chased them to even offer the refund for the cases I had bought - let alone any formal testing results shocked me. They appeared neither surprised by my claim - nor motivated to look into it. The people I spoke to on the phone sounded bored by the whole thing and annoyed that they would have to organize a refund.

I may be naive but I would think if you are selling a product for a market and you receive a complaint that it could be causing serious health issues to your customers, you would act with swift risk management/damage control at the very least....

I was and still am disgusted at both their ethics and the business management - let alone the quality of the product itself.

Apologies for the rant but I wish I had known this info before trying the product.

red dog · Mar 28, 2016

Not surprised that an offshore manufacturer of pet food doesn't have the best costumer service. Which is why I stick to mostly USA manufactured pet foods. The exception being Soulistic backed by Petco an occasional cans of Tiki cat for variety.

missmimz · Mar 28, 2016

The Armchair said:
I can confirm that my posting was not exaggerated in any way.

It was significant enough that I posted it on this forum - simply to try and let others know what had occurred.

If Ziwipeak had shown any sign of concern or followup then I might'n have bothered but the fact they took no action until I chased them to even offer the refund for the cases I had bought - let alone any formal testing results shocked me. They appeared neither surprised by my claim - nor motivated to look into it. The people I spoke to on the phone sounded bored by the whole thing and annoyed that they would have to organize a refund.

I may be naive but I would think if you are selling a product for a market and you receive a complaint that it could be causing serious health issues to your customers, you would act with swift risk management/damage control at the very least....

I was and still am disgusted at both their ethics and the business management - let alone the quality of the product itself.

Apologies for the rant but I wish I had known this info before trying the product.

Any time you feed a commercial brand of pet food you risk issues with the food. As with anything else in life, YMMV. I haven't had any issues with ZP and I've used it well over a year, but what works for some cats doesn't for others. I don't think any commercial pet food companies will do testing on their food based on one complaint. I do think ZP leaves something to be desired with their customer service, but sometimes with smaller companies they lack.

the armchair · Mar 28, 2016

missmimz said:
Any time you feed a commercial brand of pet food you risk issues with the food. As with anything else in life, YMMV. I haven't had any issues with ZP and I've used it well over a year, but what works for some cats doesn't for others. I don't think any commercial pet food companies will do testing on their food based on one complaint. I do think ZP leaves something to be desired with their customer service, but sometimes with smaller companies they lack.

I draw the line at a pet food that causes serious health risks.

If it poses the chance of dehydration, weight loss, extremely bloody/smelly diarrhea and veterinary advice of 'get them off it' I'd say that warrants a red flag.

We are talking two perfectly healthy cats, a controlled environment and the fact that they (still) have not had reactions to a pet food that are anywhere near this (and they have been fed a variety).

I'd happily take on bad customer service for an excellent product.

My experience with Ziwipeak was terrible on both counts.

poivre · Sep 29, 2016

I don't take lightly when someone has had negative experiences with their cat food. It is also important to me that my cats are safe .

I noticed that Ziwi Peak was rated very high for canned cat food and was excited to try and ready to purchase a few canned beef when I came upon certain negative reports that they are now adding a dangerous ingredient called tetrasodium pyrophosphate to their cans. Is this really so and if so, why?

missmimz · Sep 29, 2016

poivre said:
I don't take lightly when someone has had negative experiences with their cat food. It is also important to me that my cats are safe .

I noticed that Ziwi Peak was rated very high for canned cat food and was excited to try and ready to purchase a few canned beef when I came upon certain negative reports that they are now adding a dangerous ingredient called tetrasodium pyrophosphate to their cans. Is this really so and if so, why?

I feed a lot of ZP, both the air dried and the canned. I haven't had any issues with the canned. The air dried has some issues with " fat bloom" which causes the color to be off sometimes, but it's not harmful in any way. I'm not all that bothered by TSP. There aren't any significant studies that suggest it's harmful in small quantities. ZP obviously uses it as a flavor enhancer, but for the price of ZP they should take it out.

Here's the best resource for info on TSP. If you poke around you can see she doesn't link any valid sources for her argument that its dangerous. So what you do with that information is up to you.

http://truthaboutpetfood.com/pet-food-flavor/

poivre · Sep 29, 2016

Thank you Miss Mimz. I need to now research what other cat foods contain TSP.

Very disappointing to me.

gwennie · Dec 15, 2016

Just started my CKD and High BP kitty on the ZikiPeak food and she absolutely loves it. But now, after reading all of this, I am very concerned about safety issues. I know from experience with an IBD cat, that some of those other kitties may have been having a food allergy reaction to the food, but still. I'm not going to risk it on an already compromised kitty. So, can someone offer a similar alternative and one made in the USA??? Looking for something like this, with the organ meats. Something very palatable. Thanks!!!

missmimz · Dec 15, 2016

Gwennie said:
Just started my CKD and High BP kitty on the ZikiPeak food and she absolutely loves it. But now, after reading all of this, I am very concerned about safety issues. I know from experience with an IBD cat, that some of those other kitties may have been having a food allergy reaction to the food, but still. I'm not going to risk it on an already compromised kitty. So, can someone offer a similar alternative and one made in the USA??? Looking for something like this, with the organ meats. Something very palatable. Thanks!!!

I've been feeding ZP for a few years without issue. i don't feed it exclusively but I do feed some daily. However, ZP has bone and is fairly high in phos so it's not really an ideal choice for a CKD cat. Have you looked into Feline Naturals new canned line? Similar to ZP but lower in phos. I'm not sure the phos levels but they use much less bone than ZP. Feline Naturals is also made in NZ, but it's excellent quality. Personally, I think foods made in NZ have much higher standards than those made in the US, as the US have very lax pet food regulations.

Opinions or experiences with feeding ZiwiPeak cat food?

violetxx

TCS Member

the armchair

TCS Member

derdog

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ftmba

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missmimz

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ftmba

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the armchair

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red dog

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missmimz

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the armchair

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poivre

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missmimz

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poivre

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gwennie

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missmimz

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