Foods in the UK

I notice that nearly all the threads here are US-centric - they name foods never seen in the UK, or probably in continental Europe.

Does anyone have information on grain-free and so on in the UK?

And Australia?

I feed the canned Applaws, Almo nature, Animonda Carny and Grau grain-free varieties, which are available in the UK (check out zoo-plus.co.uk; most of the house brand, Cosma, is also grain-free). Porta 21 is another one. Not all of the Applaws and Almo flavors are grain-free, so you have to check the ingredients. Animonda Carny, Grau and Porta 21 Holistic are complete foods, while the others are supplementary.

We live in Germany, so I can't help with Australian foods.

I have tried Animonda and Grau grain-free wet food which I buy from Zooplus.  I think my cats preferred the Grau grain-free to the Animonda.  Also, Bozita is a relatively cheap grain-free wet food available from Zooplus. 

Ziwipeak is another a good grain-free food which I get from Bern Pet Foods, and I am sure you can probably find in Australia as it is made in New Zealand.  My cats seem to really like this food and I like that it has green-lipped mussels in it, which has been proven to be beneficial for arthritis.

Another brand that does grain-free cat food is Nature's Menu.  I have been looking at their products for a while now, but I haven't tried any of their pouches yet.  They also do a ground, raw diet as well.

In terms of dry food, you can get Applaws, Orijen and Taste of the Wild from Zooplus.  Another site that I have found to have some pretty good selection is Pet Planet.  Hope that helps!

Mani said:

And Australia?

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Coles sell Applaws tinned and VIP grain free dry, couldn't tell you what the ingredients of the dry are like though.

missymotus said:

Coles sell Applaws tinned and VIP grain free dry, couldn't tell you what the ingredients of the dry are like though.

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Thanks, missymotus.  I'm ok with dry... Nutro and Holistic, but I'll check out the Applaws.

I'm really edgy about buying wet food after the controvesy over very harmful additives that don't need to be disclosed (I believe VIP's Fussy Cat was one of the offending products.)  I would really like to know which ones are 'safe', or whether we can really know.  I'm happy to do it myself, but sometimes need backup food.

Sounds like NutroMike needs to get with his people and expand into the UK and Australia STAT 

Tarasgirl06 said:

Sounds like NutroMike needs to get with his people and expand into the UK and Australia STAT 

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Hey Tarasgirl06 Nutro is in Australia at http://www.nutro.com.au/   I will have to check on the stats of the UK.

NutroMike said:

Hey Tarasgirl06

Nutro is in Australia at http://www.nutro.com.au/   I will have to check on the stats of the UK.

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Hi NutroMike.. I'm the Aussie and I do get Nutro.  I'd always thought it was an Aussie company as it says it's 100% Australian made on the website, but that must just mean it's an American product that sources it's ingredients locally?

Mani said:

Thanks, missymotus.  I'm ok with dry... Nutro and Holistic, but I'll check out the Applaws.

I'm really edgy about buying wet food after the controvesy over very harmful additives that don't need to be disclosed (I believe VIP's Fussy Cat was one of the offending products.)  I would really like to know which ones are 'safe', or whether we can really know.  I'm happy to do it myself, but sometimes need backup food.

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I'd never feed any of the pet meats, we only feed human grade meats. Pregnant girls and kittens get a very small amount of royal canin kitten, main diet is raw though.

Applaws is not a complete food, I bought some tins when they were on special and the cats like it well enough. They only get tins every now and then, far too expensive to feed 30+ tins a day lol

missymotus said:

I'd never feed any of the pet meats, we only feed human grade meats. Pregnant girls and kittens get a very small amount of royal canin kitten, main diet is raw though.

Applaws is not a complete food, I bought some tins when they were on special and the cats like it well enough. They only get tins every now and then, far too expensive to feed 30+ tins a day lol

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Yes, I only feed human grade meat now.. even it you buy the free range meat it can work out cheaper than the processed stuff.  I do have tins, though, for back-up, so I'll check this one out.

How long have you been doing a raw diet?  It's pretty tempting.

Nutro used to be sold in Europe, but stopped exporting to the EU some time after the big melamine scandal in 2007. The explanation given by some retailers here was that packaging requirements, i.e., ingredients lists, were changed in the EU, and Nutro didn't think it was worth the hassle or expense. I have no idea whether that was true or sales just weren't high enough.

Mani said:

How long have you been doing a raw diet?  It's pretty tempting.

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About 7 years, so it's been a while

missymotus said:

About 7 years, so it's been a while

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Have you posted anywhere about how you do it?  It's easier to get an Australian perspective.

Good deal!  And if you aren't in the UK, sounds like the next market territory to conquer! 

Another grain-free European food that you might be interested in is Catz Finefood. It's fairly new, and I've noticed people talking about it on UK forums, but at the moment it looks like they're ordering it from online retailers in Germany. It's caught on so well that it's only a matter of time before it's sold throughout Europe. It's a huge hit with both Jamie and Miezi. The pouches are expensive, but it's now also sold in 200 g and 400 g cans.

Terra Faelis is sold in the UK, but it's not one I've tried.