Natures Variety Instinct canned

andrya · Oct 6, 2012

Has anyone else had problems feeding this food to their cats?

l had previously tried 3 cans of the Lamb flavour, and all 3 times one of the cats hurled before finishing eating.

l tried them on a can of the Chicken flavour, which was okay as far as l remember.

So on my monthly cat-food shopping trip, l decided to try NVI in a different flavour, and bought venison.

Only the adults would eat it, and again Tanner hurled violently before he was even done eating. And now, hours later, Bretten is throwing it up violently, except it's obviously more digested. l have, literally, long streaks of this stuff on my carpet from the force of them yakking it up!

There is something in there that really does not sit well with my cats.

ldg · Oct 6, 2012

I don't feed canned anymore, but when I did, I used a lot of NVI. None of my cats had a problem, and lamb was their favorite. :dk: (I did pick out the peas and carrots though, before putting it down for them to eat).

The food that made my cats hurl was Halo's Spot's Stew. Never tried that one again!

korina · Oct 25, 2012

Korina never hurled, as a cat that got daily rotation, I knew her favorite.

NV Chicken was her staple, she would get rabbit on sudays, and lamb is quickly eaten.

She hates duck (wont eat) and I dont think cow is appropriate dairy.

My kitty, picky enough to protest a meal she doesnt want for 12 hours, she has had everything.

Also chicken soup for cat lover soul is a favorite too. And thank god, I pay 95 cents a can, a BARGAIN.

As you have multiple cats, if they take to NV save money getting the same flavors in large dog can.

Call NV hotline, they can explain (they are the same exact product)

myrnafaye · May 11, 2014

HOw is that possible, dont dogs and cats have different nutritional needs? how much cheaper is the canned dog food, the canned cat food is really pricey.

denice · May 11, 2014

I looked at the ingredient lists for the dog and cat chicken food. They are very very close but there is one very important thing missing from the dog food and that is taurine. Dogs like us can make their own taurine but cats can't, they have to get it from food. Cooking destroys most of the taurine in meat so it has to be added back into processed cat food.

catpack · May 11, 2014

My crew currently eats NVI's LID turkey and the LID duck. I tried the lamb with my oldest and he threw it all up. Half of my cats have food allergies/intolerances, so I just assumed this was the problem with the lamb.

fluffybeard · May 11, 2014

Currently, NVI and tiki cat are the only foods that don't give my cat diarrhea, gas and soft stools. So he eats a ton of NVI. He's never had a problem with the rabbit, chicken, turkey and duck flavors. He refused to eat lamb and venison.

But he ate one can of the beef and was fine and then I gave him the beef a second time and he threw it all up within minutes. Thing is, he SCARFED that beef! He loved it so much. So I think he might have eaten too much, too fast and that's why it all came up so quickly, but I haven't tried the beef since.

myrnafaye · May 12, 2014

what does taurine do?

catpack · May 12, 2014

Taurine is essential for eye and heart health.
Going just 1-2 weeks without adequate taurine leads to retinal degeneration (this is irreversible once it happens.)

myrnafaye · May 12, 2014

I just called the company and asked. They said their canned dog and cat foods are "exactly the same". I asked about taurine. They said both had taurine. I am checking the on line information now, and they both indeed do have taurine. Perhaps an expert here can evaluate??

jclark · May 12, 2014

Andrya said:
Has anyone else had problems feeding this food to their cats?

l had previously tried 3 cans of the Lamb flavour, and all 3 times one of the cats hurled before finishing eating.

l tried them on a can of the Chicken flavour, which was okay as far as l remember.

So on my monthly cat-food shopping trip, l decided to try NVI in a different flavour, and bought venison.

Only the adults would eat it, and again Tanner hurled violently before he was even done eating. And now, hours later, Bretten is throwing it up violently, except it's obviously more digested. l have, literally, long streaks of this stuff on my carpet from the force of them yakking it up!

There is something in there that really does not sit well with my cats.

Depending on what you're used to feeding them it's hard to say. Perhaps they're gorging themselves? I feed it to three cats and every so often (hasn't happenned in awhile now that I think about it) the older main coon (IBD) will projectile vomit the rabbit but I think he over eats when he does.

I feed my cats NVI raw and canned daily.

jclark · May 12, 2014

myrnafaye said:
HOw is that possible, dont dogs and cats have different nutritional needs? how much cheaper is the canned dog food, the canned cat food is really pricey.

In the wild the nutritional needs aren't significantly different. Having to add taurine to "cat food" is the big difference.

NVI dog food size can is about 10 cents/oz cheaper.

andrya · May 12, 2014

l wrote this thread about a year and a half ago before l started my cats on homemade raw. l don't know what it was about the NVI but the boys couldn't tolerate it, l took a picture of the long projectile "spatter", sent it to the company, and they told me to take the cans back to the pet store for a refund and coupon, which l did.

Tanner has always been a yakker, so it wasn't out of the realm of normal for him, but Bretten has only thrown up a handful of times in his 4 years, and this was one of them.

Anyway, they're (now 3 of them) on raw food with occasional canned and their gastro systems are doing very well.

myrnafaye · May 12, 2014

My cats LOVE the rabbit. And I just got off the phone with a very helpful supervisor at Natures Variety, who assured me that the dog and cat formula are the same, but the dog formula comes in larger cans. I will find out how much t hey are compared to the 5.5 canned cat rabbit.

momof3b1g · May 12, 2014

6 of my 7 cats love the lamb. I had 2 throw up episodes. But out of about 6 or 8 feedings. They really love it and probably ate to fast.

sarah ann · May 12, 2014

I asked for a nutritional analysis of the dog food. And I asked if it is the same as the cat food. It is the same and you can feed both.

I've never had a cat throw up on Nature's variety.

My only complaint is that it is not balanced for urinary issues. They do not add Methionine to the food.

For my cat with urinary issues, I have to add it to the food. Otherwise his urinary ph jumps to an 8.0 on the Instinct.

musicalcats · Jun 14, 2014

Although Taurine is listed in the ingredients list of the NVI dog food, it is NOT in the "guaranteed analysis" list. In the cat food it IS listed in the "guaranteed analysis." This is the only discrepancy that I saw between the cat and dog chicken formulas. I would LOVE for this to be a typo or mistake so I can buy the larger and more economical dog food but I can't risk it not having taurine for my baby! Thoughts??

denice · Jun 15, 2014

I think that it isn't included in the guaranteed analysis list for dogs because it isn't a necessary ingredient for dogs like it is for cats. Dogs can make their own taurine the same as we do, cats have to get it from the food they eat. It's one of the things that makes cats obligate carnivores. Some dog owners believe that it is good to have it added to dog food as well which is why companies that make premium quality foods also add it to the dog food.

myrnafaye · Jun 15, 2014

I have called the company twice and they have assured me the foods are exactly the same.

musicalcats · Jun 15, 2014

myrnafaye said:
I have called the company twice and they have assured me the foods are exactly the same.

Thanks! I needed some reassurance!

Natures Variety Instinct canned

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