Wellness - new dry food formulas

I have been feeding my two cats Wellness for 5+ years and have been very happy with it. They get both canned (rotation of 3 varieties) and dry (Healthy Weight formula since one is a bit on the heavy side) fed 2x/day and are not free fed. They didn't always eat their allotment of dry each day until Wellness changed the dry formula just over a month ago. They LOVE the new stuff and it is gone in a matter of an hour or two after it is put down. Unfortunately, I had no notice that this change was going to occur so I was not able to transition them between the two formulas and they have both had diarrhea ever since. I thought it would go away in a week or two but it has not and it has been 3-4 weeks. One of my cats (who never throws up) threw up all of his dinner last night. Needless to say, I am starting to get very concerned that they are just not going to adjust to this new formula (at best) or that something else is going on.

i plan to start them on probiotics ASAP and am thinking of switching brands entirely.

Is anyone else is having the same experience with the new formula?

(1)Adding probiotics to their wet food meals is a good idea.  That may help with upset stomachs during the food transition. 

(2)Since diarrehea is an issue now, perhaps adding up to 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin a day, may help firm up the stools. I have a couple ziplock bags in freezer with Tbsp. blobs of pumpkin, ready to go if need be.

(3) Coconut oil may also assist with upset stomach. (i.e. Nutiva extra-virgin organic) It's not cheap yet should last a long while. 

Personally I'd go out and buy another brand of dry food.  Start experimenting.   

I feed 90% wet, mixed brands + Orijen 'Cat&Kitten' and Orijen 'Regional Red' dry, but there's so many to try that appear to have decent ingredients for a dry food anyhow.  It also has some of the lowest carbohydrates for a dry food as a bonus  

Good luck.   

Do you know if they've changed the regular Kitten Food?  We are about ready for a new bag but I've been debating a switch to NVI anyway (trying it anyway).

May I ask what flavors of Wellness canned you feed?  It seems to be one of the brands that is somewhat tolerated here.  So far we have Beef & Chicken.

carol5280 said:

 
I have been feeding my two cats Wellness for 5+ years and have been very happy with it. They get both canned (rotation of 3 varieties) and dry (Healthy Weight formula since one is a bit on the heavy side) fed 2x/day and are not free fed. They didn't always eat their allotment of dry each day until Wellness changed the dry formula just over a month ago. They LOVE the new stuff and it is gone in a matter of an hour or two after it is put down. Unfortunately, I had no notice that this change was going to occur so I was not able to transition them between the two formulas and they have both had diarrhea ever since. I thought it would go away in a week or two but it has not and it has been 3-4 weeks. One of my cats (who never throws up) threw up all of his dinner last night. Needless to say, I am starting to get very concerned that they are just not going to adjust to this new formula (at best) or that something else is going on.

i plan to start them on probiotics ASAP and am thinking of switching brands entirely.

Is anyone else is having the same experience with the new formula?

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Yes, it would have been best to do a gradual transition, if you still had some of the old diet. With any new food, it takes awhile for a cat's digestion to get used to a different set of nutrients, minerals, etc., which is why transitioning gradually is important. I wouldn't give up on the new food just yet, but maybe stop the dry for now until the diarrhea settles down, and try again. In the meantime, perhaps just give them more wet seeing as you can't go back to the previous formula, or can you? Re. the vomiting, its quite possible that this was due to eating too fast.

EDIT : I feed my cats the Wellness Grain-free canned chicken with no issues. However, I introduced a probiotic recently, and on the second day, Max vomited his entire feeding. Since stopping the probiotic, no other incidents. He has never vomited like this before, so I suspect the probiotic didn't agree with him.

I am not sure about the kitten food.

My cats eat the canned Chicken, Turkey and Turkey/Salmon flavors.

Unfortunately, we were pretty much out of the old stuff and were surprised to see the new formula when we went to buy more. the place where I usually buy it is fantastic and full of advice for everything dog related, but not so much for cats. They carry some cat food and a few toys but otherwise 95% of what they sell are dog products so I don;t even think it was on their radar to let me know this was going to happen.

I've called several places and no one has the old bags in stock :-(

carol5280 said:

 
Unfortunately, we were pretty much out of the old stuff and were surprised to see the new formula when we went to buy more. the place where I usually buy it is fantastic and full of advice for everything dog related, but not so much for cats. They carry some cat food and a few toys but otherwise 95% of what they sell are dog products so I don;t even think it was on their radar to let me know this was going to happen.

I've called several places and no one has the old bags in stock :-(

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Right. Well that is really bad luck. How about giving the Wellness CORE a try, or have you been there and done that already?

I might just move to Taste of the Wild - that is what my dog eats and I am very happy with it. Just wish I could get the old formula wellness back for that transition. 

carol5280 said:

 
I might just move to Taste of the Wild - that is what my dog eats and I am very happy with it. Just wish I could get the old formula wellness back for that transition. 

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Yes, that would be ideal to have some of the old formula I would still try and see if you can transition with the new formula by slowing things down, and trying again.

If not, best of luck with whatever you decide to go on to next.

Maybe it was just kitten, but I thought I read that the formula hadn't changed, just the bag?  I've been hanging around the Wellness site quite a bit lately looking at things like calorie count. Still, your cats shouldn't have reacted if it was the same. We got a bigger bag and I didn't think Dandy liked it as well but I can't say if the design had changed.

I have probiotics sitting here but we've had so many problems with her and food that I haven't tried them on her yet.

Thanks for the info on flavors.

Well, the Healthy Weight bag says "Now even tastier!" and my cats certainly both agree - they devour this kibble like never before. I don't think they could've made it that much tastier without changing something.

Having dealt with one cat that had IBD in her last years, I'm pretty well versed in a lot of solutions for controlling diarrhea. I was really wondering if anyone else has had similar issues and worried that it could be something more than just them reacting to a formula change.

After my last post, it occurred to me that you might just be dealing with something other than a change in formula, but you seemed so certain it was the food. Now that I think about it, this could be a few different things - An intestinal bug, something in the wet food rather than the dry formula? Some treat or other food they have received. Parasites! Although quite unlikely that both cats would have this at the same time, but not impossible if they happen to lick feces off their paw from the other cat.

To check into what has changed in the formula, you might want to call Wellness which is made here in Canada and ask them what they have changed in the diet, to make it 'tastier'. The response might give you some clues. Here is the toll-free number to call : 1-866-640-3800

The Kitten bag doesn't claim to be "tastier" so maybe they changed some other formulas.

I've been trying to call all afternoon and I kept getting a message that they were in a company meeting, then I called again it was after business hours.

I do think it is the food but wondered if it was something other than the formula. One of the boys is pretty sensitive and doesn't get anything other than his food and Greenies. The other steals food from the dog and will steal food from humans if he gets the chance, but I don't think he has gotten anything out of the ordinary lately.

Hi Carol : Here is another number to try : 1-800-225-0904. This is a customer care number. Sounds like the other might have been the corporate headquarters.

I did contact Wellness last week and was told that they have not change the formula for the kibble but they changed the way the "flavor" is created, though they also told me they removed olive oil. I'm not quite sure how those two things don't constitute a change but I also don't understand how something so minor could affect my cats the way it has. 

I also went to my awesome pet food store and was told that I am not the only one who has complained about the same issues since the "change" occurred. They have called Wellness and were told the same thing I was but they don't believe them either.

After a long talk with one of the employees there, I left with a bag of Earthborn Primitive. My cats are fed both dry and canned, which I buy by the case. I have just under half of my last 3 case purchase of Wellness canned left. I'll see how things go over the next month as they finish that and get transitioned to the Earthborn before deciding if I will switch the canned as well. In looking at online reviews, I am now seriously considering seeing if my picky dog will like it too.

The litter box is looking better but that is likely due to the addition of probiotics since I just started with the new kibble this morning. I really like how much smaller the pieces are for my Siamese with only half of his teeth.

Thanks for following up with everyone Carol. That is important information.

After I left the new number for you, I happened to stop into a Pet Valu store here in Canada, and asked about the 'old' formula. They happened to still have a bag and so the guy on staff (who was quite knowledgeable) and I did a comparison between the ingredients of the old and new bags. We didn't see much in the way of changes, except, we noticed that the amount of Vitamin A supplement had been increased and was higher in the ingredients list. While the Vitamin A is there to process beta carotene which cats can't, too much can be a problem. This may or may not have any bearing on the diarrhea, but you might want to be in touch with Wellness again at some point to clarify this with them.

Probiotics is a good thing to give for good digestive function. It along with Slippery Elm Bark supplement and pumpkin puree, can all help with diarrhea. Glad to hear that the diarrhea has cleared up since you last posted.

I hope the Earthborn works out for you Carol.

I just wanted to add that my cats used to eat a lot of the Wellness canned, particularly the turkey & salmon flavour. Now neither of them like it. I mentioned that to my friend and she said that they'd changed their formulas (pet store told her) and her cats won't eat the new cans either. :slant:

I have noticed a lot of inconsistency with the canned Wellness lately. Sometimes it can be very runny (esp the chicken) and sometimes quite solid (esp the turkey/salmon). I have been thinking of switching for so long but had kept them on it since Zainey is so sensitive to any changes in his diet. Now that it seems to be necessary I am happy to do it.

Thanks everyone for your feedback on this!

I had noticed that the Wellness canned food has changed and it changed when they combined where they make the food to one plant. I used to buy a certain can by looking at the numbers on it. Peaches would only eat those cans, can't remember the lot numbers now but they were creamier. Now I have to mix something else in with the canned Wellness or she won't eat it. It does not smell like meat, it smells like baby food squash to me and looks more orange in color. I was told that they used to make the food at 2 different plants that's why the 2 different lot numbers. Now they make it at one plant and the food does not seem as good to me or my cat. I have a hard time getting her to eat it but she is so picky and will only eat Turkey flavors and only a couple of brands.

I wish they would have stayed at the plant where the food was creamier and the one Peaches liked.