Wellness Brand Help?

Yarra said:

Iams is not a good food. Sorry to go against you. Wellness USED to be great. But it's been played with too much and A LOT of cats, here on our board and at our local pet store, are getting sick on it.

I would trust 100 times more than ANY vet I've been to, the opinions of a certain few here on this board, Sharky being one, and she can tell you the others here that know THIER stuff. Vets only get a few HOURS of nutrition education while in school. Even then, a lot of those nutrition classes are sponsored by science diet!!!

SD is a TERRIBLE food. So are most "vet" foods. Only use them if they are ABSOLUTELY necessary and try to supplement with a better food when you can. I had a male cat that did really well on SD cd. I hated feeding it. But it kept him out of the vet, and alive and happy. But I made sure to feed SD cd WET and subbed in a good dry to make sure get got good nutrition.

All food is NOT alike in the least! Find threads on here telling you best wet and dry goods to feed your cat, and then feed the best food you can afford. Keeping in mind, cats eat WAY LESS on a good food. And another plus, you go through Kessler litter as well!!

Click to expand...

Well, I think ALL food at one tine or another has had problems. I think if you spread your search far enough and beyond these forums, that you will find something negative with just about any food. Some people swear by Royal Canin, and yet there was a massive recall back in 2007 due to contamination and problems with source of ingredients. There have been several complaints about Blue Buffalo food for the same problem with source of ingredients, Hills and Science Diet, Z/D. Like I've said above, I have not had any problems with Wellness WET food (I have not tried the dry). In general, there is a lot more that can go wrong with dry food with stuff that can get into a bag that makes it potentially harmful, than the diet itself, but in the case of Wellness indoor, some things have definitely changed.

It could be that the increase in magnesium is the cause of the loose stools but at .12%, that is a pretty small amount. I think the important thing is for manufacturers to take these issues with food seriously, and when there are a significant number of complaints, to do something about it. Most do. For anyone who has had issues with the latest Wellness dry food, there is a toll-free number to call to let them know. Here it is : 1-800-225-0904

Minou's dad here. Due to Minou's recent experience with loose stools after ingesting new formula Wellness, I said I would immediately transition her back to her former food, using a new (old formula) bag of Wellness Indoor and a new bag of Blue Buffalo Indoor. I reported 2 days ago that I put both kibbles in her bowl, 3/4 Well' and 1/4 Blue', and that she gobbled up the Blue and left the Well. So, I gave her a half cup of Blue, which she ate completely.

That night she had another loose stool, but it was smaller. The next day she had no stool at all, and this morning her 'tootsie rolls' were back ! (cue the music: Ode to Joy - Beethoven)

I left Blue months ago because of the uncertainty I felt about it after reading some negative posts here. Like oneandahalfcats stated, no brand has had a perfect record, but I have never had an issue with Blue and my beautiful Minou has been thriving on it her whole life, minus the 6 months she was a feral kitten (talk about malnourished).

I do not know if I will trust Wellness again, but I am going forward with Blue and will remain vigilant. I will donate my 2 day old purchase of 1 month expired sell-by date bag of Wellness old formula to the local shelter (if they'll take it). Then I will call Wellness to report my cat's recent negative experience with the now better tasting formula.

Thanks for the input and suggestions. -Mike, aka Minou's dad

UPDATE: I transitioned Byron to Wellness CORE indoor formula, and he has had NO issues since the change. Hooray! I will post links later to the kind that gave him the tummy upsets and the kind that he eats now with no issues. Thank you to all!

jennandtonic said:

UPDATE: I transitioned Byron to Wellness CORE indoor formula, and he has had NO issues since the change. Hooray! I will post links later to the kind that gave him the tummy upsets and the kind that he eats now with no issues. Thank you to all!

Click to expand...

Oh that's awesome Jennandtonic .. Glad to hear that things are back to normal, food-wise ..  Thanks for the update!

Wellness and Blue Buffalo are not heathy brands of cat food. They both put carrageenan into their wet food. Google search carrageenan. It causes cancer and can lead to IBD in animals as well as humans.
Good brands of wet food are: Tiki Cat
chicken, Hounds & Gatos, Natures Variety Instinct, Natures Logic, and Addiction. Freeze Dried raw food by Feline Natural is excellent too.

Alistair said:

Wellness and Blue Buffalo are not heathy brands of cat food. They both put carrageenan into their wet food. Google search carrageenan. It causes cancer and can lead to IBD in animals as well as humans.
Good brands of wet food are: Tiki Cat
chicken, Hounds & Gatos, Natures Variety Instinct, Natures Logic, and Addiction. Freeze Dried raw food by Feline Natural is excellent too.

Click to expand...

Carageenan does not automatically cause cancer. Carageenan is a naturally occurring substance derived from red algae and used in foods as a binder. There are two forms of carageenan. Degraded and undegraded. It is undegraded carageenan that is used in pet and human food and in and of itself, does not pose a health risk. It is what happens to carageenan through being exposed to contamination, that makes it potentially carcinogenic. Its not automatic.

Wrong: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181/Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html

If you want to put your pets at risk that is your choice but don't mislead others

Excuse me? I do not put my pets at risk, nor do I make it a habit of misleading others. I'll thank you to keep those sorts of comments to yourself.

What I have stated is based on information from studies that have been conducted regarding carageenan. The risk is not as cut and dried as you would like to suggest. If it were, there would be a lot of people walking around with cancer as the result of eating ice cream. Think about it.

It's more about the risk of IBD. It's better to be safe then sorry when there are lots of good alternatives

Also, we are taking about pets eating carrageenan every single day of their lives with these foods being given to them. Most people don't eat large amounts of foods with carrageenan every single day of their life. As I said the choice is yours but pet parents should be informed.

Alistair said:

Also, we are taking about pets eating carrageenan every single day of their lives with these foods being given to them. Most people don't eat large amounts of foods with carrageenan every single day of their life. As I said the choice is yours but pet parents should be informed.

Click to expand...

If you are consuming yogurt, cottage cheese or Almond Milk everyday, then you are potentially consuming carageenan.

My cats are currently being fed a canned diet that does not contain carageenan. While I acknowledge that this ingredient has been linked to cancer I think there are some misconceptions about how that happens exactly. As a cancer survivor, I know how cancer works and its never the result of one thing but a combination of things. So is the case with animals. Some will be more predisposed than others. You say that pet owners should be informed. I agree, but there is such a thing as perspective and realizing that things are not black and white. There is nothing in the article you posted, or in any other study that will tell you that carageenan in itself, causes cancer. There are a few things that have to happen at the molecular level for something to become carcinogenic. As I've said, carageenan is not a carcinogen. It is actually poligeenan that is the degraded form that is harmful.

Congratulations for surviving cancer the fact that carrageenan is inflammatory and can lead to IBD is the biggest concern. There is no way to know if a cat is genetically susceptible to developing IBD until it is too late. It's better not to risk it. The link I posted is backed up by actual studies and by someone who has studied this subject in depth. I'm sorry if I was rude. I see now that you have good intentions.

Alistair said:

Congratulations for surviving cancer

the fact that carrageenan is inflammatory and can lead to IBD is the biggest concern. There is no way to know if a cat is genetically susceptible to developing IBD until it is too late. It's better not to risk it. The link I posted is backed up by actual studies and by someone who has studied this subject in depth. I'm sorry if I was rude. I see now that you have good intentions.

Click to expand...

Apology accepted

Yes, I agree that carageenan and guar gum and artificial colors/flavors all pose a problem for pets. So does dry food. It's best to avoid all of these things as much as possible. Not everyone will be able to accomplish this due to either budget constraints or personal circumstances and so may end up feeding their pets with foods containing undesirable ingredients. It comes down to the lesser of two evils usually. Overall, I think pet owners here will always do the best they can with what they have to work with.

That much about carrageenan and the gums, but there don't seem to be much we can do about it b'cos most high end wet food brand uses them. Only some brands like Firstmate, Fromm, Nature's Variety don't have them, but that is provided our kitty will like them. As most of us should know by now, some cats are just so terribly finicky. What is good by our standards means nothing, if kitties simply won't eat - like mine.

I have tried many brands, many flavours, only to settle with 5 now, firstly b'cos he didn't like all of it, secondly, he has a chicken allergy, so that makes my choices limited. Even if the food has carrageenan, I will still have to feed it, b'cos those were the only wet food he will eat. I rather a cat eat food with carrageenan than a cat that eats only kibbles or eats NOTHING. Oh well, that's my choice for my kitty and I'll take full responsibility for that, b'cos nobody will.

Making your own food, going raw would probably be the best option then, but my kitty is FIV+, I wouldn't take the risk, though I have read it on here about their FIV kitties thriving on it.

Sorry to read your cat is FIV+ and allergic to chicken. Selection the best food must be really frustrating.

Stella and Chewy makes decent freeze dried raw food in some non chicken variety's but it's very expensive. I like Feline Natural and they tell me they are working on some variety's without chicken.

I will take a small amount of gums in my cats food over carrageenan any day. When I first read about how an all dry food diet was bad, I fed Wellness core kitten formula to my kitten for a week. His soft silky coat he had from eating Orijen, dried out. One of many reasons I think Blue and Wellness suck. That was before I knew of the dangers of carrageenan.

onemeow said:

That much about carrageenan and the gums, but there don't seem to be much we can do about it b'cos most high end wet food brand uses them. Only some brands like Firstmate, Fromm, Nature's Variety don't have them, but that is provided our kitty will like them. As most of us should know by now, some cats are just so terribly finicky. What is good by our standards means nothing, if kitties simply won't eat - like mine.

I have tried many brands, many flavours, only to settle with 5 now, firstly b'cos he didn't like all of it, secondly, he has a chicken allergy, so that makes my choices limited. Even if the food has carrageenan, I will still have to feed it, b'cos those were the only wet food he will eat. I rather a cat eat food with carrageenan than a cat that eats only kibbles or eats NOTHING. Oh well, that's my choice for my kitty and I'll take full responsibility for that, b'cos nobody will.

Making your own food, going raw would probably be the best option then, but my kitty is FIV+, I wouldn't take the risk, though I have read it on here about their FIV kitties thriving on it.

Click to expand...

Hi there,

Thanks for your thoughts. I am sorry to read about your kitty's condition.

You make some very good points in highlighting the challenges that many pet owners face in finding suitable foods that their cats will actually eat, and eat they must, you are so right about that. When comparing commercial foods, the truth of the matter is that many if not all contain some undesirable ingredient that will not measure up or be appropriate. What it comes down to is making some decisions as to what is acceptable, to you. It sounds like you already understand this.

I agree that it is better to feed a species appropriate diet such as wet meat than to feed dry food, but not everyone can manage to feed an all-wet diet due to their own particular circumstances. When commercial wet foods contain ingredients that can pose a problem, its at these times that people start thinking about feeding raw as an alternative. I think a raw diet is fine but may not be suitable for all cats due to specific health challenges as you pointed out, not all cats will like and accept it, and not everyone can manage to feed raw due to personal circumstances. I think its important to be informed about different ingredients and different diets and then using this knowledge, endeavor to feed the best food that you can according to the needs or your cat(s) and your own personal circumstances.

Yes, it is frustrating, its hard to find a perfect food, but just when you thought you find one, kitty just won't eat or it has chicken. My kitty love chicken actually, but I can't give it to him anymore. Even then, I am glad he is still taking Firstmate Turkey, the only brand w/o gums/carrageenan, though he can be crazy at times, turning his nose up. I just have to cross my finger that he will not get sick of it, that is why I need more brands for rotation. I'm still on the look out for more non chicken wet food to include in his rotation.

Nothing wrong with feeding carrageenan here and there. I believe that the subject/topics on carrageenan are somewhat blown out of proportion at times. I definitely do agree with @oneandahalfcats  that it takes more than just one thing to cause any kind of cancerous/health problem. Lots are not black/white..maybe a mixture, gray.

Just because a food has carrageenan doesn't automatically make it a bad food.

Honestly I don't understand the attitude of @Alistair  . It is pretty rude to say 'Wrong' automatically. Everyone has their opinions,facts,statements about things. She said, he said. Both could/can be right. (:

Meowww, Cat Fight 

Firstmate Turkey seems to have a lot of carbs in it , if I'm doing the right calculations its about %22 which is pretty high up there.

(% Protien) + (4% Fat) + (0.4% Fiber) + (% Moisture) + (1.5% Ash) = About 95%

Then 5% / 22% = About 22% Carbs