Anyone have a problem with their cats upchucking Orijen Dry Cat & Kitten Food? Pieces so tiny, my c

HELP!!  I'm really upset, reading all the great reviews of Orijen Cat & Kitten dry food.
My guys love it BUT continually throw it up.  Pieces are too small, so my cats inhale it rather than chewing it.  

I can see the un-chewed, solid pieces in the upchuck (sorry)  ANYONE ELSE have this problem?

It's not hair balls, hair or anything but their NOT chewing these tiny pieces of Orijen. I feel so frustrated, angry, sad.  Purina Complete (yes garbage mostly) has the RIGHT SIZE morsels.  My guys NEVER threw that up. 

Left a message for Orijen on their site a week ago, no response yet.  Left 2nd one, will call tomorrow.  

I also heard that there may be too high carbs in Orijen's dry Cat & Kitten Food.
OMG, it is so darned hard to get good healthy digestible food for our guys.

Thanks!

It's actually quite normal for cats to swallow kibble without chewing. In my experience they'll chew some pieces, but not all of them.

I suggest you get some sort of puzzle feeder for your guys. It simply sounds to me like your guys are just too excited and enthusiastic about it :lol3: A puzzle feeder will slow down their eating and engage their brains. It's a win-win

Regarding carbs, ALL kibbles will be high in carbs compared to wet food. It's just not possible to make kibble without some sort of carbohydrate. Orijen is definitely one of the better brands available, so by all means feed it and feel good about it. It definitely sounds like your cats approve :nod:

We need more info. 

When did you transition them over to Orijen? Did you slowly mix their old food with their new food to ensure they didn't have digestive problems? How often are they vomiting? Are you feeding wet food too? How old are your cats? 

This is probably not an issue with the food itself but your cats adapting to a new, much better quality food. Additionally, it sounds like your cats might be "scarfing and barfing" meaning they are eating too fast which is causing them to vomit. It is however, totally normal for cats not to chew their kibble, most cats swallow the majority whole. 

I've been using Orijen for years. My oldest would vomit it sometimes but it turns out he was hyperthyroid, so that's why he was vomiting. None of my other 9 cats vomit, but Orijen is not a large part of their diet. 

Hi Columbine,

Didn't know cats don't really chew kibble ... thank you.  Now I'm putting out very small amounts -- about 2 TBS at a time.  Not hard as I'm home all the time.   Don't know about a puzzle feeder, will check it out, might be fun for them.

When they first saw and smelled Orijen they went nuts.  It wasn't until about a week later that the serious upchucking began.  Didn't know that kibble by its nature has to have carbs, duh. 

Thank you for the info and encouragement!!!!  

Hi missmimz,

Thank you too for your info, was feeling a tad panicky. They started eating Orijen about two months ago.  No transition from the Purina Complete (maybe not good to do this).  

Their main food is/will always be wet.  No matter how good dry food can be, I think all cats, especially males require wet food.  I'm in the process of searching for better wet foods that they'll EAT. They'll eat some Wellness, but after it's refrigerated, have to mix it into their favorite - Fancy Feast Tender Beef Feast.  Not a terrible cat food, high protein.

They're both 8 yrs old (brother and sister).    YES, scarfing and barfing is a good description.  Glad to hear it's probably too much Orijen at one time. Never knew the little angels don't chew kibble, good to know from you both.

Additionally, I get organic chicken from my local butcher for myself and grind up some raw for them.  About twice a week they have it.  Never a problem and good as it has those healthy enzymes.

Thanks again!!!!    

I had the same problem with my cat not chewing her Orijen. Nature's variety also. She eats mostly wet, and I give her a small amount (1/8 cup) of dry kibble as a midday snack. Even with her puzzle slow feeder, she was very quick with her paws and inhaling those bits. I did some research and found that Wellness Core had bigger bits, so I made the switch and now she chews her kibble, and it takes her much longer to finish eating them. 

Hi Cocobutterfly ... Wellness Core ... will check it out.  I'm feeding them about 1 TBS of Orijen at a time.  I'll check the ingredients on Wellness Core.
Thanks so much.

 

sounds like scarf and barf, my guy loved it too and eat it way to fast. I had to dole it out in small portions, the food ball is a great suggestion. Orijen is very good dry cat food  (I actually think it is the best)

In terms of quality, Wellness is definitely not as good as Orijen. But like was mentioned above, its perfectly okay for cats to swallow pieces whole. Dry food doesn't clean teeth so there's no real need for them to chew all of the food. When my cat would vomit kibble it would be in mostly whole pieces. I wouldn't make the switch unless the vomiting doesn't get better as I think Wellness is a downgrade. 

Hi Zed,

Thanks for sharing.  I feel reassured knowing that this is not uncommon.  Yep I've been leaving out about 1-2 TBS at a time and no throwups.  YES I keep hearing how great Orijen is for them, would hate to short change them. 

missmimz ... you make perfect sense.  I think I will stick with the Orijen, just small portions at a time. Exactly what I'd see when they threw up the Orijen, whole pieces there. 
It's better now as I'm only feeding them small quantities at a time.  No more upchucks so far.
Thanks very much for the advice.  

I have one cat that also throws up her Orijen once in a while. The others do not. I suspect it is also because she eats too fast (though she will not eat in front of me for some reason) or because she eats and then starts playing with the others, running around, jumping, climbing. But she is healthy and happy.

Glad to her that there are no more issues so far. Wishing you the best that it continues. 

Hi CalicosRSpecial ..
 

YES so appreciate the comments and reassurance as I do want to keep feeding my guys Orijen.
 

I got a response from Orijen's Customer Care Dept.  They "claim" all their research led to this stupidly small size morsel.  Oh really?  Anyway, will use it as it's so good and the much smaller portions seem to be the key to avoiding upchucks.  Yep, they can be gobblers.  

Thanks and onward!!   

deebeee,

Interesting that their research suggests the size is best.

Glad to hear the smaller portions are helping.

CRS

CalicosRSpecial ... Thanks .. Small portions seem to have done the trick.  

Also they are now more used to it.  Making sure I give them the majority of their food in the wet form.