Innova EVO

I really want to switch my kitten (7 months) to Innova Evo. The only thing that worries me is the high protein content. She seems to drink a LOT of water, even though she checks out fine at the vet. Do growing cats just need to drink a lot (she already eats up a storm and has doubled her weight in under 3 months) ? I don't want to overstress her kidneys by switching her to a higher protein food (even though I want to badly, considering that cats are carnivores). My dog has done so well on Innova Evo I just wanted to get opinions from other cat owners as to if the super-peeing is a problem.

As long as she's got a clean bill of health from your vet, the only times I've been concerned re urine volume is if I had reason to suspect diabetes or chronic kidney failure.

I have not tried evo, but know that other members here have -some/their cats have loved it, some have loved it but it was too rich for their systems - it just didn't agree with them.

I'm a fan of no/few grains, and would not be concerned re the protein content, but that's just me

I too am a wee bit worrried at that high protein in a dry format... I tried it with Zoey it didnt work but the dog version is in the dogs mix and she loves it and looks great and lost some excess chub

I would think the reason she drinks so much water is all the dry food she is getting. Do you give any canned food? If you give canned that might make her drink less water. Innova EVO is supposed to be a fabulous food and it would be what I would feed if my kitties weren't on raw. The fact that its high in protein is because of how high in actual meat content it has which I think is fabulous in a dry food.

I feed both my cats EVO and they are doing really well on it. I also only feed dry with treats of wet and they seem to drink a lot of water. I was worried about it so I asked my vet and she says that its good they are drinking lots of water since some cats don't drink enough when they are on a dry diet. My only advice for you is to switch over slowly to the new diet so you don't overwhelm their systems.

My cats didn't do well with Evo. It gave them really gooey stools...I think the formula was just too much for their little bodies to properly process. They eat mainly wet now, and a little bit of Felidae for dry.

I think maybesyou should feed her some wet food too

I also vote for wet food as I think it is better for them - dry has a lot of grains.

Thanks all - I am goin g to start adding wet food to her diet, maybe a tablespoon or so a day? I don't want to feed her just wet cause it can get very expensive and heavy (hard to carry 24 cans! hah). Does anyone have a good method of keeping canned food semi-fresh after its been opened? saran wrap and keep in the fridge maybe? We always fed out cats at home dry food so I guess I never though about adding wet.

at the pet store they have canned food lids... about a buck for a great and fancy on I get them at Petco and petsmart on sale for about 50 cents...they keep stuff out and keep it fresh supposedly for up to a week

I usually cover partially used cans with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Then before serving the refrigerated portion, I microwave it for 12-15 seconds and stir it up to eliminate hot spots to take the chill off.

Actually I think she would be better off eating mainly wet food.

Evo gave both my cats gooey stools as well. I have them on Felidae now, plus natural choice wet pouches and Nature's Variety raw chicken patties. They seem to be doing very well on this mix.

Originally Posted by laureen227

also, you can stir a little hot water into the cold food to warm it up - sometimes i do this if there's not a lot left. well, i used to do this - now my little 'kitty-pigs' eat it all up!

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Yes, I had forgotten about the hot water. That is probably even better than microwaving since it would make more "gravy" which they seem to love.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Yes, I had forgotten about the hot water. That is probably even better than microwaving since it would make more "gravy" which they seem to love.

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Originally Posted by WhtsThFrequency

Does anyone have a good method of keeping canned food semi-fresh after its been opened? .

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You can part up the opened can in small plastics bags (or small plastic boxes as someone suggested) and freeze them down.

Agree with mixing with a little warm water. Great idea. Cats also think its a great idea.

We had our kitten on 100% EVO from 2 months old to about 4 months. She also had gooey stools, but a lot of kittens have loose stools no matter what, so it might not be the EVO's fault completely. We liked the 50% protein idea when she was so small, but after about the 6 month period, 50% is probably too much protein content.

At 4 months we began the program of gradual free feeding, which meant the high protein was a no-no. The solution was to keep the EVO, but to mix it (gradually at first) with other lower protein food. This not only helped with the stool problem, but releived our fears that she would harm her kidneys and liver with the high protein count. We have a very old cat too, so didn't want her to feed on too much protein.

Both are now free feeding on mixed dry food (still using some EVO because its good stuff), along with wet food on the side. Often they'll move from one bowl to the other in the same meal. They get to pick and choose, and no stool problems anymore.

I looked into EVO for my dogs, and the gal at the store said that EVO is good for working dogs, like sled dogs, and dogs who are going hunting constantly, or doing agility all the time, you know dogs in hard work. She said you really don't need that much protein unless you're doing something.

It doesn't exactly apply to cats, but I could see the EVO working for something like Bengals, or more high energy cats whose systems would need something with that much protein. I also feel, with that much protein, maybe you should just switch your cat to a RAW diet, you'll be paying the same, if not less and guarantee better ingredients. That's just my stand anyways. It's a good food, but not for everyone.