Changes coming re: Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore

[kittycity16]

They merged with another company and the quality has fallen tremendously. I did a side by side comparison of the ingredients on the Chicken & Duck Gourmet Carnivore and the After Dark, only to find they have gone over to the DARK SIDE! They have now put these ingredients into the After Dark formula:

• Salt - (which cats don’t need any more salt than is available from the meat they consume)
• Tuna Oil (which can have high levels of lead, mercury, arsenic or other heavy metals. Not to say given daily can have an effect on blood clotting and we have actually seen thyroid issues)
• Sodium Selenite (Selenium yeast can be a safer form of to deliver the required selenium to a pet diet, according to one study Sodium Selenite is “2.94 times more toxic than Selenium Yeast”. But sadly, the FDA has not yet approved the use of selenium yeast for use in cat food - only dog food has FDA approval)
• Vitamin K3 supplement - Vitamin K supplementation in the diet, specifically vitamin K3 (menadione), is unnecessary and potentially toxic to pets!
  
• Protein percentage is less, whereas they have increased the calorie content which is also not good and can cause obesity.
• The Gourmet Carnivore line did not have these toxic ingredients, and in all good conscience I cannot feed a food that can cause harm to my guys. They are obviously only concerned about their bottom line. I truly wish I could warn people about this as I am sure if they have trusted Tiki Cat in the past, sadly they will continue to trust them. Need to warn people!

Was it just the GC line that changed ingredients, or the entire brand? (Specially wondering if you've heard about tiki tiki or koolina)

 

[cheeser]

Was it just the GC line that changed ingredients, or the entire brand? (Specially wondering if you've heard about tiki tiki or koolina)

I don't know about the entire Tiki Cat brand, because we've been limited to the non-fish flavors since Buddy has a history of FLUTD.

But the Gourmet Carnivore line has been discontinued, and the formulas for the Puka Puka and Koolina Luau flavors from the original Grill & Luau line have indeed changed. In theory, the 'new and improved' formulas are still a better alternative than some other options that are currently available, and I'd continue to buy them if my cat would eat them. Unfortunately, Buddy has been less than impressed with the changes.

 

[lisahe]

Unfortunately, our cats are also less than impressed with the Tiki changes. They'll still eat Tiki if I put Pure Bites on top but even then they're not thrilled. They used to eat it very willingly. Some of the changes to the foods are even visible: the chunks of egg in Koolina are smaller than before, as are the shreds of chicken in both foods that cheeser mentioned. Although Tiki is still better food than lots of other options, sad to say, if the cats don't really want to eat it, I don't think it's worth the money any longer.

 

[kittycity16]

Unfortunately, our cats are also less than impressed with the Tiki changes. They'll still eat Tiki if I put Pure Bites on top but even then they're not thrilled. They used to eat it very willingly. Some of the changes to the foods are even visible: the chunks of egg in Koolina are smaller than before, as are the shreds of chicken in both foods that cheeser mentioned. Although Tiki is still better food than lots of other options, sad to say, if the cats don't really want to eat it, I don't think it's worth the money any longer.

What foods have you been trying instead, to replace the tiki cat?

 

[kittycity16]

I don't know about the entire Tiki Cat brand, because we've been limited to the non-fish flavors since Buddy has a history of FLUTD.

But the Gourmet Carnivore line has been discontinued, and the formulas for the Puka Puka and Koolina Luau flavors from the original Grill & Luau line have indeed changed. In theory, the 'new and improved' formulas are still a better alternative than some other options that are currently available, and I'd continue to buy them if my cat would eat them. Unfortunately, Buddy has been less than impressed with the changes.

What food have you been replacing tiki cat with?

 

[lisahe]

kittycity16 : I don't know. There aren't many good options but the cats just aren't excited enough about Tiki to keep spending the money on it!

 

[dorimon]

What food have you been replacing tiki cat with?

With the recalls and formulation changes, I've gotten pretty frustrated. I'm transitioning the kitties to raw now (commercial & homemade).

 

[lisahe]

Do you mean that you're keeping it rather than replacing it?

 

[lisahe]

With the recalls and formulation changes, I've gotten pretty frustrated. I'm transitioning the kitties to raw now (commercial & homemade).

Do you mean that you're not replacing Tiki, dorimon?

 

[lisahe]

D dorimon , yes I understand about switching to raw food! I've been thinking about adding in more homecooked food.

(And sorry for the odd and multiple responses... something went a bit weird when I was responding, first not appearing to post and then making a non sequitur!)

 

[dorimon]

Do you mean that you're not replacing Tiki, dorimon?

I'm phasing out all canned foods, actually. I stocked up on the old formulations (Chicken w/ Egg, Chicken w/ Duck, Beef Liver & Lamb) a couple months ago when I saw the products being clearanced out. I'm going to use up what we have left and probably stop purchasing commercial cat foods entirely. (We also have Fancy Feast, Merrick, Soulistic, Purina Beyond, NV Instinct, etc.)

The kitties LOVE my homemade raw and I don't have to compromise on ingredients, since I pick everything that goes into the food! Plus they seem to have more energy as we feed more and more raw and less cooked/heat-processed foods.

 

[cheeser]

What food have you been replacing tiki cat with?

Nothing. We're just having to make do with the few flavors Buddy was already eating. I wish I could make my own cat food, but alas, it simply isn't an option for me right now.

 

[lisahe]

I'm glad to hear your cats are so happy on your homemade food, D dorimon ! I'm going to be sorry to lose Tiki from the rotation because it was one of the few canned foods I felt good about feeding.

 

[dorimon]

I'm glad to hear your cats are so happy on your homemade food, D dorimon ! I'm going to be sorry to lose Tiki from the rotation because it was one of the few canned foods I felt good about feeding.

Yes, it was one of the best canned options on the market. It's unfortunate that these changes occurred, since raw feeding isn't a viable option for everyone.

 

[Killer]

Im grateful for Tiki After Dark. Its the only wet cat food my cat can eat without having diarrhea. I tried many others and this was the ONLY one after 1 year 8 months of his young life. Doc thinks he's probably IBD.

 

[lisahe]

Im grateful for Tiki After Dark. Its the only wet cat food my cat can eat without having diarrhea. I tried many others and this was the ONLY one after 1 year 8 months of his young life. Doc thinks he's probably IBD.

That's good to hear, K Killer ! Tiki is very decent food but our cats just stopped liking it after the recipe was changed. I hope your cat continues to enjoy it -- it can be very hard to find foods that cats with gastric issues can eat.

In case you haven't tried it, another canned food with very simple recipes is Rawz: they make chicken, turkey, beef, and salmon pates. (Site here.) Rawz isn't sold online but you can order it at independent stores. I think the Where to Buy page is for stores that regularly carry it. Our cats love the turkey and chicken.

Good luck and welcome to the Cat Site. By the way, is your cat's name Killer? (My parents had a very sweet cat named Killer some years ago!)

 

[Killer]

That's good to hear, K Killer ! Tiki is very decent food but our cats just stopped liking it after the recipe was changed. I hope your cat continues to enjoy it -- it can be very hard to find foods that cats with gastric issues can eat.

In case you haven't tried it, another canned food with very simple recipes is Rawz: they make chicken, turkey, beef, and salmon pates. (Site here.) Rawz isn't sold online but you can order it at independent stores. I think the Where to Buy page is for stores that regularly carry it. Our cats love the turkey and chicken.

Good luck and welcome to the Cat Site. By the way, is your cat's name Killer? (My parents had a very sweet cat named Killer some years ago!)

My nickname was Killer years ago. My cat with possible IBD is Spikey AND HE LOOKS LIKE YOUR PICTURE OF YOUR CAT IN THE BOX tonthe left! Exactly the same!! In fact the cat on the right looks like my other cat Inky who is an Applehead Siamese. I will look more into Rawz. Thanks! Im not sure if i responded correctly. Lets test this and see.