Nature's Variety Instinct questions

[myrnafaye]

As some of you know, I recently switched to Nature's Variety Instinct (canned only) for my cats, as Obi was tossing haiballs regulalry, and this food has no carageenan, agar agar or guar gum.  I chose the rabbit formula, because it has a lower fat content, and when I bought the duck formula, Obi threw it up.  I dont know if it is the higher fat in the duck or a more random factor.  In any case both my babies LOVE the rabbit - but wow is it pricey!  Some of the other formulas - like salmon - are less expensive, but the fat content is higher.  Any thoughts? how are their limited ingredient formulas different, they dont have pork?  and, someone here said the dog food formula is the same and cheaper, is this true?  for the canned formulas??

 

[oneandahalfcats]

 
As some of you know, I recently switched to Nature's Variety Instinct (canned only) for my cats, as Obi was tossing haiballs regulalry, and this food has no carageenan, agar agar or guar gum.  I chose the rabbit formula, because it has a lower fat content, and when I bought the duck formula, Obi threw it up.  I dont know if it is the higher fat in the duck or a more random factor.  In any case both my babies LOVE the rabbit - but wow is it pricey!  Some of the other formulas - like salmon - are less expensive, but the fat content is higher.  Any thoughts? how are their limited ingredient formulas different, they dont have pork?  and, someone here said the dog food formula is the same and cheaper, is this true?  for the canned formulas??

I don't know about the Salmon variety of the NV as I haven't tried this, or the LID products. I feed the chicken, rabbit, duck. NV is pricey, but quite a good food. I contacted NV a couple of months ago, and among other things, asked them about the dog food formula and whether this was the same as the cat formula. NV's response was that yes, it is. The only difference is that the consistency of the dog food is looser (with the exception of the Lamb) and it seems to contain more moisture, than the cat food, which is a good thing.

 

[stephanie42]

i add warm water to all of my cat's canned foods and smush it up more with a fork.  it's a good way to get a bit more moisture in their diet and they seem to like a wetter, smoother consistency.  we're still feeding NV duck, rabbit, lamb, and chicken.  i stopped feeding the limited ingredient varieties because one of my cats just won't eat it.

it's possible that your cat that threw up the duck just doesn't like duck.  or maybe duck doesn't agree with him.  anything beef or venison doesn't agree with one of my babies.  the limited ingredient diets just have less ingredients and only one protein source from what i can see - no added pork broth, etc.  which i like because i just don't get tossing pork in there, i feel like it's a filler, but then i remember that i'm not a scientist and i just suck it up and feed it.  they like it, it's balanced, and i'm not making my own food yet, so that's what the cats get

one thing that used to concern me is the sourcing of the rabbit: NV says it comes from a trusted source in china.  originally i refused to feed rabbit because of the china thing, but i've had such good luck with feeding NV and they seem very open with their sourcing, so i decided to try the rabbit.  and my cats love love love the rabbit.

 

[myrnafaye]

Thank you both.  Yes, my cats LOVE the rabbit too.  Its like its Thankgiving every day now for them, twice  a day.  Has anyone tried giving the dog food?  I can t see how, if that is the only difference, that that could be a bad thing, especially if it is significantly cheaper, is it? 

 

[oneandahalfcats]

As I mentioned above, I contacted NV awhile ago and asked a bunch of questions, and in the course of the conversation, the rep offered the information that NV was to be making an announcement soon that they will be changing the source of Rabbit from China, to New Zealand, due to public concerns regarding quality issues with products coming out of china. I have no updated information to confirm that the change has taken place, but was pleased to hear this bit of news.

 
Thank you both.  Yes, my cats LOVE the rabbit too.  Its like its Thankgiving every day now for them, twice  a day.  Has anyone tried giving the dog food?  I can t see how, if that is the only difference, that that could be a bad thing, especially if it is significantly cheaper, is it? 

Yes, I currently purchase some big cans of the NV Chicken in the dog food. I pay $3.89/12.5 ounce can which is slightly more than what the 5.5 ounce can in the cat food costs. When you do the math on this, there is no question that the dog food is a much better deal.

 

[musicalcats]

Although Taurine is listed in the ingredients list of the NVI dog food, it is NOT in the "guaranteed analysis" list. In the cat food it IS listed in the "guaranteed analysis." This is the only discrepancy that I saw between the cat and dog chicken formulas. I would LOVE for this to be a typo or mistake so I can buy the larger and more economical dog food but I can't risk it not having taurine for my baby! Thoughts??

 

[dohdeelicious]

@oneandahalfcats: Thank you for posting about the cat and dog foods being identical.
Good move by NV to move rabbit sourcing to New Zealand.

 

[sarah ann]

My only issue with Nature's Variety is that it is low in Methionine. My cat's urinary ph went up to 8.0 instead of 6.0! 

If you feed this food, you may need to buy supplemental methionine tablets. I have to crush up one 500 mg tablet per meal 2x daily.

I believe this food will cause urinary crystals if fed long term!

 

[goholistic]

There are many cats eating Nature's Variety who are not having urinary troubles, so I strongly and respectfully suggest that people do not supplement with a urine acidifier such as methionine without discussing it with your vet. If a cat does not have a high urine pH, but it is normal, then supplementing methionine could potentially cause the urine to become too acidic (pH becomes too low) and that is problematic.

 

[denice]

My kitties one of which is male has been eating Nature's Variety and other foods like it for 3 1/2 years now with no issues.  Diet is not the only cause of urinary issues with kitties.  I also feed canned not the kibble.

I agree that adding methionine to a food for kitties who do not have pH issues, which are the vast majority of kitties, can be dangerous.  It will cause the calcium oxalate bladder stones which are actually much harder to deal with in that surgery is required.

 

[mservant]

@GoHolistic  and @Denice have given good advice here.  

Please remember that you should always check with your vet before giving any supplements, it is necessary to know a cat's age, weight, health, etc.  Nutritional suppliments can seriously harm a cat's health in some situations.

 

[angels mommy]

It's good to know this info. Angel has had cystitis 3XS over a year ago. (sturvite crystals).  He has been on the Purina UR SO for over a year now.  (& all clear of any crystals!)

Lately, once & a while (a cpl XS now) he has to be encouraged to eat.

I feel like he gets tired of eating the same food for over a year now, so I have bought a couple of cans of the turkey NV a couple of XS,  to just mix in a little to get him eating.

After hearing about it changing the urine pH, I am not going to do that anymore!  However, I still mix water from the PUR filter into his food. (just to stay on the safe side) & he has normal, good size pee clumps in the box.  I did find something at the natural food pet store I use instead, when I need to. I will stick to that instead. I showed his vet the label from the can, & she didn't think it was bad, & said if I wanted to try it, (in place of the RX food) , then we could do a urinalysis after he had been on it a few weeks to check. I haven't switched over, (kinda scared to), but just pick up a can here & there in case I need it. 

This is what i am talking about. It's the formula recommended by the natural pet food store staff, after telling them Angel's history. (Just passing on the good info.)

http://davespetfood.com/product/restricted-diet-magnesium-phosphorus-pork-dinner-cats/

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