New Orijen Formula, Too Much Fish?

[manx]

Should probably toss in what wet foods he gets to help

-Koha/Mauri (none of the fish flavors)

-Weruva (fish flavors he gets occasionally)

-Merrick (Purrfect Bistro pates, trying to see if he likes the new shredded variety)

-ZiwiPeak (rarely, since he is on the fence when whether he likes it or not and I don't feel like wasting)

-Wellness (TruFood Chicken, Turkey and Pumpkin. Regular Wellness pates and occasionally the turkey/duck CORE)

-Nature's Variety Instinct and Pride

-Fancy Feast Classics (when the budget is tight)

 

[foxxycat]

I thought eggs and fish were not good for cats? so many different opinions. I thought there was an article floating around this site about fatty pancreatic issues due to too many fatty fish without vitamin E.

The thing that concerns me "Natural chicken flavor" is CODE for MSG or SALT!!!!! in human foods they now don't have to list preservatives=that's their code name for preserves. I wont feed this because of too high a content of carbs. The greens concern me. Is it fresh greens or moldy greens? How come that site that says the truth about pet food wont release the truth about these manufacturing plants? What secrets are they hiding? I seriously think that the nutrition people are in bed with the medical people.

lets see-get our emotions going=make us spend $$$ and they get richer.

how many of you old timers fed the old foods in the 1980s/1990s and had ZERO issues like now. So I really think our health issues are linked to the added corn and sugar to our foods.

So I for now still feed tractor supply but I really am disgusted with these so called whole food companies. They are lieing to us. So not sure what to feed. My cats wont eat the better brands of food unless its fish.

I got my fishy cat to eat turkey and chicken fancy feast canned. she has lost weight but slowly. So for now I will continue feeding what we feed. The next years appointment for the girls will be interesting what the vet says. My vet doesn't like science diet.

A few years ago I got into an argument with the vet at another practice. she insisted Floey needed to eat this special food. I read the ingredients. I said to her-do you know what byproduct is? I also asked her do you know why there is corn meal in the cat food? She said its fine. I said NO. That's why floey had crystals. Since then 2006? I have not fed her corn-guess what?! shes much better!

I can no longer recommend Orijin. Does anyone know if this brand is still on the pet list of foods from the truth of pet food? It used to be on it-the last list I bought was 2014. I haven't purchased or read the site in awhile because it makes me so angry that someone knows horrible things about the pet food but wont expose these jerks. All about MONEY. I think if you know something=SPILL THE BEANS!

 

 

[rickr]

 
<snip> I did buy a sample of the Nature's Variety Ultimate Protein Chicken and he ate it, but I am unsure if it's a good food or not. <snip>

What about the Nature's Variety formula concerns you?  Since this is what I feed my cats, if there is something I should worry about I would like to know.   Thanks in advance.

 

[missmimz]

I picked up the new USA Cat and Kitten today. My cat would not touch it. This is after eating Orijen and Acana daily the last two years. The kibble is smaller and crumbles. I grabbed a handful right off the top of the bag and it was 50% crumbs! The only one she will eat is the Acana Wild Atlantic and she is not too enthused about it....and neither am I. She barfs on all other new Acana. I did complain to Champion and they said I can feed fish daily because they test for safe phosphorous levels and mercury. I laughed and said they were nuts and no longer trustworthy and I am changing brands completely. They built that Kentucky plant and banned their Canadian made from the USA to grab a huge part of the growing USA pet consumer market. I will not be helping them reach that goal.

How did you find that? I'm pretty sure they haven't started releasing the US Orijen yet. I know the US Acana is out, but not Orijen. I just bought a bag of Orijen locally and it was the Canadian version. 

 

[missmimz]

I can no longer recommend Orijin. Does anyone know if this brand is still on the pet list of foods from the truth of pet food? It used to be on it-the last list I bought was 2014. I haven't purchased or read the site in awhile because it makes me so angry that someone knows horrible things about the pet food but wont expose these jerks. All about MONEY. I think if you know something=SPILL THE BEANS!

 

The Truth about Pet Food's list of best cat foods isn't worth buying. While she does great work for pet food reform she isn't really up to date on cat nutrition and a lot of the foods on her list contain a lot of fruit and veggie fillers. The reality is there really isn't any good kibble out there. Ziwipeak is the closest and it's not entirely kibble. 

 

[mosimom]

It was in an independent pet specialty store near me. They do not have the USA made Six Fish yet. I was just there today returning the USA Orijen Cat and Kitten. She said a lot of people are returning the USA Acana and Orijen...so much so that the store manager is filling out a specialty review form from each customer. I do not know if that is for them, the distributor, or Champion Pet Foods.

 

[manx]

 
How did you find that? I'm pretty sure they haven't started releasing the US Orijen yet. I know the US Acana is out, but not Orijen. I just bought a bag of Orijen locally and it was the Canadian version. 

I work at a PetValu and we are all out of the Canadian Cat and Kitten and have only the Kentucky made new version.

 

[manx]

 
What about the Nature's Variety formula concerns you?  Since this is what I feed my cats, if there is something I should worry about I would like to know.   Thanks in advance.

It's just some of their ingredients are a bit dubious to me

Chicken, Tapioca, Ground Flaxseed, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Natural Flavor, Dried Tomato Pomace, Dried Whey Protein Concentrate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Montmorillonite Clay, Choline Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Chicken (including Freeze Dried Ground Chicken Bone), Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Pumpkinseeds, Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Carrots, Apples, Rosemary Extract, Butternut Squash, Dried Kelp, Broccoli, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salmon Oil, Dried Chicory Root, Blueberries

Don't know what "natural flavor" means. I always read to avoid tomato pomace. And why does their need to be whey protein concentrate if this is supposed to be a meat heavy food?

 

[missmimz]

 
I work at a PetValu and we are all out of the Canadian Cat and Kitten and have only the Kentucky made new version.

That's interesting. I didn't think they were even manufacturing it yet since they're still refusing to release the ingredients list (I asked on their FB page), but then again I'm not even surprised a pet food company is behaving shady. 

 

[mosimom]

They had the new Acana formulas out two months before the food hit stores. There were so many complaints and angry people on their Facebook page not happy about it. Lots of posts were deleted and people were banned.

They are doing the release of the Orijen's differently. They just are not telling anyone saying they are working on a NEW site and will release then.

Many people will not know they bought the new bags until they get home and feed their pets.

Sneaky, irresponsible, and slimey. Then they wonder why we don't trust most American pet food companies.

 

[missmimz]

They had the new Acana formulas out two months before the food hit stores. There were so many complaints and angry people on their Facebook page not happy about it. Lots of posts were deleted and people were banned.

They are doing the release of the Orijen's differently. They just are not telling anyone saying they are working on a NEW site and will release then.

Many people will not know they bought the new bags until they get home and feed their pets.

Sneaky, irresponsible, and slimey. Then they wonder why we don't trust most American pet food companies.

It's disappointing. Champion pet foods really touts itself as being transparent and a "small" that isn't corrupt like Big Pet Food, but they're participating in shady practices and downgrading their products, just like Big Pet Food. If I didn't have so many furry mouths to feed all of mine would be on homemade raw, but I'm just not quite there yet. Sigh. 

 

[mosimom]

They are supposed to make some changes to the Canadian made formulas later this year. So those here from Canada...you might be in for a huge surprise and disappointment too.

 

[pushylady]

Should probably toss in what wet foods he gets to help

-Koha/Mauri (none of the fish flavors)
-Weruva (fish flavors he gets occasionally)
-Merrick (Purrfect Bistro pates, trying to see if he likes the new shredded variety)
-ZiwiPeak (rarely, since he is on the fence when whether he likes it or not and I don't feel like wasting)
-Wellness (TruFood Chicken, Turkey and Pumpkin. Regular Wellness pates and occasionally the turkey/duck CORE)
-Nature's Variety Instinct and Pride
-Fancy Feast Classics (when the budget is tight)

I feed Nutrience grain free with the freeze dried raw in it and my cats like it.
And Merrick limited ingredient diet grain free.

They're still kibble, obviously. But I feel they're fairly good for kibble and definitely not the worst stuff out there.

 

[Kat0121]

 

 
Thank you all for the input. Looks like I need to find a new dry food for my cat to snack on.
  
He gets maybe two handfuls of kibble a day between his wet food meals. And not full handfuls, either.
   
I was thinking about maybe the Acana Grasslands or Meadowlands, since he seems to like those. Or are those too low in protein?
   
I did buy a sample of the Nature's Variety Ultimate Protein Chicken and he ate it, but I am unsure if it's a good food or not.
   
I am considering also the Performatrin Ultra Grain Free (turkey, duck, and salmon)
  
Thought about ZiwiPeak but I can't find it anywhere. It also seems to be more of a jerky consistency and my cat will not touch jerky/soft treats :/
   
As much as I would love to do raw, he won't touch it. Even if i managed to transition him over, I have a small freezer with barely enough room for a pizza. No way I would be allowed to store bags of raw cat food in there. Freeze dried is also an option but he won't touch the stuff if it's been rehydrated with water. Either way, he's not technically my cat and I was lucky enough to get him on a mostly wet diet and off the nasty Royal Canin prescription food. If I ever get a cat myself, it will most likely be on raw.
  
Anyway, I would appreciate some input on the dry food options. 

I have a just opened bag of the Canadian Orijen Cat & Kitten and it will last a while as they do not eat it as the main part of their diet. It is more an occasional topper/snack. When it is gone though, I will be buying something else. The shady way that Champion is handling this is what annoys me more than anything else. They should be held to a higher standard than other brands. Just goes to show you that any company can do this and will. 

My problem with the Nature's Variety Ultimate Protein is that it doesn't seem to be much better than the standard NV Chicken dry food. I've posted this before but look at the ingredients lists side by side. This is coming from NVI's own website

Nature's Variety dry (chicken- standard)

Chicken meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), tapioca, chicken, menhaden fish meal, tomato pomace, sun-cured alfalfa meal, natural flavor, potassium chloride, montmorillonite clay, choline chloride, dl-methionine, carrots, apples, cranberries, salt, vitamins (vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), taurine, minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, sodium selenite), freeze dried turkey, freeze dried chicken (including freeze dried ground chicken bone), freeze dried turkey liver, pumpkinseeds, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product, rosemary extract, butternut squash, ground flaxseed, dried kelp, broccoli, apple cider vinegar, salmon oil, dried chicory root, blueberries

Guaranteed Analysis

Protein 45%, Crude fat 19%, Crude Fiber 3%, Moisture (Max) 10%

Nature's Variety Ultimate Proten (chicken) dry

Chicken, tapioca, ground flaxseed, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), natural flavor, dried tomato pomace, dried whey protein concentrate, dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, montmorillonite clay, choline chloride, vitamins (vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, sodium selenite), taurine, freeze dried turkey, freeze dried chicken (including freeze dried ground chicken bone), freeze dried turkey liver, pumpkinseeds, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product, carrots, apples, rosemary extract, butternut squash, dried kelp, broccoli, apple cider vinegar, salmon oil, dried chicory root, blueberries

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein 47%, Crude Fat 17%, Crude Fat 3%, Moisture (max) 10%

ETA- The standard NVI is $19.61 on Chewy (5.5 pound bag). The UP is $29.67 (5 pound bag). Maybe it's me but I don't see that big of a difference that would justify an extra $10 per bag. 

I am thinking of contacting GO! and asking them for a sample of the Sensitivity + Shine LID Duck. Maybe they will send me one if I tell them I am divorcing Orijen.

 GO! is Canadian. 

https://www.chewy.com/go-sensitivity-shine-limited/dp/118424

ETA (Again)

Epicurean (The makers of GO!) Are offering a printable coupon for a free sample in case anyone is interested

https://www.petcurean.com/nourish-for-life/#get-a-coupon

Store locator

https://www.petcurean.com/where-to-buy/canada-united-states/

 

[mosimom]

New Orijen website is up. http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/fresh-regional-ingredients/?lang=us

If you were on Orijen Facebook lastnight and today. I, along with at least 20 other people had posts deleted and were blocked from posting.
Sorry you missed it.

 

[missmimz]

What a bummer. I see they haven't released the RR ingredients list yet. I typically order from Chewy and they haven't updated their site to reflect any changes yet so they must have a stock of the old version still. I guess I'm going to order a few bags so I have a few months stock before i rotate it out completely.

 

[foxxycat]

natural flavoring-found conflicting information. i always thought it meant salt. i still think it does.

i wont buy orijen. forget them!

 

[suzannef]

I purchased a 15lb bag of the Canadian-made Cat and Kitten yesterday. It was the last one in stock, and will likely be the last bag of Orijen I ever buy. All the 5lb bags were Kentucky-made. I only have one kibble-addict, so this bag should last a long time. I'm really trying to get her switched to canned or raw anyway.

 

[foxxycat]

i just went on the facebook site-holy MOLY lots of P***ED OFF PEOPLE!!!

I will comment too. Just trying to figure out how to word it so they hear our voices. we wanted imported food because Canadas standards are much higher than USAs. 

 

[Kat0121]

 
i just went on the facebook site-holy MOLY lots of P***ED OFF PEOPLE!!!

I will comment too. Just trying to figure out how to word it so they hear our voices. we wanted imported food because Canadas standards are much higher than USAs. 

I saw it too. Yes they are mad. Orijen just keeps telling people to call customer service. Has anyone here ever called their customer service? You cannot get through. It tells you to leave a voice mail and one of their FIVE representatives will get back to you.